Google Play today announced a series of changes to its programs and policies around apps designed for children. The company is describing the update as an expansion of its previously launched “Teacher Approved” program, which includes a review process where teachers and experts vetted apps not just for safety and security elements, but for educational […]
Google has paid out $70,000 to a security researcher for privately reporting an “accidental” security bug that allowed anyone to unlock Google Pixel phones without knowing its passcode. The lock screen bypass bug, tracked as CVE-2022-20465, is described as a local escalation of privilege bug because it allows someone, with the device in their hand, […]
Google says it has evidence that a commercial surveillance vendor was exploiting three zero-day security vulnerabilities found in newer Samsung smartphones. The vulnerabilities, discovered in Samsung’s custom-built software, were used together as part of an exploit chain to target Samsung phones running Android. The chained vulnerabilities allow an attacker to gain kernel read and write […]
Google today announced it’s making several changes to the Google Play Store that will impact Android apps’ discoverability, how developers can market their apps to consumers, and various trust and safety concerns. Most importantly, Google is now advising developers that the Play Store will begin to prioritize apps that deliver on both technical and in-app […]
Google is indefinitely pausing the enforcement of its policy requiring developers to use Play Store’s billing system for user transactions in India following an order by the country’s antitrust body. The Android maker on Tuesday updated a support page to disclose the move and said that the requirement to use Google Play’s billing system still […]
A massive cache of leaked data reveals the inner workings of a stalkerware operation that is spying on hundreds of thousands of people around the world, including Americans. The leaked data includes call logs, text messages, granular location data and other personal device data of unsuspecting victims whose Android phones and tablets were compromised by […]
India’s antitrust watchdog has hit Google with $113 million fine for abusing the dominant position of its app store, the second such penalty on the Android-maker in just as many weeks in the key overseas market. The Competition Commission of India, which opened the investigation in late 2020, said mandating developers to use Google’s own […]
Five years after Google released the first version of Android Go, its mobile operating system for entry-level devices, the program has now amassed over 250 million monthly active devices. That’s up from 200 million Android Go monthly active devices milestone that Google shared in December last year. To mark the occasion, the search giant has […]
Jio Platforms has quietly launched its first laptop, entering into a new product category as the Indian telecom giant aggressively expands its offerings. The laptop, called JioBook, runs JioOS, a custom Android-based OS that has been “optimized for superior performance” and local languages support. The laptop, manufactured in India, is selling at 15,799 Indian rupees, […]
After ignoring the app experience on Android tablets for years, Google appears increasingly focused on turning things around. Earlier this year, the search giant introduced Android 12L, which brought an improved interface and multitasking experience to tablets and foldable. At the developer conference Google IO in May, it promised to finetune over 20 of its […]
