Technology - Google News

HBO Max's Apple TV app gets a much-needed overhaul - Engadget
Change These Settings to Make the Brave Browser Even More Private - Lifehacker
Spotify Car Thing gets 'add to queue' and call answering features - The Verge

HBO Max's Apple TV app gets a much-needed overhaul - Engadget

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 01:29 PM PDT

HBO Max is following through on promises to overhaul its underwhelming smart TV apps. Both Variety and The Verge say WarnerMedia is rolling out an updated Apple TV app that tackles some of the most glaring problems that remained. For one, it's finally built on a modern platform that should be more reliable than the relatively ancient HBO Go/Now framework. You'll also see a new home page with a "hero" banner you can scroll, the option to skip credits, more control over My Stuff watchlists and easier sign-ins.

The new version should reach your Apple TV device either this week or the next. You can already find the framework in many of HBO Max's other apps, including for Android, PlayStation, Roku players and TV sets from LG, Samsung and Vizio. Similar revamps are coming for Amazon Fire TV devices and the web.

The flawed Apple TV client was the result of WarnerMedia's desire to hurry the HBO Max launch. Rather than build its smart TV apps from scratch, the media company repurposed its HBO Go and HBO Now apps to cut development time. The company knew it would have to "replatform" the app to modernize it and accommodate both international expansion as well as more content, according to WarnerMedia executive VP Sarah Lyons.

That rushed approach might not have helped HBO Max's initial growth. JustWatch estimated that the service had 7 percent of the world's streaming market share in February versus 17.6 percent for Disney+. While we wouldn't count on a surge in demand linked to the new apps, they might help HBO keep subscribers who would otherwise be frustrated enough to leave.

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Change These Settings to Make the Brave Browser Even More Private - Lifehacker

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Image for article titled Change These Settings to Make the Brave Browser Even More Private — Photo: monticello (Shutterstock)

The Brave Browser promotes itself as a Google Chrome alternative focused on privacy, but its default settings aren't the most privacy friendly. If you need to use a Chrome-based browser, Brave is definitely a better option than what Google offers, but with a few tweaks, you can make it even more private.

Hide Brave Rewards

Brave Browser offers you virtual currency in exchange for watching "privacy-respecting ads." If you'd rather not watch any ads, you can hide Brave Rewards in the browser. First, remove the toolbar icon for Brave Rewards by typing brave://settings/ in the address bar. This will open the browser's settings page.

Navigate to the Appearance tab on the left and disable Show Brave Rewards icon in address bar. (Note that Brave Rewards are disabled by default; you can double-check that the option is off by going to the Brave Rewards tab.)

Tweak the new tab page

The Brave Rewards program and other sponsored content makes its presence felt on the new tab page. You can change that by opening a new tab, which will open the Dashboard view, and clicking the Customize button towards the bottom of the page.

This will open a pop-up called Customize Dashboard. Here you can click Background Image and disable Show Sponsored Images. Then click the Cards tab, scroll to the bottom, and click the Hide button below Brave Rewards.

Finally, go to Brave Browser settings and click New Tab Page on the left. Use the drop-down menu on the right to change the default new tab page from Dashboard view to any other website or a blank page.

Clear the cryptocurrency clutter

Brave's foray into cryptocurrency has been controversial, and it's easy to avoid it entirely if you want to by going to Brave Settings > Wallet.

Next to Default cryptocurrency wallet, select None. Then disable Show Brave Wallet icon on the toolbar to remove the clutter.

Reduce how often Brave phones home

Brave does send some analytics data back to its developers by default. You can stop this by going to Brave Settings > Privacy and security and disabling Allow privacy-preserving product analytics and Automatically send daily usage ping to Brave.

Stop sites from asking for permission to access private data

Websites love to annoy us with requests to access sensitive information. You can stop some of this by going to Brave Settings > Privacy and security > Site and Shields Settings. One-by-one, click on Location, Camera, Microphone, and Notifications and select the option that stops websites from asking for permission to access them.

(If you use Brave for video calls, you shouldn't put a blanket ban on websites asking for camera and microphone permissions.)

Next, click the Additional permissions button to reveal a bunch more hidden permission preferences. You can go through these individually and disable everything that's unnecessary for you; for most people, disabling Autoplay, Motion sensors, and Ethereum should be enough. Consider disabling clipboard access to keep stuff you copy away from prying eyes.

Move away from Google search

Google search is hardly the best option for protecting your privacy. Brave's default search engine is Google, but you can change that by going to Brave Settings > Search engine. DuckDuckGo and Startpage are good alternatives.

Block social media tracking

Finally, you can reduce subtle social media tracking by going to Brave Settings > Social media blocking. If you prefer to avoid using Google or Facebook logins, disable Allow Google login buttons on third party sites and Allow Facebook logins and embedded posts. And if you don't want to see embedded tweets on any website, you can turn off Allow Twitter embedded tweets too.

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Spotify Car Thing gets 'add to queue' and call answering features - The Verge

Posted: 07 Apr 2022 11:11 AM PDT

Spotify announced Thursday it was adding the ability to respond to phone calls and other new features to its Car Thing infotainment system. Owners of the $90 device, which went on sale in February, also will now be able to add songs and podcasts to a queue, control other media, and use voice commands.

Car Thing users will be able to see incoming calls and either answer them or dismiss them right in the Car Thing interface. They'll also be able to switch between Spotify and other media using presets, voice, or tapping its screen.

Spotify says the new "add to queue" feature is one of its most-requested for Car Thing; you can do it either by voice (using the "hey Spotify" prompt), touch, or the device's dial. You can also ask Car Thing to create a personalized playlist by telling it what genre or music type you're interested in listening to.

Designed as a more convenient way of controlling Spotify while you're driving, the Car Thing device uses Bluetooth to connect to your phone, and you can either run a cable to plug it into your car or have your phone connect to your car via Bluetooth. It lacks a rechargeable battery, so it needs to stay plugged into your car's USB socket.

Spotify says the features will roll out for iOS users automatically, and Android availability will roll out "at a later date."

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