Apps & Services
Google Discontinues GPay App and P2P Payment Services in the US
In the end, Google shuts down the GPay app and P2P payments in the US after a serious alert period. It was already announced back in February that “GPay” is no longer available in the US.
Back in 2020, Google announced the redesigned Google Pay to enhance the experience by making money simple, secure, and convenient, with plans for a mobile-first bank account that never came to fruition. Since June 4th onwards, the GPay app running on Android phones in the US has automatically signed out all users.
Users who try to log back into GPay after June 4th will receive a message alerting them that the app is no longer available in the US. Noticeably, users can still use contactless payments with Google Wallet. Apart from this, Google also no longer offers peer-to-peer payments in the US. Users can use the Google Play website to check the detailed metrics and transfer the balance they have received or rewards to a bank account after June.
The reason behind this appears to be that the focus is now on Google Wallet and digitizing everything in their physical wallet. The brand decided to redesign to make the app revolve around your interaction with others. For instance, now you could track your bank accounts and credit cards straight forward within the Insights tab, and the app would prominently showcase deals and cashback offers.
Back in November 2022, at the announcement, co-branded checking and saving “Plex Accounts” were also previewed. Google collaborated with banks and credit unions, most notably Citi. There would have been a physical card. Savings and the option to create customizable goals were the other big tentpoles. There’s one option that would have been to “round up transfers” on all purchases to help meet the goal.
Initially, Plex was scheduled to debut in 2021, but later Google announced that in October the project was canceled. This was despite a waitlist of 400,000 people. Reportedly, Google was shifting to “delivering digital enablement for banks and other financial services providers rather than us serving as the provider of these services.”
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Samsung has recently rolled out a new update for the secure folder, which aims to provide some minor changes in the applications. As it doesn’t bring any specific changelog with it, it may provide some improvement to the functioning of the application, but due to some lack of testing or misalignment, the update makes the secure folder stop functioning.
The secure folder is one of the crucial features of the Galaxy device, which allows users to keep their private stuff in a separate space from the other files. But after the update, several users are facing the issue where the secure folder is unable to open.
However, without wasting time, a Samsung official has confirmed that the issue has been reviewed and also reported the reason behind it.
According to the moderator, the issue is occurring due to the latest changes applied through Google Policies related to account management with Family Link, which offers a feature for parents to control their children’s digital activities, and with the recent software, the use of secure folders has been restricted.
So if you are logged in with a child’s account under the Family link, you will not be able to use secure Folder again, so if you want to use the functionality again, then you need to sign in with your regular Google account instead of the child’s account.
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Samsung Electronics is expanding its free, ad-supported TV streaming service, named Samsung TV Plus, by making it available in markets across the Middle East and soon in Southeast Asia. Let’s take a closer look at the report.
The Korean giant is expanding the service to new regions, and the reason behind this step seems to be that the TV streaming service could become a major source of revenue. The content fees Samsung TV Plus will generate may help compensate for the slower TV sales.
Back in 2015, Samsung introduced its free streaming service in its home country, South Korea. Then the company gradually expanded it to other markets, including Europe, North America, Australia, and India.
Now it is time for the Middle East region to receive this service, as the giant is now bringing it to the Middle East, which is a market that the company has been focusing on recently.
It is a completely free, ad-supported smart TV video service. It delivers instant access to news, sports, entertainment, and more to enhance the watching experience. Samsung TV Plus offers viewers a vast range of free content without even asking for a monthly subscription plan, downloads, logins, or additional fees.
Viewers do have to watch customized ads while Samsung gets to pocket commissions from advertisers; that’s the reason why it enables the company to monetize the TVs that it has already sold to customers.
The Korean firm collaborates with local content providers in the Middle East to offer appropriate content on TV Plus in the market. The content partners include Shahid and G Entertainment. Samsung TV Plus initially debuted in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The report also says that, apart from the Middle East, the giant could also introduce Samsung TV Plus in Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines, by the end of this year.
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A report from the checkpoint issued a warning to Android smartphone users who are using the older version or even the latest Android 14 on their device that there is new malware spotted that is gaining access to the user’s smartphone and can control several functions, leading to a breach of privacy. Being bound to Android in different versions, Galaxy users also focus on how they can stay protected.
Going into details, a new malware called Rafael RAT is available on the internet, can be the user’s fault, and can be installed on their devices.
For example, if you click on any link from an unofficial website or if you download any app from an external source, it can lead your device into danger.
So, Check Point advised that if you want to stay protected, then always check for the source before installing or visiting any website and don’t open any link provided by an unknown sender, because if you accidentally do this, it can, in fact, damage your device, which could lead to abnormal behavior of the device such as an unexpected battery drain, increased data usage, or the presence of unfamiliar apps. Once it is fully activated, it can access sensitive information such as contacts, call logs, and text messages.
Along with this, you should check for the latest update; if available, then update your device to the latest version via system settings.
It is worth noticing that the Rafer Rat malware is spotted targeting devices in several countries, including the United States, UK, China, Indonesia, Russia, India, France, and Germany. So if you also belong to these counties, then you should stay alert, and if you find any behavior changes in the device, then you should update your device to the latest version.
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Source – Forbes