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In the past couple of years, advertising giant Google has started to squeeze more ads and new ad formats into YouTube in order to drive up revenue.

This culminated in efforts to block content blockers outright or make the usage of such tools laborious. Even subscribers, those who pay Google money for seeing less ads on the site (Premium Lite) started to see more ads as a consequence.

In addition, Google started to use AI to drive up revenue further, for instance to make sure that advertisement would be shown at the most annoying moments.

Now, reports are coming in that Google has once again made a change that is making things worse for users of the platform. X-User and founder of Adsquire Anthony Higman noticed that YouTube prevented him from closing the side panel on YouTube on mobile, something that was possible previously.

YouTube may use the side panel to show ads to the user while a video plays. Previously, users could activate the close icon to hide the side panel and watch the video without it taking up half the screen, says Higman.

The ads sidebar is used by YouTube to display products or sitelinks. It may show ads related to products discussed in the video, but may also show other ads that YouTube considers a good fit for the particular user.

As always, it is unclear if the change is rolling out to all users or if YouTube is just testing it and analyzing reactions.

YouTube's annual revenue has grown significantly in the past seven years. In 2018, YouTube recorded an ad-revenue of $11.1 billion. Six years later, the reported revenue grew to $36.1 billion. In other words, Google more than tripled the revenue of YouTube. YouTube Premium subscriptions added another $14.5 billion to the revenue in 2024.

While most YouTube users may not mind the occasional advertisement, as it helps finance the service, most appear annoyed by the sheer number of ads, less and less control over ads on the platform, and a supply of scam ads that appear endless.

Other than subscribing to YouTube Premium, you could start using third-party apps and browsers to access content on YouTube.

Here are a few options:

• Android: Revanced, LibreTube, or NewPipe (there are plenty of other options), or a browser like Firefox or Brave that can block ads either natively or through extensions.
• iOS: Brave Browser or any other browser that blocks ads natively.
• Desktop systems: Any browser that can block ads, video downloaders, third-party frontends for YouTube like Invidious, even Microsoft Bing Video.

Now You: do you watch videos on YouTube? Are you a subscriber, sit through ads, or use different means to bypass or block ads? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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Valve has announced a new feature for Steam Deck. The handheld can now continue downloading games even when the screen is off.

Odd isn't it. How was this feature not available previously? It is a battery-powered handheld gaming console, and having the display on during game downloads is only going to consume a lot of power, and possibly make the device run warmer. It seems a little silly that they didn't add this power-saving feature until now. Well, it's better late than never.

Prior to this update, the Steam Deck would pause game downloads when the screen went to sleep or stand by mode. You can control the new behavior, so this option is still available.

When you start a download, or if a download is in-progress, and you press the power button on the Steam Deck, it will ask you whether it should continue downloading with the screen off. Valve says that choosing to continue with downloading will let the Steam Deck complete active downloads using a new display-off power mode, before it goes to sleep. This option is enabled by default when the device is connected to a charger, users can manage it from the Settings > Power. You can enable it to download games on Battery Power too. If your Steam Deck's battery falls below 20%, the device will enter sleep mode.

If your device is idle while downloading a game, it will continue downloading the content after an idle timeout (to turn off the screen). When you wake up the handheld, you will see the download progress as seen in the image. Users can choose to wake up the console fully, or let it finish downloading when the display is off.

(Images via Valve/Steam)

Valve's announcement says that display-off downloads are available on the Steam Deck in the Beta and Preview channels. It may take a while before the feature is introduced in the Stable release.

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OpenAI's AI video generator app, Sora, is now available on Android. But, it's only available in a few Countries.

OpenAI had launched Sora in late 2024, for the web. In September 2025, an iOS version of the app was released, with the Sora 2 model. Sora hit the 1 million download mark in less than 5 days.

Users can browse videos that were generated by others in a vertical feed, or create a new 10-second video with audio. Sora supports text prompts and can also use images that the user selects, to generate a video. Sora's Cameo feature lets you create videos using your likeness, or anyone else's who has given their consent to OpenAI. It didn't take long for users to abuse the system, and create videos that violated copyright content. In fact, the Japanese government had asked OpenAI not to engage in any actions that could constitute copyright infringement.

A Cabinet minister had even pointed out that anime and manga are irreplaceable treasures. The message was about preserving the originality of the art, and keeping it away from generative AI. This is not the first time OpenAI has been found infringing copyrights, the previous notable outcry was about the AI copying Studio Ghibli's art style for creating images based on user prompts.

OpenAI's Sora video generator for Android is available on the Google Play Store in the following Countries: Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, US, Vietnam. The iOS version is also available in these regions. Engadget reports that the iOS app requires an invitation, but it appears the Android version has been released on a wider basis. OpenAI had announced that users in the US, Canada, Japan, and Korea can access the Sora app without an invitation code, for a limited time. It's unclear when the company plans to expand access to the app for other regions.

Sora is free to use for now. It will likely require a subscription, or be bundled into a ChatGPT paid plan in the future.

Do you like AI generated videos?

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Apple has released the iOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 updates. You can now reduce the transparency effect of Liquid Glass.

On iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, head to the Settings > Display & Brightness > and tap the option that says "Liquid Glass". Now, select Tinted. The option can be found under Settings > Appearance > Liquid Glass on macOS Tahoe 26.1. It doesn't completely reduce the transparency effect, but it's better than nothing.

And the updates are not just about Liquid Glass. Apple Intelligence is now available for the following languages: Chinese (traditional), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Live Translation with AirPods support for Chinese (Simplified and traditional), Japanese, Korean and Italian.

The Apple Music app supports a new gesture that lets you swipe left/right on the miniplayer to change the track. AutoMix is now supported over
AirPlay. Users can now log their workouts manually in the Fitness app.  Communication Safety and Web content filters to limit adult websites are now enabled by default for existing child accounts for ages 13-17, this based on the Country/region.

Ever tried to swipe on a notification on the Lock Screen, but accidentally opened the Camera app instead? You may like this. Users can now turn off the swipe gesture to open the Camera. To do so, open the Settings > Camera > and tap on "Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera". You will still be able to access the Camera by long-pressing tapping on its button on the Lock Screen.

There is a new option under Settings > General > called Local Capture. This allows you to set the folder where video and audio recordings are saved, and it also has an audio-only toggle, if you don't want to record your screen during video calls. Gain control is available for external USB microphones when recording with local capture. Apple says it has improved FaceTime audio quality in low-bandwidth conditions

The name change from Apple TV+ to Apple TV is live, along with a new icon for the app.

iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1 come with a bunch of security fixes. Apple has also released macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, Safari 26.1 with some patches for security vulnerabilities. None of these issues were actively exploited, aka no zero-day threats. But it's still a good to install the latest security updates to your devices safe.

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If you have worked on a PC with Microsoft's Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system, you may have encountered a bug that could occur during system updates. Windows offers two main options when it comes to updating: "update and restart", or "update and shut down".

• The first installs the Windows update and will restart the PC so that you can continue working.
• The second installs the updates and shuts down the PC after the update has been installed.

The bug caused the system in the second case to restart instead of shutting down. This usually meant that you had to run the shutdown command again to shut down the PC, sometimes in the morning or at a later point in time, if you did not wait for the initial operation to complete. This could lead to some frustrating experience, especially if you did not wait for the operation to complete and got back hours later to the PC noticing that it never shut down.

Microsoft claims now that it has identified the root cause of the bug and fixed it. The information is found in the preview update for Windows 11, version 25H2 and version 24H2 on the official Microsoft Support website.

There, Microsoft writes: "Improved: Addressed underlying issue which can cause “Update and shutdown” to not actually shut down your PC after updating."

Microsoft did not explain the bug or provide information about it. Its cause is unclear therefore.

Here is what you need to know:

• The bug fix is integrated in the preview update. It will be included in the next cumulative update for Windows 11, which Microsoft will release on Tuesday, November 11th.
• The bug is fixed in Windows 11, versions 24H2 and 25H2.
• It is listed as a gradual rollout. This means that Microsoft will enable the fix over time on systems that have the updates installed.

Once the change is applied, Windows should shut down properly after the installation of an update, if the shutdown option is selected.

Microsoft won't release a fix for its Windows 10 operating system, despite it also being affected by the issue.

Now You: Did you ran into the issue previously while updating your Windows PCs? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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The YouTube app for TV has been updated with some new features. It now supports AI upscaling, shopping QR codes, and more.

A big focus of the latest update is on the back catalog, i.e. older videos since the platform's debut 20 years ago. Naturally, a lot of older videos are of lower quality in terms of video resolution. Remember when Opera browser added a Lucid Mode to make old videos look sharper? Well, the browser uses filters.

YouTube wants to make old videos look better using AI-powered technology. What else were you expecting? YouTube will automatically upscale videos from SD to HD quality. It's starting with videos that were uploaded below 1080p. YouTube says that the original videos will remain intact, creators have complete control over their library.

As Ars Technica points out, this might explain the issue that surfaced in August, when some content creators noticed that their videos looked smudgy. At that time, YouTube did not inform the creators about it, let alone offering an option to opt out of the process. But that's changing, creators can and opt-out of the enhancements. This means that the feature is opt-in, so all older videos below 1080p will be upscaled, unless you opt out. Viewers can also choose to watch the videos in the original resolution, the upscaled versions are labeled as Super Resolution, as seen in the image.

(Image courtesy: Google)

Here's a support page related to video & audio enhancements. YouTube wants to support upscaling to 4K in the near future.

YouTube is increasing its thumbnail file limit from 2MB to 50MB. Yay! High-res weird, clickbait thumbnails. YouTube for TV's homepage will display a user's favorite YouTube channels with immersive previews. They made a mess of it before by prioritizing Shorts, hope this update fixes it.  Searching for videos from a channel's page will now prioritize videos from that channel at the top of the results, instead of content from others.

YouTube's announcement says that over the past year, viewers watched 35 Billion hours of shopping related content on its platform. That is sad on so many levels. In order to make the experience simpler, videos that are tagged shopping, will display a shopping QR code that users can scan with their phone's camera to get to the product page quickly, so you don't have to search for it manually. It also says that this experience is currently being tested to "feature products at specific, timed moments within videos". So, creators will be able to highlight the product QR codes during the video.

YouTube's redesigned video player is now available for all users.

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Users are reporting that a bug in Windows 11 is causing the Task Manager to behave erratically when it is closed. The issue seems to have been introduced in the October Preview update.

Microsoft had released KB5067036 as an optional preview update for Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2. It ships with Copilot+ PC features such as new Click to Do actions, Voice Access, Agent as well as some improvements for regular PCs including a redesigned Start Menu with a scrollable "All" section, category and grid views, changes to File Explorer, Lock Screen, Taskbar icons, and more. It even fixes an issue related to the Task Manager, where some apps might unexpectedly not be grouped with their processes.

Ironically, the update also breaks the Task Manager. When you open the system monitoring utility, and click on the close button in the corner of the window, it doesn't always close the app. The tool keeps running in the background, though no window is visible. Every time you open Task Manager, it opens a new instance on top of the old one. This means that you can have several copies of the Task Manager running on your PC each of which eats up CPU cycles, memory, and consumes more power.

Windows Latest reported the problem, several users on Reddit say they experienced the issue after installing the optional update. A support article on Microsoft's website confirms that the bug has been acknowledged as a known issue in the KB5067036 update.

Microsoft says that it is investigating the issue, and will release a fix. Meanwhile, as a workaround, it is advising users to not click on the Close button in the Task Manager. Instead, you can click on the Process tab, select Task Manager, and then click on End Task. That's kind of funny. Kill Task Manager using Task Manager.

Or, if you have multiple copies of Task Manager open, you can close them by pasting the following command in a command prompt window: taskkill /im taskmgr.exe /f

On a sidenote, Microsoft will end support for Windows 11 23H2 on November 11, 2025. Users will need to update their PC to Windows 11 version 24H2 or 25H2 to continue receiving security updates.

Have you run into the Task Manager duplication bug?

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Meta has added support for a new way to encrypt chat backups in WhatsApp Messenger: you can now use Passkeys to secure your data.

WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encrypted backups for chat backups in 2021. This security feature requires users to create a password, or save a 64-bit digital key on their device to protect the data from unauthorized access.

You may be aware that WhatsApp rolled out Passkeys support for Android in 2023, and for iOS in 2024. This addition allowed users to verify their account using a Passkey. However, it didn't support chat backups, until now, that is.

Unlike the older methods, i.e. using a password or a 64-bit key, Passkeys offer a passwordless option, there is nothing you need to remember, it never leaves your device, and is easier to use. You can use your face, fingerprint, or screen lock code to encrypt your chat backups. The announcement on WhatsApp's blog says that the encryption standard that is used for chat backups is the same that is used for chats and calls in the app.

To enable Passkey for chat backup in WhatsApp, go to the app's Settings > Chats > Chat backup > and select end-to-end encrypted backup. Here, you will be able to select the option to use a Passkey.

It may not be available for you yet, that is because WhatsApp says the feature is rolling out gradually to users, and it may take a few weeks or months before it is available for all users. Once you enable the option, you will be asked to use the Passkey to unlock access to your chat backups.

Passkeys for chat backups are supported on WhatsApp on iOS and Android.

WhatsApp recently added a message translation feature for chats, a built-in document scanner for Android, along with Live Photos for iOS, and Motion Photos on Android.

Do you use Passkeys?

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Computer users have plenty of choice when it comes to an essential piece of software: password managers. From built-in browser password managers to local apps or cloud-based services that sync your data across all of your devices -- and the company's cloud -- there is much choice, which can be overwhelming.

One of our favorite password managers is KeePass. The main version of the program is available for Windows, but the format that it uses is widely used and apps, for instance KeePassXC, are available for more or less any system you can think of. Add plugin support to the mix, and you get a password manager that is very powerful, yet keeps you in full control all the time.

KeePass 2.60 is the latest version of the 2.x branch of the password manager. You can download it from the developer website and upgrade existing versions that way. While KeePass does include update notifications, updating is not integrated nor automatic.

Just run the installer after the download to upgrade the installation. Portable users can copy the data into the portable folder to update.

So what is new in the release? The official blog post lists a large number of new features and improvements.

Here are the main changes:

• Press Ctrl-A in list view that supports multiple selections to select all items at once.
• Press Delete when you have items selected to delete them, provided that the view supports deletion.
• French-speaking users may see a warning because of a conflict between the global auto-type hotkey Ctrl-Alt-A and the French Standard AZERTY layout.
• The clearing countdown for the Clipboard now shows the remaining time in seconds. Previously, it only showed a bar.
• Support for importing Firefox 143 CSV password files was added.
• When importing Bitwarden JSON data, "totp" fields that consist of only Base32 characters are now treated as "a shared secret for time-based one-time password generation".
• Added support for parsing Unix timestamps in milliseconds.
• New search option: search for group paths.
• Option new main entry list columns "Group Path" and "Group Name".

As for improvements, there is a significant amount listed. You may notice that the auto-complete of the quick search box is not showing any suggestions anymore. This is caused by a bug that is affecting the display when running new searches.

You can check out the remaining improvements, which address quite a few bugs and issues for the most part.

Now You: do you use a password manager? If so, what is your favorite program for the job and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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YouTube and Disney are clashing heads over a contract dispute. As a result of this feud between the two, YouTube TV has lost access to Disney, ESPN, ABC, and other stations.

The previous agreement expired on October 30th. Both parties have blamed one another in official statements after negotiations did not result in a new agreement.

In a statement published on its blog, Google-owned YouTube claims that Disney threatened to blackout its services on YouTube TV last week to force its hand in accepting a deal that would raise the prices for its users. YouTube claims that Disney suspended their services to follow up on that threat. YouTube also alleged that this was done to benefit Disney's own live TV services such as Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

The New York Post and Sports Business Journal reported that Disney on the other hand said that YouTube chose to deny subscribers they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for its channels. The media company alleged that Google was abusing its market dominance to eliminate competition, and undercut industry-standard terms that Disney has negotiated with other distributors. An estimated 10 million YouTube TV subscribers have lost access to various live sporting events such as the NFL, NBA, College Football, and more., because of this disagreement.

YouTube noted that it is a frustrating, disappointing outcome for subscribers, and that if Disney's content remains unavailable on YouTube TV for an extended period of time, it’ll offer subscribers a $20 credit. The streaming giant has urged Disney to work with it constructively to reach a fair agreement to restore access to the networks on YouTube TV.

YouTube TV costs $82.99 per month. That's quite expensive It almost makes individual streaming services look affordable in comparison. However, HBO Max, Netflix, Apple TV, and Peacock increased their subscription prices this year.

If you ask me, both companies will likely come to an agreement eventually and it is likely that the subscriber will once again be on the receiving end in all of that.

Do you subscribe to YouTube TV?

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Amazon Fire TV devices, at least those based on Android, support the sideloading of apps. While that requires a bit of tinkering, it allows users to install apps on the device that are not listed in the Amazon App Store. One of my favorite apps for the Fire TV is SmartTube, a YouTube frontend that does away with ads and tracking on the streaming site.

Starting today, Amazon plans to introduce a blocklist for apps on its platform, according to Heise Online. The blocklist is reportedly maintained by the anti-piracy organization ACE (Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment). The organization's members include Amazon, BBC Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Paramount Global and others.

The details:

• Amazon plans to notify users of apps that are on the blocklist initially to inform them that these apps should not be used.
• The blocking will take place in a second stage, but it is not clear yet when it will begin.

Amazon Fire TV users who run an app starting today will receive notifications when they do. The apps continue to work for now, but this will only be temporary. Neither Amazon nor ACE have published a list of applications that are on the list. It is unclear, therefore, which and how many apps are on the blocklist.

Fire TV users may continue to install applications via sideloading, including on Amazon's new operating system Vega OS, which is based on Linux and not on Android.

While the blocklist approach to blocking certain apps from running on Fire TV devices appears to be an expansion of previous efforts, Amazon did reportedly disable certain sideloaded apps remotely on Fire TV devices in the past already.

A Torrentfreak report from June 2025 suggests that Amazon did block two piracy apps on Fire TV devices in that month. Users of the apps got an "app disabled" prompt when they attempted to launch the apps on their devices. The only two options provided at the time were to keep the app or uninstall it. The option to "run anyway" was not provided, and selecting keep meant that the app remained installed but could not be run on the device.

It is likely that the new blocklist approach will show similar options to users, once an app that is on the list is launched on a Fire TV device.

Now You: Do you use a Fire TV device for entertainment or have another favorite? What is your take on the upcoming change? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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Google has made some changes to the Play Store in the U.S. These changes have been made to comply with a court order in the antitrust lawsuit against Epic Games.

Epic filed a case against Google in 2020, after the latter had banned Fortnite from the Play Store for evading Google's own payment system. The lawsuit dragged on, and in 2023, Google was found to have built an illegal app store monopoly on Android. Though Google appealed the ruling, last year, a judge ordered that the company to open up the Play Store to third-party payment options. It was also ordered to allow other app markets on the Play Store.

Google appealed against this ruling at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. But the lower court was not convinced, and the Mountain View company lost the appeal. Google had filed a stay motion in an attempt to delay the launch of third-party app marketplaces on the Play Store, but the court denied this as well.

Now, Google has revealed that it has made some changes to the Play Store payments policy to ensure compliance with the injunction. It will not prohibit app developers from informing users about the pricing of apps outside the Play Store. The Play Store will not forbid Android developers from linking to app downloads outside the Play Store. Google Play Billing is no longer required for apps that are distributed via the Play Store. It will also allow apps to link to an external payment gateway, i.e. apps can direct users to a third-party payment system, where they can buy a license or subscribe to a service.

It is worth noting that these changes only apply in the United States. Google has to follow these rules for three years in the U.S., until November 1, 2027.

It's unclear how this will affect Google's plans for sideloading on Android.

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A month ago, F-Droid criticized Google's anti-sideloading policy. Shortly after that, the Mountain View company said that sideloading isn't going anywhere.

Now, F-Droid says Google's statement is false.

In case you missed it, starting next year, Google requires Android developers to verify their identity, even if they do not distribute their apps via the Play Store. This means that all Android app developers will need to register with Google, pay a fee, and provide an ID to Google to get a verification which will be used to sign their app, whether the APK is hosted on GitHub, distributed by F-Droid, etc.

Google claims this verification process will help mitigate malware on Android. However, power users and app developers are concerned that this "self-doxxing" would dissuade developers from continuing their work on Android apps, leading to the apps' death. This in turn could effectively spell the end of sideloading on Android.

Speaking of which, F-Droid pointed out how the word sideloading was coined as a misleading term as opposed to just installing. The term sideloading was crafted to insinuate the process was unsafe, and bypassed safeguards. Sideloading is defined by Wikipedia as "the transfer of apps from web sources that are not vendor-approved". Based on that, Google's statement that sideloading is not going away is a lie. That's because Google is the vendor in question, and its new policy will give it absolute control over which apps get approved.

F-Droid also noted that Google's anti-sideloading policy takes away the choice of picking which software users install on their devices. It goes against the promise of Android being an open ecosystem. The report also said that Google's purported claim that it "found over 50 times more malware from internet-sideloaded sources than on apps available through Google Play", has no supporting evidence. The Play Store itself has been found to have hosted malware apps several times. So its claim about third-party app marketplaces being a security threat is rather ironic.

F-Droid is asking Android app developers not to sign up for Google's early access program, or to verify their identity, or accept an invitation to the Android Developer Console. It is advising devs to decline the invitation, while highlighting concerns and objections the developer may have. F-Droid is directing app devs toward the Keep Android Open website, that has details about contacting national regulators in various countries, that developers can contact to complain about the upcoming change to Android app development.

And as I said before, Google's new rule could be used to the benefit of protecting Google's apps and services. If it deems an app has violated its terms of service, it could potentially be banned.

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Samsung has announced the beta release of its web browser, Samsung Internet Browser, for Windows. However, it is only available in South Korea or the United States.

If you can recall, the app was spotted on the Microsoft Store in November 2023, but was taken down. As Martin wrote, it was pretty bare-bones at that time.

Two years later, is the browser ready to take on the web?

The announcement says that Samsung Internet Browser supports Galaxy AI features like Browsing Assist, which can summarize web pages, and translate content. The company's vision for ambient AI is to seamlessly integrate AI into everyday life. But you will need to be signed in to your Samsung account to use these features.

This also lets you sync your browser's data between your devices, i.e. PC and Android phone, manage your passwords with Samsung Pass, and access the ‘Continue apps on other devices’ feature which lets you continue browsing a web page on another device.

Samsung Internet for PC supports Windows 11 and Windows 10 (version 1809 and above. The browser will be available in more regions in the future. Want to download it? You'll need a Samsung Account registered in South Korea or the United States, and sign in to the Samsung Developer Portal.

Alternatively, SamMobile has the installer, if you want to try it. It's a web-installer.

I tested it briefly on my Windows VM. Samsung Internet Browser is based on Chromium. You don't need to sign in to a Samsung account to use the app.

Samsung Internet Browser for PC includes "Smart anti-tracking", which is what the browser's built-in ad blocker is called. That's a good thing. But, it tends to leave blank spaces where ads are, and failed to block certain ads even on strict mode, which is unimpressive. Fortunately, the app allows you to install extensions from the Chrome web store, so you can install uBlock Origin Lite. It has an HTTPS-first toggle too.

The default search engine is Google, you can switch it to any of the following options

• Youtube
• Yahoo!
• Microsoft Bing
• DuckDuckGo
• Naver
• Daum
• Qwant
• startpage
• Yandex
• @MAIL.RU
• Seznam.cz
• Baidu
• Sogou
• 360

Samsung Internet allows you to access the internet://flags/ page to try experimental features, unlike the last 2 browsers I tried, ChatGPT Atlas and Perplexity Comet. Samsung's browser has a sidebar on the right edge, which contains shortcuts to various AI features, which I didn't test.

The browser seems to be very CPU-intensive. Even with zero tabs and no add-ons, it slowed my VM to a crawl, something none of the other browsers I tested did. It's a raw beta, alright! Hopefully this CPU spike issue is sorted out during the beta program.

There is no word yet about a Linux or Mac version of the browser.

Here's the page for the browser's privacy policy. It seems pretty wild to me.

Have you tried Samsung Internet Browser on PC?

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Oh Nothing, what have you done? When you released your first devices, you refreshingly opted for a non-bloatware approach. This meant, that your customers could be sure that they would not get devices with pre-installed apps that they did not want or, in most cases, care about. I did even buy one of your devices for my mother.

This strict non-bloatware approach changed on Monday when Nothing released a statement after testers noticed a problematic new feature, Look Glimpse, in test builds of an upcoming release. Look Glimpse was a new wallpaper feature that would display wallpapers on the lockscreen. At least some of these were advertisement.

Nothing back then assured users that the feature would not be activated by default and that it had plans to expand the feature, so that users could display their own images eventually. Additionally, it mentioned the need to pre-install some apps on some devices because business was tough.

Today, 9to5Google is reporting that the company's latest phone, the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite, ships with a handful of pre-installed apps from third-parties. The applications Facebook and Instagram were installed on the test device. The news outlet reveals that a third application may also be installed on user devices as part of this initial list of pre-installed apps. The third app in question is TikTok.

Arguably, the three applications are very popular and often installed by users on their devices. However, that is then the decision of the individual user.

While the tester could uninstall the three applications, further inspection revealed that three additional applications were installed on the device. These, namely Meta App Installer, Meta App Manager, and Meta Services, could not be removed using conventional application uninstallation options on the device. However, the tester could disable the applications on the device.

It is not uncommon for budget phone makers to earn much of the revenue not from device sales but from advertisement agreements with third-parties. Pre-installed apps are common on phones, even on high-end ones, and manufacturers make a good penny with these agreements.

Nothing adding these apps to a first device, no matter whether it is a budget device or not, could alienate part of the user base that it has accumulated with its previous device releases. Will the next Nothing phone also include these applications? It is unclear at this point, but it might change the mind of some customers from instant-buy to a more cautious approach.

Three apps may not be a big deal, and that may be the case. I'd argue that the three apps that you can't uninstall on the device are the main problem, especially from the view-point of a customer who picked Nothing because of its previous stance on bloatware on their devices.

Now You: what is your take on this? Do you have a Nothing phone or planned to purchase one in the future? Do you consider buying a Nothing phone in the future?

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Google has announced that it will enable HTTPS in Chrome by default next year. I wrote a similar article 2 years ago, about HTTPS-first mode.

Frankly, I'm surprised it has taken this long for Google to make this change. So, what does it do? Well, as the name suggests, it is a setting that forces Chrome to connect to websites using the HTTPS protocol. HTTP requests are unencrypted and hence insecure, and attackers could potentially hijack a request, when a user clicks on a link or types in a URL, taking them to a different website. This could lead to a malware infection, social engineering attack, targeted exploitation, etc. Google says that plaintext HTTP connections are invisible to users, and could redirect to HTTPS sites instantly. It's very easy to miss it.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protects against such attacks, your connection is encrypted, any communication is done only with the website's server. HTTPS is widely supported by most websites. Back in 2022, Google introduced an option in Chrome to force the browser to use HTTPS-only, to protect users. Google says that 95% of the web uses HTTPS, but the remaining 5% is still a lot of navigations, and this poses a huge security risk. The announcement notes that the largest contributor to HTTP are private sites. Google believes that this is the right time to enable the setting for all users.

(Image courtesy: Google)

When the option is enabled, and you come across a website that doesn't support HTTPS, Chrome will warn you that the page may be insecure (as seen in the image), and you can choose to exit to safety or proceed at your own risk. This warning will only be shown on the first visit to the website.

Want to enable the feature right now? Go to Chrome's Settings > Privacy and Security or just paste this in a new tab chrome://settings/security and, you will see a section called Secure connections, which has an option that says "Always use secure connections". This option is disabled by default, this is the one Google Chrome will enable automatically from next year.

Microsoft recently announced the availability of HTTPS-first mode in Edge 140, though it's not enabled by default. Mozilla Firefox, Vivaldi, Apple Safari and Brave browser all support a similar HTTPS everywhere feature.

Google experimented by enabling the option in Chrome 141 for public sites for a small percentage of users. It says that the number of warnings that people saw was less than 3% of navigations.

Google will enable the "Always Use Secure Connections" option for users have opted-in to Enhanced Safe Browsing protections in Chrome, this will happen in April 2026, when Chrome 147 is released. HTTPS will be enabled by default for all users starting in Chrome 154, which is slated for release in October 2026.

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Microsoft has announced its earnings for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2026. Unsurprisingly, Xbox console sales took a huge hit in the previous year.

Microsoft said in its Q1 2026 earnings call, that it had earned a total of $77.7 billion in revenue up by 18% year-over-year, and its net income was $30.8 billion (up by 12%).

Its earnings from Windows and Devices increased by 5%, or $222 Million, compared to the previous quarter. The revenue from Windows OEM and Devices increased by 6%, and 18% of Windows OEM growth. The Redmond company attributed this to the demand (new computer purchases) ahead of the end of support of Windows 10. It did see a decline in Devices, though it's unclear what these were.

Microsoft also raked in a cool $472 million in revenue from Search, and news advertising, which was a 15% increase for this quarter. It said that this revenue excluded traffic acquisition costs, and that the increase was driven by a higher search volume, and its partnerships with third-parties. This is probably related to its partnership with OpenAI to use GPT in Copilot.

Speaking of which, OpenAI announced a couple of days ago that it had restructured its business. CNBC reports that the nonprofit organization now has $130 billion in equity in its for-profit arm. During this announcement, it revealed that Microsoft holds a 27% stake in the company, which is 1% more than the nonprofit arm of OpenAI (it has 26%).

Anyway, back to Microsoft stuff, the company's gaming revenue decreased by $113 Million, which was 2% driven by a decline in Xbox hardware. Xbox hardware revenue decreased by 29% year-over-year due to lower volume of consoles sold. It's worth noting that Microsoft hiked the price of the Xbox Series X/S consoles around the world in May. This was followed by a second price increase in the U.S., in September.

For reference, here are the Xbox prices (after 2 increases in the U.S.), with the original launch prices mentioned in parentheses

• Xbox Series S 512GB - $399.99 (up by $100 from $299.99)
• Xbox Series S 1TB - $449.99 (up by $100 from $349.99)
• Xbox Series X Digital - $599.99 (up by $150 from $449.99)
• Xbox Series X - $649.99 (up by $150 from $499.99)

Microsoft had explained that it had increased the prices due to macroeconomic pressures and tariffs. Translation: tariffs and inflation. This is not the first drop in Xbox sales, it was down by 22% in the previous quarter (Q4 FY25), which ended in June. It had dropped by 29% in the Q2 and Q3 of the previous fiscal year.

Xbox gaming revenue increased by 1% year over year in Q1 FY26, thanks to Xbox Game Pass and third-party games. It admitted that first-party content saw a decline. That's unsurprising, considering the lack of a new game aside from Grounded 2. The increase in gaming revenue could also be due to some older Xbox games being released on PlayStation, which is a good thing in my opinion. Microsoft also increased the price of Game Pass subscriptions recently, so that may also play a major role in its revenue.

On a side note, Microsoft has released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and its DLC on GOG. It's always nice to have a DRM-free option. Can't say that about Doom: The Dark Ages, which has a DRM in it.

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YouTube has announced an important change to its policies about online gambling and graphic violence in gaming. It wants to lock such videos behind an age-restriction.

Here's the current policy about Violent or graphic content on YouTube. The section under "Age-restricted content and EDSA exceptions" says, "Generally, we do not remove dramatized violence when the content or metadata lets us know that the content is fictional, or when it’s apparent from the content itself, such as with animated content or video games." It mentions that dramatized violence with graphic scenes such as mass violence, torture, severe injuries, violent deaths that show blood will be age-restricted.

The upcoming change to this policy will age-restrict videos that have "content featuring realistic human characters that focuses on scenes of torture or scenes of mass violence against non-combatants." In order to review the content, YouTube will consider the duration, i.e. how long the graphic scene runs, whether it is sustained or fleeting. It will also check the prominence, whether the violent content is zoomed-in, or the main element of a scene, and also if a character that looks like a real human is being harmed. Such videos will not be available for viewers under 18.

But, why is this changing all of a sudden? The official explanation from YouTube is that "Our policies are designed to evolve alongside the digital world. We’re making these updates to keep pace with new trends, like gambling with digital goods, and to more closely align our guidelines for mature content with industry standards."

YouTube already enforces users to sign in to watch age-restricted videos like some video game trailers, or other videos that feature violence. And it also uses AI algorithms to determine an account's age, there are also age restriction laws in some regions where users have to submit an ID to prove they are over 18.

But the updated policy about graphic violence in games is odd, such videos have existed for a long time. In fact, most popular games like Call of Duty, Elden Ring, Doom, Fortnite, etc., all feature violent content. The new policy seems like a rephrased version of the "video games make people violent" nonsense. This is just another way for YouTube to force people to sign in.

As for the change to the online gambling policy, YouTube will prohibit videos that direct viewers to online gambling sites and apps that are not certified by Google. It also applies to additional items that have monetary value, including digital goods (e.g. video game skins, cosmetics and NFTs). The video streaming platform will also age-restrict content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates social casino sites. You know what, that's perfectly fine.

The new guidelines come into effect from November 17, 2025. YouTube says it expects the changes to have little to no impact on most channels. Videos that were uploaded before the new rules kick in, won't result in a strike, but they will be removed, or age-restricted. YouTube will notify channels when such changes are made. Content creators will need to edit their video descriptions, and remove or blur graphical content in their videos before November 17.

Many gamers joked that these new rules won't apply to Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches in May 2026, because it will bring in millions of views, and in turn, revenue from ads and possibly more opportunities to promote YouTube Premium.

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Guess which new feature is coming to Samsung smart refrigerators? Ads. This is not a joke.

Samsung is the latest to display ads on your smart home devices. It's a sad reality we are living in, especially considering how pricey these fridges are.

(Image via Samsung)

Ars Technica points out that Samsung’s Family Hub fridges have MSRPs from $1,899 to $3,499. Yikes! Samsung will bring ads for its high-end smart fridges through a software update this month. You can read about the update on Samsung's website.

(GIF via The Verge)

The ads are part of a new widget that will be located at the bottom of the Cover Screen, when the fridge is idle. The widget refreshes its content every ten seconds. In addition to highlighting news, calendar, weather forecasts, the widget will show curated advertisements. These ads are contextualized, i.e. non-personalized.

The ads aren't displayed on all screens, it only appears on the Weather and Color theme screens. So if you have the Art or Album screen, it won't have the widget. These aren't the only ads that you will see on your fridge. The update will bring a Daily Board theme, which displays useful information at a glance. While it does not have a widget, it will display an ad on one of its 6 tiles.

Samsung is rolling out the update to Family Hub fridge models with a 21.5-inch or 32 inch display. But the ads will only start appearing next week. They are enabled by default, but Samsung says users can opt out of it from the Settings.

However, this also removes the Daily Board theme completely, meaning you won't be able to see the information. You'll have to choose between an ad-free experience, and the widget. Once an ad has been dismissed on the Cover screen, it won't appear during the campaign period.

As for the company's plans for ads, Shane Higby, head of Home Appliance Business at Samsung Electronics America, told The Verge that fridges are a daily hub, and Samsung is testing a responsible, user-controlled way to make that space more helpful. While it appears to be limited to Samsung's own ads at the moment, the South Korean electronics giant is planning to open up ads to third-party advertisers.

Reddit users say that using a PiHole with an ad-blocking DNS blocks ads on Samsung TVs and Roku, it may block the ads on your fridge too. I never thought I'd write something like that. Time for a midnight snack ad.

Do you use a smart fridge?

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Want to find out whether a game on Steam has AI generated content? The AI warning for Steam browser extension is perfect for that.

I stumbled on to it at GamingOnLinux. Let's face it, AI is absolutely going to be used for coding programs and games. Even the big studios are going to do that, there is no escaping this fact.

Remember what I wrote about The Alters? I said I have no issues when developers use AI as a placeholder in the game for their own work. And I don't mind it even if they use it for coding, as long as the game's quality is good, and the story, art, music, voice acting are original, and the artists were paid for their work. However, if a game uses generative AI that reproduces other people's work, such as graphics or music/voice, that is a big NO for me. I'm sure there are many people who feel the same way.

How do we know when a game contains AI content? Valve introduced a rule a year ago, that it would be adding an AI disclosure section on Steam. Developers who publish their game on Steam's store, need to submit details about the AI content that is used in their game. The problem with this is, not everyone's going to be up front about using AI in their game. But, that's a different story.

For gamers, all we need is an easy way to find out if a game contains AI-generated slop. Steam's solution is not perfect, you'll need to scroll down quite a bit on a listing until you find the "AI Generated Content Disclosure" section, which describes what content was made using AI. Well, you could hit Ctrl + F, and search for "AI Generated Content Disclosure" to find the details without scrolling. Once again, just because a game doesn't have the AI disclosure section doesn't mean that there is no AI-created art, music in it. It's up to the developer/publisher to be honest about it.

There's an easier way to find out if a game contains gen AI stuff without scrolling the page, just install the AI warning for Steam extension for Firefox or Chrome. Once installed, all you need to do is visit a game's page, and if a title contains AI content, it gives you a pop-up with a warning about said content. Click on the X button, or the Close button, or click anywhere outside the box to dismiss the warning and access the game's page.

If you are a more advanced user, you can install the AI warning for Steam userscript via a script manager like ViolentMonkey. Simply install the script by clicking this link (opens a new tab) and it works. The script plays well with SteamDB's extension too.

Speaking of which, SteamDB has a dedicated page that lists all games that have the AI Generated Content Disclosure Section on Steam. Interestingly, The Alters doesn't have that disclosure section. I guess they must have fixed the problems. Anyway, SteamDB and the script/extension all use the same API from Steam to pull up the data.

The warning that the extension/script display isn't a one-time thing, it re-appears on games that you revisit. There is no GUI for the extension, so there aren't any settings to manage, or buttons to click.

Highly rated games like My Summer Car, Siralim Ultimate have the disclosure. Sigh! Surprisingly, one game in my wishlist had the warning. Oof! If you were curious what the game was, it's Sumerian Six.

AI Warning for Steam is an open source script written by seeeeew, you can find the source code at GitHub.

Tip: Valve recently announced a Personal Calendar for Steam that is designed to help gamers find games they may like.

Do you like the extension?

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