After finally allowing posting last year, Instagram continues to make changes to its desktop web app. The latest update introduces a refresh user interface that takes better advantage of large screens rather than looking like a larger version of the mobile app, TechCrunch has reported. 

Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri announced the update along with the new in-app scheduler revealed yesterday. "We know a lot of people use the web to multitask and we wanted to make sure Instagram was an as great experience as possible online," he said in a video. "So it is cleaner, faster and easier to use and it’s designed now to take advantage of large-screen monitors."

Steve Dent/Engadget

As shown above, the home, search, explore, messages and notification menus were moved to a new side rail that collapses to icons depending on screen size. Stories are shown at the top, while your profile, suggestions and more are off to the right. When selecting any menu option, the left menu bar remains, making navigation quicker and easier. 

The new interface makes Instagram easier to use on web, but there's still no sign of a dedicated iPad app, as 9to5Mac notes. Earlier this year, Mosseri said that iPad was "not big enough" to make a dedicated Instagram app a priority. Now, at least, you could use the web version instead to get a better experience.

Google Play Games has arrived on PC in more countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. The app, which is available in beta, allows you to play a selection of Android games on your PC with a mouse and keyboard. Google started testing the app in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan in January (and later in Australia and Thailand) after promising at the tail end of last year that Google Play Games would come to PC in 2022.

To try the app, Google says you'll need a rig with Windows 10 or later, a solid state drive with 10GB of free space, at least an Intel UHD Graphics 630 or comparable GPU, a CPU with four physical cores and 8GB of RAM. Your progress will sync between Android and PC, so you can continue playing your game on another device.

There are 85 titles on Google Play Games, as The Verge notes, though Google plans to add more. The lineup includes Cookie Run: Kingdom, WWE SuperCard and Just Dance Now. Those are somewhat notable games, but you'll perhaps find heavier hitters on Apple Arcade and Netflix.

Bringing Google Play Games to Windows is a separate effort from Microsoft's push to offer Android apps on Windows 11 (which features apps from the Amazon Appstore). For one thing, Google built the Google Play Games app. Perhaps this gaming effort will go more smoothly for Google than Stadia has.

You can add the standalone Street View app to Google's growing product graveyard. Upon decompiling the latest version of the application for Android, 9to5Google found shutdown notices that the company has yet to publish. In those notices, the tech giant is announcing that the Street View app is going away and that support will end on March 21st, 2023. Spokesperson Madison Gouveia has confirmed to The Verge that the app truly is getting the ax. Gouveia also told the publication that Google will pull Street View from app stores in the coming weeks. 

Google announced that it was spinning off Street View into its own app back in 2015. Available for both Android and iOS, it lets you upload your own spherical photos from your phone or from spherical cameras. Last year, the company also introduced Photo Paths, which lets you contribute a series of 2D photos for roads and locations that haven't been documented by a Street View car (or camel or sheep) in the past. 

Street View will continue being a key Google Maps feature, so you can still virtually explore all the places the tech giant had documented with its cameras. You can also keep adding Photo Spheres within Maps and publishing 360-degree videos using Street View Studio. As 9to5Google notes, though, there will be no way to add Photo Paths anymore after Google completely shuts down the dedicated Street View app. Previously submitted Photo Path images, however, will continue being viewable within Google Maps. 

On October 25th, Apple started displaying more ads in the App Store, particularly in the "Today" tab and at the bottom of app listings. Since then, multiple developers have complained about getting ads for gambling under their listings' "You Might Also Like" section, when they have nothing to do with their applications. One of those developers was Marco Arment, who posted a screenshot on Twitter showing gambling advertisements on the App Store page for his podcast app Overcast. Other developers reported having the same issue and made it clear that they weren't OK with casino ads in their product pages. Now, Apple has told MacRumors that it has "paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages."

That's pretty much Apple's whole statement. It's not quite clear if the tech giant intends to resume serving gambling ads after the backlash dies down — Apple didn't expound on its decision, and the word "pause" seems to suggest that the change is only temporary. As MacRumors notes, people have been criticizing Apple for serving casino ads as a whole and not just because they're being served within app listings. Florian Mueller of the FOSS Patents blog also argued that by putting ads in app pages, Apple is forcing developers to pony up money to buy those ad spaces. That's because if they don't purchase them, competitors could use them and take potential customers away. 

Apple has sold ads in the App Store for years, but the ads space in the Today tab used to be reserved for a curated list of recommendations from Apple's editorial team. Meanwhile, the "You Might Also Like" section where ads are now displayed at the bottom of listings contained suggestion cards for similar apps. Since Apple allows advertisers to target categories different than their own, though, casino ads can show up just about anywhere on the App Store. 

Google is on the hook for another nine-figure fine after India’s antitrust agency said the company abused the dominant position of the Play Store. The regulator told Google to pay 9.36 billion rupees ($113.5 million) and to allow Play Store developers to use third-party payment systems for app and in-app purchases.

After a lengthy investigation, the Competition Commission of India said Google's requirement for Play Store developers to use its billing system “constitutes an imposition of unfair condition,” as TechCrunch reports. The regulator found that Google didn't use the billing system for its own apps, which it said constituted an “imposition of discriminatory conditions.”

The agency has ordered Google to open up the Play Store to third-party payments within three months. It said Google can't impose any anti-steering provisions on app developers and mustn't hinder them from promoting apps and services to users. Likewise, the company can't restrict users from accessing developers' services and features.

The Competition Commission also stated that Google must be fully transparent with Play Store developers and that it can't impose any condition on them "which is unfair, unreasonable, discriminatory or disproportionate to the services provided to the app developers." Furthermore, Google will need to have a clear and transparent data collection policy, and it will not be allowed to use "competitively relevant transaction/consumer data of apps generated and acquired" through the Google Play Billing System to its competitive advantage.

The regulator has determined that Google has a dominant position in the spheres of licensable smartphone operating systems, app stores, web searching, video hosting platforms and "non-OS specific" mobile web browsers. Last week, the Competition Commission fined the company $161.9 million after finding that Google abused Android's dominance. It said smartphone makers shouldn't have to preinstall Google's apps and that the company shouldn't withhold Play Services APIs and monetary and other incentives from other parties.

Google reportedly has a 97 percent smartphone market share in India, while Google Play is one of the most popular payments services. India is the company's largest market in terms of user numbers. Google told TechCrunch that its legal team was reviewing the most recent ruling.

Google has detailed the new, recent and upcoming changes to its Messages app in an effort to advocate for the more widespread adoption of the RCS messaging protocol. Apple chief Tim Cook recently made clear that the company has no plans to fix the 'green bubbles' texting experience anytime soon, but Google's feature additions improve messaging interoperability between iOS and Android. Earlier this year, it rolled out an update for the Messages app that allowed it to display iMessage reactions as emoji. More recently, it launched the ability to react to SMS texts from iPhone users with emoji reactions, as well. 

To make navigating busy group chats easier, the app will soon let users respond to individual messages when RCS is enabled — they simply have to swipe on a particular message to reply. This will begin rolling out in the coming weeks. Google has expanded access to the Voice Message Transcription feature, as well, giving people who own a Pixel 6, Pixel 6A, Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy Fold 4 the option to read the contents of a voice message instead. The feature auto-transcribes voice messages using machine learning and was only previously available for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

Another new feature is the ability to add reminders from right within the Messages app. Users who set reminders for birthdays and anniversaries will even get a notification when they open the application. In addition, the app will now suggest "starring" a message to keep track of important information or scheduling Meet calls and creating Calendar events when appropriate.

Google has also given Messages an in-app YouTube player, so that users won't have to leave the application when someone sends them a link to a video on the platform. It's testing the capability that would allow users to chat with businesses on Search and Maps from within the application in some countries, as well. And for those flying United, take note that the tech giant has struck a deal with the airline to offer free messaging for passengers using United WiFi starting this fall. 

Finally, Google is updating its Messages, Phone and Contacts icons to "to better reflect today's modern messaging experience" and to better blend in with Google's other apps.

Google's iOS 16 lock screen widgets are officially available. As outlined in September, the widgets give you at-a-glance info and shortcuts for some of the company's core apps. Gmail can show your new message counts, while Maps can either provide a link to favorite trips (like the commute home) or searches for destinations like restaurants. Widgets for Chrome and the Google app, meanwhile, can help you start web searches, issue voice commands or launch features like Lens translation and Chrome's Dino game.

Other widgets are more specialized, but still helpful. Google News can show the latest headlines. Drive provides quicker access to suggested and starred cloud files. It's also much easier to listen to YouTube Music, as you can quickly start a playlist when you're heading out for a walk.

YouTube and YouTube Music also have home screen widgets. You can quickly browse your YouTube video subscriptions, or search for a YouTube Music tune. 

The widgets should automatically surface when you're customizing your lock screen. As usual, they make the most sense for the always-on display of the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max. Regardless of the device you use, they could make Google's apps more compelling. In some cases, they'll even provide an edge over those Android phones that only show a limited amount of info before you unlock the device.

Google has made Family Link's most used tools easier to find and use in the new interface it designed for the parental controls application. The new experience's Controls tab contains the tools parents can use to set screen time for each device and app, set content restrictions and to manage app data permissions. Google has also added a "Today Only" option, which lets parents set a screen time limit for one day without having to change the general setting. That way, they can easily allow kids to spend more time online if they're still doing their homework or are just a few minutes away from finishing the show they're watching. 

In the Location tab, they'll see their children's linked devices on a map and those devices' battery life. They can ring their kids' phones from there, as well, in case they get misplaced. And as a new feature, the app will now notify guardians when their kids arrive at or leave a specific location, such as their school, sports field or swimming pool. If they want to know how their kids have been using their apps and to see their current screen time usage or their latest app downloads, parents only need to navigate to the Highlights tab. 

Finally, tapping on the notification bell at the top of the app will show parents not just the latest updates, but also all the requests they get from their kids for app downloads and purchases. That's also where they can find their kids' request for access to websites they'd previously blocked. And to make Family Link more accessible, Google has made it available on the web, allowing guardians to use all those features even if they don't have their phone with them.

Google

The tech giant has also rolled out parent-managed watchlists for kid profiles on Google TV, which guardians can use to create a list for their kids right from their own profiles. Young viewers will now also get Google-powered recommendations when they're done with what they're watching. Parents worried that Google's algorithm would recommend titles they don't approve of can use the new "hide" button to hide anything they want in the Popular movies or TV shows lists. They simply have to hold the Select button on their remote and choose "hide." As for families with older kids, Google TV now has a supervised experience on the YouTube app that offers content settings for pre-teens and older children. All these features are coming to Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV-powered devices over the coming weeks.

Back in 2020, Microsoft announced that it would be changing the name of its Office 365 subscription to Microsoft 365, acknowledging that it had become more than just a work app. Now, it's removing most of the remaining Office branding, according to new updates spotted by The Verge. "In the coming months, Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows will become the Microsoft 365 app, with a new icon, a new look, and even more features," a FAQ states.

Currently, you can access Microsoft's Word, Excel and other apps online at Office.com, but that will soon be switched to Microsoft365.com — with a new six-sided logo replacing the current square one. The changes will happen next month, and the Office app for Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android will be rebranded in January. 

The app names themselves won't change, as you'll still be using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, Clipchamp, Stream and Designer. There will also be a Microsoft 365 app on mobile and desktop that will act as a centralized hub for information, showing meetings, files, documents and more. 

The Office name will remain for one-time purchases through Office 2021 and Office LTSC that offers apps through volume licensing. However, it's now considered a legacy brand, so any new features will be for Microsoft 365 and not Office, according to The Verge. Microsoft added that "there are no changes to Office 365 subscription plans."

You can finally say goodbye to your dated and clunky Steam mobile app. Valve has rolled out the redesigned version of its Steam mobile app for Android and iOS, which it's been testing since at least August this year. When it was looking for beta testers for the application, the game developer said it rebuilt the app "on a new framework and modernized the design." It has also bundled the app with new features, including the ability to log in using QR codes. 

The new sign-in method gives you a way to access your Steam account without having to type in your username and password. It uses the two-factor authentication credentials stored in your phone to verify your identity. If you do use Steam's QR sign-in method, the app will show you a confirmation page with details, such as a map with the approximate location of the device you're signing into, after you scan the code with your phone. That way, you can be sure that you're approving your own login attempt

If you'd rather use your username and password to log in, the app will still ask if you'd like to accept or deny the sign-in attempt. And if you want to make sure there's no device linked to your account that shouldn't be, you can now review and revoke access if needed in the Authorized Devices page.

The new Steam mobile app now also displays all your games in the Library. When you click on a game's cover image in the list, you'll find an option that lets you download the game remotely to your PC, and another that gives you the power to uninstall it. Other new features include an improved store browsing experience for mobile displays and customizable Steam notifications for sales, trades, friend requests and other categories. Based on its announcement post, Valve is also working on bringing QR sign-in to the Steam Deck and on adding the Authorized Devices page to the Steam Client and browser.