A Reddit user flagged a counterfeit WhatsApp listing appearing in a sponsored slot ahead of the genuine app on Google's Play Store, as first reported by Android Authority. The fake app, from an unknown developer called 'Agment Assets sallu,' has over 500,000 downloads and copies WhatsApp's icon, screenshots and description text. Google has not responded to a request for comment, and the listing remained live at the time of reporting.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-16
OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT Chrome extension so the assistant can view a user's open tabs to give more personalized answers, such as comparing products across multiple pages. The extension's agentic mode, ChatGPT Work, can now fill forms, send messages, organize tabs and draft emails based on content from several tabs, and the sidebar can also access full browsing history for in-context tasks.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-16
At FOSSY 2026, Chromium developer Sharon Yang described her move from a six-year engineering role at Google to her current position at Igalia, an employee-owned cooperative. Her talk, titled 'From Corporate to Co-op,' compared how the two organizations approach Chromium development despite both contributing to the same open-source codebase and working with overlapping teams.
lwn.net
· 2026-10-16
OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT Chrome extension so the assistant can view browser tabs tagged with '@chrome' in the web or desktop app, letting users ask it to compare items or summarize information across open pages. The update also brings ChatGPT's sidebar full chat history and lets ChatGPT Work take actions in tabs, such as filling forms, sending messages, downloading files, or organizing tabs.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-15
Apple has launched a marketing push urging Chrome users to switch to Safari, claiming up to five additional hours of video streaming battery life on a Mac and page loads up to 35% faster. The faster-loading claim is based on tests of 12 popular websites run on 15-inch MacBook Air laptops with M5 chips and 16GB of memory under simulated network conditions. Chrome currently holds about 66% of browser market share versus Safari's roughly 18%, according to StatCounter.
techspot.com
· 2026-10-15
A review of the Lenovo Googlebook 15 describes it as a well-built laptop but one hampered by the limitations of being among the first devices in its category. The reviewer notes buyers face a tradeoff between getting the hardware now and waiting for software and ecosystem improvements expected later.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-14
A tech guide outlines how users can adjust Chrome and Google account settings to reduce tracking, including blocking third-party cookies, enabling Do Not Track, and disabling Web & App Activity, Timeline location history, and Personalize Search in the Google Data & Privacy dashboard. It also recommends turning off personalized ads through Google's My Ad Center.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-13
XBOW developed a Chrome full-chain exploit combining a V8 compiler bug, an animated-WebP decoder bug, and a Crashpad memory-safety flaw, enabling code execution outside the renderer sandbox from a single web page. Google awarded it the first $250,000 payout under Chrome's new full-chain VRP rules introduced in April 2026. The chain was produced in six days by AI agents running OpenAI's gpt-5.6-sol model, guided by human researchers, at an estimated API cost of $40,000.
xbow.com
· 2026-10-13
Apple debuted a new webpage and two YouTube videos urging Mac and iPhone users to switch from Chrome to Safari. The campaign cites claims of up to 5 extra hours of video streaming battery life, up to 35% faster loading of frequently visited sites, and stronger privacy protections including blocking third-party trackers. It also highlights features like Distraction Control, Notify Me, Profiles, and Apple Pay in a side-by-side comparison with Chrome.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-12
A new tool called REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) was shown inspecting a running browser game via a local debugging connection, extracting its index.js source and settings. It found the game starts at speed 6, accelerates by 0.001 per update, and caps at a max speed of 13, then rebuilt that rule in a small teaching version with an adjustable speed slider.
rea.tools
· 2026-10-10
A longtime holdout who stuck with JPEGs, PNGs and SVGs says he has now started using WebP images, crediting better tooling in Pixelmator Pro after switching away from Photoshop. He reports WebP consistently produced smaller files than JPEG or PNG at similar visual quality in recent projects, though he notes Photoshop still lacks WebP support in its Save for Web and Export As tools.
anderegg.ca
· 2026-10-09
TextExpander now offers a free tier that includes unlimited library storage, unlimited text expansions, and up to 5 team members, alongside 5 active Snippets. The plan syncs across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, and Chrome, and allows one active Snippet to be swapped every two weeks.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-08
GoKawiil