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Google pay $700 million to US users states in Play Store settlement

Play Store settlement says Google will pay $700 million to US customers

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In an antitrust lawsuit with states in the United States and customers, Google has agreed to a 700 million-dollar settlement; six hundred and thirty million will go towards a consumer settlement fund and $70 million will go towards state settlement funds. The settlement, which is still pending final approval, resolves claims that Google overcharged users by placing needless charges for in-app purchases and restricting the distribution of apps on Android devices. Customers who meet the eligibility requirements and made transactions on Google Play from August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023, are entitled to a minimum of $2 Additional payments may be issued depending on how much was spent over this time. The District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and all 50 states are part of the settlement.

Google pay $700 million to US users states in Play Store settlement

Image Source: edition.cnn.com

The specifics of the agreement were not disclosed until after Google’s trial with Epic Games, which was the subject of an antitrust lawsuit accusing the company of engaging in anti-competitive conduct. lately, a federal court panel in California found in favour of Epic Games, finding that some parts of Google’s application business were anti-competitive. No misconduct was acknowledged by Google in the payment.

Google will update its Play app store

Google will update its Play app store to make room for more competition as part of the arrangement. According to the business, it will make it easier for developers of apps and games to provide users with an additional billing alternative for in-app payments in addition to Play’s payment system. The goal of this change is to provide consumers with more options and freedom while maintaining robust security protections.

Google will also make it easier for people to get apps straight from developers. Lower rates for customers and increased creativity amongst app developers are the two main goals of the settlement. The states’ solicitors stated that it is unusual for American antitrust authorities to get remedies from Google of this size.

Also Read: Large AI Dataset Has Over 1,000 Child Abuse Images, Researchers Find

Epic Games, which filed a lawsuit for an injunction rather than financial damages, displayed discontent, stating that the agreement failed to tackle the core of Google’s illegal and anti-competitive behaviour, even though it tackled financial relief and certain adjustments to Google’s practices. During the subsequent stage of its testing, Epic intends to submit its suggestion for prospective modifications to the Google Play store.

Google continues to stand by its denial of any unlawful conduct in the litigation it is still facing concerning its search and online advertising methods. The agreement is a reflection of continuing attempts by businesses and authorities to resolve antitrust issues in the technology sector, with a focus on leading platforms and their effects on the market.

Nothing Chats was removed from the Google Play Store over privacy issues.

Nothing Chats Was Removed From The Google Play Store Over Privacy Issues.

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The Google Play Store has removed Nothing’s grandiose chat app, which was created in partnership to close the divide between Android and iMessage, because of concerns regarding privacy. Nothing Chat’s beta version has been taken out of the Play Store until the next update to address numerous bugs, the business has formally announced.

Nevertheless, a number of reports testing the previous release of Nothing Chat have noted that the application was built using the antiquated HTTP connection type rather than the more recent HTTPS, which provides content encryption by default, and that it lacked fundamental security precautions like encryption from end to end.

Text.com founder Kishan Bagaria claims in a post on X that Nothing Chats has multiple security flaws, including sending credentials over HTTP in simple text and storing all in- and out-going texts in plain text, allowing service provider Sunbird to view and obtain text chats.

Nothing Chats was removed from the Google Play Store over privacy issues.

Image Source: beebom.com

Nothing Chat initially appeared to be a viable solution that would enable Android smartphone users to enjoy the “blue bubble” on an Android device and utilise the majority of iMessage functionality. Only recently, though, did Apple announce that iMessage will soon support the Rich Communication Services protocol, allowing iPhone users to send messages as well as share multimedia content with Android users without any trouble at all. This almost eliminates the need for third-party services such as Nothing Chat.

Previous sources also mentioned that these communications are not stored on the server by Nothing or Sunbird, instead, a Mac mini situated on a server centre will handle the message routing. The business further stated that the iCloud credentials would be protected and the user account would be cancelled after two weeks of inactivity.

Also Read: WhatsApp Introduces Email Verification for Enhanced Account Security for iOS Users

Texts.com Outlines Security Risks in Nothing’s App, Says:

Sending your credentials to external services poses a substantial risk. It’s crucial to remain vigilant about your information and carefully evaluate the security consequences of sharing any. When we send our Apple ID to an external service, we not only entrust them with our messages but also risk compromising our photos, videos, contacts, notes, keychain, and more if the third party faces a security breach.

fonearena.com
VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player Is Banned In India, But What Is The Reason?

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The VLC Media Player, amongst the most popular digital media players, for PC and Mac, has been banned in India. It was banned on February 13 earlier this year. The VLC Media Player Website and the download link for the same have been down since then but the mobile version of the media player application is still open to download on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The Firm says it does not know the reason for this ban.

The
ban that is enforced is not an actual ban but rather a soft ban. The
Indian government has blocked access to the official site of the VLC
Media Player i.e., Videolan.org, where the latest version of the VLC
Media Player was available to download for Mac and PC.

However,
users can still download the app from several famous hosting websites
and other third-party sites, but these downloads generally have a
high risk of carrying malicious files that can cause a great deal of
damage. So, it is preferable to download such software from sites
with proper authentication or the official website.

VideoLAN President disclosed that the VLC Media Player is running on some ISPs also not for some. Commenting about on the ban, the company President said, “we got banned since a few months, and we don’t know why. We’ve asked the Indian government and we got no answer. We probably did not ask the right place though. I wish I knew how to ask properly.” “The weirdest is that some ISP are blocking it and some are not. So why is that the case? Are some ISP not listening to the government? VLC and VideoLAN are quite apolitical (we only fight against DRM and for open source) and VLC is a pure tool that can read anything,” he stated.

Source: www.indiatoday.in

The
users who have installed files in the cloud storage or their local
devices can still install the VLC Media Player and Also, and the
people who have the app installed on their PCs or smartphone can
still use it.

VLC Media Player
Image source: thehansindia.com

Highlights About This Ban

VideoLAN
has officially verified this ban which nearly went unnoticed. The
main reason for the ban is not disclosed yet. Some reports signify
that the VLC Media Player ban is imposed because the platform was
used by China-powered hacking group Cicada for cyber attacks.

It
is highly possible that the VLC Media platform was banned along with
the 54 Chinese applications, that the government of India banned this
year in February. However, there is one thing to keep in mind, VLC is
not a China-based software, but is powered and developed by a French
group.

The
obstructed VLC Media Player website shows that the website was
blocked as per the order of the Ministry of Electronics and
Information technology under the IT Act, 2000. This act accords with
the law dealing with crimes related to cyber security and electronic
commerce in India.

Since
the VLC Media Player Site and Download links are down currently. New
users will not be able to get it, but the ones who have already
downloaded it can use it. The developer has clarified that VLC does
not collect any information about the users at any point.

“VLC works perfectly without our servers: we don’t collect info, we don’t require user accounts, we don’t spy on people (telemetry). So once you have VLC, you don’t need our servers, for it to work.” VideoLAN clarified.

Source: www.indiatoday.in

The Government of India hasn’t confirmed the reason for this ban in the country. So, the media player is seeking help on Twitter to grasp the reason behind this sudden action by the Indian Government.

BGMI

BGMI Banned in India: Here’s What Google and Krafton Said.

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The most addictive and famous game, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), is removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store after a Government order. Despite its disappearance from app stores, it will run on the devices it is already installed on. This game was the altered version of PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) which was a battle royal game, developed by Krafton. BGMI had over 100 million registered users in the country just after a year it was relaunched after PUBG was deemed illegal in India. 

In 2020, the Indian government banned twenty Chinese apps and it was on the list of banned apps because of its involvement with the Chinese game development firm Tencent Games. Those apps were banned due to security risk reasons. 

An NGO, PRAHAR, has requested the government to ban the Chinese gaming application BGMI in February 2020 and to enlist it in the fifty-four Chinese app list, stating its unavailability in the list is a “clear lapse in judgement on part of the Government”. 

Source: www.news18.com

RSS, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh confederate Swadeshi Jagran Manch, has also supported PRAHAR’s request and urged for an investigation on antecedents and Chinese influence on BGMI, according to a report by IANS. 

BGMI
Image source: indiatvnews.com

Google has officially announced that it has received an official order for the removal of BGMI from the India Government and Krafton confirmed the same. 

Google in a statement said, “On receipt of the order, following established process, we have notified the affected developer and have blocked access to the app that remained available on the Play Store in India.”

Source: www.91mobiles.com

Why It Is Banned?

Meanwhile, Krafton said, “we are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play and will let you know once we get specific information.”

Source: www.91mobiles.com

While there is not any proper statement or reason given for its ban, #BGMI, and #BGMIban hashtags are trending on Twitter. It seems to have connected to the violent incidents happening. Recently, there was an incident where a 16-year-old boy shot and killed his mother only because of some argument over online games such as PUBG. The incident was under investigation. 

While some reports mentioned the reason as the same as PUBG Mobile, the government is distressed about the issues regarding data transmigration and its connection to the Chinese firms. The real reason will be soon disclosed by the government. 

Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Union Minister, also noted that banned apps such as PUBG, which were banned in India, are resurfacing in new forms targeting BGMI, as it was also launched as the latest version of PUBG Mobile. 

BGMI has been the most renowned app among Chinese apps that was rebranded and relaunched with similar features and managed to stay out of government eyes. Maybe because of its high popularity among gamers.   

Its developer Krafton seemed to have invested about 100 million U.S dollars for the development and relaunching of BGMI and an esports ecosystem over the past years in India. So, the ban of this game will be a big blow to it in India. It will also affect the gaming market in India. The firm recently declared surpassing 100 million registered android and Ios users. chief Executive officer of Krafton, Changhan Kim, said 

“India is an important market for Krafton. We are positive about the opportunities in the country and are committed to create a robust gaming ecosystem. Our focus is pivoted towards constantly elevating the mobile gaming experience for our growing community and invest in the flourishing start-up landscape here”.

Source: gadgets360.com

Play Store will Now Prefer the Recent Reviews to Rate the Apps

Google, News, Tech News / By

Till now, Google has revealed many new launches and numerous changes to its services at its annual I/O conference going on in California, U.S., including new features added to the Google Assistant, the launch of new Assistant-powered home hub under the Nest brand, the launch of Pixel 3a and 3a XL, etc. And along with bringing new APIs and a refreshed Google Play Console data to the Play Store, the company has now introduced how the Play Store ratings will work.

play store
Image Source: theleaker.com

About two years ago, Apple made a change to the App Store on how the ratings would work for the apps. The company allowed the app developers to decide whether or not their ratings will reset to with every new update. In a similar way, Google has also revealed that from now, the apps won’t get rated on the basis of their previous performances, but after updates, those will be rated on their latest reviews and other factors.

Reviews and ratings have been crucial to the promotion of a product, and in fact, to the promotion of apps on the app stores, as people read the reviews before they install one on to their devices. In recent years, due to the old bad app reviews, the average rating of certain apps was degrading them. Despite new updates, the old reviews were also part of the average rating. But now the new average rating calculations will consider the latest reviews and updates to rate the app, as to give more preference to the latest reviews.

“You told us you wanted a rating based on what your app is today, not what it was years ago, and we agree,” said Milena Nikolic, the engineering director leading Google Play Console.

Google is also working on a new reply feature, that will be in response to the user reviews. The developer will get to choose among three options to reply to a review. These options will include an auto-generated response, which the user can directly select and send, customise it and send or write a response and send. For now, those responses will be in English, but Google will soon add some other languages to the system.

The company has revealed that the average rating calculations will be updated for all the android apps. The developers can preview the new ratings on their Play Store Console from today onwards, while the end users will be able to see it only after August this year.

Google Announced its Best of 2018 List; PUBG Selected the Best Game 2018

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The year is about to end, and Google, following the ritual of selecting best of the year, has published a list of its best apps of 2018, in various categories, including “Most Entertaining” and “Hidden Gems”. There are millions of apps and other content available on the Play Store, and along with apps, the list of bests includes the best movies, TV shows, and books, etc.

Google on the basis of various factors selected the top five among every category and named the best of all. Google, also, first time also added a Fan Favorite category, a user poll, from where the users could support their favourite apps in various categories. On the basis of the voting, Google Pay won the User’s Choice App of 2018 and Google selected Drops as the Best App of 2018.

Google-Play-Best-Of-2018-Awards
Image Source: 9to5google.com

The best app also included other subcategories, and among those categories, Tik Tok became the Most Entertaining App 2018. Unfold won the Hidden Gems of 2018, and Home Workout – No Equipment was named the Best Self-Improvement App 2018. Otter Voice Notes became the Best Daily Helper 2018.

The other main category was the Best Game 2018, and it also had various sub-categories, i.e. Best Game, User’s Choice Game, Best Casual, Most Innovative, Most Competitive and Best Indie. PUBG Mobile won the Best Game 2018 from both User’s Choice and Google. The Best Casual 2018 won by Ludo King, Battlelands Royale named the Most Innovative 2018, Real Cricket 18 won the Most Competitive 2018, and Alto’s Odyssey named the Best Indie 2018.

Black Panther was selected as the Best Movie of 2018 on Play Store, and the top five list includes the following:

  • Black Panther
  • Avengers: Infinity War
  • Thor: Ragnarok
  • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
  • Deadpool 2

Google’s top five TV shows of 2018 are:

  • The Walking Dead
  • Riverdale
  • The Big Bang Theory
  • The Flash
  • PAW Patrol

The top five eBooks of 2018 selected by Google:

  • Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
  • The Outsider by Stephen King
  • Fear by Bob Woodward
  • 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
  • Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

In the category of best Audiobooks of 2018, the following win the race of top 5:

  • 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
  • Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
  • Fear by Bob Woodward
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • The Outsider by Stephen King