Tech Talk

Google Chrome syncs a ton of data, including an increasingly useful password manager , across your devices. It's arguably one of the things that make Google Chrome so useful. The service is called, creatively enough, Google Sync. Google Sync matches data to all your phones , tablets , and desktops, including your bookmarks, history, open tabs, passwords, payment info, and more. You might be thinking, "That's a lot of private data," and you're right. You might further be wondering how you can go about keeping that data private from even Google. The good news is, you can tell Google to encrypt all of your data, even from Google, by setting up a passphrase. Once you do, that will encrypt all of your data, except on other devices with your Google account. The better news is that Google will no longer see that information, not even the passphrase. The bad news is, that's a one-way trip. Once you set up the passphrase, if you change your mind or forget your passp

Please, give me a Fitbit Charge 4 refresh that "just works." We all know that Google is in the midst of a huge shakeup of its wearable ecosystem . Wear OS has continued to underperform when it comes to sales, the company recently acquired Fitbit , and a completely new platform is coming with a new generation of chips to power it. That's great news for the future, but not so great news if you're in the market right now. And that's me. Well, my wife, actually. Her doctor thinks she needs to start monitoring things like calories, exercise, heart rate, and her weight because of an unexpected weight loss. Couple in the fact that she's wrapped up in the tentacles of the Google Android ecosystem (not a bad thing, but still a total lock-in) Google Fit is the logical answer . I thought this would be easier than it is. She has a nice Withings scale that does exactly what she wants. She also has a Mi Band 4 that she loves, but it doesn't really do what she wants

GOOGLE is introducing all-new rules from tomorrow which will allow the US technology firm to delete Gmail, Photos and Drive accounts without needing permission. Here's all you need to know about the changes. Gmail, Photos and Drive users have been warned about dramatic changes to their accounts for months but the new rules finally come into force from tomorrow, June 1. Google first sent out alerts late last year which explained that it was changing its terms to allow the company to delete accounts and remove content without needing permission from the user. The update will affect anyone with a Gmail, Drive or Photos account and could see all of their data heading straight to the digital rubbish bin. In an email sent out to users, Google said: "We are writing to let you know that we recently announced new storage policies for Google Accounts using Gmail, Google Drive (including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Jamboard files) and/or Google Photos that bring us

The display on the Pixel 4a is a significant upgrade from its predecessor. The bezels at the top and bottom are so much smaller that we can have a bigger screen in a smaller profile, but this also means that even a tiny crack at the top or bottom could impact the screen's usable portion. We've done the research to round up the best Google Pixel 4a screen protectors you can buy! Easy to apply Supershieldz Tempered Glass (2-Pack) Staff Pick Supershieldz has my confidence because not only is its book-style application process easy enough for my mother to do by herself, but it has also stood up to rocks, ladders, and drops without damaging the screen underneath. $7 at Amazon Best of the best OtterBox Amplify Glass OtterBox knows how to make a durable case. They worked with Corning — makers of Gorilla Glass — to produce a durable, high-quality screen protector in the Amplify, which offers higher scratch resistance and excellent case compatibility. $19 at Amazon Guard t

Starting June 1, Google Photos will cap free storage at 15GB, encouraging people to sign up for its Google One storage subscription service. Google Photos will end its unlimited free storage policy for photos and videos on Tuesday, June 1. After that, any new photos and videos you upload will count toward the free 15GB of storage that comes with every Google account. But don't worry: Any photos or videos you've uploaded before that day won't be part of the cap. And Google has added a new free tool to help you manage your storage quota. The move, announced in November, is meant to encourage people to sign up for Google's storage subscription service, Google One. Google One plans start at $2 a month in the US for 100GB of storage and other features, like Google Store discounts. It's a good idea to make sure your existing photos and videos are backed up in Google Photos before the Tuesday deadline, since those will be considered free and exempt from the storage li

Big Tech companies are woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. We message each other on our Apple and Android smartphones, share photos on Facebook, shop on Amazon, work on our Microsoft and Apple computers, and Google things all day long. It’s no secret anymore that Big Tech tracks what we do and packages up our data to sell to advertisers.  If you’re super privacy-conscious, maybe you’re ready to nuke your private info floating around the web — or as much as you can, at least.  Let’s look at a company I bet you interact with most days, Google. Here are three settings you need to check. 1. Don’t let others know what you do with Google Every time you use a Google service, your interactions are logged in your My Activity page. This page shows everything that you’ve searched for, photos you’ve taken, YouTube videos you’ve watched, how you used Google’s apps and so on. Many people don’t know that you can password protect it all. Who needs this new feature? Let’s say you share a comp

Whether you love the look or hate it, Material You is Google's way to make its Pixel phones stand out. We'll soon see a sixth year of Google building its own phones under the Pixel brand. Pixel 6 leaks and rumors look really interesting, and if even half of them turn out to be correct, we should see a heck of a phone when it comes to the market this fall. But hardware is only half the equation; if you're Google, it's even less than half. Google is and always has been a software company. Most of the services Google produces are applications and software that people love, even though there are plenty of other things about the company that we love a lot less. Google has been under fire lately over privacy issues , but it's worth remembering that Google has never hidden how it makes its money. We agreed to give our details away in exchange for services like Android, Google Photos , or Chrome because they really are that good. We'll talk more about privacy con

The partnership will now be in direct competition with Amazon. Google's partnership with Shopify is "pivotal and a masterstroke," especially if the company wants to succeed in e-commerce and become a direct competitor to Amazon, experts say. The Mountain View, California-based company announced that it is working with the Canadian e-commerce giant during Google I/O earlier this week. Google said it will allow more merchants to sell across the search giant's properties, and Shopify's 1.7 million merchants will easily be able to list where Google sells - its Shopping site, as well as on Maps and YouTube, which are some of the best Android apps . "With just a few clicks, these retailers can sign up to appear across Google's 1 billion shopping journeys each day," said Bill Ready, Google's president of commerce. Carmi Levy, a technology analyst, said in an interview that this partnership "means everything for Google" because the compan

Google I/O may be over, but it left us with a lot to look forward to later this year. Google made many big announcements at its annual developer conference, including the new Android 12 beta that was launched on some of the best Android phones including the Google Pixel 5 . Wear OS is also getting a massive overhaul thanks to the effort of both Samsung and Google, among updated to smart home, AI, and plenty more. That said, we want to know what your favorite announcement was from Google I/O 2021. What was your favorite Google I/O announcement? Android 12 beta is here After several months of digging through developer previews, Google has finally released the beta for Android 12, bringing us one step closer to a stable release. With the beta, we finally get a look at the new system-wide theming that we've been getting hints of, as well as updated widgets, bolder visuals, and a more efficient OS. Google also announced new privacy features for the platform that should make it

Is Google finally getting serious about hardware? What you need to know Google is opening up its first physical retail store in New York City. Located in Chelsea, it'll focus on showing off the company's #madebyGoogle line of hardware. The new store is slated to open in summer 2021. Google today announced the opening of its first retail store. Located in the Chelsea part of New York City, the store will be a retail hub for people interested in Google's hardware products. This means you can go there to try out the newest Pixels , listen to the sound of the latest Nest smart speakers , click-clack on the best Chromebooks , and so on. For Pixel owners, Google is also adopting one of the best parts of the Apple experience — on-site customer service. The company says you'll be able to go there, get your device checked out, and have it repaired with minimal fuss. They'll even offer workshops and how-tos throughout the year to help you get the best out of your dev

Image by Alex Castro / The Verge A group of high profile tech companies including Microsoft, Google, Cisco, and VMWare have filed an amicus brief in support of Facebook’s legal action against NSO Group, Microsoft has announced. Facebook-owned WhatsApp sued the spyware vendor last year, alleging that its software was used to hack 1,400 devices via a vulnerability in the messaging service. Other companies listed on the filing include the Internet Association, and Microsoft subsidiaries GitHub and LinkedIn. In response to Facebook’s lawsuit last year, NSO Group has argued it should benefit from “sovereign immunity,” *Reuters* reports, because it sells its tools to foreign governments. However, in July a judge denied its request to dismiss the lawsuit. Now NSO Group is appealing to overturn the ruling, and it’s this appeal attempt that Microsoft and others are pushing back against. “Private companies should remain subject to liability” In a blog post titled “Cyber Mercenaries Don’

The right time for cross-platform unified messaging was five years ago, not in late 2020. The long battle over messaging is finally over now that Google has incorporated RCS across the entire globe and is pushing out encryption features as I type. Not really; the battle for universal messaging was over long ago and Google just now got to the playing field. Here's what's happening in case you didn't catch it: Google has finished making RCS chat features available in its Messages app in every country that it can be made available (it's never coming to a few countries like China or Russia) and it's slowly pushing out end-to-end encryption for users who opt-in for Google's Chat features. That means Android users can enjoy rich messaging as long as they use the Messages app and the other party is also using the Messages app. In theory. The fine print reads that it works through Google's Jibe service unless your carrier supports the RCS Universal profile