Articles about Mobile App

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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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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Facebook's desperation to appeal to the teenage market is well known, and its latest attempt to tap into it sees the social network acquiring tbh. The anonymous feedback app has proved to be a huge hit on iOS since its launch in August. An Android version is still in the pipeline.

With tbh, despite the anonymity, there's a strong focus on positive polls -- questions like "who has the best smile?" crop up, for instance -- and over a billion pieces of feedback have been given in a matter of weeks. It's not clear whether Facebook will keep the service truly anonymous, or will make use of the data it could undoubtedly gather through the app.

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It came as something of a shock to people when Microsoft first released an Android launcher in the guise of Arrow Launcher. Now the company is making it more obvious who is behind the app, bringing the launcher out of beta and relaunching it as Microsoft Launcher.

Joe Belfiore only very recently admitted that Windows Phone is dead, and this is something that is borne out by Microsoft's increasing interest in developing iOS and Android software. What may well come as a surprise to many is that Microsoft Launcher is actually a decent piece of software.

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When you download a mobile app you sometimes get more than you bargained for, Uber's app that tracked iPhone users for example. It can be hard to know exactly what apps on your phone are up to.

Now though, application security testing company High-Tech Bridge is launching a free 'Mobile X-Ray' service for developers that analyses native and hybrid iOS and Android apps and detects the most common weakness and vulnerabilities.

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Google has unveiled the latest collections of best games and apps for Android. The company introduced the Android Excellence program earlier in the year, and now it has taken the wraps off the lists for Fall 2017.

These are not necessarily new titles, so as you browse through the collections you're likely to see a number of familiar names. In all, there are dozens of Android Excellence Apps and Android Excellence Games.

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There has been something of a trend in recent months for "lite" versions of popular services to launch in developing markets. While the aim is to provide access for people with limited data plans, there is interest in data-saving apps from all parts of the world.

Having launched Facebook Messenger Lite last year to a limited number of markets, the social networking giant is now pushing its messaging app to the US, Canada, UK and Ireland. For now the app is only available for Android -- Facebook has not yet said whether an iOS version is in the works.

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Going on holiday is supposed to be relaxing (for the most part), but planning and preparing to go away can be a real headache. Do you want a beach, mountains, skiing or adventure holiday? Once you’ve settled on where to go, for most people, the price will be another issue. Flight costs will fluctuate and its very difficult to determine when to buy your tickets.

Hopper is an app which will help you save money on flights. Its algorithm tracks your selected dates and will let you know based on historical data whether it expects prices to drop further or go up. It will also notify you if either of these situations occurs, or tell you based on previous data if you should buy right now.

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All of the major players have been busy creating "lite" versions of their apps and online experiences. Microsoft has LinkedIn Lite, Facebook has both Facebook Lite and Facebook Messenger Lite, and Google has its Search Lite app.

Back in April, Twitter decided to get in on the lite action by launching Twitter Lite, a cut-down, data-friendly version of its mobile website. Now the micro-blogging service has gone further and released a Twitter Lite app.

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Transport for London (TfL) has said that Uber is not "fit and proper" to operate in the capital, and has rejected the company's application for a new license.

Following the rejection, Uber has 21 days to appeal against the decision. The company's current license expires on September 30, but it will be able to continue to operate until the end of the appeal process.

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A few years ago, the only way you could get updates for core apps on your Android device was through operating system updates. Then, manufacturers realized that it would be much easier -- for everyone involved -- to have new versions distributed through Google Play or their own app store.

OnePlus has reached the same conclusion, and today it announces that updates for Community, Gallery, Launcher and Weather will be rolled out through Google Play, in what is referred to as "Individual Application Update."

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Security researchers from Adguard have issued a warning that the popular GO Keyboard app is spying on users. Produced by Chinese developers GOMO Dev Team, GO Keyboard was found to be transmitting personal information about users back to remote servers, as well as "using a prohibited technique to download dangerous executable code."

Adguard made the discovery while conducting research into the traffic consumption and unwanted behavior of various Android keyboards. The AdGuard for Android app makes it possible to see exactly what traffic an app is generating, and it showed that GO Keyboard was making worrying connections, making use of trackers, and sharing personal information.

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Do you wince when your partner suggests you head to IKEA on a Sunday morning? Everyone seems to have decided that IKEA is their goto store for furnishing a room and it can be bedlam at a weekend. And that’s if you can get into the car park.

Luckily Apple has made the task a lot easier by adding augmented reality to iOS 11. Simply put, the new feature enables a person to move around objects within a virtual environment.

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Adblock Plus is about more than just its eponymous software -- the company also produces Adblock Browser. Now version 2.0 of the secure, private mobile web browser has been released for iOS and it introduces a wealth of new features.

Key among these new features is Ghost Mode which makes it easy to slip into anonymous web browsing mode whenever privacy is of the utmost importance. As the name of the browser implies, there is also an integrated ad-blocker, but it does not end there -- this is an update that the company has been working on for more than a year.

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