Articles by Shruti Shekar

Many of Chrome’s biggest competitors have already FLoC-blocked.

What you need to know

Google is delaying phasing out third-party cookies on Chrome to 2023.
The company says it is working with authorities to “get this right.”
It is subject to engagement with the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority.

Google is delaying its plans to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome browser until 2023, a year later than when it was originally going to happen, Google said in a blog post.

The tech giant said that while there is “considerable progress” with the initiative the company requires more time “across the ecosystem to get this right.”

This initiative is part of the company’s bundled project called Privacy Sandbox, which includes several proposals for Chrome and the web.

“The Privacy Sandbox initiative aims to create web technologies that both protect people’s privacy online and give companies and developers the tools to build thriving digital businesses to keep the …

Google has not made any significant progress in the past two years since announcing it is bringing digital IDs to Android devices, but experts say the tech giant is likely worried about privacy standards and working with several states. They add that the splashy announcement from Apple about its digital IDs “will serve as a catalyst to move Google along.”

During its developers’ conference in 2019, Google said that it was launching electronic IDs to Android phones. Since then, Google hasn’t really spoken about any developments on the project. Google announced at the end of December that year that Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and 765 chips will be the first o support Android Identity Credential APIs, which will help implement digital IDs.

Android Central reached out to Google to get clarity on when digital IDs would come to Android Devices, but the company declined to comment. It did provide a link to a blog post it wrote about digital IDs that was published in late 2020.

In October 2020…

It’s Amazon Prime Day, which means there are going to be a million deals everywhere for good Bluetooth waterproof speakers. And if that’s what you want, you’ve come to the right page, because you might want to look into getting JBL’s Xtreme 2 speaker.

The deal is great because it’s 57% off the original $350 price for a total of $150. The JBL Xtreme 2 is really great for people who love to blast their music loud. Despite it’s big size, it comes in some great colors, including black, blue, green, red, and camoflauge.

JBL Xtreme 2 waterproof speaker | 57% off at Amazon

The JBL Xtreme 2 features a 10,000mAh battery that will last 16 hours and takes only 3.5 hours to charge. It is waterproof and is great for summer pool parties.

$150 at Amazon

There are a ton of Bluetooth speakers on the market, and a lof of them will be on sale this Prime Day. However, if sound and volume are important to you, than you’ll want to check out the JBL Xtreme 2 Bluetooth speaker. It might be bigger t…

I’ve never been a big fan of digital frames. I’ve just never found them to have the right aesthetic to homes. I also find the idea of having to update the photos tedious, and sometimes I’m just a very lazy person to do so.

But then I saw that for Amazon Prime Day the Nixplay digital picture frame was on sale and I also noticed how nice the frame looked. Not only that, I did some reading and learned that the frame is super easy to update with photos.

The frame is 30% off for $130. That’s a really good deal considering the frame is originally $180.

Nixplay 10.1 Inch Smart Digital Picture Frame | 30% off at Amazon

This is the way digital photo frames should be, high resolution and connected to Google Photos. The Nixplay frame is always up-to-date, and sharing photos to family members frames is simple too.

$130 at Amazon

The frame itself is matte black and has a classic rectangle shape to it. This to me is great because it will literally fit in any aesthetic you’re looking for …

What you need to know

Facebook is adding how it handles satirical content in its community standards page.
Decision comes after Oversight Board reviewed a comment that Facebook initially took down for violating community standards.
The board recommended several points, and Facebook is assessing whether or not to adopt them.

Facebook is updating its community standards page to clarify when posts are considered satirical when “assessing potential Hate Speech violations.”

The decision to do so came after a user posted a meme satirizing “the Turkish government’s efforts to deny the Armenian genocide.” Facebook took the post down, citing the post broke its rules but reinstated the post following a review from the Oversight Board.

The board said the company was wrong to pull the post and noted that Facebook had previous issues determining when a post is considered satirical.

“Facebook has acted to comply with the board’s decision immediately, and this content has been reinstated,” F…

The FCC does not want an opportunity to allow companies that are considered a national threat to the communications system.

What you need to know

FCC votes to in favor of a plan that would approve bans for Chinese telecom equipment that are a national threat.
The ban would affect companies like Huawei and ZTE.
FCC does not want to have any “opportunities” for the use of companies that are considered “untrustworthy.”

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted in favor to advance a plan that would approve bans for equipment in U.S. telecom networks from Chinese companies that are considered a national security threat.

The ban would affect companies like Huawei and ZTE, Reuters reported. Equipment from Huawei, for example, have been used by many telecom companies in the U.S. to power rural areas of the country, which help function some of the best Android phones. The approval caused opposition from Beijing.

“The United States, without any evidence, still abuses national sec…

Google’s new Android ad tracking privacy protections are welcomed by experts, but some criticize the company for not making them more transparent and accessible to the average Android user.

In early June, the tech giant announced it was strengthening its privacy protections for Android users who want to make it harder for advertisers to track them. The Financial Times reported that the move was to “counter Apple’s image as a better steward of personal data.” Apple most recently announced new privacy tools that give users control over apps tracking their movements.

According to the move made by Google, it will target a $400 billion-a-year digital advertising industry by letting users fully opt out of sharing their “Advertising ID,” an identifier that allows advertisers to track your movements from app to app.

Google already lets users limit ad tracking on Android phones by opting out of sharing their Advertising ID with developers, but that process is deeply hidden in the settings …

$52 billion will be allotted for the semiconductor industry.

What you need to know

U.S. Senate passes a major bill to help technology research and innovation.
Roughly $250 billion will be spent, of which $52 billion will help the semiconductor ind…

Board, however, doesn’t agree that Facebook should have said it would suspend the account “indefinitely.”

Update, June 4 (1:30 p.m. ET): Facebook settles on-two year Trump suspension.

What you need to know

Facebook’s Oversight Board upholds Facebook’s decision to suspend former president Donald Trump’s account.
Board does not think Facebook’s decision to “indefinitely” suspend trump was appropriate.
Board wants Facebook to re-evaluate its decision of banning Trump in six months.

Facebook’s Oversight Board upholds Facebook’s decision to suspend former president Donald Trump.

The board however added in its decision that the social media giant, within six months, should reexamine its decision to “indefinitely” suspend the account.

“It was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disablin…

Experts say that it’s normal to roll out to operating systems at different times, but it may not have been the best strategy here.

Clubhouse might be able to grow the number of daily active users now that its service is open to Android phones, but experts think the staggered rollout will affect the overall success of the platform.

The voice-only chatting social media platform announced on May 21 its global rollout to Android users, but similar to iOS users, it will be on an invite-only basis. You’ll also be able to use Clubhouse only on Android 8.0 and above, though that shouldn’t be an issue for any of the best Android phones. The platform launched in 2020 and, at the time, was only accessible to iPhone users. The app became so popular that several social media platforms released features that imitated Clubhouse.

Alex Kantrowitz, the writer for the Big Technology newsletter, said in an interview that while it’s common for many app developers to release on one platform first, in t…