The area measurement tool is a lot more useful than the ruler in Google Maps

After many years of living in the shadow, Google Earth is ready to make a comeback. All these years, Google kept developing the service which has now got a new series of updates. The changes are already available for web and should get on Android this week. iOS should receive it as well, but it’s not clear when this happens. This update involved an area measurement tool that might try to bring Google Earth’s popularity back.

Google Earth makes a comeback with a new update

Several years ago, Google Earth was the top mapping system everyone used. If you needed to see a satellite image or 3D representations of buildings, this was the perfect platform you could use. Gradually, Google Maps received these features as well, so the Earth app seemed no longer useful.

However, Google didn’t want to give up on it, so it kept adding features more or less silently. Now, it decided to announce a new update for Google Earth, namely an area measurement tool. To use it, you have to indicate a specific surface and then the app will measure it for you.

The area measurement tool can be really useful

This is far from being unique, since Google Maps already had a similar feature. Maps contained a ruler that allowed you to find the distance between two points. However, the area measurement tool is a lot more useful. It can accurately calculate the actual surface of an area and can have different uses. For instance, it can be great for architecture students.

The announcement is pretty exciting, as it might really bring Google Earth back into the spotlight. However, it also shows us how similar these products are. There are many Google products on the market, and they all serve different purposes. Despite this, there are clear similarities between them, as these features often overlap.

Image source: Flickr

Facebook said it would use targeted advertising for the autoplay videos on Messenger

No matter how much people try to run from ads, they are getting everywhere and are gradually starting to get more invasive. This week, Facebook has made an announcement that will definitely make all users upset. It turns out the company has already started inserting autoplay videos on Messenger, so we will soon have nowhere to run from ads.

Autoplay videos on Messenger are Facebook’s new trick

No matter how much you hate ads, they are necessary on free platforms. Companies roll them out in their apps as a monetization method and to keep the service free for users. Therefore, even if you dislike them, they are essential. However, things are getting more annoying whenever they get way too invasive.

Ads have been common on Facebook for a long time. However, last year, the company introduced them on Messenger as well. These work by the same mechanism as that on Facebook and Instagram so, from time to time, you might see something useful.

Since the messaging app is not for scrolling, these ads weren’t too invasive. Now, Facebook changed its mind and decided to integrate autoplay videos on Messenger. This type of content has been a good marketing strategy on the platform, so Facebook decided it might bring the same results on Messenger as well.

You can manage your ad preferences for these videos as well

Even if people don’t get posts on their messaging app, they still use Messenger daily. About 80 percent of all adults in the world use the app to send messages, with this and WhatsApp being the most widely used messaging platforms. Therefore, bringing ads here is a great opportunity to sell more products and increase profit.

However, you can still get rid of unpleasant ads. Just like on Facebook, you can manage autoplay videos on Messenger and change your ad preferences. If a certain video bothers you, you can choose not to see it again, together with any content from the business. Therefore, there is a chance you might actually see something that matters to you.

Image source: Flickr

The Apple Music widget now lets you log in and play full songs

One Reddit user has spotted something really exciting about Apple Music widget. This was available on the web browser has received a series of updates and redesigns, showing that we might soon be able to use our full Apple Music account even there. In other words, we might get the chance to listen to full songs even on browser.

The Apple Music widget gets revamped

Apple Music widgets have always been available to allow artists to promote their music all across the internet. Therefore, one specific Apple tool let them create the widget and then attach it to any webpage they liked. However, this had one disadvantage. After clicking on the widget, you could only listen to song previews that lasted for several seconds or one minute.

However, a Reddit user made a valuable observation. While randomly browsing the web, he stumbled upon an Apple Music widget that look different, but also sported some other changes. After clicking it, the widget lets you log in to your account. Once logged in, you can play whatever you want without interruptions. You can listen to full songs, but also playlists or entire albums.

Apple might want to develop a full-fledged music platform on the web

The redesign placed a small Sign In button in the top right corner of the Apple Music widget. Once you log in, you can play entire playlists, not only get small previews of the music. The new options also allow you to save the playlists in question directly to your account.

On top of that, you can even pause the song that is playing, skip it, or fast-forward it. The revamped Apple Music widget might show the company’s future intentions. We might make suppositions that Apple is getting ready for a web browser music service where people don’t need a smartphone to access their music collection.

At the moment, this Apple Music widget is available on macOS. However, the company might soon expand its pairing options and get the music service on all browsers, regardless of the operating system.

Image source: Flickr

Apps for children use might share too much of your kid’s private info

Next time you allow your kids to use smartphones and apps, think about their privacy. A recent study revealed that many apps destined for family or children use actually collect a lot of private information. Therefore, the developers seem to have broken a number of important federal regulations regarding data collection.

Many apps for children use are pretty intrusive

This study was developed by researchers from Stony Brook University, UC Berkeley, and University of British Columbia. They looked at 5,855 apps that are destined for children use, and found some worrying results. Five percent of all these apps – or 281 – collect data regarding personal information or location. In all these cases, the apps didn’t ask parents for permission to access the data in question.

This is quite a serious situation, as it is contrary to some federal rules. In 1999, the government adopted COPPA, or Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Just like its name suggests, any kind of software or apps destined for children use should keep away from sensitive data.

The developers will surely suffer the consequences

After such results, the Federal Trade Commission might end up sanctioning many of these developers. Even so, parents remain worried, as they no longer know what apps are safe for their children. Although they were strictly for children use, 28 percent of them actually accessed private information.

An even more worrying percentage, 73 percent, collected this private information, while others performed even more serious violations. The most serious of them all were those which identified the location of the users and downloaded this information.

Of course, knowing where users live is already a huge privacy violation. However, this type of data can reveal some other important information about the users. For instance, developers might find out about their economic status, interests, and some other type of social information. These apps should respect the COPPA regulations, and get parent approval before collecting any kind of data from software destined for children use.

Image source: Flickr