Articles by Michael Allison

Google lifts the lid on Chrome OS 89.

What you need to know

Google is adding screen recording to Chromebooks with its next big update.
The new feature should arrive in Chrome OS 89, scheduled for March.
Google is targeting education users with this tool, claiming that it would help students record lectures and seminars on their devices.

Google today announced that Chromebooks would be getting a long-awaited feature, screen recording. Coming with the next big Chrome release, the company highlighted the usefulness of this feature for the education market in an era of increased homeworking.

Andy Russell, a Product Manager at Google, said:

Teachers have long recorded lessons to help students do homework and study for tests, but in the past year it’s become downright critical for virtual learning. Which is why we’ve built a screen recording tool right into Chrome OS that is coming in the latest Chromebook update in March. With this tool, teachers and students can record lessons…

This popular Android app has an active security vulnerability.

What you need to know

ShareIt has been found to have serious security vulnerabilities by Trend Micro security researchers.
Some of the documented issues would lead to user data being exposed or stolen.
The developers had been notified of their concerns three months ago.

The popular file-sharing app, ShareIt, has been critiqued his week for several vulnerabilities that — if exploited —could allow bad actors to steal your data.

In a post sharing these vulnerabilities (via Ars Technica), the researchers over at Trend Micro said:

The vulnerabilities can be abused to leak a user’s sensitive data and execute arbitrary code with SHAREit permissions by using a malicious code or app. They can also potentially lead to Remote Code Execution (RCE).

Most of the danger comes from ShareIt’s position as a file manager of sorts. The app allows users to share files with other users remotely as such it has a lot of permissio…

Here’s what Google has planned for YouTube in 2021.

What you need to know

Google today announced its 2021 roadmap for YouTube.
Included in these plans are redesigns for the YouTube and YouTube VR apps, a new 4K option for YouTube TV, and a more social YouTube Music service.
Google is also rolling out Shorts, its TikTok competitor, to U.S.-based creators.

YouTube is one of Google’s biggest brands. It’s a video streaming app, a music streaming service, a video-on-demand platform, and a TV platform all rolled into one. Today, Google shared a couple of updates for the brand at large, expected to be delivered over the course of the year.

Google will continue to improve the user experience of the YouTube app on all platforms in 2021. It revamped commenting and rolled out chapters last year, and this year it says it plans to automatically add video chapters to select videos. It’ll also be rolling out a new update to tablets and the VR app. For tablets, Google says this is a “modernizi…

LastPass’s free plan will soon get a whole less lot appealing.

What you need to know

A LastPass change coming next month will force free users to pick what kind of device they want to use the service with.
You’ll also need to use LastPass’s paid plan to access email support.
The change to device types takes effect in March, while the support chanes will start in May.

LastPass is rolling out a change to its free plans that will affect users drastically. Specifically, it’ll limit the kind of devices users can run the app on from March 16th, 2021. Users will have to select their device type by logging into their account. Depending on which device you choose, you’ll automatically be opted into the mobile or computer type. and they’ll be offered three chances to switch before needing to choose or trade up to the premium plan.

To clarify, you could use two types of devices on the previous plan, now you can use an unlimited number of devices, albeit limited to one type in pre-defined …

More trouble for the social media company.

What you need to know

TikTok is facing complaints from European consumer bodies.
The BUEC and 15 other bodies accused the company of being lax with data and having skewed terms of service.
By way of response, TikTok offered a meeting with BEUC representatives to “listen to their concerns.”

TikTok is facing multiple complaints from the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), and other consumer organizations in 15 European countries over privacy rights violations. The BEUC today argued that the social media app breached EU consumer rights and failed to protect children from both inappropriate content and stealth advertising. It called for a comprehensive EU investigation into TikTok’s policies and practices and requested more transparency from the company.

More specifically, the BEUC alleged that TikTok was unclear in its terms of service with the terms drafted to give outsized benefits to TikTok rather than users when it came to content …

Google’s desktop Search dark theme remains in testing.

What you need to know

Google has been testing a system-wide dark theme for desktop Search for a couple of months now.
In a new test, Search now respects the system theme.
Google has still yet to announce a timeline for the Search’s dark theme rollout.

Google has been testing a dark theme for the desktop Search over the last few months. In a new A/B test spotted by 9to5Google (which we were unable to replicate), the company will let Search align with your computer’s system-wide dark mode. It’s a similar execution to that offered by YouTube and can be accessed by navigating to Search settings if you have it. It’ll also make using more eye-friendly Search more intuitive as you won’t have to toggle on dark theme by default, it’lll just work.

When the dark theme rolls out, it will be similar in design to Google’s other dark themes. This means to expect lots of grey with dark blue rather than a Jet Black AMOLED theme.

While desk…

TikTok was facing a ban in the U.S. under the Trump administration, but that may no longer happen.

What you need to know

Oracle agreed to purchase the social media app, TikTok, last year.
Oracle teamed up with Walmart to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations after an ultimatum by the Trump administration ordered the company to sell or be banned.
The sale has now been indefinitely postponed as the new administration takes a closer look at the security risks posed by Chinese software.

Update, February 11 (06:35 pm ET): The Biden Administration has asked for a pause on ban proceedings regarding WeChat

TikTok’s impending purchase by Oracle has been put on indefinite hold after the Biden administration launched a review into security risks from Chinese apps and software targeted by the previous administration, The Wall Street Journal reported

The app had come under scrutiny by the Trump administration towards the end of the year over vague security risks. Owner Bytedance was ordered to…

Google tested this web feature out in 2017 but dropped it rather than roll it out to the public.

What you need to know

Google is testing a ‘People also read’ feature in the in-app browser for Android.
It recommends related news articles to viewers in a manner that’s not unlike YouTube’s endless autoplay.
A similar feature was tested in 2017, but Google later dropped it.

Google is testing a new feature for its in-app browser that’ll make you stick around for longer. According to 9to5Google, the company has started testing out a “People also view” section in the Android in-app browser. To be clear, that’s the view you see when opening a link inside the Google app or via Google Discover. If you have this feature and are viewing a news article just like this one, you’ll be able to swipe up from the bottom bar and scroll to see a number of news articles or videos that are related to the article you just read.

It’s a lot like the ‘also watched’ section in the YouTube app, albeit a…

TikTok was facing a ban in the U.S. under the Trump administration, but that may no longer happen.

What you need to know

Oracle agreed to purchase the social media app, TikTok, last year.
Oracle teamed up with Walmart to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations after an ultimatum by the Trump administration ordered the company to sell or be banned.
The sale has now been indefinitely postponed as the new administration takes a closer look at the security risks posed by Chinese software.

TikTok’s impending purchase by Oracle has been put on indefinite hold after the Biden administration launched a review into security risks from Chinese apps and software targeted by the previous administration, The Wall Street Journal reported

The app had come under scrutiny by the Trump administration towards the end of the year over vague security risks. Owner Bytedance was ordered to sell off TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S. company or face a ban. Even after Oracle beat out prolific suitors includi…

An app update and a regular schedule tell us Android 12 is coming pretty soon.

What you need to know

Google is preparing to launch Android 12 at some point this year.
An update to the Android Beta feedback app indicates an imminent launch of the Developer Preview.
The company launched the Android 11 Developer Preview in February of last year.

Google is more than likely preparing to launch the first Android 12 Developer Preview update sooner rather than later. A Play Store update to the Android Beta Feedback app spotted by 9to5Google is one indication of this. While Google doesn’t offer any explicit hint of Android 12, or any updates of any sort for that matter, the app has no use other than for users of Android beta builds to deliver feedback. The very existence of an update hints that the app is fast on its way to relevancy.

Adding fuel to this fire, Google also releases Android Developer Preview builds in the first three months of the year. Last year it landed in February, s…