Daily Archives: January 27, 2026

Following Apple, now Google to pay $68m to settle lawsuit claiming it recorded and sold private conversations

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Google has agreed to pay $68m (£51m) to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly listened to people’s private conversations through their phones.

Users accused Google Assistant – a virtual assistant present on many Android devices – of recording private conversations after it was inadvertently triggered on their devices.

They claimed the recordings were then shared with advertisers in order to send them targeted advertising.

The BBC has contacted Google for comment. But in a filing seeking to settle the case, it denied wrongdoing and said it was seeking to avoid litigation.

Google Assistant is designed to wait in standby mode until it hears a particular phrase – typically “Hey Google” – which activates it.

The phone then records what it hears and sends the recording to Google’s servers where it can be analysed.

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The claim has been brought as a class action lawsuit rather than an individual case – meaning if it is approved, the money will be paid out across many different claimants.

Those eligible for a payout will have owned Google devices dating back to May 2016.

But lawyers for the plaintiffs may ask for up to one-third of the settlement – amounting to about $22m in legal fees.

It follows a similar case in January where Apple agreed to pay $95m to settle a case alleging some of its devices were listening to people through its voice-activated assistant Siri without their permission.

The tech firm also denied any wrongdoing, as well as claims that it “recorded, disclosed to third parties, or failed to delete, conversations recorded as the result of a Siri activation” without consent.

Source: Google to pay $68m to settle lawsuit claiming it recorded private conversations

Digital Advertising lost $63 Billion To Invalid Traffic In 2025

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A recent report released by Lunio, a platform specializing in invalid traffic (IVT) detection and prevention, reveals that a staggering $63 billion (€53.6 billion) is wasted annually on digital advertising due to bot traffic and ad fraud. This finding underscores a significant issue plaguing the advertising industry.

The 2026 Global Invalid Traffic Report released by Lunio analyzes over 2.7 billion paid ad clicks across major platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Bing, covering the period from August 2024 to August 2025. The results paint a rather grim picture of the challenges faced by advertisers in ensuring genuine user engagement.

The Hidden Costs of Invalid Traffic

Invalid traffic, or IVT, encompasses clicks, impressions, or conversions that originate from users lacking genuine intent. This can range from coordinated bot activities and automated scraping to malicious competitor behavior or accidental clicks. While some invalid traffic may not be intentionally harmful, it invariably drains advertising budgets and distorts analytics, which, in turn, misguides automated targeting algorithms.

According to Lunio’s analysis, 8.51% of all paid traffic is classified as invalid, resulting in a silent yet substantial burden on return on ad spend (ROAS). For advertisers aiming for a 3-4x ROAS, even a small IVT rate could mean millions in potential lost revenue, as marketing budgets are wasted on traffic that fails to convert.

TikTok and Social Platforms Suffer the Most

The report highlights distinctive differences in IVT rates across ad platforms, with TikTok exhibiting the highest average IVT rate at 24.2%. This alarming statistic indicates that nearly one in four paid ad clicks on the site is associated with non-human or invalid activity. The rapid growth of TikTok, combined with high levels of automated engagement, has made the platform particularly susceptible to fraud.

Other social platforms are also grappling with high IVT exposure, with LinkedIn and X/Twitter recording rates of 19.88% and 12.79%, respectively. Conversely, Meta has managed to achieve an average IVT of 8.2%, thanks in part to extensive investments in bot detection and fraud prevention, bolstering advertiser confidence in their platform.

Google’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Among major search platforms, Google continues to outperform Bing and Microsoft in terms of managing invalid traffic. Lunio’s data shows that Google Ads boasts an average IVT rate of 7.57%, compared to Bing’s 10.32%. However, the report also identifies weaknesses within Google’s extensive advertising ecosystem. While search campaigns remain the cleanest format, with an average IVT rate of 5.21%, this rate escalates significantly when moving to automated inventory. Display and video campaigns, for instance, recorded IVT rates of 12.02% and 20.62%, respectively.

As Google shifts towards more automated solutions, visibility over traffic quality becomes increasingly essential to prevent wasted budgets from extending alongside performance gains. The findings indicate that while Google’s search platform may be a robust option, the rising automation across its ecosystem presents a duality of risk.

Industry Impact and Future Challenges

Industries such as financial services, education, and telecommunications are disproportionately affected by invalid traffic, with lead generation campaigns encountering 32% higher rates compared to eCommerce models. Gaming and iGaming take the lead, averaging an astonishing IVT rate of 18.49% largely due to aggressive competition and the prevalence of sophisticated fraud.

Moreover, the emergence of “agentic AI,” autonomous systems interacting with ads on behalf of users, presents an evolving challenge for marketers. While not inherently malicious, this new category complicates the distinction between genuine engagement and synthetic interaction. According to Simran Cashyap, CPTO of Lunio, this technological advancement may disrupt conventional understandings of “real” traffic, urging advertisers to seek stronger tools and protections to ensure that their optimization processes remain grounded in reality.

As automation reshapes the digital advertising landscape, gaining visibility into traffic quality is not merely a defensive strategy but a competitive advantage. The industry faces the complex task of evolving alongside faster technological advancements in order to maintain integrity in performance metrics. The full report can be accessed at Advanced Television.

Source: Digital Advertising Faces $63 Billion Loss To Invalid Traffic By 2025, New Report Reveals – Biz Brief

The EU tells Google to give external AI assistants the same access to Android as Gemini has

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The European Commission has started proceedings to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in certain ways. Specifically, the European Union’s executive arm has told Google to grant third-party AI services the same level of access to Android that Gemini has. “The aim is to ensure that third-party providers have an equal opportunity to innovate and compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape on smart mobile devices,” the Commission said in a statement.

The company will also have to hand over “anonymized ranking, query, click and view data held by Google Search” to rival search engines. The Commission says this will help competing companies to optimize their services and offer more viable alternatives to Google Search.

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Google was already in hot water with the EU for allegedly favoring its own services — such as travel, finance and shopping — over those from rivals and stopping Google Play app developers from easily directing consumers to alternative, cheaper ways to pay for digital goods and services. The bloc charged Google with DMA violations related to those issues last March.

In November, the EU opened an investigation into Google’s alleged demotion of commercial content on news websites in search results. The following month, it commenced a probe into Google’s AI practices, including whether the company used online publishers’ material for AI Overviews and AI Mode without “appropriate compensation” or offering the ability to opt out.

Source: The EU tells Google to give external AI assistants the same access to Android as Gemini has

New whitening powder activates with your electric toothbrush

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Whitening your teeth often comes at a financial and physical cost. Many of today’s most popular products including gels, strips, and rinses rely on peroxide-based bleaching solutions. While effective, the chemical processes generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) compounds that not only destroy staining molecules—they can eventually erode tooth enamel. Over time, this can actually make it easier to stain again or cause long-term dental health problems.

According to a study published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an alternative solution that not only whitens teeth, but repairs them, too. Instead of harsh chemicals, the new method relies on vibrations.

The team swapped peroxide for their new ceramic powder creation called BSCT. To make it, they heated a solution of strontium and calcium ions as well as barium titanate. If shaken quickly enough (such as with an electric toothbrush), the mixture generates a tiny electric field through what’s called the piezoelectric effect. While commonly associated with guitar amplification and electric cigarette lighters, piezoelectricity also creates ROS chemical reactions that are similar to peroxide bleach.

After artificially staining human teeth with coffee and tea, researchers applied BSCT and saw visible whitening after four hours of utilizing an electric toothbrush. By 12 hours of brushing, the teeth were nearly 50 percent whiter than control teeth brushed with saline. Not only that, but BSCT actually regenerated damaged dentin and enamel thanks to healing deposits of barium, calcium, and strontium layered atop the teeth.

A second experiment involved rats fed with high-sugar diets. Researchers brushed the rodents’ teeth for one minute per day over four weeks, then measured their oral microbiomes. They discovered the BSCT powder killed common mouth bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis and Staphylococcus aureus while also reducing inflammation.

The team hasn’t incorporated BSCT powder into an actual toothpaste yet, but hope to experiment with combinations in the future. In the meantime, they believe their alternative to harsh whitening products may soon find their way into dentist offices and stores.

Source: New whitening powder activates with your electric toothbrush | Popular Science