Google announced last week that it has started rolling out new cookie banners in Europe that allow users of Google services to reject all cookies with just one click. Previously, Google’s cookie banners required users to click multiple items to reject cookies, a practice that France’s CNIL and other European…
Netflix is open to the idea of introducing cheaper ad-supported plans to address its growth problems. After Netflix announced yesterday that it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, CEO Reed Hastings said during the company’s earnings call (via CNBC) that the streaming service may change its…
It’s not just Brave: DuckDuckGo announced today that it too is blocking Google AMP in its mobile apps and browser extensions. “AMP technology is bad for privacy because it enables Google to track users even more (which is already a ton),” a DuckDuckGo representative told me. “Google also uses AMP…
Brave announced today that it is rolling out a new feature called De-AMP that lets users bypass Google-hosted AMP pages and navigate directly to the content’s publisher. “AMP harms users’ privacy, security and internet experience, and just as bad, AMP helps Google further monopolize and control the direction of the…
Netflix is introducing today a new Two Thumbs Up button to improve its recommendations algorithm. The new button will appear next to the existing Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons, and it will let users tell the algorithm what movies and TV shows they really like. “A Thumbs Up still…
YouTube is ready to roll out picture-in-picture support on iPhones and iPads. The feature has been in testing for a couple of months with YouTube Premium subscribers, but YouTube has since confirmed that will be available to all iOS users, with no premium subscription required. There’s actually been some confusion…
Spotify announced today that it has updated its curious Car Thing accessory with several useful new features, including phone call answering and support for other media. “With these updates, you’ll now be able to answer phone calls on Car Thing, queue songs and podcasts, and display and control other media,”…
The latest version of the Vivaldi web browser adds a Reading List to the sidebar and offers blocked tracker and advertising statistics. “Exactly 6 years ago, we launched the first version of Vivaldi,” co-founder and CEO Jon von Tetzchner writes. “We started out building a browser that will adapt to…
Brave today released version 1.37 of its desktop web browser, adding a new sidebar, custom new tab backgrounds, and more. “The Brave browser fundamentally shifts how users interact online, combining privacy-by-default with web3 integration and a native crypto wallet,” the announcement post explains. “Today’s desktop browser update (v1.37) carries that…
YouTube TV is planning to bring 5.1 audio support to more devices soon. The streaming television service announced on Twitter yesterday that Google TV, Android TV, and Roku devices will be the next platforms to enjoy 5.1 surround sound, with Apple TV, Fire TV, and game consoles to follow. “We’re…