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Android devices will are getting some key security changes. The tweaks to the permissions system are meant to reduce the need to weigh up security against convenience. The changes will come in Android 11, which begins rolling out to handsets this ... month. Because its an open source system, the new version of the operating system will take longer to get to some brands than others, and older phones and tablets won't ever get it. The main changes are to Android's permission system, which allows users to theoretically control parts of the device's software and hardware an app can access or control ... (view more)

Internal Google documents show the company's own staff believe its privacy settings are confusing. The documents became public in a court case about unexpected location tracking. The state of Arizona is suing Google after an investigation into ... claims it was storing location data about mobile users even though they had turned off the Location History setting . The problem is that Google actually tracked location in multiple ways - each with their own settings. For example, there's a difference between Location History (a user feature that lets you check back through Google Maps to see where ... (view more)

Google is experimenting with a way to make Chrome use less power when a laptop battery is starting to run out. But it will rely on website owners to make it happen. The test is of a "Battery-Savings Meta Tag" which can be added to a website's code ... and will include battery saving recommendations specific to that site. These would then kick in whenever the computer is at a particular battery level. The idea is to avoid having Chrome itself simply take blanket measures that might not be appropriate for all websites. Video Frame Rate Lowered One of the examples Google gives is for a tag to say ... (view more)

Google is testing a new way of showing a web page address in the browser. It hopes that simply showing the domain name will make it easier for users to spot phishing scams - as already happens with some rival browsers. At the moment most browsers ... will show the entire web page address (URL) in the address bar. That's the box near the top of the screen that has a dual purpose in most browsers: it shows the current page address but is also where users type in both addresses and search terms. A study for Google looked at ways scammers can take advantage of the browser bar. One example was the ... (view more)

An Android app with 40 million downloads has been linked to large-scale fraud against phone and tablet users. The "SnapTube" app reportedly tricks users with a free trial that leads to an expensive and unwanted subscription. The operators of the app ... say they were previously victims of illegal activity by an advertising partner but have now fixed the problem. SnapTube is a tool that was downloaded from the Google Play Store 40 million times before being removed. It was billed as a way to download videos from Facebook and YouTube, something that's not possible with those services own ... (view more)

Google faces a class action lawsuit over claims it "misled users of Chrome's private browsing mode." But suggestions users are in for a $5,000 windfall are premature, to say the least. That's the minimum amount the lawsuit seeks per affected user, ... though for starters that assumes not only that the plaintiffs win the case, but that the court agrees to that amount. It also assumes the amount isn't reduced by lawyer fees and that anyone eligible is able to sign up to the case and provide any necessary proof. The crux of the case, brought in the United States District Court for the ... (view more)

Google has removed an app designed to highlight any Chinese-made apps on an Android device. The straightforwardly-named "Remove China Apps" was particularly popular in India, where it was developed. Exactly why the app was removed isn't clear other ... than Google saying it violated unspecified app-store policies. Based on what the developers claim, it doesn't appear to pose any serious security or privacy risks. It didn't actually remove any apps but instead produced a list that the user could manually install. Border Dispute Sparks Boycott While security concerns about Chinese tech have become ... (view more)

Google is increasing privacy on Chrome with a change to the way it connects users to websites. But businesses will be able to disable the move so they can keep tabs on staff. The change is to the way Chrome connects with Domain Name Servers (DNS), ... which act a little like a telephone directory for the Internet. A DNS takes a website address that a user types into their browser and finds the matching IP address, which identifies the specific connection to the device such as a server (or service) that physically stores the website's files. In the past, the connection between Chrome and a DNS was ... (view more)

Chrome is to start automatically blocking online ads that make particularly high use of computer resources. It will be a small change that Google hopes will have a big effect. This will be the second set of changes Chrome has made to the way it ... handles ads following alterations over the past couple of years to block "abusive" and "deceptive" ads. These include ads which have misleading buttons such as a "play" button that actually downloads a file or a "close window" button that actually opens new pop-up windows. The new change will involve Chrome having an limit on how much resources such as ... (view more)

Google has banned a hugely popular podcast app from the Play Store, claiming it breaches a ban on COVID-19 content. It appears to be a spectacular screw-up by Google's filtering system. Podcast Addict is a leading app in its field with more than ... five million downloads, so it came as a surprise to developers to receive a message from Google saying it had been banned from the Play Store. While it's still possible to install Podcast Addict manually, it's a big blow to its distribution and makes the app inaccessible to potential Android users who follow common security advice to stick to the ... (view more)