For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Google on Wednesday said it’s making its teleconferencing service, called Google Meet, free to consumers. The move takes aim at Zoom, the rival video chat service that’s become a household name during the stay-at-home era spurred by the …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Two weeks ago, Apple and Google announced a major joint project to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. Health authorities would build contact tracing apps for the tech giants’ mobile platforms, which would use signals from people’s phones to alert them if …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. YouTube, the most popular video platform in the world, has only become more popular during the coronavirus pandemic. As people around the world shelter in place, the Google-owned site has attracted parents on the hunt for children’s content, consumers looking for news, and …

Google on Tuesday said it’s opening up its shopping platform to make it free for sellers to list their products on the company’s search engine. Previously, search results for the shopping section of the site came from advertisers bidding on specific search terms, like workout gear or rice cookers. Now, sellers will be able to list products on the shopping …

Google is developing physical and digital debit cards, which would be tied to an app for payments, managing purchases and checking balances, according to a report Friday by TechCrunch. The product would compete with the Apple Card, the iPhone maker’s financial service that debuted last year.  Google’s physical card would have a chip on it and be co-branded by various …

Google said Thursday it’s updating its policies for apps that offer subscription services on Google Play, where people can download apps for Android phones.  The new rules will require app makers to be more transparent about subscription terms. That includes better explaining free trials and introductory offers, as well as telling people how to manage and cancel subscriptions.  The goal is …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. As children stay home from school amid the coronavirus pandemic, parents have been on the lookout for apps and other content that’s safe for their kids. Google on Wednesday said it wants to make it easier for parents to find that content with …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Apple and Google are working together on a major effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 that uses signals from people’s phones to warn them if they’ve been in contact with someone who’s tested positive for the disease.  The joint project takes advantage …

Google on Wednesday said it’s launching new speech and translation tools for Android phones.  The new feature lets Google’s Assistant software read long-form text out loud. The tool is meant mainly for listening to articles, blog posts and short stories on the web. Google said the technology is different from other screen-reading software because it’s meant to read stuff in …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Google on Tuesday said it’s canceling I/O, the search giant’s annual developer conference and its biggest event of the year, because of concerns about the novel coronavirus that’s caused worldwide disruptions.  It’s called off the physical portion of the event, which was set …