A French officer recently leaked the location of an aircraft carrier because of a run on the sports app Strava. This is not the first time this has happened, as the app tracks location data.
🚨🇫🇷 NEW: The location of the French aircraft carrier, FS Charles de Gaulle, has been given away by a sailor using Strava whilst jogging on the ship deck
In other words, the use of Strava to track runs is becoming a global security risk, but it doesn't have to be. If you happen to find yourself in an undisclosed location as part of a military entourage, here are a couple of ways to keep things private.
Change the settings
Don't want to give up those Strava runs? Just change the settings. On the web, click on "Do Not Share My Personal Information" on the feed page and then look for "Opt Out."
This is also fairly easy for smartphone users. Just head to "Privacy Controls" for the app and follow the prompts on both iOS and Android. Both versions include an option to disable the sharing of personal information, including location data.
Use another running app
Most sports apps track location data, but they don't all share Strava's spotty history. There are plenty of apps out there to choose from, and some are quite good. No matter which one you download, be sure to take steps to change the privacy settings.
Run the old-fashioned way
Believe it or not, people still jogged before smartphones. Just lace up a pair of shoes and get out there. For extra protection, leave your phone and smartwatch at home.
Get a treadmill
Are you stuck on an aircraft carrier somewhere in the middle of the ocean? It could be tough to get your steps in, so consider bothering the top brass for a treadmill.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/heres-how-not-to-leak-military-information-with-your-strava-run-183635879.html?src=rss
OpenAI is developing a “super app” for desktop that unifies ChatGPT, its browser and its Codex app, according to the Wall Street Journaland CNBC. A company spokesperson told the publications that OpenAI Chief of Applications Fidji Simo will lead the application revamp with assistance from OpenAI President Greg Brockman. Simo will also help the marketing team advertise the app when it comes out. OpenAI’s leadership is apparently hoping that combining several products can help it streamline user experience and dedicate its resources to one project.
The company has yet to make an official announcement about the new app, but Simo replied to the Journal piece’s author on X. “Companies go through phases of exploration and phases of refocus; both are critical,” Simo said. “But when new bets start to work, like we're seeing now with Codex, it's very important to double down on them and avoid distractions. Really glad we're seizing this moment.”
The Journal saw the internal note Simo sent to employees, wherein she said that the company realized it was spreading its efforts across too many apps and that it needed to simplify its efforts. “That fragmentation has been slowing us down and making it harder to hit the quality bar we want,” she reportedly wrote. In an all-hands meeting, CNBC said she also told employees that the company was “orienting aggressively” towards high-productivity use cases.
It’s not clear yet when the unified app will be available, but OpenAI is reportedly focusing on developing agentic AI capabilities for it. The agents will be able to make decisions and use tools to do tasks on computers, such as writing software or analyzing data, with little human oversight.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-is-putting-chatgpt-its-browser-and-code-generator-into-one-desktop-app-025709839.html?src=rss
Google is testing a version of its Gemini app for macOS, Bloomberg reports. The app would bring the AI assistant to uncharted territory, and in more direct competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, both of which offer standalone Mac apps.
Gemini remains accessible through the web, and it sounds like the macOS app offers the same set of features, with the ability to respond to prompts, search the web and generate text, images and code. The major differentiator of the Mac app could be a feature called "Desktop Intelligence," which gives Gemini a new source of information and context for its responses. According to a message in the app's code viewed by Bloomberg, "when you enable apps for Desktop Intelligence you are enabling Gemini to see what you see (such as screen context) and pull content directly from these apps to improve and personalize your experience only when Gemini is in use."
The ability to refer to information in apps and what's currently on your screen is offered by both the Claude and ChatGPT macOS apps, and something Gemini is capable of on mobile devices. It's not clear if Gemini for macOS will be able to actually take action in the apps it can view — like, for example, Anthropic's popular Claude Cowork feature — but Google has already started offering that experience in a limited form on smartphones, so who's to say that couldn't come to desktop operating systems, too.
Bloomberg reports that the Gemini app is being tested with non-Google employees, which could be a sign it's making its way to a public release. Thanks to Apple and Google's AI partnership, whether the app sees the light of day or not, some of the technology that makes Gemini possible will run on macOS in the future. Google and Apple announced in January that Google's Gemini models would power future versions of Apple Intelligence. Apple is also reportedly overhauling Siri into more of a chatbot, an experience likely made possible by Gemini.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-is-reportedly-testing-a-gemini-app-for-mac-203703372.html?src=rss
Google has detailed how users will be able to sideload apps from unverified developers once it implements its more restrictive policy towards downloading software on Android. The company originally planned to require all developers to be "verified" to distribute on Android, but softened its stance in November 2025 to allow carveouts for Android power-users and hobbyist developers.
For the average Android users, the ability to sideload apps will now be locked behind a multi-step one-time process. Users will first have to enable developer mode in settings, confirm they're not being coached into disabling security, restart their phone (to cut off any phone calls), then wait a day and confirm their identity with biometric authentication or a pin before installing any apps. Google says you can enable the ability to install apps from unverified developers for seven days or indefinitely, but regardless of what you'll choose, you'll still have to dismiss a warning telling you the app you're installing is from an unverified developer.
For hobbyist developers or students who want people to try their app but don't want to create a verified developer account, Google also plans to offer free "limited distributions accounts" that let you share apps without being verified. These accounts will let you share apps with up to 20 devices without having "to provide a government-issued ID or pay a registration fee."
Google is implementing its new verification process in the name of security, and has likened the requirements being asked of developers to "an ID check at the airport, which confirms a traveler's identity but is separate from the security screening of their bags." Neither the verification nor this new approach to sideloading entirely closes off getting apps from unverified developers onto your Android device, they just make it harder to download something dangerous directly from the internet onto your phone.
Google appears to be trying to split the difference on Android, tightening up what apps can be distributed via verification, while cutting its own Play Store fees and changing its stance towards third-party app stores. Requiring verification to distribute software extends Google's influence outside of its own apps and app store, which is why some developers and digital rights organizations have publicly pushed back on the company's plan.
Developers can sign-up for early access to the developer verification process now. Google says its new workflow for enabling sideloading and small distributions of apps will go live in August.
Correction, March 19, 2026, 3:44PM ET: The headline has been change to clarify that the new procedure does not apply to all app sideloading.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/android-will-hide-app-sideloading-behind-a-new-one-time-security-process-184651171.html?src=rss
Comet is an AI-powered browser, which has become a hot product category throughout the past year or so. This is basically a web browser combined with a chatbot that can perform some tasks on a user's behalf. Like related tools, people can ask it to summarize a webpage or conduct additional research for more context about a subject.
Perplexity says that Comet "acts as a personal assistant and thinking partner" to "turn curiosity into momentum." Those are certainly words. The company boasts that folks can use the tool to shop and make schedules. I advise some caution for both of these tasks, given that AI browsers are notorious marks that easily fall for various online scams.
One cool thing here is that the app takes full advantage of Apple's Liquid Glass technology. It certainly looks easy on the eyes and that address bar really pops. The iOS version does suffer from some limitations inherent to Apple's walled-garden approach, according to a preview by MacStories. Users cannot install third-party extensions here, though it can be made the default browser.
The Comet browser is now available for iPhones, Android devices, Windows PCs and Macs. There isn't a native iPad app yet, but the standard Perplexity app is available for Apple's tablets so maybe the browser will follow suit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/perplexitys-comet-ai-browser-is-now-available-for-iphones-183947569.html?src=rss
Spotify is introducing a way for subscribers to get bit-perfect playback of songs if they listen on Windows. The company's newly announced "Exclusive Mode" gives the music streaming app complete control of audio processing on your PC so you can listen to songs exactly as they were mastered.
"Without Exclusive Mode turned on, your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume," Spotify writes. With the mode enabled, all other sounds from your computer are disabled so Spotify can deliver the highest quality and most accurate version of a song possible. Exclusive Mode will help maintain fidelity while you’re playing a song, but to make sure you're not losing quality anywhere else in the chain, you'll still want to listen with wired headphones connected to a DAC or digital-to-analog converter, and opt to use Spotify’s lossless streaming option.
Exclusive Mode is only available on Windows for now, but Spotify says it'll come to the macOS version of the Spotify app "in a future release." Provided you're a Spotify Premium subscriber, enabling the feature is fairly simple:
Open Spotify.
Click on Settings.
Scroll down to Playback.
Toggle Exclusive Mode to "On" under the Output section.
Spotify launched its Lossless streaming option as a perk for Premium subscribers in September 2025. The company was rumored to be working on the feature as far back as 2017 and even formally announced it as Spotify HiFi in 2021, opening up the possibility it could be a more expensive add-on to a normal subscription. Now both lossless audio and “bit-perfect” playback are included as part of the same $13 per month you pay for a Premium subscription.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-rolls-out-bit-perfect-playback-in-windows-app-211036176.html?src=rss
Now that Epic Games and Google have made up — or at least found a way to resolve their long-running disputes — everyone with a compatible Android device can get back to the business of playing Fortnite. The game will return to the Play Store globally on March 19, the same day that the next Fortnite season goes live. It previously dropped back onto the Play Store in the US in December.
The dispute with Apple ultimately led to the company having to open up the App Store in certain markets, including the US and EU. Fortnite returned to the App Store in the EU in 2024 and in the US last year.
Google and Epic reached a settlement in November. Earlier this month, Google announced that it was lowering the cut it takes of in-app payments from 30 percent to between 10 and 20 percent. At that time, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (who reportedly agreed not to publicly talk smack about the Play Store until 2032 as part of the settlement) confirmed that Fortnite would return to Google's mobile storefront.
Epic recently announced a price increase for the in-game V-Bucks currency. It also confirmed that Fortnite Save the World — the game's original mode — is going free-to-play in April.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fortnite-will-return-to-googles-play-store-globally-on-march-19-170200794.html?src=rss
There's an official WhatsApp app for select Garmin smartwatches. It's available for free right now in the Garmin Connect IQ Store. WhatsApp is primarily a chat platform, so this new app allows users to read and reply to messages, send emojis and peruse the chat history.
The app also lets users accept or decline incoming calls arriving from the platform, all without having to break out the smartphone. This is WhatsApp, so messages are end-to-end encrypted.
As previously mentioned, it's not available for every Garmin watch. It's compatible with select Forerunner, Venu, Vivoactive and Fenix watches. The Connect IQ Store should be able to say if your particular model can handle the app.
This is just the latest smartwatch platform to get WhatsApp. Meta released an Apple Watch version at the tail-end of last year. Before that, Apple Watch users had to mirror iPhone notifications to reply to WhatsApp messages directly from the device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-is-now-officially-available-on-garmin-smartwatches-164156538.html?src=rss
At the start of the year, Google introduced Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature that allows the chatbot to pull information from the user's other Google apps and services to generate personalized responses. After making the feature first available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, the company is expanding availability to more users in the US.
Google is kicking off the expansion with AI Mode. Starting today, anyone in the US can enable Personal Intelligence inside of the company's dedicated search chatbot. To enable the feature, tap on your profile, select Search personalization, followed by Connected Content Apps. From there, select Connect Workspace and Google Photos.
In the coming weeks, Google will start rolling out Personal Intelligence to free users of the Gemini app in the US, with international availability to follow thereafter. The company plans to do the same with Gemini in Chrome, where personalization will first roll out to users in the US before becoming available in other countries.
Google suggests a few different use cases for Gemini personalization inside of AI Mode, the Gemini app and Chrome. For instance, say you turn to AI mode for help with planning an upcoming trip. Instead of generating a generic itinerary, the chatbot will pull information from your apps to suggest something more tailored to your interests. It can also help you with troubleshooting in cases where you can’t remember the exact make or model of a device you’re trying to fix, as long as there are some hints to its origin contained inside of your Gmail account.
In each case, Personal Intelligence is disabled by default. Gemini will not personalize its responses unless you enable the new feature. Additionally, personalization is only available to personal accounts and not for Workspace business, enterprise and education users.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-makes-gemini-personalization-available-to-free-users-160000581.html?src=rss
Subscriptions are out of control. I can remember a time when the monthly payouts were few: just Netflix, a couple of magazines and a mobile plan. Now we have subscriptions for music, security cameras, cloud gaming, AI chatbots, meal kits, LinkedIn, DoorDash, Uber, Photoshop — the list is long. Basically, if there’s an app for something, there’s likely an associated subscription available, too. This guide was put together to help you locate and cancel the subscriptions that are no longer serving you. That way, you won’t end up paying for something you don’t use. Every time I go through this process, I’m always amazed at what random stuff I’ve signed up for — and cancelling always feels good.
It’s true that signing up for something is far easier than canceling — that’s by design. The FTC tried to pass a rule requiring companies to make cancelling a subscription as easy as it was to sign up for it. But that solution died before it ever went into effect.
That means it will still take some effort to get rid of the services you don’t use, but there are a couple of tactics that might make your efforts more effective. Here’s our advice on finding and cancelling your unneeded subscriptions.
First things first: Find out what subscriptions you have
Before putting this post together, I had no idea how many subscriptions I was paying for. Surprises included a coding game for my kid (that he no longer plays) and a British streaming app I’d gotten for one show (that I finished nearly a year ago). You, too, may not know what subscriptions are stealthily subtracting dollars from your accounts. One of the most comprehensive ways to see what you’re paying for is to look at your bank and credit card transactions, generating a search that includes every transaction in the previous full month. It may be a lot to scroll through, but each monthly subscription will appear at least once in that time frame.
Annual subscriptions can be tricker to track down. I was able to find most by searching for introductory emails, since most services send out an initial message confirming a new subscription. You can use the advanced search with the words “welcome” or “thank you” in the subject field, plus variations on the words “annual” “subscribing” and “membership” in the general or keyword search fields. You should get a decent idea of the things you’ve signed up for, but may have to wade through lots of promotional emails before you find the services you actually subscribed to. It could save you some time over searching through a year of bank statements.
Sometimes it’s helpful to simply see a list of common subscriptions people pay for (and often forget about). Here are a few:
For the most part, the way you sign up for a subscription is the way you’ll cancel it. If you signed up for Strava or Minecraft Realms from your iOS device, you’ll need to cancel it through your Apple account. If you signed up for Netflix through its website, you’ll cancel there. Sometimes even the device you use matters. For example, if you signed up for Paramount Plus via your Fire TV Stick, you’ll go through your TV to cancel instead of through the Amazon mobile app.
Once you’ve determined where to go, the cancellation processes will nearly always involve logging in to your account and navigating to your profile, then your account settings so you can view and end your subscription.
Here are steps to cancel a few of the most popular subs.
From the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
When you pay for a subscription through an app store, the transaction will likely be listed as a payment to either Apple or Google, so it’s harder to see what you’re paying for using the banking suggestion above. Here’s how to see what you’ve subscribed to using the two major app marketplaces, plus how to cancel.
How to cancel subscriptions through Apple’s App Store 1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. 2. Tap your profile box at the top. 3. Tap on Subscriptions. Here, you’ll see your active and inactive subscriptions listed. 4. Tap the one you want to cancel and follow the prompts.
How to cancel subscriptions through Google’s Play Store 1. Open the Google Play app. 2. Tap your profile circle in the upper right. 3. Tap on Payments & Subscriptions. 4. Tap on Subscriptions. 4. You’ll see your active subscriptions and can decide which ones you no longer want.
How to cancel Amazon Prime
Amazon
Amazon most recently raised the price of a Prime membership in 2022, bringing it to $15 per month or $139 per year. A membership gets you things like free shipping and access to Prime Video — though as of 2024, you’ll pay an additional $3 per month if you want to stream ad-free. If Prime isn’t worth it for you any longer, here’s how to cancel.
Through the Amazon app: 1. Tap the person icon at the bottom of the screen. 2. Tap on the Your Account button at the top of the screen. 3. Scroll down to and tap Memberships and Subscriptions. 4. You’ll be taken to a Prime page; tap Manage Membership in the drop-down menu at the top. 5. Select the Update, Cancel and More option, and tap End Membership. Here, you can also opt for a reminder to be sent three days before your next renewal if you don’t want to cancel right away.
Via a web browser: 1. Sign in to Amazon. 2. Hover over Accounts & Lists to the right of the search bar up top. 3. Click on Memberships & Subscriptions under Your Account. 4. Click the Cancel Subscription button.
How to cancel Paramount Plus
Paramount Plus is one of the cheaper video streaming subscriptions out there, going for $9 per month for the ad-supported version or $14 monthly for the ad-free version with Showtime. But if you finished Starfleet Academyand want to cancel, here’s how. Remember, if you signed up for Paramount Plus through Prime Video or through the App Store, you’ll need to cancel through the same platform.
1. Log in to your Paramount Plus account on a web browser. 2. Select the username in the upper right corner. 3. Click on Account and scroll down to Cancel Subscription. 4. Click on Cancel Subscription.
How to cancel Apple TV
Apple
Probably the best thing about Apple TV is how lean it is. Sure, you may not want to watch everything on there, but the ratio of really good stuff to so-so fluff is far better than on most other services. But once you’ve gotten through Severance and Pluribus you may decide to save yourself the $13 per month.
Apple TV + requires an Apple ID to sign up, so the easiest way to cancel is through the Settings app on your Apple device. If you didn’t sign up through a Mac, iPad or iPhone or don’t have an Apple TV box, follow the PC instructions.
On an iPhone or iPad: 1. Open the Settings app. 2. Tap your profile box at the top. 3. Tap on Subscriptions. 4. Tap either Apple TV+ or Apple One membership, depending on how you first signed up. 5. Select the subscription you want to cancel, then click the Cancel Subscription button.
On a Mac: 1. Open the App Store app. 2. Click on your name and profile image at the bottom left. 3. Click on Account Settings at the top of the screen. 4. In the pop-up window, scroll down to the Manage section and click the Manage link to the right of the word Subscriptions. 5. Select the Edit link next to the subscription you want to cancel, then click the Cancel Subscription button.
On an Apple TV box: 1. Open the Settings app from the home page. 2. Click on Users & Accounts. 3. Click on Subscriptions. 4. Find the subscription you want to cancel and follow the prompts.
On a PC: 1. Go to tv.apple.com and sign in. 2. Click on the account icon at the top of the page. 3. Click on Settings and scroll down to Subscriptions, then click Manage 4. Choose Cancel Subscription.
How to cancel an Audible membership
If you downloaded Audible as part of a free trial or grabbed it for a 12-hour road trip but haven’t used it much since, here’s how to stop paying $15 per month. If you didn’t sign up via Amazon or Audible and instead went through Apple’s App Store or Google Play, follow the instructions for how to cancel subscriptions through Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play store above.
Through Amazon: 1. Sign in to your Amazon account. 2. Hover over Accounts & Lists to the right of the search bar. 3. Click on Memberships & Subscriptions under YourAccount. 4. You’ll see your Audible membership listed; click the Audible Settings button. 5. Scroll down to Membership Options & Help and click on Cancel Membership.
Through Audible (on a browser): 1. Sign in to your Audible account. 2. Hover over the link that says Hi [your name] and select Account Details from the menu. 3. You’ll see a box with your membership details; click on Cancel Membership. 4. Answer the “reason for canceling” question and follow the prompts.
How to cancel Spotify Premium
Spotify
Spotify only gets more expensive. If you just want to go back to the free version, here's how. You can change which tier you pay for through the app. But to cancel, you’ll need to go through a web browser. You can technically cancel through the app, but that involves deleting your account and all its data. If you want to preserve your playlists and just switch to the free version, do so with a mobile or desktop browser.
1. Head to Spotify on a web browser and log in. 2. If you haven’t logged in via the web before, you’ll see a button for Web Player or Account Overview; select Account Overview. 3. If you’re already in the Web Player, click either the gear icon (mobile browser) or your profile image (desktop browser) in the upper right corner and select Account. 4. Your subscription will appear in a box labeled Your Plan; click that box or scroll down to Manage Your Plan and click. 5. You’ll see your plan details, click the Cancel subscription button.
How to cancel YouTube TV
Pretty much every live TV streaming service has raised its prices over the past couple years. YouTube TV is no different. After starting at $35 per month at launch, it went up nearly every year to finally land at $83 with the latest price hike in December of 2024. If that’s edging too close to cable pricing, you can always cancel (after all, not requiring a contract is still one of streaming’s major advantages). And YouTube TV actually lets you cancel through the app.
On an Android device: 1. Open the YouTube TV app. 2. Tap your profile circle at the top right. 3. Tap on Settings, then tap on Membership. 4. Under your membership details, tap Manage. 5. Click on Cancel Membership and follow the prompts.
Via a web browser: 1. Head to YouTubeTV. 2. Log in and click your profile circle in the top right. 3. Tap on Settings, then tap on Membership. 4. Under your membership details, tap on Manage next to Base Plan. 5. Click on Cancel Membership and follow the prompts.
Apps that can help
Some finance apps will track and manage your subscriptions for you. We looked into the bigger ones to see how they can help. One of our previous recommendations, Mint, shut down, but ones from Experian and Monarch Money have cropped up to take its pace. We tried out Rocket Money to see how the process works and detailed it below.
Just note that these apps cost money to handle subscription cancellation on your behalf — and adding another paid service to your life can feel absurd when you’re trying to do the opposite. You’ll also need to give the apps your banking information and your data may, in turn, be sold or shared with third parties for marketing.
A couple of other apps we tried don’t ask for your banking info. Instead you manually enter your subscription details. That’s certainly more private, but might not be saving you much effort in the long run.
Rocket Money
Owned by the same company as Rocket Mortgages, Rocket Money is a finance app that connects with your bank account and offers to help you budget and track your overall spending, in addition to managing your subscriptions. You’ll pay for the app using a sliding scale from $3 to $14 per month for the premium version, which includes automated cancellation and other features. To access the free version at sign-up, move the slider to the left until you reach $0.
Once you’ve linked your account, navigating to the Recurring tab gives you an overview of your subscriptions. I liked that you can access this using either the mobile or desktop app. After linking my accounts, it reminded me of an upcoming renewal for a magazine I don’t read and hosting fees for a website I no longer need. Canceling both of those would save me nearly $200 in a year. Unfortunately, my monthly Apple One payment and the Max access that I pay for through my Samsung TV didn’t show up as recurring subscriptions. That could be due to how my bank lists the transaction, but I’d like to have seen those on the list, too.
Next to each transaction is a three dot menu, which includes an option to “cancel this for me” for Premium subscribers. Click and you’ll see contact methods to handle it yourself or a button to have Rocket Money do it. After you provide your username and password for the service, you’ll get an email confirmation that tells you the process could take up to ten days to complete. When I had Rocket Money cancel Paramount Plus for me, I got an email later that night saying the cancellation was complete.
While it’s not a magic program that zaps your subscriptions away, Rocket Money could save you a few steps. Seeing (most of) your recurring charges together is also helpful for staying on top of things. It’s up to you whether the Premium charge (and taking on another subscription) is worth the cancellation service.
Reminder apps
There are other apps, like Bobby (iOS) and Tilla (Android), that don’t connect with your bank account. Instead, you enter the details of the subscriptions you already have and add new ones as you go. The apps will remind you about upcoming renewals and let you quickly see what you’re paying for, all in one place. Both are free to use but limit the number of subscriptions you can track until you upgrade, which costs a flat $4 for Bobby and $2 for Tilla. I feel like if you possess the diligence to keep apps like these up to date, you could just as easily use a spreadsheet or native apps like Apple or Google’s Reminders, though these are more colorful.