This Week in Apps: Google I/O canceled over coronavirus, App Store gets updated rules, TikTok’s owner launches Spotify rival

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week, we’re looking at the further impact of the coronavirus on the app industry, which is now leading to more major event cancellations — including, as of this week, Google I/O and SXSW. That begs the question, will WWDC be next? And what will that mean for developers who rely on the annual event to make those invaluable face-to-face connections? We’re also looking at the revised App Store review guidelines and what that means for developers, as well as Walmart’s plan to dramatically change its app strategy, Robinhood’s bad week, the launch of a new Spotify competitor from the makers of the world’s most viral app, TikTok and much more.

Headlines

Apple changes the rules

Apple this week alerted developers to a new set of App Store review guidelines that detail which apps will be accepted or rejected, and what apps are allowed to do. The changes to the guidelines impact reviews, push notifications, Sign in with Apple, data collection and storage, mobile device management and more, the company says. Some of the more high-profile changes include the ability for apps to now use notifications for ads, stricter rules for dating and fortune-telling apps and a new rule that allows Apple to reject apps that help users evade law enforcement, among other things.

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This Week in Apps: Google I/O canceled over coronavirus, App Store gets updated rules, TikTok’s owner launches Spotify rival

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week, we’re looking at the further impact of the coronavirus on the app industry, which is now leading to more major event cancellations — including, as of this week, Google I/O and SXSW. That begs the question, will WWDC be next? And what will that mean for developers who rely on the annual event to make those invaluable face-to-face connections? We’re also looking at the revised App Store review guidelines and what that means for developers, as well as Walmart’s plan to dramatically change its app strategy, Robinhood’s bad week, the launch of a new Spotify competitor from the makers of the world’s most viral app, TikTok and much more.

Headlines

Apple changes the rules

Apple this week alerted developers to a new set of App Store review guidelines that detail which apps will be accepted or rejected, and what apps are allowed to do. The changes to the guidelines impact reviews, push notifications, Sign in with Apple, data collection and storage, mobile device management and more, the company says. Some of the more high-profile changes include the ability for apps to now use notifications for ads, stricter rules for dating and fortune-telling apps and a new rule that allows Apple to reject apps that help users evade law enforcement, among other things.

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Block All Incoming and Outgoing Emails Except Specific Whitelisted Domains

The finance team in an organization would like to use Gmail for internal communication only. The corporate email policy restricts the finance team from sharing any files or email messages with external teams but the employees are allowed to exchange emails within the team.

Google makes it easy to implement such an email policy in Gmail for GSuite customers.

To get started, sign-in to admin.google.com as your GSuite domain admin and go to Apps > GSuite Core Services > Gmail > Advanced Settings.

Inside the General Settings tab, navigate to Restrict Delivery and click the Configure button to restrict the domains that your employees are allowed to exchange emails with.

Under the Add addresses section, specify one or more domains and email addresses that employees are allowed to send and receive email messages from.

You can specify inputs in the following format:

1. harvard.edu - Allow emails from everyone in the domain
2. *.harvard.edu - Allow emails from all subdomains
3. finance.harvard.edu - Allow emails from a specific subdomain
4. admin@harvard.edu - Allow emails from an email address

When adding domains in the whitelist, it is recommended that you turn on sender authentication to disallow spoofed emails (where the actual sender is different from the FROM address mentioned in the email header). Gmail uses the SPF and DKIM records to verify if the sender is authenticated.

Save the settings and employees would be limited to sending emails to specific domains only.

Stream Music for Free With These 5 Little-Known Apps

If you’re debating which music streaming app to subscribe to, hold on. You need to first check these little-known apps to stream music for free without any major hassles.

Right now, the top two free music streaming apps are Spotify and YouTube Music. Each offers a few features for free, with ads, and you can upgrade to a premium plan for more features like offline playback.

But you might be surprised to know that you don’t need to pay for anything to get a good music streaming experience.

From hip-hop mixtapes to better interfaces for YouTube, and even a way to listen to your own music from your computer, here are some of the little-known ways to stream music for free.

1. Aux.app: YouTube, SoundCloud, Deezer, and MixCloud in One App

If you want to listen to a song online without paying anything, you will likely find it in one of the four major free music streaming apps: YouTube, SoundCloud, MixCloud or Deezer. But of course, each has some songs that the other doesn’t have. What you actually need is an aggregator like Aux.

Aux combines all the four free music streaming apps into one neat interface. Search for a song across all services, or check out their individual search results. Add any song to your play queue or a custom playlist, or tap Like to make it one of your favorites. If your queue is empty, Aux will recommend a track to listen to for continuous playback.

You can use everything without ever registering, but you’ll need a Deezer account to search that service. You’ll also need to sign up to save your playlists and likes for the future. If you connect your YouTube or SoundCloud accounts to Aux, it will fetch your favorites.

2. Spinrilla: Free Hip-Hop Mixtapes

In the early days of hip-hop, when it was more an underground movement, artists spread their music through tapes of live shows and parties. Over time, hip-hop has legitimized itself through production houses and music labels, but the underground movement remains strong. And that’s what you’ll find at Spinrilla.

Hip-hop artists still release mixtapes on which they lay their own original track, or create a whole new remix. Any fan of this genre of music would love to hear where upcoming musicians and artists are taking hip-hop, and you’ll find it all on Spinrilla.

Spinrilla is a free streaming app only for hip-hop mixtapes. You can explore trending, popular and upcoming mixtapes, discover new singles, and even check out videos from some artists. Sign up to save songs and mixtapes, and even create playlists of your favorites.

Whether you use the web player or the mobile apps, Spinrilla plays without a hitch like any major music streaming service. It’s impressive how good the streaming quality is, given it is completely free and without any paid upgrades for a premium package.

Download: Spinrilla for Android | iOS (Free)

3. YouTube Music for Desktop: Play with MusixMatch Lyrics

The official YouTube Music is a fantastic streaming service, with one flaw. There is no desktop player. On the other hand, mobile users get a YouTube Music app filled with great tricks that makes the listening experience better.

But where YouTube doesn’t provide, some enterprising developer will. YouTube Music for Desktop is a nifty program for all major operating systems that gives you the full YouTube Music experience, with a little more. You can search, make playlists, listen to radio stations, and everything else from the free account.

The player also integrates MusixMatch into the program for an added bonus. YouTube Music doesn’t have lyrics, but this is a nice way to flip to a different tab in the player to read the lyrics, which scroll based on the line you’re currently listening to.

Download: YouTube Music for Desktop for Windows | macOS | Linux (Free)

4. Mozaart: Huge Catalog of Music With YouTube Links

More people listen to music on YouTube than any other streaming app, but YouTube isn’t optimized for music. Mozaart is primarily a music discovery and catalog app, but by adding YouTube links to all songs, it becomes so much more.

Head to the Charts to see the top 50 trending songs from any country, or go to Playlists for readymade collections based on categories, mood, or nation. Click the play button next to any song to start streaming music.

The deep interlinked catalog is the big sell of Mozaart. While it’s not meant to be a YouTube music browser, that’s what it ends up becoming. It’s the most systematic way you will be able to look at artists, albums, and so on, and be able to play any song immediately. It’s a whole new way of browsing YouTube.

5. mStream: Setup a Home Music Server

You have stored folders upon folders of music on one computer, how do you listen to it on another device in your home? mStream is the easiest way to set up a private music streaming server with which you can access your music on other devices.

The makers claim you can set up the server in 30 seconds, and they’re not far off. Run the program, add a username and password as well as an open Port on your network. Usually, Port 3000 will work. Point the software to your music folder and click on Boot Server to get an IP address. Depending on the size of the folder, it’ll take some time to make the list and then start.

Now, as long as you’re connected to the same Wi-Fi network, go to the IP address, key in the username and password, and you’ll see all the music right there. Click any file to start playing it. It really is the simplest and quickest way to get music all across your home.

You can install the open-source software on any major desktop operating system. It doesn’t currently support Raspbian, but you’ll find documentation online about how to build it with any Terminal.

Download: mStream for Windows | macOS | Linux (Free)

The Best Music Streaming Service for You

Just because these are fantastic free music streaming apps doesn’t mean you don’t need a paid service. Apps like Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music do a lot more than just let you listen to music, and are worth the price they ask for.

But you don’t need them all, of course. What you need to do is figure out which is the best music streaming service for you.

Read the full article: Stream Music for Free With These 5 Little-Known Apps

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How to Encrypt and Decrypt Text Strings with JavaScript

In one of my web projects, I required a simple encryption and decryption JavaScript library that could encode a piece of text and and then decode the encoded string on the server side.

The easiest option is the base64 encoding scheme that can be easily implemented in both native JavaScript and Google Apps Script.

Base64 Encoding with Google Apps Script

const base64Encode = text => {
  const base64data = Utilities.base64Encode(text, Utilities.Charset.UTF_8);
  return base64data;
};

const base64Decode = base64data => {
  const decoded = Utilities.base64Decode(base64data, Utilities.Charset.UTF_8);
  const input = Utilities.newBlob(decoded).getDataAsString();
  return input;
};

Base64 Encoding with JavaScript

const CryptoJS = require('crypto-js');

const encrypt = text => {
  return CryptoJS.enc.Base64.stringify(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8.parse(text));
};

const decrypt = data => {
  return CryptoJS.enc.Base64.parse(data).toString(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8);
};

The obvious downside is that Base64 is encoding (not encryption) and the Base64 strings can be easily decoded.

If you are looking for a secure encryption algorithm that would require a secret passphrase for decrypting the encrypted text, go with AES. It generates longer strings but they cannot be decrypted without the password.

AES Plain Text Encryption & Decryption

const CryptoJS = require('crypto-js');

const encryptWithAES = text => {
  const passphrase = '123';
  return CryptoJS.AES.encrypt(text, passphrase).toString();
};

const decryptWithAES = ciphertext => {
  const passphrase = '123';
  const bytes = CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(ciphertext, passphrase);
  const originalText = bytes.toString(CryptoJS.enc.Utf8);
  return originalText;
};

AES Encrypt & Decryption with Google Apps Script

If you would like to use AES encryption algorithm with Google Apps Script, use the Apps Script Starter to import the CryptoJS package in your project as shown in this example.

import AES from 'crypto-js/aes';
import Utf8 from 'crypto-js/enc-utf8';

const encryptWithAES = (text, passphrase) => {
  return AES.encrypt(text, passphrase).toString();
};

const decryptWithAES = (ciphertext, passphrase) => {
  const bytes = AES.decrypt(ciphertext, passphrase);
  const originalText = bytes.toString(Utf8);
  return originalText;
};

global.testAES = () => {
  const inputText = 'Hello World';
  const passphrase = 'My Secret Passphrase';

  Logger.log({ inputText });

  const encryptedText = encryptWithAES(inputText, passphrase);
  Logger.log({ encryptedText });

  const decryptedText = decryptWithAES(encryptedText, passphrase);
  Logger.log({ decryptedText });
};

Alternatively, for Google Apps Script, the cCryptoGS library can also be used to implement AES encryption in your projects and Suite add-ons. To get started, go to Resources -> Libraries and add the MSJnPeIon6nzdLewGV60xWqi_d-phDA33 library to your Google Script project.

const encryptedMessage = cCryptoGS.CryptoJS.AES.encrypt('message', 'passphrase').toString();
Logger.log(encryptedMessage);

const decryptedMessage = cCryptoGS.CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(encryptedMessage, 'passphrase').toString(
  CryptoJS.enc.Utf8
);
Logger.log(decryptedMessage);

Facebook bans face mask ads to fight coronavirus price gouging

On Friday, Facebook announced that it would further attempt to limit coronavirus-related chaos on its platform by banning commerce listings and advertisements for medical face masks.

“We’re monitoring COVID19 closely and will make necessary updates to our policies if we see people trying to exploit this public health emergency,” Facebook Director of Product Management Rob Leathern said in an update on Twitter. “We’ll start rolling out this change in the days ahead.”

Update: We’re banning ads and commerce listings selling medical face masks. We’re monitoring COVID19 closely and will make necessary updates to our policies if we see people trying to exploit this public health emergency. We’ll start rolling out this change in the days ahead.

— Rob Leathern (@robleathern) March 7, 2020

“We are temporarily banning advertisements and commerce listings that sell medical face masks,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Our teams are monitoring the COVID19 situation closely and will make necessary updates to our policies if we see people trying to exploit this public health emergency.”

Facebook will also limit any ads for medical products that imply a limited supply or create a sense of urgency among potential buyers, as well as ads that make guarantees for COVID-19 “cures” or prevention. Along with those changes, in the next few days Facebook will begin blocking coronavirus-themed groups and pages from its algorithmic recommendations.

As fears of a novel coronavirus epidemic swell worldwide, online platforms have scrambled to stop price gouging and health misinformation. Amazon is working to eradicate “high priced offers” on products like hand sanitizer and face masks from its marketplace, while Ebay has banned all listings for N95 and N100 face masks, hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes. The online auction site will also reject any listings exploiting terms like “COVID-19” and “coronavirus.”

On Wednesday, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote an open letter to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos expressing concern over “continued reports of price gouging and a lack of transparency” on the site.

“No one should be allowed to reap a windfall from fear and human suffering,” Markey wrote, adding that online retailers have a “particular responsibility” to protect consumers in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus grifts crop up online for political gain and profit

Earlier this week, Facebook announced that coronavirus-related searches on its platform would be greeted with an automatic pop-up featuring information from the World Health Organization and local health authorities.

“Given the developing situation, we’re working with national ministries of health and organizations like the WHO, CDC and UNICEF to help them get out timely, accurate information on the coronavirus,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote in an update on his company’s efforts. “We’re giving the WHO as many free ads as they need for their coronavirus response along with other in-kind support.”

The company is also focused on curtailing potentially life-threatening coronavirus misinformation, removing ads, conspiracy theories and treatment claims with no scientific basis. Facebook’s decision to disable ads for face masks comes at a time when health authorities are urging well people to forgo buying the masks, both because they are not necessary for healthy individuals to wear and because demand for the masks is constricting their supply for the medical workers who need them most.

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Is Instagram Blocked in China?

There are many restrictions on internet use in China. Most major sites are blocked there, such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and Google Maps. One common question is whether Instagram is blocked in China, and if so, how people can bypass this block to access the site?

Why Is Instagram Blocked in China?

Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites on the internet, but the site has been completely blocked in China since 2014. At first, Chinese authorities occasionally blocked it. But now it is completely blocked and can’t be accessed from a regular internet connection from anywhere in China.

Following pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2014, the Chinese government blocked the website. Protesters shared photos and updates on Instagram, and authorities wanted to restrict access to sensitive information. So it took the extreme step of blocking the website completely.

Since then, it has not been possible to access Instagram in China using a regular internet connection.

How Do You Use a VPN to Access Instagram?

The easiest way to access Instagram in China is to use a VPN. A VPN is installed software which unblocks restricted websites.

Here’s how it works: The software encrypts all the data that your device sends over the internet. Instead of data flowing directly from your device to a website via your ISP, the VPN introduces an extra step. After it leaves your home network, your data is routed to a server run by your VPN provider.

At the VPN server, the data is decrypted. It is then sent on to its original destination, such as the website you wanted to visit. The website then responds as normal, sending data back to your device.

Why Use a VPN to Access Blocked Sites?

There are two reasons to use a VPN when you want to access a site like Instagram:

1. Because the data you send is encrypted, it’s much harder for your ISP or any other party to spy on your internet activities. Your ISP won’t be able to see which websites you’re visiting or what you’re doing online. That means you’re safer from surveillance, including by the government.
2. You can send your data to a VPN server located in another country. Most VPNs offer servers in many nations around the world. And when you connect to a server in another country, you can browse the internet as if you were actually in that location.

For example, if you’re in China and you want to access Instagram, you could use a VPN to connect to a server in a country with more permissive internet laws, such as Sweden. Then all your data would be routed via Sweden. You’d be able to access Instagram or other sites blocked in China, and at the same time you’d be improving your internet security.

Are VPNs Legal in China?

This explains why VPNs are popular in China. They allow people to access sites that would otherwise be blocked, and also help them evade surveillance.

However, VPNs are mostly blocked in China. VPNs may be leased from the government for business purposes, but using a VPN to unblock a website is illegal.

Many people in China choose to use a VPN anyway, because they feel that the advantages of accessing a more open internet outweigh the possible consequences of breaking the law. You should be aware though that if you are caught using a VPN, you could be fined ¥15,000 CNY (approximately $2,000 USD).

What Are the Drawbacks of Using a VPN?

In addition to the legal issues, there are some drawbacks to consider when using a VPN. The biggest issue is that many VPN companies are owned in whole or in part by Chinese companies. An investigation by Top10VPN in 2018 showed that half of the top free VPN apps were part-owned or fully-based in China, and the situation with paid VPNs isn’t much better.

The problem with this is that if VPNs are owned by Chinese companies, then they are subject to Chinese surveillance laws. The VPN providers could be forced to turn over data about their customers to the Chinese government. So these VPNs aren’t trustworthy for users in China.

To avoid issues with untrustworthy VPNs, we recommend using a VPN provided by a company based outside of China. That way, the company is subject to the local laws where it is based, not the laws in China, and is much less likely to be pressured by the Chinese government.

We recommend Canada-based Windscribe (read our review) or Sweden-based Mullvad (read our review). Alternatively, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access are also excellent choices.

Are There Any VPN Alternatives?

A VPN isn’t the only way to access blocked sites like Instagram from China. You can also use a tool called a proxy, which hides your IP address and makes it look as if you are in a different location from your real location.

A proxy is kind of like a VPN, but not exactly. A proxy will allow you to access blocked sites from China; however, unlike a VPN, a proxy will not encrypt your data. This means that your internet traffic will be visible to your ISP and to anyone else snooping on you.

For security reasons, we do not recommend people in China use just a proxy to access blocked sites. Instead, you should use a proxy in combination with a VPN to allow you to access blocked sites while keeping your data private.

We also recommend people use a private search engine when searching for information online, as search engine data is another way that you can be tracked.

Use a VPN to Access Instagram in China

Instagram is blocked in China, but you can still access the site by using a VPN. However, be aware that in most cases using a VPN in China is illegal. So you should take additional steps to protect yourself such as using a browser proxy in addition to your VPN, and using a private search engine to make it harder for the government to track your online activities.

Because of the potential for harm, we do not officially recommend using a VPN in China. In fact, many providers are secretly headquartered in China, meaning that they are subject to Chinese law. In short, they do keep logs and are required to report back the activities of their users to their host government.

Read the full article: Is Instagram Blocked in China?

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WireGuard vs. OpenVPN: Which One Should You Use?

There’s a new VPN protocol in town. Since launching in 2018, WireGuard quickly established itself as an interesting alternative to the widely used OpenVPN.

But what are the pros and cons of using WireGuard rather than OpenVPN? How do the two protocols’ key features compare against each other? And which WireGuard VPN providers are currently on the market?

WireGuard vs. OpenVPN: Code

WireGuard has about 4,000 lines of code. The open-source version of OpenVPN has 70,000, while modified versions of the protocol have been known to run as high as 600,000 lines.

The primary benefit of fewer lines of code is a smaller attack surface. It’s harder for hackers to find flaws and easier for developers to plug vulnerabilities.

Less code also means bugs are less likely—there are fewer chances for things to go awry. In contrast, OpenVPN users will know that crashes and freezes are not uncommon.

WireGuard vs. OpenVPN: Crypto-Agility

WireGuard is not “crypto-agile”, while OpenVPN is crypto-agile. Crypto-agility is the ability of a security system to switch between security protocols and encryption methods.

A lack of crypto-agility makes the new VPN protocol more secure. By only supporting a single cryptographic suite, there is less complexity. In turn, vulnerabilities are less frequent; there is less scope for a man-in-the-middle attack.

The developers have also designed WireGuard so that it can be updated to a new suite if a major problem occurs, thus avoiding one of the common pitfalls of regular non-crypto-agile systems.

The system it uses is called “Versioning.” In the event of a change, a total package would be released. The server would start requesting connections over the new version, and the previous version could be entirely disabled. Updating OpenVPN is more complicated. It requires a new set of keys and key lengths to be agreed on a piece-by-piece basis.

WireGuard vs. OpenVPN: Connection Speed

A major criticism of old VPN protocols is the connection speed. It can take several seconds for the handshake process to complete and your session to begin.

WireGuard drastically reduces that time. On decent hardware, it can take as little as a tenth of a second.

WireGuard Windows

Until recently, there was no WireGuard Windows version. Due to the underlying architecture, WireGuard was only available on macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. The Lead Developer, Jason Donenfeld, didn’t want to have to deal with the issues of OpenTAP’s adapter code or Microsoft’s native VPN API.

In mid-2019, that changed. WireGuard Windows finally became a thing. Complexities in Windows’ design—such as lack of access to the kernel—have forced the team to develop the project from scratch. It’s not a simple port; the entire ntoskrnl.exe and ndis.sys had to be reverse-engineered.

Users who are not tech-savvy will be pleased to learn that there’s no tricky installation process. You can just run self-contained installers for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. At the time of writing, the WireGuard Windows UI is simple but functional. You can import single configuration files or a batch of tunnels in a ZIP file.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of WireGuard Windows, however, is its ability to maintain persistent VPN connections across system reboots. A reconnection will occur instantaneously, without even needing to open the UI interface.

Download: WireGuard Windows (Free)

WireGuard VPN Providers

If you want to test WireGuard for yourself, you’re going to need to sign up with a VPN provider that supports the new protocol.

Thankfully, support is slowly becoming more widespread among the major VPN brands. Here are two mainstream WireGuard VPN providers that you can try right now:

1. Mullvad

Mullvad offers users five WireGuard keys. You need one key per device, so you can connect up to five devices in total.

To connect to Mullvad’s WireGuard services, you’ll need to use the terminal. If you don’t already have a key (you can check by typing mullvad tunnel WireGuard key check), you need to create one by entering mullvad tunnel WireGuard key generate.

Once you have a key, enter mullvad relay set tunnel WireGuard any to connect and mullvad relay set tunnel OpenVPN any to disconnect.

2. IVPN

Since December 2018, IVPN customers have been able to select the WireGuard protocol from within the IVPN app.

The company issues a warning, however:

“The WireGuard protocol is currently under heavy development and should be considered experimental. At this time, we do not recommend using WireGuard except for testing or in situations where security is not critical.”

To mitigate security risks, all its WireGuard VPN servers are separate from its OpenVPN servers.

Does Private Internet Access Use WireGuard?

Private Internet Access was quick to realize the potential of WireGuard and the new VPN protocol. In both 2018 and 2019, the company has been the project’s biggest donor.

However, Private Internet Access does not offer WireGuard to its customers. The most recent blog post on the topic said:

“There’s still a lot of work to be done before WireGuard is ready for professional use […] It is crucial to understand that while WireGuard is very promising conceptually and the principles behind its development are sound, it needs to be feature complete and have independent review of all “final” components before it is safe to use in production.”

Private Internet Access goes on to add, “Some VPN companies have jumped the gun with WireGuard and are running WireGuard VPNs now. This is not prudent and could present serious risks if security flaws in this early code are discovered.”

WireGuard vs. OpenVPN: Should You Use WireGuard?

WireGuard has received rave reviews from security experts from around the world. The number of VPN providers already offering WireGuard is a testament to its potential.

But it’s still early days. WireGuard is only just starting its journey—problems could yet arise. For now, OpenVPN still has an important role to play alongside the new VPN protocol.

Learn more about the different VPN protocols as well as our recommendations for the best VPN services.

Read the full article: WireGuard vs. OpenVPN: Which One Should You Use?

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Google Assistant Can Now Read Articles Aloud to You

You can now ask Google Assistant to read articles aloud to you. The new Google Assistant feature is available to all Android users, with a range of voices and support for 42 different languages. Which should ensure most people’s needs are met.

There are many reasons why you may want to have an article read to you. Perhaps you have a visual impairment or difficulty reading. Perhaps you’re trying to learn a new language. Or perhaps you’re just lazy. Either way, Google Assistant now has your back.

How to Get Google Assistant to Read an Article Aloud

Google explains Assistant’s new ability in a post on The Keyword. The company explains how, “with Google Assistant, your browser can now read web articles out loud.” Google is even employing “expressive and natural voices” which use human intonation and rhythm.

To trigger the new feature, you just need to be reading an article on your browser on your Android phone. Then, say either, “Hey Google, read it” or “Hey Google, read this page”. Google Assistant will then read the content of the web page out loud.

You can choose from multiple voices and alter the reading speed (making it faster or slower) to suit your needs. Your browser will also automatically scroll down the page as Assistant reads, highlighting words as they’re spoken to help you follow along.

You can even change the language in which the article is read aloud. Just use the translation menu to select your preferred language, and Google will translate it on the fly and read it back to you in the selected language. At launch, 42 languages are supported.

A New Way for Potential Polyglots to Learn a Language

This is a fantastic feature that could help different people in different ways. The most obvious being for people who are visually impaired or who have trouble reading. However, we also think it gives potential polyglots another way to learn a new language.

For other ways to learn languages, here are the best language learning apps that work.

Read the full article: Google Assistant Can Now Read Articles Aloud to You

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The 5 Best Private Search Engines That Respect Your Data

Finding a search engine that’s both effective and not hell-bent on selling on your information is hard. Fortunately, they do exist, and there are plenty of them for you to choose from.

Here are some of the best private search engines available that won’t use you as a product.

1. DuckDuckGo

What better way to start this list than the default search engine for the Tor browser? The US-based DuckDuckGo is a fantastic choice for anyone who wants to keep their privacy intact while searching the internet.

DuckDuckGo doesn’t sell any personal information, because it never stores it in the first place. If DuckDuckGo is asked to hand over data by the government, they will comply; however, given they store no information whatsoever, it’d be a very sparse database.

Because DuckDuckGo doesn’t sell your data, it does need alternate means of making revenue. It shows you advertisements, but the ads are related to what you just searched for. They don’t track your searches to make an ad-based profile for you.

Unfortunately, DuckDuckGo uses Yahoo’s search results. This means that those used to Google’s efficient search results may find DuckDuckGo a little lackluster.

2. Startpage

If you’d prefer a search engine that’s more like Google, try the Netherlands-based Startpage. It uses Google search results, which is great if you find DuckDuckGo’s results lacking. Startpage achieves this by paying Google for its search results, then uses them for its own service that doesn’t harvest your information.

Startpage also takes a lot of care with search recommendations. Typically, a search engine will recommend search terms as you type based on what other people are searching for. However, this does require the search engine to harvest personal information, which Startpage doesn’t support.

Instead, Startpage matches your search to terms in the dictionary, on Wikipedia, or general phrases that contain your search results. This allows Startpage to help you find what you’re looking for without resorting to harvesting prior searches.

Startpage uses a cookie on your browser to save your preferences. If you’d prefer that it didn’t create a cookie, Startpage offers an alternative: a custom URL that loads up your settings once clicked. This means even the most paranoid web surfer can simply bookmark the URL without it leaving a trace on your PC.

Searching anonymously is one thing, but what if you could also visit the pages without revealing your information? This is what Startpage does to help secure your privacy. If you click “Anonymous View” next to any search result, Startpage will route your traffic through a proxy server, so you never reveal your identity to the website. This makes Startpage one of the best anonymizing search engines available.

3. MetaGer

MetaGer is a German-based, privacy-focused, search engine. Like Startpage, MetaGer also uses proxy-server technology to hide your location when you visit a website.

When you search for a term on MetaGer, you’ll notice an additional option underneath each result called “Open Anonymously.” When clicked, MetaGer will set up a proxy server and direct the website you want through it. Because MetaGer is the source of your query, your visit remains anonymous.

Unfortunately, MetaGer is quite bare-bones for settings and options, and it uses Scopia and Bing for its search results. However, unlike some search engines, MetaGer operates as a not-for-profit organization supported by donations. This is good news for anyone who won’t trust a business that has a profit-seeking motive.

4. Qwant

Qwant is a French-based search engine that’s packed full of features. However, some of these features require your location or your personal details. That means it’s not an ideal pick for people who want the utmost privacy.

Despite this, if you want a search engine that has it all but doesn’t store your search history, Qwant is the best free private search engine for you.

You can spot a wide range of features the moment you load its home page. Qwant has a music search engine, a “Junior” version for kids, a Maps feature, and news along the bottom of the page. From my experience, the news seemed to be somewhat local to my city, which may signal location tracking. However, it could have also been a coincidence.

You can also enable “Qoz,” a form of currency that accumulates as you search. Accumulated Qoz converts into a donation to a charitable cause at the end of every month—a nice side effect of using Qwant.

All of these features do raise a question: how does Qwant run these features while also respecting your privacy? For the Qoz feature, Qwant says they don’t track what you search, just how many times you searched. For some, this amount of tracking is enough to put them off using the feature. Thankfully, you can disable Qoz if you don’t like the idea of your searches being tallied.

However, if you don’t mind a little additional tracking in exchange for some more features, Qwant does fill a niche without selling your details on. This makes Qwant a nice “midway point” between the humble privacy-respecting search engines and the extravagant, powerful, yet financially-driven ones.

5. Mojeek

You may have noticed a pattern with the previous search engines, where they rely on other, more powerful search engines to get results. If this is a major problem for you, you might prefer a search engine that generates its own results.

This is what Mojeek, a UK-based search engine, does best. Instead of utilizing somebody else’s search engine, Mojeek uses their own to ensure that your privacy is respected. As a result, the search results you get won’t be perfect; after all, Mojeek has to contend with the competition that has been around for years!

Despite this, Mojeek is the best private web search engine for results that aren’t influenced by a larger company. Mojeek themselves call their search results “independent and unbiased,” which should resonate with people who don’t want larger companies sculpting their browsing experience.

Startpage vs. DuckDuckGo

The two big giants in the private search world are Startpage and DuckDuckGo. We have already covered what they can do by themselves, but how do they hold up against one another?

If you like the idea of a built-in proxy for anonymous browsing, the winner is Startpage. Its ability to load a proxy server in moments and view the webpage in secret is extremely valuable for people with privacy concerns.

Also, Startpage did seem to get better results as a whole. This is likely due to Startpage using Google’s search algorithms, while DuckDuckGo has to rely on Yahoo.

However, DuckDuckGo wins in one category: it’s open source. Unlike Startpage which locks their search behind proprietary code, you can check for yourself if DuckDuckGo is as private as they claim to be. DuckDuckGo’s GitHub page contains all its code, available to anyone who want to compile it.

As a result, Startpage’s search results and built-in proxy server make it a formidable private search engine. On the other hand, DuckDuckGo lays everything bare so you can see what’s going on under the hood. In the end, it’s up to you to decide what search engine is best.

The Best Private Search Engines for Your Needs

If you’re big on privacy, you’ll be pleased to know that there are plenty of search engines that respect your private data. Not only that, but they each bring something new to the table, which means there’s a search engine out there for everyone’s needs.

If you’d like to see how these search engines go up against a technological giant, be sure to read our comparison of DuckDuckGo vs. Google.

Read the full article: The 5 Best Private Search Engines That Respect Your Data

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How to Remove, Change, and Set Default Apps in Android

Chances are that you want certain apps on your Android phone to handle specific actions. This is where default apps come in: they allow you to choose what browser, SMS service, email client, and other apps open when you load related content.

We’ll explain everything you need to know about default apps in Android, including how to adjust your default apps, change how links open, remove default apps, and more.

What Are Default Apps?

If you’re not aware, default apps allow you to choose which apps handle certain actions on your device. For example, you might have multiple Android browsers installed. When you tap on a link without a default set, your phone will ask which browser you’d like to open it with, since you have several apps that can handle it.

There are many categories that work this way, and setting default apps saves you from having to pick which app to use every time. Let’s see what happens when you don’t have a default app set, then we’ll examine how to adjust default apps.

How to Set New Default Apps on Android

When you try to launch something that doesn’t have a default app set, or install a new app that can handle the action, you may see a prompt to select which app to use, as shown below.

If you want to set the suggested app as your default for this action, tap Always to use that app and set it as the default for the future. Choose Just once if you want to use that app without setting it as the default.

To use another app, select it from the list that appears below. That one will appear as the first choice next time you take this action, allowing you to set it as the default if you want.

How to Review and Change Default Apps on Android

On stock Android 10, you’ll find the default apps menu at Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Default apps. This might be slightly different depending on your device or Android version.

Here, you’ll see your current default apps for a variety of categories:

• Assist app: The smart assistant for voice control, analysis of what’s on your screen, and similar. Examples includes Google Assistant and Alexa.
• Browser app: Used to open links you tap. Examples include Chrome and Firefox.
• Caller ID & spam app: Used to identify calls and block spammers. Examples include Google’s Phone app and Truecaller.
• Home app: Your default launcher that allows you to access and organize apps on your phone. Examples include Pixel Launcher and Nova Launcher.
• Phone app: Handles making and receiving calls. Examples include Google’s Phone app and Simpler Dialer.
• SMS app: Allows you to send and manage text messages. Examples include Google’s Messages app and Pulse SMS.

Tap a category to review the apps you have installed for that purpose. If you have more than one installed, select which app you’d like to set as default.

From now on, any applicable content you open will use that app. For instance, if you change your default phone app, it will launch when you tap a phone number on the web.

Keep in mind that there are more categories than these. For example, if you install a third-party camera app, when you use a shortcut to open the camera (like pressing the power button twice on a Pixel phone), your phone will ask you which camera app you’d like to use.

How to Remove Default Android Apps

If you don’t want an app to act as the default for anything, you can clear all default settings for it. To do this, head to Settings > Apps & notifications > See all X apps and select the app you’d like to remove defaults for.

Once you’re on the app page, expand the Advanced section and tap Open by default. If the app is set to default for any action, you’ll see a Clear defaults button at the bottom of the page. Tap this to clear that setting.

The next time you open content that this app used to handle, you can choose which app launches instead.

Choose Default Apps for Opening Links

The above covers the essentials for default apps on Android, but there’s another aspect you should know about: app links.

When you tap a website link and have that service’s app installed, your phone can go to supported URLs in the appropriate app instead of your browser. For example, when you tap a YouTube link, you probably want to watch the video in the YouTube app. This is known as “deep linking” in Android development.

While you can’t change which apps open certain URLs, you can choose whether links open in your browser or the appropriate app.

Change Link Opening Settings

To change how links open in Android, return to the Default apps page you visited earlier. Here, tap Opening links to review these settings.

At the top, you can toggle the Instant apps feature, which allows you to use some apps without actually installing them.

For the moment, we’re interested in the field below, where you’ll see an entry for most apps on your phone. Select one and you’ll see two fields on the Open by default page.

Open supported links allows you to choose whether you want to open compatible URLs in the app. Choose Open in this app to do so, or Don’t open in this app to always open in your browser. Ask every time lets you decide as needed.

If you’re curious which URLS the app can open, tap Supported links to see a list. For instance, YouTube of course opens youtube.com links, as well as youtu.be and m.youtube.com.

Disabling In-App Browsers

There’s one other setting to consider for default link behavior. Many popular apps, including Gmail, Telegram, Twitter, and Slack, include their own in-app browsers. This means that webpages you launch in these apps load in their own browser window instead of the appropriate app or your default browser.

Opening a page using an in-app browser where you’re not logged in to any sites is usually annoying, so we recommend turning these off for best results. The location varies for each app, but you’ll usually find it as a setting named something like Use in-app browser or Open links externally.

For example, in the Twitter app, you’ll find the option at Settings and privacy > Display and sound > Use in-app browser.

Expand Default Apps With Third-Party Solutions

For most people, the built-in default app options in Android are enough. If you’d like to add more functionality, a few apps can help.

Better Open With

This app allows you to set preferred apps that you can override at any time. Launch it and you’ll see a series of categories, like Audio Files, Browser, Dialer, and Emails.

After selecting a category, tap the star next to your preferred app. Use the eye icon to hide any apps you don’t want to use. In the Browser section, you can also use the dropdown box at the top to choose specific settings for sites like YouTube and Twitter.

Now, open a compatible link. When you’re asked to choose an app, select Better Open With and choose Always. Better Open With will show a panel at the bottom with a countdown and list of compatible apps. If you don’t select one before the timer runs out, your preferred app will open.

While this is handy, Better Open With has some issues. At the time of writing, it hasn’t seen an update since June 2018. When launched on Android 10, you’ll see a warning that the app isn’t designed for modern versions of Android. There’s also an ugly black box at the bottom of the app because of this.

Aside from version compatibility, it can’t handle all types of actions either—SMS is a noticeable omission. Still, the app is totally free, so it’s worth a try if you like the idea.

Download: Better Open With (Free)

Open Link With…

Want more control over changing the default app for links? Open Link With… allows you to open links in the proper apps when Android doesn’t do it automatically. This is helpful when a YouTube or Twitter link opens in your browser instead of the corresponding app.

Once installed, launch Open Link With… and walk through the tutorial. At the end, grant the app usage access for best performance. Once that’s done, you won’t need to worry about it again until you want to open a link with another app.

When you do, tap the three-dot Menu button in your browser and choose Share. Select Open Link With… and you’ll see a list of compatible apps for that type of link. Choose Just Once if you want to be asked again next time, or Always to associate that type of link with an app permanently.

While this is similar to the built-in functionality, if you have issues with links opening properly or want to open the same types of content in different apps regularly (maybe you use two different Twitter clients), it’s worth a look.

Download: Open Link With… (Free)

Master Default Apps on Android

Now you know how to take control of your default apps on Android. Most of the time, you should be able to set these and forget about them unless you find a new favorite app. But you have options for more control if the basics don’t get the job done.

Speaking of default apps, why not consider replacing some of the stock apps that came with your phone?

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The Pros and Cons of Pocket: Save for Later vs. Bookmarks

There’s no shortage of ways to save links: online bookmarking services like Digg.com, read-it-later services like Pocket, or even just the native bookmark feature in your browser. Out of these, what’s the best way to save links?

What Is Pocket?

Let’s make an important distinction to point out right off the bat.

Pocket is not a bookmarking service. Its creators view it as a reading list where you keep track of the many online posts you want to read. Once you finish an article, you can archive or delete it. It’s well-known and widely used, so you can trust that the Pocket app is safe. It’s available for iOS, Android, Mac, and more, and it also has a web interface that you can use in Chrome, Firefox, or any other browser.

Bookmarks, on the other hand, are a permanent fixture in your browser. These are links you find yourself going back to on a regular basis, without the intention of discarding them.

To use Pocket as a convenient bookmarking system, tag and organize items to keep your read-it-later stock tidy. And with “read-it-later,” you can still view posts even if they are deleted from the web. (Provided, the articles can be viewed directly from within Pocket rather than being redirected to the original URL.)

So why would you use Pocket vs bookmarks? And in what ways does Pocket fall short?

Design

Pocket gives you an interface not only to keep track of the links you’re saving but also for a clean reading experience. When you save links to Pocket, your links can be viewed either as a list or as a grid.

Pocket really excels in this. It offers articles and blog posts in a pared down ad-free interface. This makes for a more pleasant reading experience, and offers a consistent experience across devices.

On the other hand, browser bookmarks out of the box can only be seen as a list in your browser. To read a link, you’ll have to click on it and open it up in a new window. If the content at that link has been deleted, it’s lost to you.

Google Chrome’s browser extension Bookmark Manager does give users a visual interface similar to your Pocket reading list. After installing the extension, your Bookmarks Manager will be transformed.

You can view your bookmarks as a grid with thumbnail photos. But clicking on those links still opens them up on their original page. (To pull this interface up, you can also use the Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + B keyboard shortcut.)

With Pocket, you don’t have to take any extra steps. But the fact that Google Bookmarks does offer a Google-built option puts the two options on par with one another makes it a decent contender.

Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge, on the other hand, offer users a standard list of bookmarks that can be organized into folders but little else in the way of native customization. If these are your browsers of choice, you may be able to find third-party apps or add-ons that can give you that added functionality.

Winners: Pocket and Google Bookmarks Manager.

Organization

Pocket’s organization tools are limited to tagging and archiving. Pocket also automatically organizes your saved links into three categories: Articles, Videos, and Images.

Pocket also has a unique organization feature called Highlights. When you’re reading a text article and you come across a passage or sentence which you particularly want to remember, you can select it and tap Highlight.

This adds a yellow background to that chunk of text. You can then see all of the passages you have highlighted by going to Highlights from the main menu. This is a great way to record important bits of information for later access.

Bookmarks on just about any browser can be organized into folders. You can also place the bookmarks you use most often right in front of you in your bookmarks bar. The rest will be hidden in the bookmarks menu. All browsers have a bookmarks manager that makes it relatively easy to drag and drop bookmarks in and out of folders.

Winner: It’s a toss-up. This really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want something that is temporary but easily searchable, Pocket is your best bet. If you want a permanent resource of links, go for a bookmark manager instead.

Cross-Platform Access

Out of the box, Pocket works across several different platforms with extensions and apps available for every major browser, mobile, and tablet. When you save a story in your web browser, it’s instantly available on your phone.

Cross platform access on Pocket is easy to use whether you’re tech-savvy or have a harder time getting web apps to work for you.

With browser bookmarks, you can get cross platform access but it takes a little bit more work. With Google Chrome and Firefox, you can sync your account across machines by logging into the browser on all the machines and mobile apps you use.

In Chrome, sync your mobile bookmarks and view them from your desktop. Microsoft Edge can easily sync bookmarks (“favorites”), but only across Windows 10 devices. Safari users can easily sync bookmarks across Apple devices.

There are intricate syncing solutions available for most browsers, but if you want a simple solution, Pocket and Chrome offer some easy-to-use options.

Winner: Pocket for its plug-and-play setup.

Offline Access

Pocket gives you offline access to articles you’ve saved in their mobile and tablet apps. You’ll just want to be sure to open up the app when you’re connected to Wi-Fi to download them.

This way you can keep up with your reading list when you’re traveling and are out of range of a Wi-Fi or data signal, or when you don’t want to use up your data by loading your reading list.

This is one of the fundamental ways in which Pocket differs from bookmarking and is a clear advantage when it comes to using the service.

Another big advantage of Pocket is that it allows you to save videos as well as text for offline viewing. This is not something that’s possible with bookmarks.

Winner: Pocket.

Export

With Pocket, you can export all your bookmarks as one HTML file. This file can be used to import your links elsewhere if you decide you no longer want to use Pocket.

With Chrome bookmarks, you get a little bit more control over how you can export your links. With Google’s Bookmark Manager you can export bookmarks by folder rather than the entire list. (You could use this method as a workaround to share a folder of links with someone else.)

Firefox and Microsoft Edge also make it easy to export bookmarks to import them elsewhere. Safari makes exporting bookmarks so difficult that it shouldn’t even be considered if you’re a frequent bookmark user and don’t want to be locked into this choice.

Winner: Google Bookmarks for the most control over how to export your bookmarks.

Sharing

On Pocket, you can share individual stories with other Pocket users — and you can share one story with multiple users or email addresses simultaneously. Pocket also makes it easy to share directly to Twitter, Facebook, or to send the link to Buffer.

A relatively new feature is the ability to share “recommended reads,” allowing you to selectively share items from your reading list to your public Pocket profile.

You can’t share your entire Pocket list without sharing access to your Pocket account itself or without relying on a third-party service.

With native browser bookmarks, there are no sharing options. You’re simply going to have to open up the link and share it however you would any other link from your browser.

Winner: It all depends on what you want to do. Want to easily share one link? Pocket is the better option. Want to share your entire list of links, a third party bookmarking service may be for you.

Discovery

Pocket recently introduced features that make it easy to explore the most popular stories being saved by others. This feature is great in that it points you to more good content to discover. That said, it’s not necessarily tailored to your reading habits, although you can search Pocket by topic.

With local browser bookmarks, there is no comparable discovery feature, so if you want to find out what other people are bookmarking, you’re going to have to take your search to an online bookmarking service like Tagpacker or StumbleUpon.

Winner: Pocket because it works out of the box without any third-party services.

Saving Links

To save links to Pocket you can use a bookmarklet, email, browser extensions, and third party app integration. Pocket’s service is integrated with a long list of third-party apps.

This is useful because you can easily save content from a variety of apps directly into your Pocket list. This includes popular reading apps like Flipboard, social media apps like Tweetbot, and recipe apps like Epicurious.

To save bookmarks to Chrome, you can do so through native browser options, browser extensions, or using Chrome’s sync feature. Mobile users can install Chrome on their phones and make sure that Chrome is included in their sharing options.

For example, if you find an interesting link on Twitter for iOS, tap and hold the link until the Share Via button shows up. If Chrome isn’t listed in the apps, scroll to the end of the list and tap More. Scroll to Chrome on the list of apps, and toggle it on. Now when you go to save the link, you can select Chrome and tap Add to bookmarks.

You will, of course, have to log into Chrome on your iPhone and ensure that syncing between devices is turned on. If your bookmarks are a little unruly, it’s going to be hard to figure out where the link was saved, but you can simply search for the link using the Chrome Bookmark Manager if you have it installed on Chrome.

Again, Pocket makes it third-party app integration extremely straightforward so unless you want to tinker and look for options to sync between your bookmarks and other apps, you’ll probably prefer to use the read it later service.

Winner: Pocket because of the sheer variety in ways to save links.

Archiving

Another useful feature available in Pocket but not in bookmarks is archiving. Once you have read an article in Pocket, you can hit the Archive option from the menu to move it out of your main reading list. This allows you to keep your main list culled down to only articles you have yet to read, so you can easily find what you want.

If you are looking for an older article which you read in Pocket, you can check your archive.

To do this, go to the Archive section from the left-hand menu. This brings up a list of everything you’ve archived. You can read the articles again, or find the link to their original versions.

There is no way to archive bookmarks. If you have a bookmark you no longer need, you can delete it. But then you won’t be able to access it in the future. You could create another folder to put all your old bookmarks in, but that’s not very neat.

Winner: Pocket because of its archive feature.

Searching

You can also search through either your list or your archive. At the top of the Pocket app, there is a magnifying glass icon. Click on this to bring up a search box, and enter your search term.

You can search for either your list or your archive to find the page you want. To change this, look next to where it says Search in the results. Next to this, there is a drop-down menu. You can choose from in My List or in Archive.

However, in the free version of Pocket, you can only search through page titles. In order to find a particular page, you need to remember what it was called.

There is an option to perform full-text searches as well, in which you can search through the entire text of an article. However, this is only available as a paid feature. To access full-text search, you need to pay for a regular monthly or yearly subscription to the Pocket service.

With bookmarks, you can search through them too. When you open your bookmarks manager, there is an option at the top to search through them. However, this only searches through page titles and URLs. You cannot search through the full text of webpages, so it’s not always easy to find what you need.

Winner: Pocket because it does have the option to perform full-text searches, although only as a premium feature.

Pocket and Chrome Dominate

Comparing Pocket and bookmarks can sometimes be like comparing apples to oranges. They just weren’t intended for the same use. But as with anything online, you can tweak web apps or browser features to work for you.

If you like the idea of Pocket but you aren’t sold on this particular implementation, then you do have other options. See our list of alternatives to Pocket for other ways you can bookmark content for later.

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