Tag Archive for: Developers’

Google demands Android app developers turn over Data safety info by July 20th

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As Ars Technica points out, by July 20th, all apps listed in the Google Play Store face a deadline. On that date, all of the app listings on the site will need to include the Data safety information provided by the developers of each app. The Data safety feature is found on most apps listed in the Play Store by opening any random oneand scrolling down until you see the Data safety heading on the screen.

Google is replacing the Android app’s permissions list with the new Data safety feature in the Play Store

For example, we opened the TikTok app, and under the Data safety heading it says, “Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.” TikTok’s Data safety listing says that the app does not share data with third parties, encrypts data in transit, and allows you to request that data be deleted.

On the other hand, the Data safety listing does note that the app collects Location, Personal info, and 9 other different types of data. If this bothers you, you might decide not to install TikTok or uninstall it if you’ve already added the app to your phone.

This data replaces the list of Android operating system permissions that the app requests from the OS. That list is created by Google while the Data safety list is submitted to Google by  app developers. Get the difference? The app permissions list is created by Google when it scans the permissions info requested by Play Store apps and thus nothing is left out or not disclosed intentionally by the developer .
But since the Data safety feature uses data completely submitted by developers, users have to believe that when a developer tells Google that his app doesn’t capture users’ personal and location data, they are telling the truth. And you can’t see whether a developer, vouching for his app, has his fingers crossed behind his back.

Android users will need to put their faith in both app developers and Google

This is how Google…

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Citizen Developers and Securing APIs

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Microsoft Build is where we get to explore the latest innovations in code and application development. This time around there were 55 sessions dedicated to Microsoft’s approach to low-code, including a keynote on day two with Julie Strauss and Karuana Gatimu. Organizations are increasingly adopting low code application platforms to fuse the worlds of citizen developers, professional developers, and the other parties instrumental in building and using applications. The goal is to quickly deliver new solutions and modernize business capabilities.

So what is low-code?

Cybersecurity Live - Boston

Low-code is a visual approach to software development. Rather than writing code, it allows you to essentially drag and drop objects and connections using a graphical user interface (GUI). It effectively abstracts the code from the application builder to significantly lower the barrier to entry. Gartner predicts 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies by 2025. Up from less than 25% in 2020. 

Whereas 3rd party software can only be customized so much, low code applications are more closely aligned with an organization’s existing business processes. The starting point for low code applications is usually the process you are trying to automate, not the functionality of the software suite you purchased from your vendor.

Though low-code and no-code modular approaches allow professional developers to quickly build applications, more often we talk about low-code in the context of citizen developers. These developers could be business analysts, office administrators, small-business owners and others who are not actual software developers to build and test applications, because it requires little to no knowledge of traditional programming languages.

How the low-code revolution began

According to Microsoft, fundamental shifts drive this change in enterprise application development. It is described in 4 waves by Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Business Applications, Charles Lamanna;

Wave number 1: The changing workforce

There are people entering the workforce today who have grown up with high expectations of applications and application consumption. Traditional…

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google: Google, Samsung collaborate to help Android developers sync fitness data between apps

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New Delhi: Google and Samsung have joined hands to give developers an opportunity to sync users’ health and fitness data between Android apps and their devices.

Called ‘Health Connect’, the platform and API (application programming interface) is for Android app developers to securely access users’ health data.

With user permission, developers can use a single set of APIs to securely access and share health and fitness data across Android devices, Google said in a statement.

“We’re building this new unified platform in collaboration with Samsung to simplify connectivity between apps” to foster richer app experiences while also providing centralised privacy controls for users,” the tech giant added.

Google is working with developers including MyFitnessPal, Leap Fitness and Withings as part of an early access programme.

In addition, Samsung Health, Google Fit and Fitbit are adopting Health Connect. All developers can get access to Health Connect’s common set of APIs for Android via Android Jetpack,” the company informed.

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‘Health Connect’ supports many common health and fitness data types and categories, including activity, sleep, nutrition, body measurements and vitals like heart rate and blood pressure.

“The users will have full control over their privacy settings, with granular controls to see which apps are requesting access to data at any given time,” said Google.

The users will also have the ability to shut off access or delete data they don’t want on their device, along with an option to prioritise one data source over another when using multiple apps.

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Loop Hero Developers: Russian Players, You Can Pirate Our Game

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Loop Hero developers have recently encouraged their players to “raise the pirate flag.”

Four Quarters, the indie Russian game developer responsible for the surprise hit Loop Hero, is encouraging players to pirate the game if they are unable to purchase it legally. This was the result of the broad range of sanctions imposed on Russia since its specialized military operations in Ukraine in late February.

How to Download Loop Hero

Loop Hero players in Russia and fans all over the world have been wondering how to download Loop Hero due to the imposed sanctions of the U.S. on Russia. They are currently unable to purchase Loop Hero through Steam or the Nintendo Switch’s eShop.

Loop Hero‘s Russian developers encouraged their players that if they are unable to purchase the mystical role-playing game, they can simply pirate it.

As reported by Engadget, Four Quarters wrote, “It is not known when all this will end, therefore, in such difficult times, we can only help everyone to raise the pirate flag (together with vpn) and share the most popular distribution on the rutracker”.

Four Quarters encouraged its players to “raise the pirate flag” and even included a downloadable link of the game via BitTorrent and the Russian torrent site RuTracker. 

Steam and Nintendo have temporarily stopped accepting payments from Russian customers, effectively excluding the entire country from their respective inventories and marketplaces.

According to Kotaku, it was later revealed that the Loop Hero developers are not able to cash in any payments from their players’ purchases. The financial halt comes from Visa and Mastercard pulling out of Russia in participation in the U.S. sanctions against Russia.

Loop Hero‘s loyal fan base initiated another means to support the Russian developers directly. However, Four Quarters stated, “We are very grateful for your support, but the truth is that everything is fine with us, send this support to your family and friends at this difficult time.”

Read Also: Google Chrome Security Update: CVE-2022-1096 a High-Severity Zero-Day Exploit

Loop Hero Update

The Loop Hero update has been slowed, but not completely halted by the ongoing onslaught between…

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