How to stop your Android from accessing your location
Ever wonder how much location information your Android reports? Well, just take a look at how much Google knows about where you’ve been by clicking this link.
It’s at once impressive and a little eerie. That’s just Google, and they’re relatively transparent about how they use your information. What about all those other apps that you’ve granted access to your location by glancing right over the Permissions when you installed them? Here we’ll talk how to limit third-party apps’ ability to access your location, and also how to stop your phone from sending location information at all, even to Google.
Now, I for one will probably let Google keep accessing my location history because when the technological singularity happens and the Alphabet Overlord appears, there won’t be any way to hide anyway. But if you’re of the mindset that Candy Crush Saga doesn’t need to know about your trip to Disney World, then you’re probably going to want to…
Limit Individual App Location Access
You can see a list of apps that currently have access to your location information by going to Settings > Location and scrolling down. Unfortunately, you can’t revoke these permissions on an individual basis unless an app has that option within its own settings.
There is, however, a workaround.
Download AppOps from the Google Play Store.
Boot up AppOps once its installed. Choose the app for which you want to restrict location access, and toggle the Location switch to Off. That’s all there is to it!
Totally Stop Location Tracking
Okay, this can get a little complicated. You ready?
Go to Settings > Location. At the very top of the screen, toggle Location to Off. You did it! Okay… so maybe we meant “easy”, not complicated…
Conclusion
Letting apps access your location can drastically improve the performance of some apps. Google Maps, for instance, is far more useful if you let it know where you are. However, it’s important to control how much personal information you disseminate to third party apps, especially if you can’t think of a reason why a particular app would need to know where you are.
What are your thoughts on sharing your location with apps and companies? How much do you restrict your location information?
Addictive physics-based puzzler Trick Shot makes its way to the Play Store
Artist, designer and team member at ustwo games Jonathan Topf has just released a new minimalistic puzzler called Trick Shot to the Google Play Store. The game was launched earlier this year on iOS, and now Android users have a chance to play the addictive title for themselves.
Trick Shot is a physics puzzle game that comes with a very easy to understand premise – get the little ball inside the box. It’s not always that simple, though. You’ll have to move the ball around obstacles that surround the box, which can be extremely difficult at times. You can bounce the ball against different objects, shoot it through portals, move it across the level with a fan, and more. Some levels are pretty easy, but others might take you a few tries to get right.
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The game comes with 90 levels in all. There’s no time limit, and you have an infinite amount of bouncy balls to shoot into the box. Trick Shot doesn’t feature any in-app purchases, and it’s now available in the Google Play Store for just $1.99. Head to the link below if you’re interested!
Download Trick Shot from Google Play
See also: 14 best Android puzzle games
AT&T officially announces the LG V10 for October 27th orders, lands November 6th
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AT&T has put out some release details for LG’s next big device release this morning. The LG V10 will be making its appearance through AT&T starting October 27th and will officially be available on November 6th.
The new device packs much of what makes the LG G4 great, like the 16MP laser auto-focus camera, replaceable battery and micro SD card slot. However, the V10 kicks things up a notch in a variety of places. For starters the screen is a 5.7-inch Quad HD Quantum IPS display with an always on second screen experience. For the security concerned, and those wishing to take full advantage of digital payment systems, they also finally added a fingerprint sensor as well. LG also saw fit to add another gig of RAM giving the V10 4GB’s total. They also doubled the standard internal storage offering to 64GBs. The front of the V10 now gives you dual 5MP cameras, one with an 80 degree lens and the other with a 120 degree lens.
“LG V10 is yet another example of how we provide customers with a variety of smartphones to meet their needs,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Device Marketing and Developer Services, AT&T Mobility. “The V10 was designed for photo and video enthusiasts that are looking to take high-quality content, but don’t want to carry around a bulky camera. One of the coolest features is the photo and video editing software included on the phone. You can highlight the best features of the content you create and can share it instantly with friends and family.”
Would be owners of the new power house can order theirs at an AT&T store on online starting tomorrow. As with any device from AT&T, you have a multitude of ways to pick on up and will come in two colors, Space Black and Blue Opal.
Notice the extra perks there at the bottom? Just like with the launch of the LG G4, LG is handing out some sweet kick downs if you buy the new device by way of a 200GB micro SD card, an extra battery and a charging cradle. I’d get one just for those reasons alone. However, the fine print states you have to make your purchase between October 30th and November 15th. That doesn’t seem to give early adopters who jump on ordering it tomorrow a real incentive.
Source: AT&T | AT&T LG V10
The post AT&T officially announces the LG V10 for October 27th orders, lands November 6th appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Become a cuddly teddy bear with Oculus Rift and Adawarp
Adawarp, a two-man Japanese tech startup, is in the long-distance bear-hug business. The company’s Telepresence virtual reality technology transports one person, wearing an Oculus Rift, into the body of a robotic teddy bear, with real-time movements, sight, voice and all, no matter how far apart the bear and user are. Turn your head and the teddy bear turns his, and use an Xbox controller to articulate the bear’s arms, as MIT Technology Review reports. Users can talk through the bear’s speaker system, hear responses through a microphone and see out of its eyes (each one encircled by a fine layer of fuzz, of course).
Source: MIT Technology Review
Verizon asks for permission to offer WiFi calling
Earlier this month, AT&T applied to the FCC for permission to offer native WiFi calling and now just a few weeks later, Verizon is following suit. The network has delivered a request to Tom Wheeler and his crew in the hope that it will be allowed to offer the feature to its users. If regulators give an official thumbs-up, we wouldn’t be surprised if the first crop of iOS 9-toting iPhone users don’t get the offering pretty quickly. After all, AT&T contacted the FCC on October 6th and started rolling it out to customers on October 8th.
Via: Slashgear
Source: FCC
The Surface Mini is a real tablet that you can’t buy
You’ve heard the rumors: Microsoft axed the launch of a small “Surface Mini” Windows tablet just before the Pro 3 hit stores. Hints of the canceled launch showed up in news articles, Microsoft earnings reports and even the Surface Pro 3’s user manual, but now we finally have confirmation that the tablet actually exists — and it was pretty much ready to ship alongside the Surface Pro 3. So ready that, for a time, Surface VP Panos Panay used one on a daily basis.
Source: WIRED
The Surface Mini is a real tablet that you can’t buy
You’ve heard the rumors: Microsoft axed the launch of a small “Surface Mini” Windows tablet just before the Pro 3 hit stores. Hints of the canceled launch showed up in news articles, Microsoft earnings reports and even the Surface Pro 3’s user manual, but now we finally have confirmation that the tablet actually exists — and it was pretty much ready to ship alongside the Surface Pro 3. So ready that, for a time, Surface VP Panos Panay used one on a daily basis.
Source: WIRED
You can pick up an LG G Vista 2 through AT&T from November 6 for $49.99
Following its announcement to carry the handset back in August, AT&T has today revealed that it will start selling LG’s latest budget-friendly smartphone, the G Vista 2, on Friday, November 6 for $49.99 on a two-year contract.
If you’re a subscriber to the carrier’s Next yearly upgrade plan, you will be able to pick up the G Vista 2 for $14.97 per month for 30-months, $18.71 per month for 24-months or $22.45 per month for 12-months, providing you trade-in your old handset, of course.
For those who missed its unveiling, the G Vista 2 is a relatively impressive entry-level smartphone, which packs a 5.7-inch Full HD display, a Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP rear-facing camera, a 5MP selfie shooter and a touch sensitive stylus.
Are you planning on picking up a G Vista 2 on November 6? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
Source: AT&T
Come comment on this article: You can pick up an LG G Vista 2 through AT&T from November 6 for $49.99
HTC One A9 fails to impress financial analysts
The HTC One A9 is prepared to hit the market in the coming weeks and with a price point significantly lower than flagship devices. HTC is hoping the combination of a “good enough” device from a hardware standpoint combined with affordability in a package designed to emulate another market winner will be a win for them. Unfortunately, it does not look like any positives the new HTC device brings to the market is going to be enough to reverse the pessimistic view of the company that financial analysts have.
A U.S.-based brokerage, named withheld per Taiwan trading regulations, has commented that,
“We tend to believe a decent device is not enough to reverse a company’s fortune given the trend of commoditization for Android-based smartphones, industry growth deceleration and severe competition.”
While the brokerage sees the HTC One A9 as a decent device that is “competitively priced,” they do not see sufficient differentiation for the HTC One A9 to help HTC regain market share or lift profits. The firm notes that the device is positioned in a difficult spot. On the lower end, buyers have access to devices from Xiaomi and Huawei that can provide good performance for a smaller price tag. This challenge will be deepened by HTC’s scaling back on their company and the lack of a strong online sales channel. At the top end, the device is not able to compete with flagship type devices.
The firm also noted the impact of Apple’s new upgrade plans for iPhones. Those plans will likely shrink the product replacement cycle while at the same time increasing pressure on consumers to stay with a platform. Other large manufacturers will likely pursue a similar strategy, especially for higher end devices, a market where HTC has given up significant ground compared to several years ago.
source: Focus Taiwan
via: GSMDome
Come comment on this article: HTC One A9 fails to impress financial analysts
[Deal] You can grab a Nexus 6 for just $289 for the next 24-hours
If you’re looking for smartphone that’s able to compete with some of the latest flagships, but with a much lower price tag, then look no further. Online retailer Blinq has just kicked off a fantastic one-day sale on the Nexus 6 through eBay.
For $289, you can bag yourself a brand new, factory unlocked handset with 32GB of internal storage, which is pretty awesome when you consider that this phone retailed for $649 when it launched back in November, 2014.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the Nexus 6 is in anyway shape or form antiquated because it’s almost a year old. It’s not. It’s an extremely powerful device, packing a 6-inch qHD display, a Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, Adreno 420 GPU and a 3,220mAh battery.
It’s important to bear in mind, however, that this specific unlocked variant of the Nexus 6 will only work on GSM carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T and not with CDMA carriers like Verizon and Sprint. A full list of supported carrier bands can be seen below:
- 2G : 850/900/1800/1900
- 3G : 850/900/1900/2100
- 4G LTE : 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700)
If you like the sound of the Nexus 6 and would like to take advantage of this fantastic deal – hit the source link below.
Source: eBay
Come comment on this article: [Deal] You can grab a Nexus 6 for just $289 for the next 24-hours
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