Daily Authority: 👀 No to Google's VPN

🎃 Good morning and welcome to Tuesday’s Daily Authority. The weeks are flying by and I can’t believe it’s almost Halloween! I’m still debating whether I’m brave enough to see Poltergeist on the big screen in 4DX on October 31…

Google’s VPN? Nope

Google recently brought its VPN service to Pixel 7 series owners. The service, dubbed VPN for Google One, has been available to higher-tier Google One subscribers for a while.

In a recent Android Authority poll, we asked our readers whether you’d actually trust a Google VPN service. and here’s how you answered:

Digging deeper

In the comments, some readers noted their reason for voting “no” was simply that they didn’t trust big corporations like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Others expressed a dislike for Google’s business practices.

• Of those who voted “yes,” some commented that they trusted Google’s VPN to hide traffic from their ISPs, while others noted Google’s solution was tightly integrated on Pixels.
• If you’re among those who are unsure, it’s likely that the concern of Google knowing more about you factors highly in your decision. Google already knows a lot about us, but do we want it gathering even more data?
• Luckily, there are plenty of great alternatives out there to choose from, and we’ve rounded up some of the best Android VPN apps around, from long-time favorites like NordVPN to free VPN providers such as ProtonVPN.
• You can set up a VPN on any platform, like Windows or Chrome OS.
• You could even grab a VPN router, if you want to make connecting all your devices to your VPN easier.
• Not sure what a VPN is? We explain, plus check out our guide to using a VPN.

Roundup

💰 The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale is underway, with great discounts on Bose QuietComfort 45 and more (Android Authority).

👀 Google Tensor G2 is a 5nm chip, despite what the internet might say (Android Authority).

🔑Google reportedly says face unlock won’t be coming to Pixel 6 Pro (Android Authority).

🌙 Google flaunts the potential of Pixel 7 Pro’s zoom, night, and macro shots (Android Authority).

📺 Tizen OS will make its way to non-Samsung TVs this year, offering all the features found on Samsung Smart TVs, including Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free TV streaming channel (XDA Developers).

😲 Account handles are coming to all YouTube users very soon (Android Authority).

💻 Microsoft’s Surface event’s happening tomorrow, October 12, at 10 AM ET and we could see the Surface Pro 9, Surface Laptop 5, and Surface Studio 3 — maybe also mini PC Project Volterra and other Surface accessories (Engadget).

🍎 Apple’s move to USB-C is just a stopgap before its wireless future (Bloomberg UK).

📞 Google Assistant is now in Contacts: Here’s why that’s a big deal (Android Authority).

❓ Poll: Will you switch from Chrome in light of ad-blocking changes? (Android Authority).

🌍 Meta canceled job offers just weeks before international engineers planned moves to London to start jobs, workers say (Business Insider).

🎮 Meta Connect 2022 is happening today at 1 PM ET, and we’re expecting to see the Meta Quest Pro: Watch the stream live on Facebook, or register to attend in VR in Meta Horizon Worlds (Meta, Facebook).

Tuesday Thing

Happy birthday (for yesterday) to Pac-Man! On October 10, 1980, Midway’s hugely popular game Pac-Man was released in North America.

• The game first launched in arcades.
• The Japanese release landed in May of that year, under the name “Puck-Man.”
• However, the game’s popularity didn’t take off until it launched in the US.
• The game’s development began in 1979, with developer Toru Iwatani seeking to create a game that appealed to women as well as men (most games at the time involved war or sports).
• The original inspiration for the Pac-Man character was a pizza with a slice removed.
• Iwatani said he also used “kuchi” the Japanese character for “mouth,” rounded out.
• To date, Pac-Man is one of the best-selling and highest-grossing games, generating over $14 billion in revenue by 2016 and 43 million units in sales.
• It’s considered one of the greatest video games of all time.

Want to play some future classics? Check out our pick of the best Android games, or revisit old favorites with our roundup of the best emulators for Android.

Have a great week!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.