Some new #accessibility features from #Google. I am especially excited about “Lens in Maps”, currently only on iOS. I think you should be too! :) But you gotta try it out first!

https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/accessibility/making-daily-tasks-accessible/

8 ways we’re making daily tasks more accessible

Today, we’re launching new products and features aimed at making daily tasks more accessible for people with disabilities.

^{Eve Andersson (Google)}

#XMPP + #Google Summer of Code 2023

Yesterday our #GSoC Organisation Administrator Edward presented the work of our contributors hrxi on @dino and ISD on #Moxxy (@PapaTutuWawa) at the Google #Mentor #Summit 2023!

https://xmpp.org/2023/10/the-xmpp-newsletter-september-2023/#xmpp-and-google-summer-of-code-2023

#GSoC2023 #interoperability #standards
#federation #jabber #chat

XMPP + Google Summer of Code 2023

Our #GSoC Organisation Administrator Edward is currently participating at the Google #Mentor #Summit 2023 with many other bright minds as well!

#XMPP #GSoC2023 #Google #interoperability #standards #federation #jabber

Taken from #Google's updated "privacy" policy.
I mean, I find it ironic because there doesn't seem to be any #privacy to speak of here 😆

I know this is no laughing matter, but I am at the "oh what the hell can I do so might as well laugh about it" stage 🤣

#WritingCommunity #Data #AI

Google's updated privacy policy states it can use public data to train its AI

Link: https://www.engadget.com/googles-updated-privacy-policy-states-it-can-use-public-data-to-train-its-ai-models-095541684.html
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36586170

#google

#XMPP. Chrome's Blink. ActiveX. The <font> tag. Even the file types your spreadsheet software uses. These are examples of open protocols (or parts of) that were taken over by a tech giant.

Because it doesn't matter how open the protocol is, if one player simply outshines the rest.

When #Google implemented XMPP into Google Talk, they slowly pulled things their way. Different implementations, protocol changes, etc. Others had no choice but to follow, or lose the biggest share of users.

3/🧵

1. PRISM

A program under which the NSA collects internet communications from various US companies such as #Google #facebook #twitter under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to turn over any data that match court-approved search terms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM

2/4 🧵

On Monday morning we (Mozilla) detected a very large crash spike affecting #Firefox users on Linux, specifically on an older version of a Debian-based distribution.

It turned out to be an interesting bug involving the #Linux kernel and #Google JavaScript code so let me tell you about it.

A thread 🧵

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1839669 1/6

Google wants to track you - no matter what. Now it is threatening to take down Invidious, a popular platform on which you can watch YouTube videos without being tracked!

https://tutanota.com/blog/google-youtube-invidious-privacy-alternative

#google #business #data #legal #privacy #opensource #foss

Google threatens to Kill Open Source YouTube Front-end Invidious for Letting You Watch Videos without Tracking or Ads

Invidious is well known as a privacy-first platform to watch YouTube videos without ads or tracking. Now Google wants it to shut down.

^Tutanota

Hey, can you give an overview of this library scanner of yours? Is it available anywhere? Looks really useful!

#android #apps #google #googleplay

We've been told Google Play transparently shows what data is collected etc, right? And whether an app has Ads? Well, dream on. I've just checked an app to see if it would fit my repo. Below is what Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.isaakhanimann.journal) says about it (no "Ads" marker), then the results from my library scanner.

Careful what you believe and whom you trust.

#Android #apps #Google #GooglePlay

#android #developer #reminder

You don't need to download the #android #sdk #binaries from #google .

You can compile the #sdk by yourself from the source code to write #android #apps.

Check this repository at #codeberg , it will do the job for you.

All you need are the scripts from this #repo , 32 GB #ram , approx. 300 GB free disk space and some patience.

Then, you can start coding for #android without the proprietary #sdk binaries from #google!

https://codeberg.org/Starfish/SDK-Rebuilds

SDK-Rebuilds

^Codeberg.org

Nice overview.

If you still use your phone with an US data collector (e.g. #Alphabet / #Google, #Apple), you really may want to watch this video...

BREAKING: #Google to start deleting unused #email accounts so other people can use them.

🤔 What could possibly go wrong?

🤦‍♂️ Techbros are (still) idiots.

#Gmail #privacy #infosec

https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/updating-our-inactive-account-policies/

Updating our inactive account policies

Starting later this year, we are updating our inactivity policy for Google Accounts to 2 years across our products.

^{Ruth Kricheli (Google)}

Google Bard blocks all European Union countries

Link: https://9to5google.com/2023/05/11/google-bard-european-union/
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35914705

#google

Google Bard blocks all European Union countries

Google Bard is blocking all European Union countries, presumably due to issues with GDPR compliance of the AI chatbot.

^{Ben Schoon (9to5Google)}

#XMPP + #Google Summer of Code 2023

Two XMPP projects have been accepted!

It's #Moxxy: https://codeberg.org/moxxy/moxxy

and @dino: https://dino.im/

#GSoC Page: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2023/organizations/xmpp-standards-foundation

XSF blog post: https://xmpp.org/community/gsoc-2023/

#GSoC2023 #interoperability #standards #federation

Wichtige Frage an Android-Entwickler bezüglich Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). Ist Google Firebase zwingend erforderlich für den Empfang von Push-Nachrichten? 👇

https://www.kuketz-blog.de/google-firebase-zwingend-erforderlich-fuer-den-empfang-von-push-nachrichten/

#android #entwickler #google

Google Firebase zwingend erforderlich für den Empfang von Push-Nachrichten?

Ich beobachte immer öfter die Verwendung von Google Firebase – eine Entwicklungs-Plattform für mobile Apps und Webanwendungen, die von ...

^{Kuketz IT-Security Blog}

Minecraft clones stealthily load ads on millions of Android devices.

https://grahamcluley.com/minecraft-clones-stealthily-load-ads-on-millions-of-android-devices/

#cybersecurity #adware #minecraft #google #googleplay #android

Google has just updated its 2FA Authenticator app and added a much-needed feature: the ability to sync secrets across devices.

TL;DR: Don't turn it on.

The new update allows users to sign in with their Google Account and sync 2FA secrets across their iOS and Android devices.

We analyzed the network traffic when the app syncs the secrets, and it turns out the traffic is not end-to-end encrypted. As shown in the screenshots, this means that Google can see the secrets, likely even while they’re stored on their servers. There is no option to add a passphrase to protect the secrets, to make them accessible only by the user.

Why is this bad?

Every 2FA QR code contains a secret, or a seed, that’s used to generate the one-time codes. If someone else knows the secret, they can generate the same one-time codes and defeat 2FA protections. So, if there’s ever a data breach or if someone obtains access .... 🧵

#Privacy #Cybersecurity #InfoSec #2FA #Google #Security

Competition is just a click (and $45b) away
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1328941/download

> #Google pays $45 billion a year for contracts to lock out rivals, signing deals with “Apple, LG, Motorola, and Samsung; major U.S. wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon; and browser developers such as Mozilla, Opera, and UCWeb— to secure default status for its general search engine and, in many cases, to specifically prohibit Google’s counterparties from dealing with Google’s competitors.”

So Google is now preventing people from removing location data from photos taken with Pixel phones.

Remember when Google's corporate motto was "don't be evil?"

Obviously, accurate location data on photos is more useful to a data mining operation like Google.

From Google: "Important: You can only update or remove estimated locations. If the location of a photo or video was automatically added by your camera, you can't edit or remove the location."

It's enshitification in action.

Source: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6153599?hl=en&sjid=8103501961576262529-AP

#technology #tech @technology #business #enshitification #Android #Google @pluralistic #infosec

AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google - The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/19/23689879/ai-drake-song-google-youtube-fair-use

#google #ai

AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google

Google is caught between creators on YouTube wanting to protect their work from AI, and needing to build AI tools of its own

^{Nilay Patel (The Verge)}

People need to understand.

#Google isn't a search engine.
#Facebook isn't a journal to share with your friend.
#Instagram isn't a public photo album.
#Twitter isn't a micro-blogging website.

They are all advertisement companies.