Google Tracks Your Movements, You Like It or Not

You Are Being Watched as Google Tracks your Movements

Whether you like it or not Google keeps track of your daily movements. You may not want it to do so, you may switch off your location history but Google is always tracking your movements. Why you ask? Well the answer lies within Google wanting to make big bucks when it comes to advertising. By getting your location and the places you frequently visit, Google is able to tailor advertisements based off of that data.

An Associated press investigation team has learnt that Google tracks your movements even when you expressly tell them not to. How do they do this, you say? The answer is simple. They track your movements from your android phone or iOS.

Being Upfront about Tracking your Movements: 

Most of the time Google is upfront when it comes to tracking your movements. They ask your permission and if you decide to give it, then Google prepares a timeline showing your movements over a period of time.

But of course many are opposed to the idea of their movements being tracked. Alas, that has not stopped the tech giant from tracking your movements. It makes sense too that people are not so keen on letting Google track their movements.

Police have previously used the data stored by Google in nabbing suspects in an investigation. But who’s to say that data pertaining to tracking your movements will be used only by the correct authorities.

There is considerable risk of some unknown parties getting that information and using it in ways that we have not even thought about.

What does Google say about Tracking your Movements? 

According to Google, the company does not remember where you move on a daily basis. This it does when your location history is turned off.

But the reality is much different. Even with location history being off, Google still tracks your movements from various Google apps.

Take for example Google Maps, as soon as you open the app, Google immediately takes a snapshot of where you’re at. If that’s not enough for you, then knowing that when you get automatic weather updates, it pinpoints your exact location will force you to wonder how Google is getting all that info.

Forget the apps for just a second, what about innocent searches on the net for chocolate chip cookies or anything else for that matter, on your search results page you get your exact latitude and longitude and I know no one is going to be happy about that.

Who does Google keep track of? 

Studies show that Google tracks movements of nearly 2 billion users worldwide. These can be from android as well as iPhone users who rely on Google for some of their app usage.

When you turn off location history in one place, all places where such data is stored should be turned off, like other Google apps as well. But no matter how straightforward that seems it is not done. It is not that it is impossible to switch of location history on your device but knowing where to switch it off and how, can be problematic.

Android Digital Wellbeing: Google’s Plan for Limiting Screen Time on Android Phones

Why Android Digital Wellbeing could be helpful for you

How much time do you spend on your phone each day? 1 hr, 4hrs or maybe even 6, maybe for some it is even more. For some it maybe a need to use their phones almost constantly for work or otherwise and for some of us…… Phones have become an addiction, there’s no beating around the bush with that. We spend endless hours on our phones doing nothing productive. Google’s android digital wellbeing is a step in the right direction.

Apple’s screen time and Google’s digital wellbeing all seem aimed at one thing- to reduce the time we spend on our phones and to get in touch with life. Both these apps are geared at getting an individual back on track when it comes to living life off the phone.

What does Google’s Android Digital Wellbeing do? 

Apple’s screen time allows users to monitor the time they spend on particular apps and even to set limits on their app patrolling a day. Gradually even Facebook and Instagram have introduced this feature to dissuade users from spending endless amounts on their accounts in a day.

Almost all of the above have introduced a dashboard where you can not only monitor the time spent on your app but also set limits for each activity and snooze notifications to get a better hold on your digital life.

Google’s android digital wellbeing is similar to the above with a few interface differences.

Launched with Android Pie or 9 however you wish to call it, android digital wellbeing seems to be a better approach to our digital wellbeing. But of- course nothing can be said immediately as it is only on beta as of now.

All about studies in using phones: 

Studies have shown that adolescents that spend inordinate amounts of time on their phones are likely to be more susceptible to mental health issues such as depression and suicide risk.

Android digital wellbeing is all about reducing the time we spend on our phones. Android digital wellbeing shows our phone usage as a pie chart showing you how much time you spend on your phone in general in the centre and divided by the time you spend on individual apps. Down below, the android digital wellbeing app, you get to see how many times you’ve unlocked your phone in a day and how many times in the day you have received notifications.

But that’s not all with android digital wellbeing, Google plans on making your interactions more fruitful and productive so that you spend less time on your phone.

Making android more productive with Android Digital Wellbeing: 

A part of making your interactions smoother and faster with android digital wellbeing, is by using gestures instead of the norm.

Android pie is all about gestures instead of the normal home, back and most used apps button. It may take a little time for users to figure out, especially if users are more familiar with the old way.

Display Cutouts: Android P Supporting Edge-to-Edge Screens

Display Cutouts on Android P

Display cutouts, as we commonly know them as notches, were released a few days back with Android P. Android P was released a week or so back with all new features and APIs, besides that we also got to see the all new Google’s version of Apple’s notches- Display cutouts.

With display cutouts on Android P, developers can change the way the display cutouts appear on their apps- whether they want it to overlap with the displays or not and much more. To do so developers can run the Android Emulator on their phones and go to the developer settings to change the way display cutouts appear on their apps.

Using the Emulator to style your own Display Cutouts: 

Once on the emulator, developers can style their display cutouts in the style of their choosing. In the emulator, display cutouts appear at the top of the screen irrespective of the style you choose. These display cutouts do not overlap the status bar so app display information is saved.

But this may not always be the case as different manufacturers may position the display cutouts
differently and this may overlap with the status bar in some cases.

To choose the right display cutouts in an app there is a window layout attribute that allows you to design your app around the format of display cutouts chosen.

You can choose from among three modes of display cutouts for your app.

The different Display cutouts you can choose from: 

The first mode is called LAYOUT IN DISPLAY CUOUT MODE DEFAULT.

The default mode does not allow the display cutouts to extend into the app space. The window is arranged in such a way such that the display cutouts are at the top without extending past the status bar.

The next mode is LAYOUT IN DISPLAY CUTOUT MODE ALWAYS.

In this mode the window of the app overlaps with the display cutout which is present in both portrait as well as landscape mode.

It is up to the developer to see to it that no app information is covered by the display cutouts.

The third mode is LAYOUT IN DISPLAY CUTOUT MODE NEVER.

Here the window space is never allowed to go into the display cutouts area leaving a very small space for app developers to manoeuvre in.

Uniform display cutouts for all manufacturers: 

Google has also given app developers a choice in the status bar when it comes to using display cutouts. The status bar has to be of the size of the notch this will affect the size of the information displayed.

So Google has introduced “Special Mode” that shows a button on the navigation bar with an option to change from letterboxed view to full screen view with the content being wrapped around the notch.
One more guideline when it comes to display cutouts is that phone manufacturers can only support a limited number of display cutouts. Developers can only use a single tall display cutout or a dual display cutout or a corner cutout.

Google Maps for Motorcycles is Coming

Google maps is a really helpful tool if you travel a lot to places you’ve never really been before. You can adjust the mode depending on your type of travel whether it is on public transportation or if you’re taking your own car. Google maps shows the street as you drive on it as well as landmarks so that you don’t get confused when there are no street names to go by. All in all using Google maps has become an indispensable tool for a lot of people since its first release. Now another option to hit Google maps for motorcycles.

Google initially tested out Google maps for motorcycles in India and there was no better place for them to do so. India has the highest motorcycle usage in the world and with the abundance of narrow roads and alleyways in the country, Google has made specific maps only for motorcycle usage. After India it is onto Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Honk Kong, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines for Google maps for motorcycles.

What does Google maps for Motorcycles have that other modes of transportations do not have? 

Google maps for motorcycles takes into account narrow roads and alleyways as well as the normal routes. The idea behind the Google maps for motorcycles doing this is that two wheelers can easily take these routes where otherwise vehicular traffic would not be able to.

Since these additional routes are taken into account of, Google maps for motorcycles gives an estimate of the time taken to travel, congestion and the rest with these routes in mind.

Another reason to add these routes onto Google maps for motorcycles is that if the normal routes do not really allow for two wheelers, then motorcyclists can automatically take other routes rather than later having to re- route.

Google maps for motorcycles to be used before travel: 

A feature that stands out on Google maps for motorcycles is that the app takes into account landmarks such as hospitals or hotels rather than street names which are difficult to read and maybe even find while one is travelling.

The idea is for one to already know where they are going by looking at Google maps for motorcycles before they set out to travel. This will avoid unnecessary looking at the phone while traveling which could cause accidents and serious harm to the traveler or people nearby.

Why did Google release Google maps for Motorcycles first in India? 

Companies go where there is demand and a market. The same happened here too with Google for motorcycles. India has one of the largest markets for two wheeler transportation in the world, hence Google motorcycles in India.

In the U.S sales of motorcycles are lagging and that could be one of the reasons why Google looked to Asia for its Google maps for motorcycle testing.

While sales in the U.S. lagged, sales in India were increasing driven in part by Government spending on rural road constriction within the country.

As of now there is no news whether Google will bring out Google maps for motorcycles in America.

Bacteria powered solar cells Converts Light to Energy

Now its Bacteria Powered Solar Cells

With the amount of fossil fuels being burnt for our daily living and the amount of pollution that there is, it is no wonder why researchers are looking for alternative means to get energy to power our daily living. Of those new energy sources is solar power. Solar power is now being used in many places to generate electricity but is still not being widely used. The cost of installing a solar panel is too exorbitant and that acts as a deterrent in using them. Plus another limitation is that they do not generate much electricity form the sun when there are overcast skies. This led to researchers coming up with Bacteria powered solar cells.

Researchers use the bacteria to power solar cells and they even generate electricity when there are overcast skies. What’s more is that this method is cheap and sustainable even for long periods. Plus to use bacterial powered solar cells means you get more energy than what is available today.

Bacteria powered solar cells a solution to our problems? 

This new way of using bacteria powered solar cells, will be especially useful in places where overcast skies are common and where previously solar energy could not be used. Such places like British Columbia and northern parts of Europe could benefit from this bacteria powered solar cell.

The bacteria powered solar cell is called “biogenic” since they are made from living organisms.

Bacteria powered solar cells in a solar panel: 

Solar cells are the building blocks in a solar panel and thus by using bacteria powered solar cells, you would actually be using them in the panels itself. These bacteria will convert solar energy into electricity.

Previous efforts at using bacteria involved the dyes that bacteria uses in photosynthesis. This process that involved extracting the dye, is a costly process and involves the use of toxic materials, which therefore pushes up the cost of making a solar panel.

What’s more is that the toxic materials that were used in the process actually degraded the dye making it less useful.

The new method of making a bacteria powered solar cells: 

The breakthrough idea came when scientists decided to leave the dye in the bacteria itself and not to extract it.

So they genetically engineered E.coli to produce large volumes of lycopene. Lycopene is a dye that gives tomatoes their red color and more importantly to harvest solar energy to produce electricity.

After this, researchers used a coating on the bacteria to make it act as a semiconductor and then used the bacteria powered solar cells in a solar panel.

The results were astounding. The bacteria powered solar cell generated 0.686 milliamps per square centimeter on the solar panel as compared to 0.362 achieved by current methods.

The use of bacteria powered solar cells is sustainable and cost effective. Researchers estimate the costs in the realms of 1/10th the current cost of making a solar cell.

The next step for researchers is to get the bacteria to survive so as to continue to produce the dye that would convert solar energy.