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Ukrainians arrest alleged admin of major crime forum XSS

Yesterday, Ukrainian authorities arrested the suspected administrator of a notorious Russian-language crime forum, XSS.is. In an X post, the Paris Prosecutor's Office announced that Ukrainian authorities detained the suspect after an investigation conducted with French authorities' and Europol's help that began almost exactly four years ago. XSS has been "one of the main hubs of global cybercrime" since 2013, French authorities said, allowing "the sale of malware, access to compromised systems

We have a new Android Authority YouTube channel hosted by C. Scott Brown!

Hello, Android Authority readers! I am excited to announce that I have a new YouTube channel. You can watch the introduction to the channel above or pay it a visit directly by heading to @cscottbrown. Don’t forget to subscribe when you’re there! As with the two other Android Authority channels — @androidauthority and @androidauthority2 — the new C. Scott Brown channel will focus heavily on smartphones and consumer tech. The chief differences will be that I will host every video and operate auto

Wallpaper Wednesday: More great phone wallpapers for all to share (July 23)

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens. For the newest wall

TODOs aren't for doing

July 21, 2025 Some teams require that every TODO comment in a codebase gets logged in the bug tracker. Others automatically delete any “stale” TODO that has been in the codebase for over a year. Don’t do it! TODO comments don’t need to get done in order to be valuable. If you have // TODO: Write the second half of this file so next week's launch won't explode then sure, you should probably track that somewhere. But to me, a good TODO looks more like this: // TODO: If the user triple-clicks

TODOs Aren't for Doing

July 21, 2025 Some teams require that every TODO comment in a codebase gets logged in the bug tracker. Others automatically delete any “stale” TODO that has been in the codebase for over a year. Don’t do it! TODO comments don’t need to get done in order to be valuable. If you have // TODO: Write the second half of this file so next week's launch won't explode then sure, you should probably track that somewhere. But to me, a good TODO looks more like this: // TODO: If the user triple-clicks

Google Messages may extend its nudity-scanning photo filter to also work on video (APK teardown)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Last year Google announced Sensitive Content Warnings for Messages. The opt-in system runs on-device and can detect nudity in still images. Google now appears to be working to extend this system to also work on video content. Modern communication truly is a double-edged sword, and for as easy as it makes it for us to keep in contact with our loved ones, privately sharing all the important details of our lives, these systems can make it just as easy f

Google wants Search Live to feel like a phone call (APK teardown)

Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority TL;DR An Android Authority teardown has revealed some UI tweaks potentially coming to Google’s Search Live feature. The Search Live notification could get interface changes to make your session feel more like a phone call. This change comes as Google brings visual tweaks to its other Android apps. Google announced a new Search Live feature at its I/O event earlier this year. This lets you have a natural conversation with Google Search, akin to Gemini Live. Now

Google Maps is rolling out a new look for the listing page (APK teardown)

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Google Maps is getting a few UI tweaks for the listing page. The “Popular times” section for a location has moved above the reviews section. The options for suggesting an edit, measuring distance, adding a missing place, and adding your business now have proper buttons. When you search for a place in Google Maps, say the Eiffel Tower, you’ll see a listing page right under the map. The overview tab on that page contains a variety of information you may

Google is playing with an energetic new Gemini animation (APK teardown)

AssembleDebug / Android Authority TL;DR As part of its big Material 3 Expressive overhaul, Google’s been rethinking its approach to the Gemini overlay. Instead of just gently sliding onto screen, Google’s been working to give Gemini a little bouncy momentum. The latest version of this animation we’ve uncovered is easily the most dynamic yet. Change is coming to Google’s Android software, and that change’s name is Material 3 Expressive. The company’s latest design language is being implemente

Google is testing a cooler, darker design for Gemini Live’s overlay (APK teardown)

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Google is testing a visual refresh for Gemini Live’s compact overlay in the latest app beta. The redesigned UI includes rounded corners, smaller icons, and a dark background. The corner widget has also been updated to be circular with a more vibrant waveform. Google isn’t done refining the Gemini Live experience. Following last month’s reveal of a more compact overlay interface, we’ve now uncovered some potential visual updates to that same UI. In our

This transforming, dual-screened Android console is the most interesting handheld I’ve ever tested

Nick Fernandez / Android Authority It isn’t often that something entirely new crops up in the gaming space. Nintendo is the only player still innovating when it comes to handhelds, but even then the evolution from the Wii U in 2012 to the Nintendo Switch 2 released just a few months ago feels far more iterative than say, the leap from the Game Boy to the Nintendo DS. Then there’s the ONEXSUGAR SUGAR 1. With two screens, folding controllers, and more power than nearly any other Android gaming h

Researcher threatens X with lawsuit after falsely linking him to French probe

Elon Musk's X is refusing to hand over data to French authorities, claiming it's defending its users' free speech and privacy while branding a criminal investigation into alleged algorithm manipulation as "politically motivated." In a post on Monday, X's Global Government Affairs account denied the allegations, insisting the French investigation "egregiously undermines X’s fundamental right to due process and threatens our users’ rights to privacy and free speech." Preparing to fight the alleg

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 21, #1493

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 20, #1492

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

YouTube Music is finally syncing your playback progress across devices

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR YouTube Music tracks listening history across devices, but so far hasn’t offered a way to resume playback directly. With YouTube Music version 8.26.51, we’re now seeing the app sync playback progress across devices. Listeners are able to continue a playlist where they left off by tapping “Resume.” It’s a fair question: How many of us are big YouTube Music fans, and how many use it because we want YouTube Premium, signed up before Premium Lite was an

Google may be removing its iconic ‘G’ logo from Messages (APK teardown)

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority TL;DR The Google Messages app could be getting a branding tweak that removes the famous “G” logo. It seems that the company plans to use the full “Google” wordmark in the app’s header going forward. The new Google Messages branding seems to be consistent with other Google apps, such as Photos, Calendar, Drive, and more. Google is constantly making subtle changes to the look and feel of its core apps, and we’ve discovered that Google Messages may be in line f

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 18, #1490

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

The chip powering Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold may have just been revealed by One UI 8 (APK teardown)

Jonathan Feist / Android Authority TL;DR A new internal beta of One UI 8 has confirmed the chip that will appear in Samsung’s triple-screen foldable. “SM8750” appears next to the codename for the tri-fold. This is the model number for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. Samsung has been working on a triple-screen foldable phone, much like the HUAWEI Mate XT. Recently, there’s been a flurry of reports about the foldable, including our own story about the device being ready to be put into produ

Google hides secret message in name list of 3,295 AI researchers

How many Google AI researchers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A recent research paper detailing the technical core behind Google's Gemini AI assistant may suggest an answer, listing an eye-popping 3,295 authors. It's a number that recently caught the attention of machine learning researcher David Ha (known as "hardmaru" online), who revealed on X that the first 43 names also contain a hidden message. "There’s a secret code if you observe the authors’ first initials in the order of author

ChatGPT Plus could soon get a yearly plan that will save you money (APK teardown)

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority TL;DR Open AI appears to be working on an annual billing option for its ChatGPT Plus plan. New code spotted in the latest ChatGPT beta release for Android indicates that the annual subscription could cost $200. OpenAI currently only offers monthly billing for its premium ChatGPT Plus and Pro tiers, but that may change soon. A recent teardown of the ChatGPT Android app revealed potential support for weekly, annual, and even lifetime subscription options. Whi

Google could revamp Android’s backup settings with a sleek new look (Updated: Rolling out)

Damien Wilde / Android Authority TL;DR Google Play Services v25.11.32 beta contains code for a redesigned Backup page, simplifying the interface by removing unnecessary details. Update, July 17, 2025 (06:38 AM ET): Google is rolling out the new Backup UI in Google Play Services. We’ve received the update across devices with Android 15 and Android Canary. Original article, March 20, 2025 (09:02 AM ET): Google has a decently robust backup and restore solution through Google One. This system taps

Google Messages will soon tell you exactly what happened to sent messages (Updated: Beta rollout)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR An Android Authority teardown has discovered a new UI for the “view details” page in Google Messages. This option typically pops up when you long-press a message, giving you more information about it. The new UI will give you more detailed info about the message and recipients. Update, July 17, 2025 (06:45 AM ET): Google is rolling out the new UI to some users with the latest beta, as spotted by user Aniruddh. While we don’t yet have it on our device

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 17, #1489

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

Wallpaper Wednesday: More great phone wallpapers for all to share (July 16)

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens. For the newest wall

RCS chats not connecting? Google Messages may soon make it easier to diagnose (APK teardown)

Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority TL;DR Google Messages may be about to add a “Details” button to help diagnose issues with RCS chats connections. The button was spotted within a recent beta version of the app, and includes a “Submit feedback” option. Google has previously advised users to provide this kind of technical info if they’re having problems with the feature. If you’ve ever found RCS chats registration stuck on “Connecting” or “Verifying” in Google Messages, you know how frustrati

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 16, #1488

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.

Google One is getting easier on the eyes with these Expressive changes (APK teardown)

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Google is currently in the middle of bringing its Material 3 Expressive design language to its Android apps. Earlier this year we got a preview of how this would impact Google One, looking at the app’s settings screen. We’re now able to see many more Expressive elements throughout the app, but these still aren’t publicly accessible. Halfway through July may not be official the midpoint of summer, but it sure feels like it. While some of us have been enjoy

Random selection is necessary to create stable meritocratic institutions

Campbell's Law (a variant of Goodhart's Law) states that the more a metric is used for social decision-making, the more it will be subject to corruption which distorts and corrupts not only the metric itself, but the very social processes it was meant to measure. Selection criteria for a position of authority are one example of such a metric. When selection criteria are opaque, it is difficult for them to become a target, preserving their utility as measures. For governance positions however, it

Gemini is working to clean up how it handles Canvas previews (APK teardown)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google introduced Canvas in Gemini to aid with creating documents and editing code. So far, previewing code output in Gemini may involve transitioning over to a new Chrome tab. Gemini appears to be experimenting with a revised preview path that allows you to remain right in the Gemini app. Google has been making its case for Gemini going back well over a year at this point, and with all the new tools and upgrades its AI agent has received, at this po

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 15, #1487

Gael Cooper CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.