September 26 tech news roundup: Ireland fines Google for violating privacy rights, Discord’s age verification system rolls out, Disney Plus and Hulu prices increased

Google Chrome’s tab sharing feature now remembers the scroll position

Google has made some improvements to Chrome browser to make it easier for studying and researching. One of the tweaks that it has made changes how tabs can be shared between your devices. Chrome has had a feature to send tabs to other devices for quite a while. However, it had one flaw. When syncing the tab between devices, the browser would send the tab, it loads the URL of the page, but it won’t remember the spot where you were reading on the page on the original device. This can lead to unnecessary scrolling, which can waste your time.

This problem has been addressed in the latest update. When you share a tab from one device to another, mobile to PC or vice-versa, it remembers the part of the page you were on. e.g. If you were on the second paragraph of an article before you shared the tab, your other device will load the web page in the same state. In addition to this, it can also remember partially filled web forms, so you don’t have to type something all over, e.g. when you find it difficult to type on a phone, and want to share it to your computer, Chrome will autofill the fields that you had filled. This allows you to truly pick up where you left off.

Gemini in Chrome can now analyze videos on any website, allowing the user to ask the AI about the video’s contents, explain about what it was, ask for timestamps for a specific topic, etc. Gemini can also generate interactive quizzes from the content of tabs, which can assist students to test their knowledge as they study. This feature is available for English language users in the U.S and India on desktop.

Discord age verification rolls out globally

Discord has started rolling out its age verification system worldwide. Earlier, users had to take a video selfie or provide IDs, which were processed to verify the user’s age. The rollout was halted in February after concerns about privacy, especially after a third-party vendor suffered a data breach.

Discord has a new system in place now, which automatically estimates the age of the users, based on various factors. It uses an AI model that predicts whether a users account likely belongs to an adult, i.e. 18+ or a younger teenager. Discord states that the age estimation model analyzes the user’s behavior pattern on the platform, but insists that it does not have access to user’s data such as messages or voice calls. According to an example stated in the official announcement, the AI model has learned to recognize user patterns of how a typical 15-year old would use Discord, and how a typical 30-year old uses Discord.

The company claims that due to this method the vast majority of users will not need to confirm their age. However, there may be instances where confirming the age manually would be required, this may occur when accessing age-restricted content, or in regions where the model is not available. Despite the company’s reassurances, the new system has also been criticized by users.

Ireland slaps a $463 Million fine on Google for data privacy failures

The Republic of Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined Google €403 Million. That’s about $463 Million in USD. Here’s what happened. In 2020, Consumer rights organizations in Europe had claimed that Google was not handling user location data properly. This included processing of web and app activity, location history, and location accuracy from a period of 2018 to 2020. The Irish watchdog agency began an inquiry to look into the complaints.

A statement published by DPC’s deputy commissioner notes that the investigators discovered that Google’s handling of the data had many problems. It revealed a significant amount of information about users, including that which is inherently private. Users may not have been aware that their location data was used to target them with ads, or infer their interests, and could not control how their personal information was handled. These practices infringed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws which came into effect in May 2018. As a result of breaching the law, the DPC imposed the fine on Google.

The DPC has given Google a six-month period to bring its data processing into compliance. Google says that the case centered around historical policies that have changed, and that it had introduced various tools, and evolved its practices to manage location data, as well as simple ads management that allows users to disable personalized ads, etc.

Microsoft says that the Copilot Plus PC brand is dead

Microsoft started the Copilot Plus PC brand around two and a half years ago, to highlight its partnership with Qualcomm, to make AI-powered hardware. The branding never clicked, and the fact that its flagship feature, Windows Recall, came under heavy criticism for security issues, didn’t exactly do it any favors. And now, a report by Windows Central says that the Copilot Plus PC brand is already dead.

Microsoft launched a couple of Surface devices this week, the 12-inch Surface Pro and a 13-inch Surface Laptop. Both of these devices are eligible to carry the “Copilot Plus PC” branding, but Microsoft is not using the moniker. Brett Ostrom, Microsoft Surface CVP, told Windows Central that the devices are not Copilot Plus PCs, and this was confirmed by Qualcomm’s SVP of compute and gaming, Kedar Kondap.

Microsoft has partnered with NVIDIA for its next-gen AI powered devices, these are unlikely to be called Copilot Plus PCs. Microsoft has also patented an Xbox technology that pauses games to display ads, likely to monetize free-to-play games.

Disney+ and Hulu prices increased again

Disney has increased the prices of Disney Plus and Hulu subscriptions again. This is the 4th price hike in four years. Prior to the price hike, the ad-supported Disney+ plan was available for $11.99 per month, and the same goes for Hulu’s ad supported tier. Now, the ad-supported plans have gone up by 50 cents, and they now cost $12.49. However, it’s worth mentioning that a bundle exists that includes Disney and Hulu ad-supported plans for $12.99.

The ad-free options, Disney+ Premium and Hulu Premium, were available for $18.99 each per month before the price changes. The prices of these plans have gone up by $2.50, and now cost $21.49 each per month. A bundle combining both plans is available for $21.99, after a $2 price increase. The new prices came into effect on September 23rd. It appears that Disney’s strategy is to steer subscribers towards the bundles.