Google has released a new feature for Google Call Screen and Live TV on Android TV. The company has also announced the Vulnerability Reward Programme, where critical vulnerabilities will be rewarded up to $15,000. Moderate severity issues will no longer receive a Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) designation. Betas are still limited to a handful of users and will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Google Vulnerability Reward Programme
Google has a robust program in place where researchers can submit the security vulnerabilities they discover on Android. A new system has been added to rate the quality of vulnerability reports, ensuring a thorough and effective response to potential threats. This unique quality rating system is based on the number of details provided in the report and rates them as high, medium, or low. The company encourages researchers to submit more detailed reports to address the issue more quickly, and researchers will receive higher bounty rewards as a result. This commitment to security is part of our ongoing efforts to keep your Android devices safe and secure.
This new Android vulnerability reward program is based on the severity of the vulnerability. Critical vulnerabilities will be rewarded up to $15,000. The company is looking for accurate and detailed descriptions, root cause analyses, proofs-of-concept, reproducibility, and evidence of reachability in reports. Moderate severity issues will no longer receive a CVE designation. If interested, you can check out the Google Public Rule page.
Google released a new call screen beta for Pixel 6 or newer to selected users, updated with reduced robocalls.
Google has started testing its new Call Screen Beta and is rolling it out to some users with Google Pixel 6 or newer devices in the United States. This will allow users to attend to incoming calls with a caller screen. With the update, incoming callers may notice a more natural-sounding series of voice prompts to determine who’s calling and why. The update also includes an update to the Settings UI. The beta version will help Google improve call screen capabilities and reduce robocalls. To set up the Automatic Call Screen, follow these instructions:
- Open the phone app and tap the triple-dot menu in the top-right corner.
- Tap on Settings, and then tap on the Call Screen.
- Toggle to enable automatic call screening.
The company is still finalizing the details of the new Call Screen feature, and the official launch date has yet to be announced. However, beta users can already start using the feature and provide feedback on their experience through the ‘Help us’ button in the Phone by Google app’s recent tab. This feedback will be crucial in improving the feature before its full release.
With this, you can save transcripts and recordings of screened calls, but you should also know that Call Screen will only sometimes fully understand and transcribe what a caller said. This means that while it can help you screen calls before answering, it’s not foolproof and may not always accurately transcribe the caller’s message. Additionally, don’t use automatic call screening if you use call forwarding since automatically screened calls won’t be forwarded. However, it is helpful because it doesn’t use internet connectivity, ensuring your privacy. Users need to enable call screening in the Phone app, or you can also screen calls manually by tapping on ‘Screen call’ when you receive a call.
Android TV now has live TV.
Live TV has launched on Android but is limited to the United States. This will allow users to browse free TV channels across multiple providers, organized in one easy-to-use guide in the new Live Tab on your home screen. With the update, the company offers a new experience to make it easy to find and watch live TV on your Android device.
The Live Tab on Android TV opens up a world of entertainment for our users. It gives you access to free channels from Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV, and Haystack, all in one place. You can also enjoy the free built-in channels on Google TV without downloading or launching an app. More than 800 channels are available, including news channels like NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox. That’s not all; it also has channels worldwide with programming in more than ten languages, including Spanish, Hindi, and Japanese. We’re excited to offer this diverse range of content to our users, making it easier than ever to find something you love to watch.
However, YouTube TV still needs to be integrated into the Live Tab, but you can use it through the app. You can also save your favorite channels at the top of the guide for quick access, and the guide includes live entertainment recommendations based on your favorite teams, shows, and channels. The new Live TV experience will be rolled out to all Android TV devices in the US over the next few weeks.