Google updates Developer Program Policies to fight incentivized app ratings, reviews and installs
Google has taken various steps over the years to try to combat dangerous apps in the Play Store, but this is far from being the only problem Google Play suffers from. There is also the ongoing issue of fake app reviews, incentivized activity, and other means of user manipulation.
Having already put in place some measures to crack down on such activities, Google is now updating its Developer Program Policies. It warns developers that they must "not attempt to manipulate the placement of any apps in the Store" and while banning the bribing of users is nothing new, here Google is aiming to provide additional clarity.
Amazon Prime available at a discount to US customers on welfare
Amazon is slashing the price of a Prime subscription for US customers in receipt of government assistance. Customers with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card are eligible to have their monthly subscription discounted from $10.99 to $5.99.
There are no restrictions on the cheaper Prime subscriptions, and it includes Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Photos and free shipping just like its full-price counterpart, but Amazon points out that EBT cannot be used to pay for membership.
OnePlus 5 launches June 20
The launch date for the OnePlus 5 has officially been announced. The big day is June 20, and the latest flagship will be revealed online after an exciting teaser campaign, but there are also 10 pop-up events taking place around the world.
This time around, OnePlus is referring to its upcoming smartphone as "our next flagship phone," with no reference to it being a "flagship killer" as has been the case in the past. While details keep trickling out about the OnePlus 5, in announcing the launch date, OnePlus is giving little more away other than suggesting the importance of the camera by saying: "Focus on what matters."
Google wants to educate kids to help them 'Be Internet Awesome'
Google has developed an educational program with the aim of helping children make better use of the internet. It's a drive to "help kids learn how to be smart, positive and kind online, just like we teach them to be offline" and it's called Be Internet Awesome.
Pavni Diwanji, vice president of Engineering For Kids and Families at Google says: "We need to provide guidance as they learn to make their own smart decisions online." The program has been developed with a number of key online safety experts and includes an educational game called Interland.
Material Design and new developer tools come to Chrome 59
Google has started to push out updates to the latest version of its web browser -- Chrome 59 for Windows, Linux and macOS. The update includes a number of important security fixes, but also sees the arrival of Google's Material Design on the desktop.
The Material look is one that will be very familiar to Android users, as well as anyone who uses Google's various online services. But Google is not quite ready to give its desktop browser a full makeover yet.
Reality Winner arrested following NSA leaks pointing to attempted Russian hacking of US election
New evidence has emerged detailing Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election. A leaked, top secret NSA report shared by the Intercept reveals that Russian intelligence agencies hacked the manufacturer of US voting systems.
The Intercept says that the authenticity of the documents has been independently verified, and they show a concerted Russian effort to sway the result of the battle between Trump and Clinton. Following the leak, a government contractor called Reality Leigh Winner has been arrested for allegedly removing classified material from a government facility in Georgia.
Apple nixes Facebook and Twitter integration from iOS 11
With the arrival of any new operating system, the focus tends to be on what has been added and what has been improved. But it's also important to keep an eye on what has been removed, and this is true of Apple's newly announced iOS 11.
One of the things to have been removed from the upcoming version of Apple's mobile OS is social media integration. Specifically, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo have been dropped from Settings, meaning that these services will no longer be able to offer an easy way to sign into apps and services using social media accounts.
Apple completely redesigns the App Store, introduces entirely new sections and promotes in-app purchases
Yesterday at WWDC 2017 Apple not only announced details of iOS 11, the company also unveiled a completely redesigned App Store. Central to the entire iOS experience, the change is due to arrive later in the year, and when we say it's a complete redesign, we mean it's a complete redesign.
It goes without saying that Apple refers to the redesign as "beautiful," and the extreme makeover is something that has been a long time coming. But while the look of the store is markedly different to its current incarnation, it is still somewhat familiar. It borrows style ideas from iOS 10's Music and News apps.
WWDC 2017: Apple watchOS 4 brings Siri -- and Toy Story -- to watch faces
At WWDC today Apple announced not only High Sierra, but also watchOS 4. One of the biggest updates -- or at least the most visible -- here are to be found on watch faces. As well as being customizable, faces can now dynamically change based on various criteria, such as location and time of day.
Apple is also bring kaleidoscopic faces to the Watch -- something it describes as "trippy." But perhaps the most exciting update is the fact that Siri can now be used on Apple Watch.
WWDC 2017: Amazon Prime is coming to Apple TV
It's WWDC 2017 and, for the first time, Tim Cook has revealed the precise number of announcements we can expect from the keynote: six. The first of them is the news that Amazon is coming to Apple TV.
Apple isn't saying exactly when this is happening, but Apple TV is finally going to benefit from Amazon Prime TV. The two companies have traditionally been rivals, but have now managed to become friendly enough to join force.
Facebook uses Pride Month to pat itself on the back over LGBTQ support
Social media platforms are, by their very nature, keen to be welcoming to as broad a spectrum of people as possible. Twitter, YouTube, and other services of their ilk like to be seen to be as inclusive as can be imagined and Facebook is no different.
This month is Pride Month, and Facebook is not only joining in the celebrations, but also using it to indulge in a little self-celebration and self-congratulation. The social network is rolling out a rainbow frame, a Pride reaction and Pride-themed masks for photos, Pride stickers in Messenger and more, but the company is also falling over itself to prove how diverse not only its userbase is, but also its workforce.
Microsoft releases Face Swap app for Android
After selfie taking, the act of face swapping is an incredibly common use for smartphones. iPhone users have a plethora of tools to choose from -- as, indeed, do those who prefer Android devices, and Microsoft has decided to get in on the action with the appropriately-named Face Swap app for Android.
The free app does very much what you would expect -- combining the joy of selfies with the fun of face swapping. Snap a selfie and you can then swap faces from another photo -- it's a simple idea, and Microsoft has put its own twist on it by integrating Bing Image search.
Tech companies retaliate against Theresa May's claim they offer a 'safe space' for extremists
Following the attacks on London over the weekend, prime minister Theresa May made calls for further regulation of the internet -- despite having already ushered in the snooper's charter, one of the most invasive pieces of online legislation in the world.
Speaking about the attacks, May said: "We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide." Google, Facebook and Twitter have all lashed out, saying they already do a great deal to combat terrorist and extremist content on their networks.
Is Apple about to release a file manager for iOS at WWDC?
It's Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this week, and while we are very unlikely to hear anything about the iPhone 8, there's sure to be plenty of news to come. However, ahead of the start of the conference, it seems that Apple has accidentally let slip its iOS file manager.
A new, largely blank entry in the App Store was spotted by a developer. It shows a new app called, imaginatively enough, Files. The icon is Apple-y in style, would be appropriate for a file manager app, and the listing indicates that iOS 11 and up is needed.
Pinboard buys social bookmarking site del.icio.us and closes it down
The once-loved -- and much sold -- social bookmarking site del.icio.us (or just Delicious, if you prefer), has changed hands for one final time. Rival service Pinboard has snapped up the site for a mere $35,000, and plans to close it down.
Warning that no one should "attempt to compete with Pinboard," a post on the company blog adopts a Trump-like tone in announcing the acquisition. In less than two weeks, del.icio.us will be switched to read-only mode.
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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