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Google has been working on a secure offline peer to peer app sharing service from quite a while, now it has gone live and was confirmed by Google in its developer's blog . In the blog post, James Bender, the product manager of play store has mentioned, " No action is needed by developers or your users. This is an important step that improves the integrity of Google Play's mobile app ecosystem. Offline Play peer-to-peer sharing presents a new distribution opportunity for developers while helping more people keep their apps up to date" . This new feature is rolled out to the SHAREit app and will be extended to Google's Files Go and Xender  app as well. The Play Store will be able to determine the shared app authenticity though the devices are offline and only if users share apps using Google Play approved partner peer to peer apps. The updated can be managed when devices come back online and this will give users more confidence when using Google Play

If you are looking for a light and simple launcher, you must try Niagara Launcher  - fresh and clean . This is very straightforward and doesn't pose a ton of customization like other launcher but has all the basic stuff required. Apps & Home Page Features A simple homepage with favorite apps and frequently used apps (need to turn this option in settings). All the apps arranged neatly and sorted alphabetically (no app drawer is available). Notification previews, this feature lets you read incoming texts right on the homepage. Swipe right to see the full notification. Hiding apps  Icon pack, app size customization, and theme support. A quick swipe up from the homepage opens up the search. Settings Page Swipe down till the end to access the setting page and wallpapers, the settings panel has  Home-screen (enable/disable Google button, Hide alphabet, Weather, press home to search, limit most used apps, and show/hide clock) Look (Icon pack support, App

Google has updated its " Keep Notes " app with material design in a recent update and expected to bring back the Google Assistant support later this year. In a Reddit post, a Googler had confirmed that Google Assistant feature is being added back to keep in a future update. The Googler thread says " we're just getting started, more changes coming soon" and in a reply to a user's question, it was also confirmed that Google Assistant integration with shopping lists. This is going to be a significant update since Google moved shopping lists created with Google Assistant from Keep Notes to Google Home and Express Apps.

Over the years, the Android ecosystem is getting criticized for the lack of control over the App Permissions though it was regulated with Android "O" to some extent. Now, Google has taken further steps to give greater controls over the calls logs and SMS data by introducing a newly updated Play Store policy. This Policy will only allow the default calling or SMS app to access the relevant data. This is quite important since this will restrict access to only one or two apps even though other such other apps installed in the phone. In a blog post about the new policies, Google has mentioned: As part of today's Google Play Developer Policy update, we're announcing changes related to SMS and Call Log permissions. Some Android apps ask for permission to access a user's phone (including call logs) and SMS data. Going forward, Google Play will limit which apps are allowed to ask for these permissions. Only an app that has been selected as a user's default app

The Cleanfox is one of the best Productivity app available in the Play Store, it is very easy to unsubscribe from Unwanted Newsletters using this app, the app does it very smartly and the app is free as well (No ads also). Just open the app and add an account by providing the access to read emails, the Cleanfox takes a while to search all the Newsletters from the inbox and provides you the information and stats to quickly manage the inbox. As of now, the Cleanfox supports email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, Android app mail, iCloud mail, Apple Mail etc.  With the information about each newsletter, the app lets user to choose three actions such as Delete, Keep it, and Unsubscribe (right swipe - unsubscribe and left swipe - Delete). The Clearfox also says users can also plant real trees by referring friends which is a quite good initiative. Clearfox is an official partner of WeForest to fight against the deforestation in Zambia. This is also worth noting

WhatsApp has rolled out PIP (Picture-in-Picture) support for Android users, this is similar to the iOS which was introduced earlier this year. This feature is available with the beta version 2.18.303. With this feature, users will be able to watch Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook videos in the small window within the WhatsApp which would allow users to continue to chat while watching the videos. A YouTube link will open up the video in the messaging app itself. PIP - WhatsApp  The PIP video is resizable and movable on the screen as well just like normal PIP mode in Android, the full-screen option is available.  The one more useful feature is Swipe right to Reply , this to make replying to any particular message is easier and faster. The regular hold on a message and tap on the reply button  is also available. If you are a part of Google Play beta programme, you should be able to see both the features. If not you can download an APK from APK Mirror. Download link

At a Surface hardware event today Microsoft has announced a brand new feature for Windows 10 which would let Android Phone users use Android apps on Windows 10 and this feature is called " App Mirroring " and this  can be accessed from a Windows 10 app "Your Phone" and it works better with Android for now.  Addition to the above, Microsoft had also announced the ability to transfer the web pages from an iPhone to a Windows 10 machine so users can pick up from right where they left off on mobile. Source: Microsoft  According to The Verge, a demo was shown that a user messaging a friend via Snapchat on a Surface device using new app mirroring feature. This feature will be rolled out with new Windows 10 October update, starting with the mirroring of Android stock messaging and photos apps along with iPhone web page transfer, with more fully featured Android app support after this update.

Google Maps is the must-have app for every smartphone user, it has many useful features such as turn-by-navigations, nearby, traffic info and etc. Now Google has announced a brand new feature which includes few commuting features and integration of Spotify, Google Play Music, and Apple Music with the Maps. Source: Google Most of the users prefer to listen to the music or podcast while using the navigation, hence music services such as Spotify, Google Play Music, and Apple Music got integrated into the Maps and can be used within the Maps without leaving the app. Next feature is the "Mixed-Mode" is quite useful for the people who drive to a subway, Bus or Train station and use the public transportation to reach the workplace. With this feature, users get the real-time updates such as ' Time to reach the Bus or Train station ' and updated public transport details (next bus or train info, any delay in the scheduled time) as soon as the journey starts. All thi