8 Out of 10 Websites Will Leak Your Search Data to Google According to This Study

Cybersecurity is a top priority these days, and much of the focus in this arena goes towards mitigating the attempts of malicious actors to hack into user accounts and the like. In spite of the fact that this is the case, major websites are also contributing to the leaking of sensitive user information to online advertisers such as Google. Security experts at Norton Labs recently conducted a study that revealed that about 80% of top websites leak search terms to Google and other similar platforms.

These websites all possess a search bar because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing users to navigate their pages more efficiently. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that they often send the search terms that users put in to Google for the purposes of earning commissions through third party tracking which has become difficult through applications these days.

A lot of these websites claim that they inform users that their search data will be sold to advertising platforms, but this information is usually contained in the user policy which most people don’t end up reading. 81.3% of the search results that Norton researchers used ended up being referred to third parties, which might make it difficult for users to maintain control over their personal data.

Additionally, the user policies don’t specify what kind of data they will be sharing with third parties. They often use generic terms that will understate the sheer extent of data sharing that is occurring. This leads to a confusing system that the vast majority of users will face a lot of difficulties in parsing.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the average internet user to maintain an appreciable amount of privacy in their digital lives, and websites that are collaborating with Google and other third parties are making matters worse. Users need to start blocking third party tracking from their browsers or consider switching to more privacy friendly browsers and search engines.

Read next: A Research Publication Reveals That Organizations Are Becoming More Aware of Potential Cybersecurity Threats That Can Be Encountered
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Telegram’s Revenue Massively Multiplies With Figures Doubling Each Month

For a while now, we’ve come across several different types of apps that have jumped on the bandwagon of paid tiers. Yes, they’re keener on making users pay for the services as compared to offering things for free.

The whole concept behind that idea is related to establishing a line of revenue that’s best aligned with users on the app and much less on advertisements.

There are no surprise guesses here as to which apps those may be. It began with Twitter around one year back, and then Snap decided to come through with the decision, closely followed by Telegram as well.

During the initial three months, we saw Telegram's revenue grow immensely, almost doubling on a monthly basis. And now, estimates for August mentioned how the revenue reached the million dollar mark on Apple’s App Store and even Google’s Play Store.

In total, that’s more than $800,000 linked to net revenue that the app will now cherish after giving a due share to both Google and Apple as their fixed cut fees.

For those wondering how, well, around 80% of the total arose from Apple’s App Store. And you might be shocked to learn that the majority of those paying hailed from Russia.

By August, estimates for the number of those subscribers who paid a price to attain the service was around 250,000 and it has increased from the initial value of 154,000 seen in July. Yikes, so much difference in just one month is beyond jaw-dropping.

All of this data is very interesting because many expected Twitter to experience something similar because its user base was much bigger. Hence, experts predicted the app to monetize like never before seen. But when we saw the firm’s MRR last month, it was not even close to such figures. Moreover, it didn’t even come close to being half.

See, the app’s revenue each month is half of the Telegram’s revenue last month. And considering the fact that Telegram’s paid subscriptions were only launched around three months back, well, this app must be doing something that’s paying off. What do you think?

We’ve got all of these statistics thanks to the App Intelligence website. They have really done a great job at comparing Twitter with Telegram and seeing how the estimated figures contrast with each other.

H/T: AF

Read next: Has Apple’s Ad Business Benefited From Its Privacy Features?

by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

WhatsApp is moving Communities to iOS and is bringing back another long lost feature

Launched in 2009 the Whatsapp blew up and has been gaining users ever since. It was only very recently that the app was bought by the tech giant and parent company of Facebook, Meta.

When we hear the word communities, the thing that comes to mind is a group of living organisms living together right, but now there is a digital version of it as well. Do you know how we create groups on WhatsApp, well WhatsApp’s new feature is just a bit more extended version of that?

Presenting to you, Communities. What is that? Well, it is a new WhatsApp feature that will let users create huge groups that are related to a specific topic. This feature has not started rolling out yet but has become available to some fortunate people on the Android Beta version of the app and has started coming to iOS beta users as well.

According to a screenshot posted by WABetainfo to check if this feature has been made available for you, you just need to see if your camera option has been replaced with another one that looks like the image of 3 people standing side by side.

In this raw version, you can add up to 10 groups when you create a community; later, however, you will be able to add as many as 50 groups in one community. All these other groups are known as subgroups and members have the choice to see which subgroup they join based solely on their interests. Admins can also set the community to be read only by turning on the only admins can send messages option.

Now, moving on, whenever the need arouses for us to check older messages from a specific date often have to keep scrolling and scrolling until we reach it, which is quite a tedious task unless we remember the particular message or its contents to put into the search box.

Well not anymore, with this feature whenever users would want to search for a message from a specific date all they would have to do is to go to the search bar, and right above the keyboard they would see a small calendar option. This option will have a rolling ball that will allow users to set the date and month from which they want to see the messages. And voilà there you have it.

Read next: WhatsApp is working to prevent messages from being kept in disappearing mode while also authorizing users to hide their mobile phone numbers from business accounts
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Chrome Hints to Block Various Ad Blockers In Coming Years

Recently, Chrome's ad blocker developers announced some updates that might leave its users astonished.

They announced the removal of multiple top-notch features that might sound astonishing to numerous users of Google chrome. Google's new MV3 API terms protect users' data and privacy and also offer a material boost in the performance.

In the new API update, the removal of key features of reading and modifying data tends to be a good step for the company and its developers but it remains a question mark for multiple users as there would be numerous consequences to this update.

The biggest demerit of this update can be that chrome users might find it hard to locate their privacy tools. Subsequently, it will be harder for them to figure out whether their privacy and online security are rightly valued by Google Chrome under new updates or not.

To skip the fear of privacy, the users can hunt down multiple alternatives. Many users can look down on VPN providers for anonymous online services to stay safe. Also to stay safe, the users can hunt down another alternative that might be a question mark on this update. The alternative is simply switching the browser that cares for the privacy and security of its users.

Besides this, since January, Google has banned the creation of new MV2 extensions and the developer will be unable to update the extensions or versions of older API's restricting them to rely entirely on consumer browsers.

This update can also be a big question mark on the company. With this update, the users would be disturbed with more cookies to accept, informational or non-informational pop-ups redirecting to multiple other websites and more and more terms and conditions that must be accepted to continue browsing through the internet.

The following updates of APIs and extensions can be fruitful in terms of business for Google Chrome developers but it still can be a question mark for ample users. As users might find it hard to feel secure with future updates.

In the long-term, the following updates can cause many users to shift from Chrome to another browser that values their privacy and online security and make the use of tools simpler and easier. But to cut it short, the company's prime targets are to generate business and by their several experiments and updates, they are doing so.

Read next: Google Lays Out New Policy to Improve Ad Standards
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

The Metaverse Vision Can Best Be Described Through The Roblox Game

In case you’ve ever been keen about knowing what the Metaverse really looks like or have a fuzzy picture of what to expect, well, don’t worry.

The metaverse vision or shall we say the framework can best be seen through the eyes of the Roblox game. Yes, it’s that similar. For us, the thought of a game coming to life in the virtual world is beyond mind-blowing.

Yes, we know what you’re thinking, it’s still a long way coming and while that’s true, well, there’s more to the picture than meets the eye.

It’s time to engage in a completely virtual space that’s not only immersive but completely digital. There are so many templates available and according to the experts, this just might be leading the pack.

It’s an experience where digital avatars will rule the metaverse world, all being done in a 3D setting. So many younger audiences are gaining interest in games like Roblox and you can’t help but imagine what they’re thinking about the metaverse as well.

On average, the game has over 52 million users that are completely active. So what better way for brands to envision what’s next?

Let’s bring things up with how Roblox is launching a few new and cool features. This includes interactive billboards with some posters to go with it in this virtual world. The idea is to provide creators with more avenues for earning money.

Roblox is mostly designed by its own user environment and Meta hopes to do the same with its vision.

Remember, Meta’s Horizon Worlds could very much copy the whole Roblox experience. The only difference here is that there’s the element of VR. In the same way, you’ll see very similar ad offers being added to provide creators with some financial support on the platform.

Zuckerberg wants to make sure the metaverse is not owned by any one single person. Similarly, all the brands on the futuristic platform would be given the chance to include portals and in this way, users would be teleported from one place into a world that’s branded and complete with digital surroundings all around.

Sales linked to virtual items will also be up for grabs in the metaverse as seen in Roblox. And did we mention how Roblox avatars are quite similar in appearance to what meta is putting up for grabs?

Next up, we had a discussion about motion captures that were new and improved for all those animated characters like avatars. There are a lot resting on digital avatars on the platform and a lot more digital-based products. So it’s not hard to see why it’s so similar to the metaverse in this regard.

Roblox is also trying to come up with better methods for creator payments so they’re paid depending on how long a user spends time on this particular gaming adventure. And that entails how it churned out a lot of funds in 2021 to help give creators the kickstart they required.

Meta would certainly adore using the same strategy where top creators are given incentives to do their best so the app is successful.

H/T: SMT

Read next: Meta Reveals Its Top 4 Signals Used By Its Facebook Algorithm For Video Distribution
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Apple Secretly Pushes Back Release Date For Its iCloud Shared Photo Library

The countdown for the iOS 16 from Apple has begun and while we may be just days away, there appears to be more and more news about how things are being pushed in a different direction altogether.

The iOS 16 will soon be making its way out on September 12 but the iCloud-shared Photo Library won’t be released at that time. And that’s because the firm has decided to scale back its release date.

As of now, the leading iPhone company has failed to comment on the delay that’s going to be taking center stage. It has only quietly managed to alter its webpage in a manner that makes it appear to viewers that it’s a coming soon venture. But when is another ballgame altogether?

We’ve learned about the news thanks to media outlet AppleInsider who were the first ones to break the news.

For those who are still confused about what the iCloud Shared Library is in the first place, well, it’s a great setting where friends and family members unite and interact with each other. Moreover, each group can have a maximum of five members and every member may put up pictures and videos of their liking.

Every member has the feasibility to select the content they like and add them as a part of their default setting too, starting with any particular date. This makes the entire process linked to sharing a very seamless procedure and that makes you never second guess why a particular image or video was sent out to those nearest and dearest.

Similarly, every person with this feature will be entitled to a series of rights regarding the images and video content. They may add, remove, edit, and so on and so forth to their heart’s content.

For many, the sudden delay is definitely a surprising feature but if you ask us, we’re not shocked one bit. After all, this is certainly not the first thing that the firm based in California has delayed in 2022.

For instance, iOS 16 may be launched on Monday but the iPadOS 16 doesn’t come out until later. Moreover, the tech giant may have outlined the delay but there’s still no justification provided and no date for the launch.

So many sources are being seen as pointing out a release next month and there’s supposedly going to be an iPad event held during the same period as well.

But despite all this, you’ll still have a lot to look forward to on Monday’s iOS 16 launch. Yes, the iCloud shared library isn’t there but there are a lot more features worth a glance at. For instance, you’ll have a new locked screen, updated message features, different focus enhancements, and a lot more. Hence, you definitely should stay tuned and not miss out.

Meanwhile, for those who really wish to gain something that’s a little more new, well, ordering your iPhone device well ahead of time is the trick. All of the preorders will begin today and the actual phones get released on the 16th of this month.

Read next: Has Apple’s Ad Business Benefited From Its Privacy Features?
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Lays Out New Policy to Improve Ad Standards

Online ads have turned into a nightmare for the average user because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up bombarding them with relentless marketing. What’s even worse is that a majority of digital ads are very low quality, which means that they don’t do much to add to the user experience with all things having been considered and taken into account. In light of this, Google has decided to follow the path laid by Coalition for Better Ads to improve their advertising policies.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that ads will now have to link to sites that meet Google’s standards. Any ads that redirect users to poor quality sites will be removed. This is important since numerous ads tend to send users to sites that can infect their computers with malware, so this is a definite positive step that Google has taken.

Brands will have about a month to comply with these new policies, so we might start seeing a massive paradigm shift regarding how ads are viewed and what types of ads are allowed to go up. Interestingly, ads that include videos with automatically activated sound will no longer be allowed under the new policy. Other types of attention grabbing ads such as flashing animated ones will also be disallowed.

This will be a situation where both Google as well as the average user would get the chance to benefit. Users would receive a better experience with higher quality ads, and Google will be able to increase its gross revenue since the quality over quantity approach will improve the conversion rate.

Google grosses a whopping $393 per user, and this is expected to increase to over $440 by 2024. Steps like this are to the benefit of many, but some are criticizing this as yet another example of Google acting as a gatekeeper. Google has been cleaning up shop with the removal of apps like Truth Social and Parler, and this is another instance where the tech juggernaut is flexing its might.

Read next: Google is working on an update to the Nearby Sharing feature and it looks kind of cool
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World