Apps

When dealing with a pandemic like COVID-19, accuracy in the information that's put out there is important. Unfortunately, social media has proven that it can be a hotbed for inaccurate information to spread like wild fire, and today, Instagram announced some new measures to help ensure that doesn't happen. At the same time, it's giving users the ability to easily urge friends and followers to stay home while we wait for the outbreak to play out.

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Everyone these days has a smartphone and, although not as many, most of those also have some PC (or Mac) as well. In many cases, those two worlds do not connect unless through a cloud storage intermediary. Some companies and platform makers, however, have recently tried bridging the divide, but almost always on one side of the fence or another. Dell, however, has just updated its Mobile Connect app that finally lets users integrated their iPhones more seamlessly with their Dell Windows 10 computers.

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Text messaging apps aren't exactly sophisticated and feature-rich. There's very little you can really do with the SMS protocol unless the app also supports the more or less defunct MMS system or, in Google's case, the new RCS that some are trying to push. That's not to say those apps can't go wrong, just like Google's Messages app that has apparently been making messages disappear for almost a year now.

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Apple now has a diverse set of platforms ranging from mobile to desktop to even smartwatch. Apps for those naturally take different forms even if the apps come under the same name. From a user's perspective, however, paying for an app on one platform should give access to the same app on other platforms. Previously, that was not the case as App Store didn't have that ability. Apple is now rolling out the Universal Purchase option but some developers might shirk from at least one note about this feature.

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WhatsApp has become a hive of misinformation related to the novel coronavirus, the COVID-19 disease it causes, and the state of outbreaks around the world. The World Health Organization is combating this fake news by launching its own chatbot called WHO Health Alert to spread accurate, timely information. The chatbot will provide direct information on the latest case numbers, myths related to the disease, and more.

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It's hard being a Huawei or even Honor fan outside of China these days. While the companies' phones are great, their latest models are devoid of any trace of Google. This has forced owners to search for apps from other and multiple sources, some of them less trustworthy than others. In order to get such users accustomed to relying on Huawei for their Android app fix, the company is making available a separate AppSearch app that is pretty much Google Search for Android apps outside of the Google Play Store.

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With all the focus on powerful high-end smartphones these days, it's almost too easy to forget that many in the world can't even afford, say, a OnePlus or an OPPO let alone a Samsung or an iPhone. Even some of the mid-range phones might not be accessible to certain people, which is why Google is still pushing its Android Go Edition phones to these markets. Part of that push is the creation of light and simple versions of popular apps and, this time, it's the Camera app that's getting a diet.

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Today the folks at Google responsible for the Google Advanced Protection Program let it be known that their security system would change. Ever-so-slightly, but in some extremely important ways, the Google Advanced Protection Program will modify the ways it handles Google Play Protect and the limiting of app installs from outside the Google Play Store. These changes will not affect Android, iOS, or desktop users not enrolled in the Google Advanced Protection Program.

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Thanks to the prevalence of all sorts of gaming today, the stereotype of gamers being anti-social loners is fading away. Gaming, especially thanks to the Internet, is now being seen as a social activity that connects people from diverse walks of life all around the world. Even mobile games, those ones you play glued to your screen, are social as well, or at least highly competitive. It seems that Google is finally taking note and will add some social features to its Android gaming platform, including a rather odd one.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has done more than just lock people in their houses. It has also forced many businesses to rethink their workflows and discovering some of it can actually be done online at home. Working remotely, however, has always been one of the staples of those working in the IT industry. Many software developers, in particular, have been able to take their work on their laptops and now GitHub is giving them the ability to do some of that work on their phones, too.

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Google is making it easier to understand people who speak foreign languages. In an announcement on Tuesday, the company said that Google Translate for Android can now transcribe spoken language in real-time, enabling the user to read what is being said on the screen as it scrolls by. The new feature is rolling out now with support for several major languages.

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If you're having COVID-19 problems, I've got news for you, son, there are plenty of proven sources and an app ain't one. A perfect example of a situation appeared today showing why apps should not be downloaded in a panic. The app was called COVID19Tracker, or Covid Lock, and it locked smartphone users' phones, demanding a ransom. This app went so far as to display a countdown and assurances that the user was being tracked via GPS - just to make extra sure the user, already in a panic over our current global pandemic, was sent into a frenzy.

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