Hacking Emperor

To play in the World Cup, soccer's ultimate tournament, you have to be among the best players on the planet. For the rest of us, Google has a hidden game to simulate the thrill of scoring goals for your favorite team. The game is available on mobile devices, so you can play it anywhere you take your phone or tablet. Watch out, though, because it can be addictive, and you won't have to get up at 4 a.m. to participate, unlike some of the previous games in Qatar, the World Cup's host for 2022. Don't Miss: 16 Best Games to Fill the Sports Void in Your Life Dubbed Mini Cup, the game can be found... more http://dlvr.it/SdZkqG

One of Android's headlining strengths has always been how it handles notifications, and things have only improved with each new update. More recently, Android has improved notification permissions, so you'll have a choice of whether to receive notifications as soon as you first open an app. It's easy to permit or deny these permissions, but it's just as easy to reverse your decision. The notification upgrades in Android 13 are simple, but they're pretty brutal for app developers who rely on notifications for daily active user numbers, revenue generation, and other business metrics. Don't... more http://dlvr.it/SdWdY7

You may not realize it, but most of your apps include third-party tracking services that monitor your activity in other apps and websites to serve highly-targeted ads to you. But now you can stop the creepy behavior on an iPhone and Android phone. While Apple had already implemented App Tracking Transparency since iOS 14.5, Google has yet to implement the Privacy Sandbox it announced earlier this year that will include similar protections against app tracking. In the meantime, there are several third-party apps, including Rethink, NextDNS, and Blokada, that can block apps from tracking your... more http://dlvr.it/SdSNf8

When it comes to finding the exact moment you want to see in a video, the seeking function can be hit or miss depending on the streaming service you're using. On YouTube, though, it just got much better. Released as part of YouTube's 17th birthday makeover in October, along with Ambient mode, the new Precise Seeking feature uses a bar of thumbnails to help you find the exact spot you want to watch in the video. It had been in testing on YouTube Premium since at least June. Don't Miss: How to Unlock YouTube's New Ambient Mode for a More Immersive Experience (Or Disable It if You Don't Like It... more http://dlvr.it/Sd18CK

If you can't find the remote for your Android TV or Google TV, don't like using its voice control feature, are sick of using the directional pad to type, or can't get it to work at all, use your smartphone instead. Using your iPhone or Android phone as a virtual remote control can be more convenient, easier to use, and more helpful than the original remote, so it's definitely worth trying out. Google launched Google TV in 2010 as its first shot at a smart TV platform. When it failed to take off for various reasons, Google pivoted to Android TV in 2014, which has enjoyed more success across... more http://dlvr.it/Scv41Y

You don't need to pay for an app or subscription to have your audio notes transcribed for you on your Android smartphone. There's an easy, free way to do it on almost any Google Pixel, and you can even use it on other Android devices. Google introduced its Recorder app with the Pixel 4 but has since made it compatible with the Google Pixel 2 and newer models. The app is leaps and bounds better than any other recorder/transcriber, but it's exclusive to Pixel. However, you can sideload the app on other Android phones. With Google Recorder, you get live transcriptions of your recordings — no... more http://dlvr.it/ScmqMb

Unlike Apple Maps, Google Maps can tell you when a restaurant, bar, club, or other business you're thinking of visiting is busy. It's extremely helpful if you want to avoid peak times or wait for the place to be empty. If you can't pry yourself away from using Apple Maps, there's an easy alternative to see the popular times of most businesses. Google collects anonymous user data via its mobile apps on Android and iOS to populate visit information for business listings. This aggregated data is thanks to users who've opted into Google Location History and Location Reporting on their Google... more http://dlvr.it/ScX9p4