Microsoft Edge 120 Telemetry records your third-party searches now

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft Edge 120 is the latest version of Microsoft’s web browser. Released this week, it is mostly a security update that addresses issues in Chromium and Edge itself.

What Microsoft doesn’t reveal in the release notes is that Edge 120 comes with a new Telemetry module. While it lists it under new policies, it does not provide information about it on the page.

Problem is: this new Telemetry component is enabled by default on Windows devices. It records third-party searches that users make when using Edge. Third-party searches are searches done using any search engine except Microsoft Bing.

Edge collects search data

The new policy, called Edge3PSerpTelemetryEnabled, is enabled by Microsoft. Microsoft describes it in the following way:

Edge3P Telemetry in Microsoft Edge captures the searches user does on third party search providers without identifying the person or the device and captures only if the user has consented to this collection of data. User can turn off the collection at any time in the browser settings.

In other words: Edge collects third-party search data on Windows. Microsoft notes that it only captures data if the user has given consent. However, Microsoft notes as well that the feature is enabled if the policy is enabled or not configured.

It is unclear what type of consent users have to give before the search data is collected.

How to stop Edge from sending search data to Microsoft

Microsoft Edge users have up to three options to deal with the collection of search data in Edge:

  • Disable the Telemetry collecting in Edge itself.
  • Configure a specific Edge policy using the Group Policy Editor.
  • Make the same change in the Windows Registry.

Disable Telemetry in Edge

Here is how that is done:

  1. Open Microsoft Edge.
  2. Load edge://settings/privacy in the browser’s address bar.
  3. Scroll down until you come to the Search and service improvement section.
  4. Toggle “Help improve Microsoft products by sending the results from searches on the web”.

While you are at it, check other settings on the page, e.g. under personalization & advertising, optional diagnostic data or security.

Group Policy and Registry

Disable Edge Telemetry Windows

You need to download and install the Microsoft Edge administrative template before you can configure policies using the Group Policy Editor. You find the latest policy template download and instructions here.

Note also that the Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows Home editions.

  1. Open the Group Policy Editor. You may do so with a tap on Start, typing gpedit.msc and pressing Enter on the keyboard.
  2. Go to Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge.
  3. Find “Edge 3P SERP Telemetry Enabled”.
  4. Double-click on the policy.
  5. Change its state to Disabled.
  6. Close the Group Policy Editor.
  7. Restart the Windows device.
Edge disable search telemetry

Here is how you make the change using the Registry:

  1. Open Start, type regedit.exe and press Enter.
  2. Confirm the UAC prompt.
  3. Go to
  4. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\Recommended.
  5. If a key does not exist, right-click on the previous one and select New > Key. Name it accordingly.
  6. Right-click on Recommended and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.
  7. Name it Edge3PSerpTelemetryEnabled.
  8. Double-click on the new value and set it to 0 (if it is not 0 already).
  9. Restart the PC.

Thanks Günter for the tip!

Battery at zero

If your phone’s battery discharges quickly, try this fix

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

My wife’s Google Pixel 7a phone suddenly discharged way too quickly. It would go from 100% to 30% in a matter of hours, even without any major use of the device.

This was quite puzzling. First, because this was a relative new occurrence. Second, because settings and use of the phone were in stark contrast to the rapid discharging. You could almost see the power percentage going down.

It got that bad that she had to charge her phone multiple times per day to keep it at a workable level. No matter what she did, it seemingly lost a lot of power in a matter of hours.

Here is the fix

I tried various tweaks to stabilize power usage. This included reducing brightness, enabling dark mode or power saving functionality. None of this worked.

My last resort was a drastic option. I decided to fully discharge the device to see if this would fix the issue. The battery calibration might not work correctly and resetting it required discharging the battery fully.

I downloaded 3D Mark for the device and started to run it. Battery went down quickly at first, but imagine my surprise when it started to stay on very low levels for a long time.

When it reached 1%, it took hours before it finally powered down. This was an indicator that the calibration was off and that it was not a problem with the battery itself or use of the device.

I plugged the device in and let it charge. I ran some tests afterwards and discovered that the calibration was working properly again. The device wouldn’t discharge battery rapidly anymore, which was excellent news.

Closing Words

Battery calibration issues can be resolved by discharging the battery entirely. This may resolve any related issues. Note that the device was not losing power faster than before, but that the battery load indicator was working incorrectly.

Anyway, if you notice similar behavior, you may want to give this a try.

You may extend Windows 10 support beyond 2025; for a price

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows 10, the operating system that barely anyone loved when it first came out, is supported until October 2025 by Microsoft. The operating system is still widely used with a commanding lead over Windows 11.

Statcounter, for example, lists Windows 10’s usage share at about 68% and Windows 11’s at just 26% as of November 2023. Windows 10’s usage share will drop until October 2025, but it seems unlikely that Windows 11 will overtake it by then.

A percentage of Windows 10 devices is compatible with Windows 11. These can be upgraded to Windows 11 and a good portion will likely be upgraded in the coming 2 year period.

Millions of Windows 10 devices are not compatible with Windows 11 on the other hand. Microsoft changed the operating system’s hardware requirements. Main restrictions affect the processor and also the TPM security component.

A Windows 10 support extension is coming

Microsoft confirmed yesterday that it will offer Extended Security Updates for Windows 10. These extend the life of the operating system beyond the official date.

Notable is the inclusion of individual consumers. When Microsoft launched ESU for Windows 7, it restricted the offer to Enterprise and business customers.

This changes under Windows 10. Everyone, basically, may extend support of Windows 10 beyond October 2025. This option comes at a price though. Microsoft did not reveal it at this point.

A look back at ESU for Windows 7 may provide estimates. Microsoft increased the cost of support each year.

Businesses could get support extensions for Windows 7 Pro for $50, $100 and $200 per device. Enterprise customers paid half of that. To extend support by three years, businesses paid Microsoft $350.

Microsoft might use the same system for Windows 10 and consumer devices. The company has no vetted interest in keeping users on Windows 10 and likely won’t make the offer too cheap.

Some might say that Microsoft’s main motivation behind the move is to avoid the risk of losing millions of users to alternatives.

As a reminder, here are the available options that Windows 10 users have if they want to keep the device:

  • Keep on using Windows 10 without updates.
  • Keep on using Windows 10 with Extended Security Updates.
  • Keep on using Windows 10 with third-party security updates by 0Patch.
  • Keep on using Windows 10 and use ESU updates or other updates restricted to certain editions or subscriptions unofficially.
  • Upgrade to Windows 11 (enforce upgrade if hardware is incompatible).
  • Migrate to Linux.

The right option?

Most options make sense. You may not want to run Windows 10 without security updates support, but all other options work for a period or even indefinitely.

The selection between an ESU and a 0Patch subscription is not as straightforward as it looks on first glance. 0Patch subscriptions cost about $25 per year, whereas Microsoft is likely going to charge a multiple of that.

Microsoft patches are official on the other hand and they include patches for security issues that are not critical. 0Patch focuses on high-risk security updates for the most part.

The upgrade to Windows 11 is a free option. It works for most devices, even those that are incompatible. Running Windows 11 on incompatible devices is not all that different from compatible ones. A few features may not work, but the main inconvenience is that feature updates require another compatibility check.

You could install a feature update every second year, as Microsoft supports all major Windows 11 versions for 24 months. Still, you need to bypass the compatibility checks again when updating.

Microsoft fuelled uncertainties by stating that it can’t guarantee any update or support if a device is incompatible. At least the update part of the statement is unsubstantiated up to this point.

Linux is another option, but it has the highest hurdle of them all. There is no direct migration path from Windows to Linux. This means that users need to back up data, install Linux and import that data to Linux after installation. Other issues include that some programs are not available for Linux, but there are usually alternatives.

Gaming has improved on Linux in the past couple of years, but there are still games that you can’t run on the platform.

Closing Words

ESU for Windows 10 adds another option for home users, which is good. No one is forced to subscribe, but users may do so to extend support.

Now You: do you run Windows 10? What will you do in 2025?

Spam

Gmail launches improved text classifier to combat spam

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Email spam is still a great problem on today’s Internet. Most users who have email accounts receive spam regularly. While most of the spam is detected by mail filters, at least when it comes to most providers, there is still enough spam that slips through the cracks.

Google launched a new text classifier on Gmail that promises better detection rates, less false positives and also improved performance. Called RETVec — Resilient & Efficient Text Vectorizer — it is improving spam detection on Gmail by 38% and reducing false positives by almost 20%.

Google says that RETVec achieves this “combining a novel, highly-compact character encoder, an augmentation-driven training regime, and the use of metric learning”.

Its architecture makes RETVec compatible with any language out of the box and all UTF-8 characters without the need for text processing.

Spammers and malicious actors use different methods to bypass spam filters. Frequent methods include the use of homoglyphs, characters that look very much alike, or the use of invisible characters.

Google claims that Gmail’s new anti-spam system is better suited to identify these tactics and deal with them accordingly.

The company trained the new model internally at Google for a time to better understand its effectiveness. Google says it found it “highly effective for security and anti-abuse applications” as a result of its internal tests.

RETVec in detail

RETVec Gmail anti-spam

RETVec is released as open source. You may visit the GitHub project website for access to the source. There, you will also find more information, including the paper and links to demos.

Google describes RETVec in the following way on GitHub to a development-focused audience:

RETVec is trained to be resilient against character-level manipulations including insertion, deletion, typos, homoglyphs, LEET substitution, and more. The RETVec model is trained on top of a novel character encoder which can encode all UTF-8 characters and words efficiently.

Google notes that RETVec may also be a choice for “on-device and web use cases”. The technology is supported natively in TensorFlow Lite and there is also a custom JavaScript implementation.

Closing Words

Gmail users benefit from the new anti-spam filter on the site. A reduction by 38% is a massive improvement, especially considering Gmail’s daily mail volume. Google benefits from the deployment as well, as performance improves significantly thanks to the lightweight nature of the new text vectorizer.

Now You: do you use Gmail?

This script deals with YouTube’s Adblock Popup and Ads

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

This year has seen a fundamental shift on YouTube regarding advertising and adblockers. Not only is YouTube showing popups to some users who use adblockers, to get them to uninstall them or buy YouTube Premium, Google is also working on making adblockers in Chrome less effective.

Without going into too many details. Chrome’s system for extensions will be updated in 2024 to only allow extensions that follow a new rule set. Called Manifest V3, Google claims that it improves privacy of users and combats rogue extensions. At the same time, it is also limiting legitimate extensions, many of which impact Google’s bottom line.

Most content blockers work fine right now. While you may get the “ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube” popup message, it is easily dealt with by updating the filter list of the extension.

The change impacts other Chromium-based browsers to a degree. Some, like Brave or Vivaldi, include native adblockers that will continue to work.

2024 changes everything, or maybe not

Come 2024, things may not be as straightforward anymore. Extensions need to be updated by their developers to support the new rules set. Those that are not updated can’t be used anymore.

Those that are updated need to follow the new rules. Besides imposing certain limits on extensions, Google is also enforcing all updates through its Web Store.

Content blockers rely on frequent updates to deal with an ever changing advertising landscape. Advertisers may rename scripts or move them, and content blockers need to update filters before these are blocked.

Most content blockers rely on filter lists. These lists are updated directly at the moment. Once support for Manifest V2 is dropped, these updates need to be pushed through the Chrome Web Store.

One problem here is that updates take anywhere from a few hours to days or even weeks. Google is in control of these updates, and the situation will worsen only if everything is forced through the Web Store’s review process.

Imagine the following scenario: Advertiser A makes a change on the site. Filter lists are updated. Updates are pushed through the Chrome Web Store. The review takes hours or days. Until it passes the review, ads may be displayed on the advertisers property.

Now imagine an advertiser that constantly changes scripts and tactics.

Remove Adblock Thing

Remove Adblock Thing YouTube

Extensions are not the only option that users have to combat advertising and privacy invasions on the Internet. There are several other options, including DNS-based solutions and also userscripts.

Remove Adblock Thing is such a script. You need to install an extension in your browser of choice that supports scripts. A popular option is Tampermonkey, which is available for Chrome, Firefox and many other browsers.

The userscript blocks YouTube’s anti-adblocker popup. Besides that, it will also mute, skip or speed up ads on the site to improve its usability.

Here is how you install it:

  • Download Tampermonkey for your web browser. The official website has links to all stores.
  • Load https://github.com/TheRealJoelmatic/RemoveAdblockThing/blob/main/Youtube-Ad-blocker-Reminder-Remover.user.js next in your browser.
  • TamperMonkey should identify it immediately as a script and display its install option.
  • Select install to add it to the extension.

The script works automatically on YouTube and it includes an update URL as well.

Closing Words

The main benefit of the script is that it offers another option to skip or bypass ads on YouTube. Even if adblockers stop working temporarily or permanently, you may use Tampermoney with this script instead.

Now You: do you use adblockers or userscripts?

Need another reason why you shouldn’t “buy” digital content?

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

There are three different types of digital content that you can pay money for. The first is rented, the second purchased and the last is handed over temporarily as part of a subscription.

Purchase is the wrong word for the second option, as it is more of a right to watch or access the content based on parameters set by someone else. Borrowed is a better term as it describes the transaction better.

The problem for users is that this right can be revoked at any time. The last decade is full of examples of this. To name a few: Google Stadia (digital games, refunded), Amazon Prime Video (select videos, temporary issue), Xbox 360 Store (digital games, only some playable on newer Xbox consoles), or Microsoft Store (ebooks, refunded).

Now it is Sony that can be added to the list. According to a Kotaku report, Sony is informing affected PlayStation users currently about the matter.

You bought it, we take it away

The issue affects PlayStation users who purchased TV shows on the PlayStation Store made by Discovery. Sony cites “content licensing arrangements” and tells users rather bluntly that they won’t be able to watch previously purchased Discovery content anymore going forward.

In other words, Sony removes the purchased content from the user’s PlayStation library. From January 1, 2024 on, users won’t find the purchased shows in their library anymore. They won’t be able to play the content anymore, and there is no option to mitigate the issue.

Sony’s support page lists all affected titles. Titles include MythBusters, Naked and Afraid, Outrageous Acts of Science and dozens of other shows.

Sony is not offering refunds for purchased content. This means, that users will lose access to the content without full or partial reimbursement.

The terms of service include the following paragraph that makes it clear that content may not be available indefinitely:

Access to Other Licensed Content that has been purchased may also be subject to compatibility between the Authorized Device and the video format of the Other Licensed Content, continued availability to the Other Licensed Content from our third-party licensors, and other applicable restrictions.

Digital content is only borrowed, never purchased

When you buy digital content, you borrow it only. The company that you buy it from loans it to you. There is a good chance that you may access the content indefinitely, but there is always a chance that access is removed.

This can be because of licensing changes, but also when companies decided to terminate services.

This is different when you buy physical media, especially movies or TV shows. Games may require an active Internet connection and access to a gaming Store nowadays to download data, but for most games, it still means that you own the game. Also worth noting is that you can resell physical games but not digital goods.

Here is the golden rule: if you want to access something indefinitely, buy the physical product, if available. If it is not available physically, either make the purchase knowing that you may lose access to it in the future, or skip it.

Not all content is available in physical form. This is true for all kinds of content, from TV shows and movies to games and so-called DLCs (downloadable Content).

Now You: do you buy digital content?

How to restore “Show Desktop” in Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows users who want to look at the desktop may use the “show desktop” button to do so. Many users may not be aware that such a button exists on the taskbar.

The main reason for that is that it is transparent. Hover the mouse cursor over the rightmost spot on the taskbar. You should get a tooltip that hints at the feature.

Show Desktop icon on Windows 11 taskbar

A click hides all open program windows and shows the Windows desktop in all of its glory. Another click restores all program windows to their previous state.

It is a handy option to quickly access icons on the desktop. While Show Desktop has lost some of its appeal, as many users are now pinning icons to the taskbar directly, it is still widely used.

Windows users who display widgets on the desktop, e.g., using Rainmeter, may also find it useful to glance quickly at whatever widgets are displayed at the time.

Begone Show Desktop says Microsoft

Microsoft announced a change in the most recent Windows 11 preview build for the Dev channel that affects the feature. The change turns off the icon on the taskbar by default. In its place comes Windows Copilot, which Microsoft moves from the center position to Show Desktop’s place on the taskbar.

In other words: when you click the area now, you activate Windows Copilot and not Show Desktop. The Windows Copilot icon is displayed there, however, which may reduce the number of accidental clicks.

Microsoft explains the change in the following way:

We are making a change where the Copilot icon is shown on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar to make the entry point to Copilot more clear and easily accessible by being closer to where the Copilot pane opens.

Good news for Windows 11 users who use Show Desktop is that they may restore the classic functionality. This is done by opening Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and re-enable Show Desktop.

There you also find an option to hide Windows Copilot, in case you don’t use it.

Another option is at your fingertips

There is another option, however. Instead of using the icon to show or hide the desktop, Windows users may also use a keyboard shortcut to do so.

Just press Windows-D on the keyboard once to show the desktop, and another time to restore the program windows to their original position. It is easy to invoke the shortcut with one hand, so that the other can stay on the mouse or elsewhere.

Closing words

Windows Copilot is still listed as a preview feature. It shows, especially in regards to the Windows-specific functionality that Microsoft promised the AI would support. You may turn off Windows Copilot, in case you don’t find it useful.

Now You: do you use Show Desktop?

How to prevent fullscreen video ads on Amazon Fire TV

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Amazon Fire TV devices may show fullscreen video ads now when started. These advertise Amazon Prime Video content. Good news is that users may turn these off on their devices.

The trailers play before users have had any interaction with the device, apart from turning it on. Amazon introduced the change on all current Fire TV devices, including Fire TV Cube and Stick devices.

Fire TV customers are not informed about the change by Amazon. The company provided Android Authority with a statement though in which it highlighted the awesomeness of the feature.

In short, Amazon sees it as a new way for customers to “discover something great to watch”. And it is super easy to go back to Home according to Amazon. All it takes is to press the Back or Home button on the Fire TV remote to do so.

Fire TV users may turn off this new experience.

Turn off fullscreen Ads on Fire TV devices

Amazon Fire TV Video Autoplay

Amazon integrated functionality to turn off video autoplay in the player’s main settings. Here is how that is done:

  • Select the Settings button on the Homescreen of the device.
  • Activate Preferences to open all device preferences.
  • Locate and select Featured Content.
  • Disable Allow Video Autoplay by toggling it to Off.
  • While you are at it, disable Allow Audio Autoplay by toggling it to Off as well.

You won’t get fullscreen video trailers anymore when you turn on the TV and switch to the Fire TV device.

Note that turning this off will also impact preview videos while browsing Home only. The Amazon Prime Video app, and other apps for that matter, may still autoplay video and audio content.

Options to turn off these may be available, but this depends on the individual apps.

Closing Words

Amazon plays fullscreen video trailers for its content on Fire TV devices. Some may say that Amazon has every right to do so, others may disagree, especially if they don’t consume any Prime Video content on the device.

It is thankfully easy to turn off autoplay of audio and video content in Home. Amazon’s Prime Video app has its own set of preferences. There you find options to mute videos while browsing channels, which is better than having to tap on Mute on the remote each time you start browsing videos on the site.

Again, this is all about personal preferences. There are probably lots of users out there that love the preview feature. If you ask me, it is one of the most annoying things when it comes to streaming services.

Now You: do you use streaming service? What is your take on autoplaying content?

Did Microsoft just crush the hopes of Windows 10 users?

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Hundreds of million of Windows 10 devices will run out of support in 2025 with no option to upgrade to a new version of the operating system.

Up until now, every version of Windows could be upgraded to a new version. All Windows versions reach end of support eventually. Microsoft stopped support for Windows 7 and 8 just recently, but this did not place users in a cul-de-sac. The upgrade path to Windows 10 allowed them to continue using their devices.

Things changed with the release of Windows 11. Microsoft changed the system requirements for the first time in a long, long while. The last big change dates back to Windows Vista, which Microsoft released in 2007 to the public.

From that moment on, Windows users had the reassurance that they’d be able to upgrade their devices to a new version when the currently installed version ran out of support.

Windows 11 requires a fairly modern processor and a security chip, TPM. Bypasses are available to install Windows 11 on devices that don’t meet the requirements. It is an artificial limit, not one born out of necessity.

Windows 11 does run better on modern PCs, but that is true for nearly anything else. Most Windows users who run older hardware know about the limitations. Most may prefer to continue using a newer version of Windows over the other choices that they have right now.

Microsoft confirms end of Windows 10 Support

Microsoft published a new support page on November 16, 2023 that some see as confirmation that Microsoft won’t extend support of the operating system.

The most important sentence on the page is the following one:

The Windows 10 end of support date of October 14, 2025, is unchanged.

The statement confirms Microsoft’s decision to end support of Windows 10 in October 2025. While it is very likely that Microsoft will stay true to this, at least for consumers, it can also be read as confirmation of the current plan.

Microsoft will give Enterprise and business customers an extension. There is little doubt about that. The system, first launched for Windows 7 about three years ago, allows these customers to extend the life of the operating system.

Windows 7 got a three-year life extension this way. Companies had to buy the extensions, but it meant that they could continue using these devices for up to three years.

Windows 10 will likely get the same deal, at the very least. A three year extension would allow commercial customers to use Windows 10 devices until October 2028. By then, Windows 12 and even Windows 13 may be out already.

What you can do about this

If your Windows 10 device is incompatible with Windows 11, you may wonder what you can do about it.

Microsoft recommends buying a new Windows 11 PC. That is an option, but it will result in millions of devices being put in the trash.

Users have quite a few options, but not all are equal:

  • Continue running Windows 10 at the expense of security and stability.
  • Upgrade to Windows 11 by bypassing the system requirements.
  • Migrating to Linux.

The first option may look like the worst of the three options. There are mitigations, however. First, third-party security patcher 0Patch will support Windows 10 with security patches for years after Microsoft ends its support. The company focuses on critical issues and it costs a couple of Dollar per year, but it is an option to continue using Windows 10 and feel a bit safer about it.

If Microsoft extends support for Enterprise and business customers, some clever folks will find ways to install these patches on user devices. The same happened when Windows 7 ran out of support, and it will happen again in two years time.

Installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is another option. It makes a few things less comfortable and some, mostly minor, features may not work, but it ensures continued security updates for the device.

The one big downside to this is that feature updates include additional requirement checks. This means, in essence, that you need to run bypasses at least every two years to continue receiving updates.

Migration to Linux is the most daring option. It is an entirely different operating system and there is no direct migration path. Some apps and programs may not be available on Linux either.

Good news is that you will be able to use the device for a long time.

This is probably the best app to learn Japanese

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

I love Japan, Japanese culture and the Japanese people. It has probably something to do with my geeky-side and that many Japanese share this side.

I tried to learn Japanese in the past, using online courses, local language courses and apps, but nothing really got me to the “I got it” moment. I have to admit that this was at least partially my fault, as I did not have the endurance to learn thousands of symbols at the time.

Still, the desire to learn Japanese continued to burn inside my brain. Whenever I start to play a Japanese video game, currently a replay of Dark Souls 2, I wish that I could play it fully in Japanese.

Anyway, I stumbled upon Human Japanese some time ago. It is available for all major platforms, with the exception of Linux. There is a “beginner” course, or app, and an intermediate course. The Japanese language learning course is not free, but you can get a lite version that includes the first eight chapters of the course for free.

That’s how I got hooked and it is ideal for finding out if the course is something for you, or not. The price of each course, basic and intermediate, differs by platform. It costs between $10 and $15 and includes the full selected course. This is a one-time payment and not a subscription.

One limitation is that the entire course is designed for English-speakers. There is no German, French or Portuguese version of the course available.

What makes Human Japanese special

learn Japanese with Human Japanese

What makes this course special when compared to other Japanese language learning courses? Well, there are a few things actually, but one very important aspect is reflected in the title already. The creator of the Japanese language course has designed it for humans. It includes lots of explanations and examples to better understand why something is in a specific way in Japanese.

The course leans towards the Grammar side of things, but not in the boring kind of way. It does not overburden you with rules and special rules, but focuses on the essentials. Also, there are explanations and examples everywhere to help you better understand certain concepts.

The helper tools are of equal importance. For every Japanese sentence, you get the option to listen to it and to get a word-by-word translation in English. Native Japanese speakers are used throughout the app.

The course includes cultural notes as well from time to time. These help better understand Japanese culture and customs.

Each chapter ends with a quiz. It is used to reflect the lesson and unlock the next chapter of the course. Users may unlock all chapters without passing quizzes successfully, but this is not really recommended.

In short, Human Japanese is not similar to most Japanese learning apps out there. You don’t just learn characters or words, and then take quizzes to proceed. It is a full-fledged course that is well designed and structured, and, even more important, well explained.

Can you learn Japanese with just an app?

Human Japanese is, in my opinion, the best Japanese learning app that I tried so far. There is certainly the chance that another service or app is even better, but I have yet to find it. If you think you have, let me know in the comments please.

An app, even one as good as it gets, can take you only to a certain point. It is important to expand from using the app to other sources. These can be books, videos online, podcasts, visits to Japan or local Japanese communities or other things.

In Closing

The first chapters of Human Japanese are free and it is enough to find out if this app does the trick for you or not. I bought the basic course already and will buy the intermediate course once I’m done.

Please note that there is a lot to read. If you used apps like Memrise, Babbel, Duolingo or Rosetta Stone in the past, you may find this overwhelming at first. The texts make a difference though, as they help you understand concepts that the other apps fail to teach or explain at the very least.

These other apps may still help you, for instance to learn new words or phrases.

Now You: do you use apps to learn languages?