Tag: google

Gemini in Gmail may have been enabled by default, and turning it off takes other features with it

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you are using Google’s Gmail email service, you may have stumbled upon Smart Features already, especially if you are using the web-version of the service. Up until recently, Smart Features did not include AI, but this changed in 2025.

Now, Google has baked its AI Gemini into the Smart Features of Gmail. Depending on where you live, Smart Features are enabled by default. Note that while Google claims that Smart Features are not turned on for user in the European Union (Japan, UK and Switzerland are the three other regions), they were in fact enabled in one of my accounts.

So, what do you get with Smart Features?

  • Automatic email filtering and categorisation.
  • Smart Compose.
  • Smart Reply.
  • Nudges (suggests emails to reply to or follow-up on)
  • Summary cards above emails.
  • Grammar, spelling, and auto-correction.

Some of these features are powered by AI nowadays and Gemini, Google’s AI, needs access to your data for the features to work. Google claims that personal data is not used for training and that everything is kept within the boundaries of the account.

However, if you prefer that Gemini does not access your emails at all, your only option is to turn of the Smart Features in Gmail.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Load https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#settings/general in a web browser.
  2. Scroll down to Smart Features in Settings under General.
  3. Remove the checkmark of the Smart Features box.
  4. Confirm the removal.
  5. Gmail restarts.

Smart Features should be turned off now.

Note that you may also need to click on “Manage Workspace smart feature settings”, if the account is a Google Workspace account and not just a single Gmail account.

There you can turn off Smart Features for Gmail and other Google products.

Again, when you enable the feature you do not get any auto-corrections anymore as well. That is a trade-off for some, others may use the functionality that their browser provides for that anyway.

Now You: do you use Gmail as your mail provider or another service? Black Friday might be a good option to make a switch, as plenty of deals are live already or will be offered in the coming weeks.

Google Search

Google is starting to show ads in AI Mode

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The number one advertisin company on the Internet seems to have found another place to show you ads. Reports are coming in that more and more users are starting to see ads in AI Mode.

AI Mode? It is a new option in Google Search that you may use to ask Google’s Gemini AI questions and get answers. The mode supports deep search functionality, which Google says is its “most advanced research tool in Google Search”.

Anyway, if you select the mode, you may now also get a good chunk of advertisement according to Bleeping Computer and several other sites and Internet users.

Earlier this year, Google started to show ads in AI Overviews. Unlike AI Mode, which users need to select actively, AI Overviews are attached to regular search results pages on Google Search.

Not all AI chats and modes show advertisement right now. However, there is a very good chance that many will in the not so distant future. These businesses can’t run on love alone and there does not seem to be enough money in selling paid memberships.

So, in the future, you will pay with your data and your eyes on ads when you use the majority of AI chats that will be still around in a year or two.

Speaking of which, if you are subscribed to a Gemini plan, you are still going to see ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews (of course), unless you use a content blocker.

Android

Android is getting an option for experts for sideloading

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google announced plans earlier this year to change a fundamental cornerstone of the Android ecosystem: sideloading. The plan was to force all developers to verify their identity, even those who had no interest in publishing via the Google Play Store.

This was a stark change compared to the status quo. Currently, developers may choose to publish their apps outside Google Play, for instance only on F-Droid, and they can do so unhindered.

Under the new system, they would be forced to verify their identity. Google says that this is for improving security, while third-party stores like F-Droid claim that it is the end of sideloading as we know it.

The main issue, from F-Droid’s perspective, is that Google is dishonest when it states that sideloading is not going away on Android. The reasoning is simple: the definition of sideloading is “the transfer of apps form web sources that are not vendor-approved”. Under the new system, developers need to register an account with Google, pay a fee, provide verification, e.g. with government IDs, accept the terms and conditions, and more.

Google published an update to its plans today on the Android Developers Blog. There, Google explained why it is introducing verification in first place (to keep users safe).

However, Google says that it has listened to feedback and decided to integrate an option for experienced users, students, hobbyists and developers.

It says that it is building “a new advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified”. This new flow is designed to ensure that users cannot be forced to bypass the safety checks, even when under pressure from scammers.

Additionally, Google wants to display clear warnings to help users understand the risks involved.

How this is going to work is unclear at this point. Google says that it will share more details in the coming months about this new option.

Still, it could be a good compromise that allows developers and users to install apps from other sources, even if they are not verified by Google.

Now it is your turn. What is your take on this? Is it a good compromise or would you like to see something else entirely? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Android

Starting next year, all Android apps need to be registered by verified developers, even sideloaded ones

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Android users have two main options to install apps on their devices. Through Google Play, if the marketplace for apps is installed, or through sideloading. Up until now, releasing apps through Google Play required a verified developer account. This meant that the developer had to verify their identity before apps could be published.

Starting in 2026, developers who do not publish their apps through Google Play will also be required to verify their identity, if they want their apps to be installed on certified Android devices. A certified Android device, in a nutshell is any device with installed Google services.

Google says that it won’t check apps that are registered through the new program but not made available through Google Play. However, developers are required to use a new special Android Developer Console for sideloading.

Furthermore, the verification process requires that developers provide Google with personal information, including their name, address, email, and phone number, and verification of their identity, for instance by providing Google with documentation that confirms the identity.

Google plans to invite select developers of applications from October 2025 onward and enable free registrations from March 2026 on.

The sideloading of apps by unverified developers will be blocked in the countries Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand from September 2026 on. More countries are added to the list starting in 2027.

Google claims that the new process is designed to “better protect users from repeat bad actors”, as it will make it harder for malware actors to quickly release new malicious apps after Google has taken down an app from a developer.

The change will make it difficult for malware creators, as they need a certificate to distribute their malicious apps outside of Google Play. However, it is also giving Google access to additional data and ends the anonymous development and distribution of apps.

Now You: what is your take on this? Good decision by Google to stop malware and threat actors in their tracks, or a move to gain access to even more data and control?

Need another reason why (most) subscriptions are bad for you?

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

In the past decade, many services and products have switched from a pay-once model to a subscription-based model. Sometimes, you get a choice, say between the pay-once version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365. Even then, companies usually tweak the deals to raise the attractiveness of the subscription-based product. Microsoft, for example, does not add new features to the pay-once version of Microsoft Office after release.

Many companies favor subscription-based services. They generate a steady-stream of income, bind the customer to the service, and make it easier to raise the price or change the deal favoring their side. Amazon did the latter when it introduced ads for all Prime Video subscribers and recently announced that more ads are coming.

Some companies raise the product of their services almost every year. Google, for example, just announced another round of price increases for Nest Aware.

Google Next devices are smart home products, think thermostats, smoke detectors, smart doorbells or speakers, designed to give home owners more control over their homes, even when they are not at home.

A subscription is required to take full advantage of Next devices. Nest Hub Max, for instance, offers basic motion detection only, if you have no subscription. If you want an upgrade to that, which also includes seen and face alerts, smoke and CO alarm and glass break sound detection, and more, you need a subscription.

Google informs subscribers currently that the price of a subscription is going up again this August. The two products, Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus, will cost $10 and $20 per month respectively, up from $8 and $15, which customers pay right now.

The last price hike happened in September 2023, when Google raised the price from then $6 and $12 per month to the price that it charges currently.

So, the price went up from $6 to $10 and from $12 to $20 per month in about two years. Is it the last increase? Very unlikely.

With hardware products, it is more challenging to switch, as you invested into the hardware already. While you can cancel a Netflix or Microsoft 365 subscription at any time and without much issues, with Nest and other hardware products, you’d either end up with some dumb bricks or hardware that is less efficient or useful.

The only options that we have is to vote with our wallets. Either do not buy the product in first place or end the subscription, if it gets out of hand. Yes, that could mean ending up with products you bought that will be of little use to you in the future.

Now You: do you have subscriptions currently? If so, which and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Google

Google: “people have been finding ads within AI overviews helpful”, so we are expanding them

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When you run a search on Google, you may get an AI Overview at the top of the results. Google announced an expansion of the AI-powered feature to roll out in more markets and for more languages.

Google revealed information about its AI plans yesterday on its Ads & Commerce blog. There, the company noted that AI Overviews is “one of the most successful launches in Search in the past decade”. Google saw a 10 percent increase in usage of Google for queries that displayed the overview generated by Google’s Gemini AI.

As a consequence, Google is expanding ads across AI Overviews. In particular, Google says that it is expanding ads in AI Overviews in English to more countries on mobile and desktop, and Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews for desktop users in the United States.

Ads will also be tested in AI Mode, which Google calls its “most powerful AI search” feature. AI Mode is limited to Google Search users from the United States at the time of writing.

In other words: expect (more) advertisement in AI Overviews and other AI tools in the coming months and years.

Clearly, running AI is expensive. While companies like Google, Meta, or Microsoft have the means to sustain development, infrastructure and operations, the clear goal is the direct or indirect generation of revenue from these services.

Direct revenue may come from subscriptions or ads, indirect revenue from using data for training or other purposes.

The consequences are clear: users should expect to see more and more ads baked into AI services. This looks like a testing ground currently, but it looks similar to how Google introduced ads in search. First, some ads, separated clearly from search results. Now, Google users get more ads than organic search results in some queries and there is no longer a clear distinction between the two.

Now You: do you use AI services? What is your take on ads being integrated into those?

Google Pixel 9a

Google Pixel 9a announced for $499

Posted on by Ashwin

Google has launched the Pixel 9a. The mid-range phone runs on Android 15 out of the box, with an update policy of 7 years of OS, security and Pixel drop updates.

Google Pixel 9a

As one might expect, the Pixel 9a ships with Gemini built-in, but it doesn’t include a subscription for Gemini Advanced.

The phone is powered by an in-house Google Tensor G4 processor, with 8 GB of RAM and 128/256 GB of storage. It has a Titan M2 security coprocessor, an optical fingerprint scanner, to protect user data which is end-to-end encrypted locally.

There is no camera island across the device’s rear panel, the dual cameras are instead housed in a regular array. The primary lens is a 48 megapixels wide angle camera that supports Optical Image Stabilization, Electronic Image Stabilization, and can record 4k videos at 60 frames-per-second. The other camera is a 13 megapixels ultra-wide angle lens.

The Pixel 9a is capable of AI-powered photography features like Add Me which combines group photos), Best Take which blends facial expressions from multiple photos, and Magic Editor that can reframe your photo, suggest best crop, auto-expand the scene, add effects, etc. In addition to these the Pixel 9a also supports various editing features such as Magic Eraser, Audio Magic Eraser, Night Sight, Astrophotography, Panorama with Night Sight, Photo Unblur.

Moving to the front, the Pixel 9a has a 13 megapixels wide angle camera for selfies, which is housed at the top of the screen. As for the design, the phone has thick bezels running around the edges. The screen is a 6.3-inches Actua Display, and it supports 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Google has managed to fit in a chunky 5,100 mAh battery in the phone, which it says will offer 30+ hours of battery life. The handset is IP68 certified for dust and water resistance. More interestingly, Google claims that the Pixel 9a has drop protection, which should make it durable.

Google Pixel 9a tech specs

  • Processor: Google Tensor G4
  • Security: Titan M2 security coprocessor, Fingerprint Unlock, Face Unlock
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Storage: 128 GB / 256 GB
  • Screen: 6.3-inches Actua Display, 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, HDR, 2,700 nits brightness
  • Operating System: Android 15
  • Front Camera: 13 MP f/2.2 aperture, 96.1° FoV, 4k video @ 30 fps
  • Rear Cameras: 48 MP Wide f/1.6 aperture, 82° FoV, OIS + EIS, 0.5x and 1x optical zoom, Super Res Zoom – up to 8x, 4K video capture @ 30/60 fps, 5x digital zoom + 13 MP Ultra-wide angle f/2.2 aperture, 120° FoV
  • Battery: 5,100 mAh, Fast Charging, Qi Wireless Charging
  • Port: USB Type-C 3.2
  • Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 microphones
  • Connectivity: Dual SIM (Single Nano SIM and eSIM), 4G LTE, 5G Sub 6GHz, Wi-Fi 6E with 2.4GHz+5GHz+6GHz, 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC, Google Cast, Dual Band GNSS, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS, NavIC
  • Sensors: Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyrometer, Magnetometer, Barometer
  • Update policy: 7 years of OS, security and Pixel drop updates
  • Rating: IP68 water and dust resistance
  • Dimensions: 154.7 mm x 73.3 mm x 8.9 mm
  • Weight: 185.9 g

Google Pixel 9a price and availability

The Pixel 9a starts at $499 for the 128 GB model, while the 256 GB version costs $599. The device will be available at the Google Store and retail partners beginning in April. The Pixel 9a comes in 3 colors: Obsidian, Porcelain and Iris.

Google Translate may get an AI infusion soon: here is what it does

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Millions of Internet users use Google Translate as their daily driver for translations. Google has integrated the service into its Chrome browser and it is also available as an application for Android.

Soon, Google may introduce new AI functionality in Google Translate. Here is what you need to know about that.

The details:

  • The new functionality was discovered during a code analysis of the Android Google Translate APK by Android Authority.
  • It is not available yet.

Good to known: Google Translate is a cloud-based service. Means, you need an active Internet connection to use the service. This means as well that Google is informed about your translations. If you want a privacy-friendly option, check out the Firefox Translate feature instead, as it runs locally.

Main AI feature: Ask a follow-up question

At the center of the new AI functionality is the ask a follow-up option. This enables users to interact with AI to use a range of different options.

These include the following:

  • Get information about the translation. Google Translate informs you about translation nuances for instance, according to Android Authority.
  • Ability to get the translation modified, e.g., to take regional variations into account or changing the tone or style.
  • Listen to the translated text with a click on the sound icon.
  • Ability to provide feedback using thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons.
  • Additional insights, e.g., cultural notes or grammar explanations.

Some of these features could be interesting to some users, provided that features like support for regional variants truly work. With AI, it could be difficult to tell whether there is an error in the regional variant or not.

Android Authority found the functionality in Google Translate 9.3.78.731229477.7 for Android. While included, it appears that it has not started to roll out yet or only to some users.

Closing Words

Some users of Google Translate will certainly like the new functionality. The ability to ask follow-up questions could give users a better understanding of the translation, especially if some things are unclear.

Google has not announced the new feature yet officially.

Block Breaker Google Search

You can now play Block Breaker on Google

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google loves to add little easter eggs to its products. It is not uncommon for the company to add games to its search engine. When you run searches for Pac Man, Snake, or Minesweeper, you may get the chance to play that game directly on Google Search.

The latest addition to Google Searches’ growing list of games is Block Breaker. It is a Breakout or Arkanoid clone.

You control a paddle at the bottom of the screen with the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard. The goal is to destroy all bricks displayed at the top of the screen.

To start, hit the up arrow. This releases the first ball. Some bricks include bonuses that extend the paddle, add lasers to it, or release more balls. There are also maluses, like temporary slow downs for the paddle.

Levels change fluently, which means that you keep all extras and balls. This is an interesting take on the game, which put you back to a single ball and no extras on each level start.

How to play Block Breaker

Block Breaker Game on Google

To play Block Breaker, you need to access Google Search and run a search for Block Breaker.

Note: The search for the game appears limited to certain geographic regions. There is a workaround though apart from using a VPN.

Just load this link in your favorite browser. This should display the Block Breaker game at the top of the search results.

Hit the play button to get started. The game shows its basic controls on the first screen, so that you know what to do. You have three lives after which you get the game over screen.

A few basic controls are supported. You may turn the music off or enable fullscreen mode.

The game should work across all device types and browsers. You can play it on your mobile devices, desktop PCs, or tablets without issues.

Note that there is no progress saving of any kind. When you close the game and reopen it later, you start at the first level again. Block Breaker does remember the high score though.

Now You: do you play games online or locally? Anything great that you started playing recently?

Google Search

Google Search: mobile results get simplified URL views

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The URL, which is the site address of webpages, offers essential information to Internet users. It allows Internet users to verify that they are on the right website or verify links before they are visited.

The details: Google announced that it is stripping the address of results on Google Search on mobile so that only the domain name is shown.

Here is how this looks like on mobile now:

Google Search on mobile shows the domain name only.

Google Search displays the domain name only from now on. Google reasons that the full URL is not that useful on mobile devices anyway, as it is cut off usually because of limited space on the screen.

The change applies to mobile search only. Desktop users continue to see the full address using breadcrumbs.

Notably, this comes just a week after security researchers uncovered a malvertising campaign on Google Search that allowed threat actors to display fake source domains in Google ads.

Can you still check the address in Google Search on mobile?

Google Search on mobile: display address

Google has not implemented a straightforward option to display the address of a linked resource before visiting it.

A tap on the menu icon next to a result displays various information about the source that Google collected, but not the full address. It is only displayed when you activate the “more about this page” link.

The page that is loaded then displayed the linked URL, but often cut off.

Two workarounds remain at this point:

  • Long-press on a result to display to display various options. These differ from browser to browser, but they may display the address fully or at least partially.
  • Use share functionality by long pressing on a link in the search results. You can then share the link or use other options, such as copying the link.

The better option, if you want full addresses shown on mobile, is to switch to another search engine. Most display the full address.

Closing Words

It is true that the full address is usually not displayed on mobiles. While the new results page looks more pleasing to the eye, it strips users of a way to verify the target of a link displayed on Google Search.

Google could at least have added the full address to the summary page that users can open when they tap on the three dots next to a result. It would even be possible to display it on multiple lines, so that it is visible in full.

Alas, no such option has been implemented.

What is your take on this? Do you mind the removal off the information on Google Search? Feel free to leave a comment down below.