Only a few days have passed since we gave you an update on the conversion of Google Duo into Google Meet, and we already have another. Google informs us today that the Google Duo symbol and name change, which transforms it into Google Meet, is beginning today.
We recently informed you that Google would rename Duo to Meet by the end of the year after integrating all of Google Meet’s capabilities into Google Duo. Google claims that the change will begin to take effect immediately and that it may take several weeks to fully implement. The full deployment should take place by September, at which point all users should notice a change in icon and name.
If it hasn’t already, the old Google Meet app you presently have on your phone will also be renamed to “Meet (original)” in addition to the move from Duo to Meet. I’ve already changed, as you can see in the example above.
Google is also replacing the branding on duo.google.com with Google Meet as of today. That will redirect to meet.google.com/calling in the “coming few months.”
For a limited time only, Android apps and games are available to download for free this week. We will explain to you how to obtain these priceless downloads.
If you have been following Droid Tools for some time, you will be familiar with what to anticipate from this article: Both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store frequently run sales and promotions where you may get paid content for nothing for a brief period of time.
Unlike our list of the five best applications of the week, we have not intentionally tried any of the downloads we have compiled for you.
Hence, be a little bit careful before you fall into a money pit as some apps may still include microtransactions.
Tip: Do you want to secure a free app for the future? If so, download it once and uninstall it if necessary. This way, it will be added to your list of purchased apps and you can download it again in the future once you need it.
These apps are free in the Google Play Store
Measuring Center ($4.49): Do you want to perform a makeover in your home this summer? Then download this app and make sure your DIY projects will not run from the required measurements!
Equalizer Bass Booster Pro($1.99): This app sports a volume booster that alters the global sound and improves sound quality, making your music sound more pleasant and loud. Of course, it might even make your earbuds experience better.
These games are free in the Google Play Store
Sword Knights: Idle RPG (Magic) ($1.49): If you love collecting all kinds of weapons and basically leveling up and becoming the most badass knight ever, then this game is perfect for you.
Assassin Lord: Idle RPG (Buff) ($1.99): Yet another self-playing RPG that cannot be affected by the player, but you are able to kill time with it.
Word Search 600 Pro ($1.99): Love tickling your brain? Then you will certainly be able to figure out just how smart you are by hunting down every single word.
Fastar VIP($0.99): This is a rhythm game that tests your reflexes that pays homage to Beatmania and other old-school rhythm games.
DungeonMon!($0.99): Train monsters and have them compete in battles to emerge as the victor. Does this sound familiar?
SLOC ($1.99): This 2D Rubik’s Cube puzzle is a great way to pass the time in a beneficial manner whenever you want to squeeze your brain juice.
MR RACER ($4.99): Challenge your friends or the AI in fast-paced races. The road is simply straight without any curves, but it is still fun.
Bottle Breaker 3D ($1.99): This master bottle shooting game simulator from 2021 will make you feel like a professional glass breaker. Perfect for releasing stress in a mindless manner that features stunning graphics and smooth shooting control.
If you’ve been following Droid Tools for a long, you’ll be familiar with the following information: Both the Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore frequently host sales events where you may receive paid content for nothing for a brief period of time. Unlike our list of the five greatest applications of the week, we don’t explicitly try out the content when we compile these downloads and offer them for you. Therefore, use caution to avoid getting caught in a cost trap since some apps may still offer in-app purchases.
Tip: Do you want to secure a free app for the future? Then download it once and delete it again if necessary. This way it will be added to your list of purchased apps and you can download it again in the future once you need it.
Free apps for your Android phone
These apps are free in the Google Play Store
Home Workout Pro ($1.49): Funny, I installed this app when it was free last time—and I’m still not more muscular. I’ll be sure to start this app sometime!
Video Gallery – HD Video Live Wallpapers($0.99): For the most part, I don’t need live wallpapers on my smartphone. If you’re different and need some new fodder for your homescreen, this might be your app.
These games are free in the Google Play Store
Peppa Pig Sports Day ($2.99): Peppa Pig games are always fun, aren’t they? Well, not for us adults, but kids celebrate Peppa frenetically, of course. As always, this is a collection of various mini-games.
Rogue Hearts ($0.99): Nice dungeon crawler that likes to force you into in-app purchases, though. You can also pick up weapons, treasures, etc. in the game.
Klocki ($1.99) No time limits, no ads, but chilled out music. That’s the way to enjoy a puzzle game, isn’t it?
Mr Racer($4.99): Challenge your friends or the AI in fast races. Goes straight ahead, but it’s still fun.
Neo Monsters ($0.99): Catch and train monsters and have them compete in battles – sounds like that one game, what was it called again?
Cartoon Craft ($1.99): Real-time strategy game in which you logically have to decimate your enemies’ troops.
Cyber Fighters: Offline Game ($1.09): Action RPG where you are immersed in a world right after the end of World War III – in the year 2077! Can be played offline, as the title suggests.
Superhero War Premium ($0.99):Action RPG, where you fight your way through many levels to collect gold and diamonds.
Without a doubt, YouTube Vanced was one of the greatest technologies in recent memory. It provided the same functionality as YouTube but without the annoying commercials, frequent UI changes, and dubious improvements like the elimination of the hate counter. In addition to resolving all of these problems, Vanced also introduced new features that completely altered how you consume material.
One of the best features that Vanced offered was and is the SponsorBlock API. You could watch videos for far shorter periods of time because it essentially skipped all sponsor portions and self-promotions. Additionally, Vanced included a full AMOLED black theme that was very popular. Unfortunately, a Google notice forced Vanced to stop doing business.
While there aren’t any options that are as smooth and flawless as YouTube Vanced, there are a few that let you watch without ads and even let you download movies to your phone. Therefore, unwind as you read about some of the top YouTube Vanced options you ought to employ in 2022.
Kicking the list off, we have LibreTube, which is a beautiful YouTube client that provides an ad-free video-watching experience. The app allows you to customize playback controls and is completely open-source, meaning features can be added to it quite easily in the long run. The only downside for now is the fact that LibreTube is still in beta and is missing a lot of features, including the option to sign into a Google account. That said, the app is fast, fluid, and works as advertised.
NewPipe is a solid alternative to YouTube Vanced. It does not depend on any of the Google Frameworks to function and is instead based on another API that doesn’t require you to have a Google account to enjoy watching videos ad-free. The app has a simple interface with not much going on. While you can import your subscription feed from an existing Google account, you still cannot simply sign into one using the app. NewPipe also lets you download videos in a slew of different quality options.
SkyTube is similar to NewPipe in a lot of ways, and we only really recommend one over the other if you’re facing troubles using either of them. Just like NewPipe, SkyTube doesn’t run on top of YouTube’s API and thus allows for a seamless ad-free video-watching experience. You can import your subscriptions to avoid starting from scratch, although the app doesn’t have support for logging into a Google account as of yet.
If you really miss the great SponsorBlock integration that YouTube Vanced had in store, we have got a workaround! Kiwi Browser is a chromium-based web browser available on the Play Store that you can use to watch videos on YouTube using the mobile website. While this might seem obvious, you can install extensions such as an adblocker and SponsorBlock to enjoy an experience similar to that of YouTube Vanced. The only downside to using this method is the rather clumsy and unintuitive interface of the YouTube web app.
As much as we hate to admit it, the best video-watching experience is offered by YouTube itself. While it still lacks features like SponsorBlock and the dislike counter, there is no denying that the official YouTube app will provide you with the smoothest and fastest experience while consuming content. YouTube Premium gets rid of all the ads for you, unlocks Premium content, and allows you to watch videos in the picture-in-picture (PIP) mode. YouTube Premium has pretty attractive pricing with its family plan, so you might want to check that out.
Conclusion
We hope our article on some of the best YouTube Vanced alternatives provided you with some much-needed insight. If you have suggestions for Vanced alternatives other than what we’ve mentioned, do let the other readers know in the comments below! If you have any queries regarding the article, feel free to contact us, we’d be happy to help!
With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC and a 6.67-inch full-HD+ AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, the Poco F4 5G was introduced in India. The gadget is powered by MIUI 13 on top of Android 12. Triple rear cameras on the Poco F4 include a 64 MP primary sensor, an 8 MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2 MP macro camera.
We will share the most recent Google Camera for the Poco F4 with you in this article. The Google Pixel’s default camera app is called Google Camera. The camera uses the most recent HDR+ technology, which enhances image quality, particularly on low- and mid-end smartphones. The app also offers slow motion, lens blur, 60 frames per second video, portrait mode, motion photographs, and Night Sight.
This tutorial is for you if you want to install the Google Camera on your Poco F4. Thank you to a few talented and dedicated developers, namely Arnova8G2, BSG, and Urnyx05, who are working hard to port GCam APK files to the majority of devices out there. The Poco F4 devices now support the Google Camera port.
Xiaomi Poco F4 Device Overview
The 6.67-inch AMOLED display on the Xiaomi Poco F4 has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. It has a 20:9 aspect ratio and an FHD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. Peak brightness for the screen is 1300 nits. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor is housed inside and was created using a 7nm manufacturing technique. One Kryo 585 core runs at 3.2 GHz, three Kryo 585 cores run at 2.42 GHz, and four Kryo 585 cores run at 1.8 GHz, making it an octa-core CPU. We have the Adreno 650 to handle activities that require a lot of graphics. The smartphone comes pre-installed with the MIUI 13 skin over Android 12.
In terms of optics, we have a single selfie camera up front and a triple camera arrangement at the back. The 64 MP primary sensor and f/1.8 lens on the triple rear camera system are joined by an 8 MP ultrawide sensor and f/2.2 lens, and a 2 MP macro sensor and f/2.4 lens. The front-facing selfie camera has a 20 MP main sensor and an f/2.5 lens. The front camera can only record videos in 1080p while the rear camera arrangement can shoot 4K videos at 60 frames per second.
The smartphone comes in four storage options: 128GB internal storage + 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage + 8GB RAM, 256GB internal storage + 8GB RAM, and 256GB internal storage + 12GB RAM. We do not get a MicroSD slot for storage expansion. In terms of communications, we get Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, Infrared port, and USB Type-C 2.0. And for sensors, we get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass.
Powering it all is a 4500 mAh battery that can be topped up quickly using a 67W power adapter. The company claims that the phone can go from 0% to 100% in just 38 mins. The smartphone is available in three color options: Moonlight Silver, Night Black, and Nebula Green.
The Google Camera APK file installation process is as simple as installing any other third-party APK file. You don’t have to root your device for this.
Download the GCam APK file from the download link above and tap on it.
Make sure that the Unknown Sources option is enabled on your device. To do this, go to the device Settings menu > Security/Privacy > enable it. [If already enabled, skip to the installation]
It will launch the package installer and tap on the Install button.
Once the installation is done, open and use it.
Enjoy!
Still, if the camera app doesn’t work, enable the Camera2api by using build.prop (Not for every device)
Persist.vender.camera.HAL3.enable=1
I hope this guide will help you a lot, and you have now successfully installed the Google Camera ported app on your Poco F4 handset. If you’re facing any trouble, feel free to write it down in the comments below.
Every week, Droid Tools provides you with a selection of excellent deals for Android games and applications that are often purchased but are currently on sale for free on Google Play Store.
This list of free apps is updated weekly with at least two weekly editions, on Tuesday and Saturday. Between the publication and the moment you consult this article, it is possible that some applications have become paid again. Google Play Store promos on apps are fairly easy to predict, but it’s more complicated with App Store promos since Apple doesn’t specify how long the discount is valid.
Quick tip: When you find an interesting app, but you can’t really use it yet, install the app anyway, then delete it from your device. This way, the app will become part of your app library and you can install it again for free when you need it. It’s a good way not to miss a short-lived promotion.
Temporarily free Android apps on the Google Play Store
Android productivity/lifestyle apps temporarily free on the Google Play Store
Task Destroyer($1.99): Create tasks by entering the title (or image), health, color-coding, size and type of task. You can then place them anywhere in the space to better organize your to-do list.
Los tiempos verbales en inglés($1.19): A useful tool when learning Spanish or English, using this application you will be able to learn all the active and passive tenses of English with useful tables in English, translations in Russian and Spanish and with zero advertising.
Ringtone Scheduler($.69): Ringtone scheduler allows you to change your ringtone automatically depending on the time and your mood. It also has a nice explorer that helps you quickly create lists of ringtones.
Quick Volume Control($.79 ): A simple tool that allows you to control volume via the notification bar.
Memorize: Learn TOEFL Vocabulary($4.99): Same as the previous one, this application allows you to learn and memorize TOEFL vocabulary.
Number to word converter offline($.69): Have you ever needed to convert numbers into English words, i.e. “929” into “nine hundred and twenty-nine”? This application was designed for that.
Android mobile games temporarily free on the Google Play Store
Dead Bunker 2 HD($.59): A 3D shooting game in which you have to fight zombies.
Over 3,000,000 people downloaded a new Android malware family from the Google Play Store that discreetly subscribes users to premium services.
Maxime Ingrao, an Evina security researcher, found the malware, known as “Autolycos,” in at least eight Android applications, of which two are still downloadable from the Google Play Store as of this writing.
The two apps still available are named ‘Funny Camera’ by KellyTech, which has over 500,000 installations, and ‘Razer Keyboard & Theme’ by rxcheldiolola, which counts over 50,000 installs on the Play Store.
The remaining six applications have been removed from the Google Play Store, but those who still have them installed risk being charged with costly subscriptions by the malware’s activities.
Vlog Star Video Editor (com.vlog.star.video.editor) – 1 million downloads
Creative 3D Launcher (app.launcher.creative3d) – 1 million downloads
Wow Beauty Camera (com.wowbeauty.camera) – 100,000 downloads
Freeglow Camera 1.0.0 (com.glow.camera.open) – 5,000 downloads
Coco Camera v1.1 (com.toomore.cool.camera) –1,000 downloads
During a discussion with Ingrao, the researcher told Droid Tools that he discovered the apps in June 2021 and reported his findings to Google at the time.
Although Google acknowledged receiving the report, it took the company six months to remove the set of six, while two malicious apps remain on the Play Store to this day.
After so much time had passed since the initial reporting, the researcher disclosed his findings publicly.
In place of using Webview, Autolycos uses stealthy malicious behavior to execute URLs on remote browsers and then include the results in HTTP requests.
This behavior is intended to hide its actions from users of infected devices so that they won’t be noticed.
When malicious apps were installed on a smartphone, they frequently asked for authorization to view SMS content, which gave them access to a victim’s SMS text messages.
The Autolycos owners launched various social media advertising campaigns to draw in new users to the apps. Ingrao discovered 74 Facebook ad campaigns for the Razer Keyboard & Theme alone.
Additionally, while some fraudulent apps on the Play Store received unavoidably bad reviews, some with less downloads continue to have positive user ratings thanks to fake reviews.
Android users should have Play Protect activated, monitor background internet data and battery usage, and attempt to install the fewest number of apps possible on their handsets in order to protect themselves against these attacks.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s domestic spy agency, issued a warning to soldiers not to use certain Chinese eavesdropping Android apps as a matter of national security.
42 Chinese Android apps, including some well-known ones like We Chat, True Caller, UC Browser, and UC News, have been listed by the IB as purportedly gathering crucial data about the Indian security installations.
According to the report, the Intelligence Bureau in a November 24th advisory directed the soldiers assigned on Line of Actual Control (LAC) to uninstall these Chinese spying Android apps from their smartphones and also format the device after uninstallation as it may compromise national security.
However, China has a history of snooping on people using Android apps. Many complaints were made in the past concerning UC Browser’s dubious methods for gathering user data and sending it back to China. Now that the issue has received considerable attention, the administration has advised the troops to delete these risky apps in order to prevent eavesdropping by Chinese eyes.
Just keep in mind that by using these apps, you might unwittingly turn against your country because you never know what information these terrible Chinese espionage applications are sending to China.
Telegram‘s founder Pavel Durov has disclosed that the company plans to add a premium membership service to its already remarkable feature set.
Telegram is a popular chat app that prioritizes privacy and security. It competes with WhatsApp and Signal in the same market, but it stands out for the sheer variety of functions it offers and its generous usage restrictions. According to Durov, the corporation intends to increase its capabilities and limitations even more, but at a cost.
The most difficult part of adding new services and increasing use limits, according to Durov, is figuring out how to do so without driving up infrastructure costs. With a paid subscription service, the revenues collected will assist the company cover its costs while also limiting the demand for enhanced usage restrictions to only those consumers who are ready to pay for the premium service.
The app’s existing functions will stay free, and the business expects to continue adding new capabilities to the free service, which is good news for customers. Some of the work that goes into the subscription edition will help all users.
“Moreover, even users who don’t subscribe to Telegram Premium will be able to enjoy some of its benefits: for example, they will be able to view extra-large documents, media, and stickers sent by Premium users, or tap to add Premium reactions already pinned to a message to react in the same way” Durov explains.
Durov says Telegram Premium will arrive in June 2022. Pricing was not divulged.
Only one name comes to mind when it comes to privacy-friendly search engines: DuckDuckGo. As narrow as it is, the company has managed to spin its success in other directions, including a privacy-focused browser for Android and iOS that is reportedly devoid of trackers. According to a new revelation, DuckDuckGo’s cooperation with Microsoft may have lost the company its position as a “no tracking” provider.
As detailed by Bleeping Computer, privacy researcher Zach Edward recently discovered that, while DuckDuckGo’s browser stopped sites like Facebook and Google from using trackers to scrape user data, Microsoft’s websites — including LinkedIn and Bing — bypassed this blockade entirely. It goes against the search engine’s biggest selling point, and more specifically, undermines the entire reason the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser exists.
To his credit, CEO and founder Gabriel Weinberg quickly admitted that the browser does, in fact, allow Microsoft to evade its tracking filters within the browser, and that this is done on purpose. According to Weinberg, it all comes down to the two firms’ search syndication agreement, which allows DuckDuckGo to use Bing results in its search results. It’s the most important component of a collection of over 400 sources, which includes Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha. Weinberg further highlighted that this agreement only applies to the browser and not the search engine.
Still, it’s difficult to justify when the app’s main selling point — literally the first line of its Play Store listing — is to disable trackers on the user’s behalf. Following Edward’s discovery on Twitter two days ago, Weinberg stated that the company was working with Microsoft to remove this specific stipulation from the contract, as well as offering a clarification update to the Play Store and App Store listings. The CEO also issued a statement to Bleeping Computer, emphasizing that, while its browser isn’t flawless, it is still significantly more private than the competitors, with faster load speeds. As Weinberg points out, DuckDuckGo’s browser has never guaranteed complete anonymity. Hopefully, this is an opportunity for the organization to improve.
