Google Enables Android Users To Add Emojis To Texts From iPhones But There’s A Catch

Google announced relief for Android users and this included the option to respond to texts from iPhones using emojis. However, it’s not that simple and comes with a catch.

Android users will now be getting the chance to include reactions in the form of emojis to various text messages sent out by iPhone users on the app Google Messages. It’s a rollout that was announced today but will be launched in the next few weeks to various global destinations.

There’s been a lot of begging and pleading by Android users to Apple’s Tim Cook to get on board with RCS and its respective protocol. This way, communicating would be so much simpler for so many people. But Tim Cook refused and instead told one Apple user to ask their friends to get on board with an iPhone as that would solve the matter immediately.

On iOS, all messages lack the classic support needed for RCS. Hence, even if emojis are sent out by an Android user on the phone, they would come in the form of irritating follow-up texts on the iPhone as reported recently by CNET.

You will be weirded out by what some of them go on to state. Think along the lines of, ‘John reacts with a heart to your ‘let's go out!”- yes that’s how a message would appear.

The head of Google’s Messages application, Jan Jedrzejowicz spoke to CNET and mentioned that now the ball lies in Apple’s court. They will now need to decide if they’d like to process those texts into a proper reaction that allows for tap-back responses on their devices or not.

We feel the feature is a great attempt being made by Google to lend an olive branch to the Cupertino firm to come forward and accept the gesture of showing support for RCS on their iPhone devices. Who wants follow-up messages in the first place? Don’t you agree?

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Uber Launches New Advertising Division While Unveiling In-App Ads Experience To Gain More Revenue

Uber has launched its own advertising division and also put its in-app ad experiences in the spotlight.

The new venture is called Journey Ads and it’s designed to enable more revenue generation, the company recently confirmed on Wednesday.

Uber is looking to put a lot of ad space for sale inside the famous transport and Uber Eats application. Similarly, it wants to incorporate variations in digital advertising inside its vehicles too. This may include sponsored emails and also plenty of storefront ads as well.

In the past, we’ve seen the company include several types of verticals that are usually focused on transport. These were launched to help in bringing forward an increase in revenue generation. But it didn’t go too well in the firm’s favor and slowly, the company began dropping the options, one by one.

We saw the firm get rid of eVTOL unit, disabled its Jump e-Bikes, and even went about selling out its self-driving vehicle unit called Uber ATG. Similarly, it bid farewell to its Robotics Arms too.

But if there’s one reliable method through which so many digital companies are earning, it’s the world of advertising. And while it may have been a long time coming for Uber, it’s finally here.

Be it media outlets or Netflix, many are arriving late to the party but at least they're making the most of it and Uber wishes to do the same.

In the month of February of this year, we saw the company mention on its investor’s day how it was keen to enter into this direction. It wished to have some more growth in terms of its ads business and targets were set out to be $1 billion by next year.

While we don’t know exactly what types of data will be featured, a recent one was linked to the sports world and many who witnessed it weren’t huge fans. They called it out for being too over the top and not something that would make anyone love NFL again.

At the moment, we’re seeing the new venture bring on board nearly 40 different partners. Common big names include Heineken, United Artists, NBC, and more. Thankfully, riders will not be bombarded with apps when the app is opened up.

Instead, the company wants to focus more on brands having a 100% share during the rider’s trip. Other than Journey Ads, Uber is planning on introducing options where ad options can be purchased like sponsored listings seen on Uber Eats, ads placed between menus, emails that are sponsored, and even ads that pop up after checking out as well.

In the same way, you’ll find Uber conducting a new type of advertising in places like San Francisco and even in places like Los Angeles.

But what’s an ad business like without any form of trending insights? Well, Uber wants to assist brands in making wider connections and will also fill them in with some great insights linked to ads performance.

It’s a way to know what all foodies and travelers are interested in at the moment. So as you can see, it’s kind of like capturing the minds of the app’s most avid users.

As Uber recently confirmed via its blog post, it has a huge audience of global users. These people are coming with business in their minds and they want the app to know where they’re going, what they want, and more. Such users of Uber’s services can be engaged to better see how they’re liking the experience and what more they’d like to see to gain more insight on the matter.

It’s a smart move we believe and one that can bring about promising returns, considering the billions of global fans this brand has.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Expands Its Ads Control To YouTube, Search Results, And Discover

We first heard of Google’s My Ad Center during the early part of this year. And now, the company says they’re expanding the feature to include the likes of Search Results, Discover, and YouTube.

The feature is designed to better control what types of advertisements are coming across these designated locations. Hence, after signing in, users get the chance to witness more brands and topics that they adore. Moreover, things they aren’t a fan of won’t be appearing on their screens.

See, the whole idea is to add greater forms of convenience to users so they can find controls and make some necessary changes.

You can think of it as those stand-alone services where users get to review and grab a hold of data collected linked to the time that’s spent across various websites, videos, and even Search. Moreover, they can manage things and review their activity with greater ease too.

The search engine giant says it’s glad it can help out more and more users and although the feature is only launching now, the more people get to learn about it, the more they can benefit from it.

As of right now, the whole personalization process for Google’s ads control is in the hands of the company itself as well as various apps and webpages that belong to third parties. But what is changing is the way things are being included like topics and various brands.

But now, with greater control in the hands of users, Google is giving users the chance to block out personalized ads while advertisers may attain valuable insights regarding what are ads and why it's being blocked.

Google has included a lot more control regarding activities that are utilized to personalize the whole ads experience. Moreover, seeing the expansion of privacy controls like the sources through which data is obtained is also great. From YouTube history to Web and App activities - the list is endless.

You also end up seeing a lot fewer categories that you might not be a fan of like dating, gambling, weight transformation, parenting, etc. In the past, you would find these across features like Display and on YouTube too.



Similarly, you can say hello to advertising disclosures that are enhanced by new advertisers. Going through disclosures across the panel for My Ad Center so particular ads are seen is another feature worth a glance at.

And for those that are bothered the most by features like ad personalization, well, you can now avail the chance to switch it off completely, Yes, ads are going to be popping up still but you’ll find consumers seeing them less frequently or less related to them.

While the options linked to preference data aren’t a lot, the company hopes to see how much change this brings forward if such data is utilized. But for now, Google has zero plans to make user preference information available to advertising companies.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Study Says More Than 50% Of Passwords Are Reused And Put User Data At Risk

While the thought process behind a single password on the web may not mean a lot to you, a new report shares how billions are at risk of having their data exposed.

Around the world, more than 50% of passwords being utilized end up exposing both personal data and corporate data. Moreover, they’re putting a lot of people at risk in this manner, as confirmed by a new study.

The report by Dashlane claims to have analyzed millions of data points that were anonymous and then finally came up with this form of conclusion. You see, the theme of password health is hardly talked about. And that’s why the results are astounding to both users and companies.

On average, the health score of passwords was found to be in decline and had to be issued warnings linked to significant improvements required. This would in turn give a hint that it’s old, weak, or compromised in some way, shape, or form.

The fact that this particular report saw more than half of the passwords get reused means average citizens in the country have a good 70 to 80 accounts on the web so anything compromised may cause hundreds of accounts to get hacked.

Seeing 20% of the passwords be compromised is another point worth pondering. Dashlane has really shocked users in that regard as some people have as many as 240 accounts on the web.

And since a password is your entry link into a particular enterprise’s world of cybersecurity, you’re bound to be affected by cyber breaches too. As studies prove, the majority of breaches in the world of cybersecurity end up taking place due to a user’s sensitive credentials being stolen.

The firm has even issued a warning in this regard and how so many accounts per person tend to grow online. This means passwords really need to be improved if cybersecurity is to be maintained.

So what’s the solution? How can one really protect themselves from such a huge threat out there? Well, for starters, tech experts and security analysts feel that if you’re sitting down and remembering your password, it’s weak.

The idea is to use the most unique passwords out there that even the owner has difficulty remembering or pronouncing. Hence, if an account ends up getting breached, you’ll always have one added layer of protection in place.

Another common practice to better your security is to make use of compartments to encase user information. Those having several accounts on social media need to utilize particular email IDs in those situations.

Cybernews experts say they’re also sharing with the world a list of the most overused passwords out there. These are so common that you’ll end up having your security breached with time and with ease.

Hence those people noticing that their passwords have some major issues can really utilize tools such as Data Leak Checkers. This puts into light a user’s email ID and other forms of sensitive data that may have been exposed through such data breach means. Moreover, if you’d like to avoid such scenarios in the first place, well, how about using a password manager and ridding the stress.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Meta’s New Report Sheds Light On The Future Of The Metaverse And The Great Opportunities Attached

Tech giant Meta has rolled out its new report that has the planned metaverse at center stage.

The design is to include various features such as different opportunities, inclusion, and more. This comes with plenty of talk surrounding the various forms of technology that are going to be used and the concepts that come with it. This is all going to be possible from the group of diverse creators and professionals at hand.

Experts claim the findings are optimistic and factual, not to mention how insightful it is in terms of Meta’s homestretch for the Metaverse’s vision. As the tech giant says, this is the future or the next chapter in the world of the web.

Yes, the spectrum being covered is broad and meta is explaining how this future platform will have various elements for interaction on offer.

The world of VR is the main focus of this aspect of the metaverse but we are seeing one common theme across the board. This is related to all of the developments being shoved into a single bucket. And that may be a little confusing. But you see, the platform really wishes to hold complete ownership of the next world by turning into the leader of all of these spaces. A major aspect of making that a reality would be collaborations with different creators.

As the company recently mentioned in its blog post, the whole idea is to move ahead with the creation of goods and services for the metaverse. You can find a visual description of what to expect through Fortnite and some image filters found across smart devices.

We find that to be awfully smart because many people argued that the metaverse is slowly turning into a world that’s purely digital and nothing else. This is where users will interact with one another through avatars and may travel long distances through experiences found on the platform.

As Meta says, the metaverse is going to go above and beyond the simple aspects of the tech world. You’ll need AR glasses that will put out digital data about the world that surrounds us. Here is where you’ll find physical meets digital experiences.

So as you can probably tell by now, it’s all very interesting and a concept of a new kind. They’re merging cases into a whole new realm but how all such ideas align will remain to be a major challenge.

Meta’s biggest obstacle would be to make sure people participate, especially those that have been known to stay aloof from today’s modern digital world. We see how hard the company is working to make sure it’s a platform that has people present to make the most magical experiences that are filled with emotion, empath, and equal opportunities.

For now, what we can understand is that this is all like theoretical fiction. So that means, the metaverse may be anything you want it to be. And we feel this report is about just that.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

33% Of US Teenagers and Adults Reportedly to Be Scammed Recently

Research highlights that one out of three US teenagers and adults were hacked and scammed recently by various methods.

In the digital era, people's security plays a vast role in every aspect. With the growing digitization, risks connected with technologies are also arising. Even highly developed nations like the US also face cyber threats and hacking and spamming risks often.

A recent study shows that 15% of social media users' accounts were hacked recently. In a highly literate country like the USA, things like these are alarming. Besides this, 13% of people were hacked via their credit cards, and 10% of them were scammed online by various methods.

Around the globe, cybersecurity and redeems against cybersecurity practices are currently hot topics. Research indicates that one out of 10 people from the US fall for online scams every year. Whereas, currently according to the data and statistics, the younger generation is more vulnerable to cyber-attacks in terms of online scams, credit card thefts, and social media hacking.

Recently, around 16% of younger people were reportedly scammed by various online methods. To add more, 33% of people in the USA have experienced some type of online scam in a recent year. Whereas, only a few of them reacted against it and applied the two-factor authentication methods for better security.

Besides the massive scams and identity thefts, some minor scams also take place that seem to be hazardous for many people. People were scammed by various means which usually ended up in hacking and theft of bank accounts, misuse of location information, identity theft, health data breaches, and the deadliest, ransomware attacks.

With the growing risk and cyber thefts, people are also getting aware of the attacks and implementing some majors against them. Research also indicated that around 34% of US citizens have worked towards two-factor authentication for better security against fraud, online scams, and identity thefts.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

A new report shows that AI will be crucial for businesses in the next few years

In this new era of technological development advancing day by day, the usage and the role that AI is playing in both our domestic and business life is becoming more and more relevant. Today, there is almost no doubt as to the implementation of AI becoming more and more common.

This was the belief the team at Deloitte had when they set out to embark on the journey of Deloitte’s State of AI 5th Edition research report, in which they published the result that 94% of Business leaders and tycoons agree that AI is going to be critical if they want their company to succeed the next 5 years in the market.

However, alongside this, there is one unexpected outcome as well. This is that as the amount of AI utilization increases, the outcomes of those utilizations are still behind and cannot be seen in most cases. According to Beena Ammanath who is the Executive director of the global level institute Deloitte AI. Even though 79% of respondents said that they had successful full-scale AI deployments that included about 3 or more types of AI, the amount of AI that did not perform well in the field rose from 17% last year to 22% this year. However, the good news is that the amount of well-performing went up to 79% as compared to 62% last year.

The reason for some of the AI not performing well might be that the survey respondents described some of the challenges they were facing with deployment. For the inception of any new AI project, the top challenges faced by companies were

This may be because survey respondents reported varying challenges depending on where they are at in their AI implementation. When starting new AI projects, the top challenge reported was proving AI’s business value (37%). This was followed by a lack of executive commitment (34%) and choosing the right AI technologies (33%).

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World