Amazon has brought its FreeTime kids app to the Android world. FreeTime, a free app that provides a gated, age-appropriate experience for children, had been available only on Amazon devices. The app will now come to Android-run tablets and phones, via the Google Play store, Amazon said Wednesday. The app is still unavailable for Apple …

Facebook has been facing a torrent of criticism over its slow reaction to murder and suicide videos posted to the site. In response, CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said the social network will be hiring an additional 3,000 people to monitor its Facebook Live videos and other problematic posts on the site. We discuss whether that effort will be enough …

Samsung Galaxy S8 owners on the Verizon network can now get the full Bixby experience. Last month, Verizon said its customers buying the new S8 wouldn’t have access to an Amazon shopping feature through the S8’s voice assistant called Bixby. The delay created another snag for Samsung’s new digital helper, a major selling point for the S8. A Verizon spokesman …

Amazon is shelling out $50 million to stream National Football League games, and that’s just the start. This year, the e-commerce titan is expected to spend $4.5 billion on video-streaming content, nearly double last year and not too far from Netflix’s $6 billion video budget. And video is the only thing Netflix does; Amazon also sells shampoo and cloud services …

Apple wants a piece of Venmo’s market. The iPhone maker held talks recently with payments companies in hopes of introducing its own money-transfer service akin to PayPal’s Venmo, according to a report Thursday from Recode. The new peer-to-peer payment service, which could be coming later this year, would reportedly allow iPhone owners to send cash digitally to other iPhone owners. …

The Samsung Galaxy S8 launched today, but Verizon customers won’t be getting the phone’s full experience just yet. The largest wireless provider in the US confirmed to CNET on Friday that a new Amazon shopping function that’s supposed to be built into the phone isn’t available. Verizon didn’t have a set timeline for when the feature will come but noted …

Can’t get enough of The 3:59? Well, here’s more of the podcast anyway. In response to record-shattering listener demand (OK, one guy on Twitter), we decided to reprise one of our best episodes from the week and make it into a special, extended podcast. Enjoy. The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the day, …

Online ads have gotten incredibly annoying, and Google is looking to do something about them. As more people turn to ad blockers, Google is reportedly planning to bake ad-blocking software into its Chrome browser. Will Google — the biggest ad network online — become a hero or a hypocrite? Thursday’s podcast also discusses Building 8, Facebook’s new lab for hardware …

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 redemption tour keeps moving forward. Following last year’s disastrous launch of Samsung’s fire-prone Note 7, the Korean tech heavyweight is getting plenty of positive reviews for its S8 phone, which will launch Friday. CNET reviewer Jessica Dolcourt sees a lot to love about the new device, including a gorgeous design, great camera, high-resolution screen and solid battery …

Google and PayPal have teamed up to make mobile purchasing easier — well, at least that’s what they’re hoping. The two companies on Tuesday said they’re growing their existing partnership and will soon allow US customers to use PayPal as a payment option within Android Pay, Google’s mobile wallet. That way, someone with a PayPal account can connect it to …