Getty Images WhatsApp is pushing ahead with controversial changes to its terms of service, but altering the way it notifies users following a backlash. After its first announcement in January, millions of users downloaded apps from WhatsApp’s competitors. The Facebook-owned platform previously said it had been the victim of “misinformation” around the change. But WhatsApp […]
Tag: changes
The most interesting changes we’ve found in Android 12
Android 11 may still be rolling out to many users, but it’s already time to start turning our attention toward Android 12. Google has just released the first Developer Preview of Android 12, it’s next-generation mobile operating system. Of course, as is usually the case with the first Developer Preview, tweaks are almost entirely under […]
WhatsApp Delays Privacy Changes Amid User Backlash
The company faced a backlash from users who worried the changes made the messaging service less secure. SAN FRANCISCO — WhatsApp said on Friday that it would delay a planned privacy update, as the Facebook-owned messaging service tries to stem a backlash by users worried about the changes. WhatsApp said it would push back the […]
Google breaks SMS on many Android phones, is rolling back changes now
Enlarge / Google’s Messaging app. It’s broken now. Google If the text messages on your Android phone have suddenly stopped working, you’re not alone. Google pushed out a bad copy of the Carrier Services app, and the result was broken SMS on many Android phones. It also sounds like the company is rolling back the […]
Android 11 Preview 3 hands-on—Strange changes to Recent Apps and notifications
There’s a new Android 11 Developer Preview. This one is Preview 3, and it launched yesterday for Google’s Pixel line. Previous Android 11 previews haven’t had a ton of new additions, but this version has a lot of strange and interesting UI changes for us to discuss and puzzle over. Recent Apps loses the app […]
Microsoft makes small changes to Xbox Live and Teams to handle spike in demand
Microsoft is adjusting its cloud services to manage the huge surge in demand caused by the pandemic of coronavirus, officially called COVID-19. Microsoft Azure, the company’s cloud computing service, has been under tremendous strain in the last few weeks as people all over the globe switch to remote work and turn to gaming for entertainment […]
World of Warcraft’s next big update adds new races and long-requested changes
Blizzard Entertainment has detailed the next big patch for World of Warcraft. The 8.3 update is Visions of N’Zoth, and it’s hitting the public test realm today. And it’s adding a lot. This includes two new Allied Races: the fox-like Vulpera for the Horde, and the robotic Mechagnomes for the Alliance. This will give players […]
Apple makes changes to kids app guidelines after criticism from developers
A child looks at a kids app. (Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Washington Post) September 12 at 5:47 PM Apple rolled back privacy rules Thursday that developers of apps for children had said would hurt their ability to make money and improve their products. The rules, which were originally announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in […]
Hold on to your decks: Dramatic ‘Hearthstone’ competitive changes still to come
Last fall, Blizzard Entertainment announced the beginning of open qualification tournaments for its popular digital card game. No longer is grinding up to Legend rank and beyond the only way to get into Hearthstone esports; now anyone can compete in online Masters Qualifiers from anywhere, and if they do well, advance to three major in-person […]
Augmented reality changes how people interact and communicate, study finds
Enlarge / An actor portrays a participant in a new study of the impact of augmented reality on social interactions. The area inside the dotted line is the field of view of the augmented reality goggles, which shows digital content such as avatars. Mark Miller/Stanford Human Interaction Lab Neal Stephenson’s influential 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash offered a […]
A host of new changes adds to Snapchat’s increasing functionality
Snap wants to attract new users, but the company knows it may be tough to do so through its own app. That’s why the company announced a series of partnerships with other companies to inject services like Snap’s popular Stories product into other apps. Notable partners on board include the likes of Tinder and Houseparty. […]
Despite design changes, Apple has not fixed problems with MacBook keyboards
Apple is once again facing some criticism for the keyboard design on its lineup of laptops. Despite the recent introduction of a new and improved third-generation butterfly keyboard on new 2018 MacBooks, the company is now apologizing to a “small number” of users who are still complaining about non-responsive and sticking keys. The apology originally […]
Google partially backtracks on Chrome changes that would break ad blockers
Google has said that it will revise the proposed changes to Chrome’s extension API that would have broken or reduced the functionality of a wide range of ad-blocking extensions, to ensure that the current variety of content-blocking extensions is preserved. The initial plans generated a wide backlash from both the developers and users of those […]
Google planning changes to Chrome that could break ad blockers
Google is planning to change the way extensions integrate with its Chrome browser. The company says that the changes are necessary for and motivated by a desire to crack down on malicious extensions, which undermine users’ privacy and security, as part of the company’s continued efforts to make extensions safer. The move also means that popular […]
Unity clarifies ToS changes, welcomes back “unsupported” SpatialOS
Enlarge Days after a nasty public split with cloud gaming developer Improbable, Unity has reinstated the company’s license and updated its own terms of service to offer what it is calling a “commitment to being an open platform.” “When you make a game with Unity, you own the content and you should have the right […]