Articles about Google

If you've ever wondered what happens to the data Google collects via Chrome, today's announcement gives you something of an idea. The newly unveiled Chrome User Experience Report is a collection of data from users who have opted in to usage statistic reporting, the idea being that developers will be able to see how users experience the websites they visit.

Google launched the new tool at the Chrome Dev Summit 2017 in San Francisco, and at the same time also announced Trusted Web Activity. This is essentially a way to provide app-like behavior in Chrome to create a more cohesive experience.

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Businesses in the US now have a new way to sign up with one of Google's booking partners and to add a booking button to their search listing.

Anyone in the US with a Google My Business account can benefit from the addition of a booking button that enables people to book a reservation with a simple click. It's a continuation of the idea started with Reserve with Google, and the search giant is making it easy for businesses to track their online booking through their accounts.

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Google has just released a new API that helps organizations protect and regulate sensitive data. The Data Loss Prevention (DLP) API, which has been in beta since March, has now been unveiled, together with a couple of new features.

The features include redaction, masking and tokenization. The API can enforce the principle of least privilege, or need-to-know access to data to production applications and data workflows. Its service can work with any data source or storage system.

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As promised earlier in the year, Google has launched its payment service to streamline the checkout process for Android users. Pay with Google aims to kill the frustration that can stem from having to fill out endless forms in order to complete a purchase.

To start with, Pay with Google is supported by 15 vendors including Instacart, Kayak, iFood and GameTime, but there are plenty more big names -- like StubHub, Deliveroo, Airbnb and Just Eat -- due to join. The service is available from today, and can be used in various Android apps, or Chrome on the web.

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Google has already used Cybersecurity Awareness Month to announced details of a new bug bounty program for Android apps, as well as a new Advanced Protection Program for G Suite users. Now the company has revealed that most web traffic in its Chrome web browser is protected by HTTPS.

The precise figures vary from platform to platform -- with ChromeOS and macOS faring the best -- but between 64 and 75 percent is now secured. Google humblebrags about the results of its mission to "secure the web, one site at a time," after opting to mark non-encrypted pages as being insecure.

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Calling up the Google Assistant on your Android phone takes nothing more than bellowing "OK, Google" at your handset. But you may be someone who feels that this is just too many syllables to utter.

Google Home users have a slightly easier time. As well as "OK, Google" it is also possible to say "Hey, Google" -- meaning you can start getting help in two thirds of the time! Now the same option is making its way to Android phones.

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Developers who want to sell apps or offer in-app subscriptions on Google Play have to give 30 percent of the revenue up. It's the cost of doing business on Google's popular app store -- and the same goes for the App Store and Microsoft Store as well.

However, in a move that mirrors Apple's policy change last year, Google will soon take a lower cut from developers who retain subscribers for more than a year.

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As well as unveiling a new bug bounty program for select Android apps, Google has also announced a number of changes to its Play Store. The first is the introduction of Instant Apps to Google Play, giving users the chance to try out apps without even having to install them.

The idea is to give people the opportunity to test out apps almost immediately without having to wait for them to download -- ideal for anyone with limited data or a slow connection. Instant Apps are essentially streamed to devices meaning they can be running in seconds.

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Google has announced that it is teaming up with HackerOne to bring a bug bounty program to the Play Store. Seeking to weed out problems with Android apps, the Google Play Security Reward Program pays out $1,000 for reported issues that meet certain criteria.

The program is a little different to other bug bounty programs as Google will pay out for problems that are found in third party apps, not just its own. At the moment there are a very small number of apps that are taking part, but Google is inviting developers to opt their apps into the program.

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After years of little more than minor tweaks here and there, Google Calendar for the web is finally getting a long-overdue update. Inspired by the mobile app Google has developed, the revamped online version of Calendar gains a new color palette, as well as a layout rejig and a few new features.

The new look uses Google's Material Design scheme, and the update means that Calendar now intelligently resizes for different screen and browser window sizes. There are various new features for enterprise users, but there are also new views, and a focus on displaying more useful information than before.

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As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Google has announced numerous security-related updates including revamped phishing protection. Now the company has also announced what it is referring to as its "strongest security, for those who need it most."

Aimed at protecting people who are most likely to find themselves the target of attacks -- Google suggests journalists and human rights workers as examples -- the new Advanced Protection Program is being made available to anyone who wants to use it. It will protect Gmail, Google Drive and YouTube data with a variety of measures including a physical authentication key.

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An update is rolling out to the Google Wifi app which gives parents greater control over the websites their children can visit.

The update adds Site Blocking to Google Wifi's family controls, making it possible to block more than 8 million sites at the flick of a switch. These are sites that Google has determined are inappropriate for children.

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Google has announced that it is removing a feature from the iOS version of Google Maps that estimated how many calories could be burned off by walking a particular route. Based on "strong user feedback" Google took the decision to remove the feature that had been rolled out to a number of users.

Google faced an online backlash when the feature launched as it used pink mini cupcakes as a measure of calorie burning -- a 2 kilometer walk, Google Maps informed users, would burn 112 calories, or one mini cupcake. The feature was criticized for being a possible trigger for people with eating disorders.

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We're in the middle of Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Google is taking part. The company has launched two updated protection tools to help keep internet users safe online.

While Google refers to "two new protections," these are really updates rather than completely new offerings. Both the Security Checkup tool and Google Safe Browsing have been updated to make them more personal, and both of them will adapt over time to protect against new threats.

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Google and IBM, together with a few other partners, released an open-source project that gathers metadata that developers can use to secure their software.

According to an IBM blog post, the goal of the project is to help developers keep security standards, while microservices and containers cut the software supply chain.

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