Google has just announced that the protection for additional sensitive actions taken in Gmail that were introduced last year has been extended to specific actions. All these actions will get a "Verify it's you" prompt if Google deems them risky enough.

This will provide an additional layer of security for Gmail users that are taking sensitive actions in the app, specifically actions related to:

• Filters: creating a new filter, editing an existing filter, or importing filters.
• Forwarding: Adding a new forwarding address from the Forwarding and POP/IMAP settings.
• IMAP access: Enabling the IMAP access status from the settings. (Workspace admins control whether this setting is visible to end users or not)

After getting the prompt, Gmail users will be able to confirm the validity of the action via a 2-step verification code or another similar trusted factor. More importantly, Google says that if a verification challenge is failed or not completed, Gmail users will receive a "Critical security alert" notification on their devices.

It's important to mention that this additional security feature only supports users that use Google as their identity provider and actions taken within Google products (SAML users are not supported).

End users won't have to look for this feature in the app's settings, although it's recommended to enable 2-step verification. The stronger protection for sensitive actions in Gmail will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

According to Google, the rapid release domain will be getting the new security feature in the next two weeks, while scheduled release domains will get it in up to 3 days starting September 6.

The race to further develop satellite communications on smartphone is on - while some could say that Apple's SOS calling feature kickstarted the trend, Google has long been working on its own take on the much-welcome emergency calling function, although a new development hints at an important upgrade.

More specifically, information shared on social media by Neil Rahmouni and subsequently reported on by Mishaal Rahman shows that Google Messages has added interfaces for conversations and SOS messages using satellite communication.

Rahman adds that the feature is merely a placeholder at the moment, although it's very likely that Google will launch the feature once Android 14 drops this year. He adds:

Google Messages is the default messaging app on many Android phones from different brands, so it needs to support this feature so that a separate messaging app won't have to be built for phones that support satellite connectivity.

Satellite calling isn't an entirely new technology however, as an increasing amount of manufacturers have been adopting the feature for use with smartphones. Earlier this year, companies like Motorola and Bullitt unveiled their own satellite-calling technology, which allows users to access SOS services on their devices.

Before very long, we expect that Google will be authoritatively reporting their shiny new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones. Presently because of a report by Roland Quandt over at WinFuture.de, the potential stockpiling size and variety choices have been uncovered.

As per Quandt's post, the Pixel 8 might be accessible in 128GB and 256GB capacity choices, while the Pixel 8 Pro will have an extra stockpiling level that goes up to 512GB. For the individuals who could have been wanting to see a 1TB choice, it appears as though that probably won't occur with the Pixel 8 models.

Likewise, as far as varieties, it appears to be that the two models will have three variety choices to look over. We don't know whether the varieties will be different between the non-Pro and Pro models, and in the event that the Pro model could have a unique and restrictive variety choice, however notwithstanding, there will be three choices to browse for each model.

Quandt likewise noticed that there could be an expansion in cost in the phones, making them more costly contrasted with their ancestors. This ought not be too amazing given that the Pixel 7a likewise saw a cost increment over the Pixel 6a, yet precisely how huge of a cost increment is not yet clear.

A lot of messenger services these days support end-to-end encryption. The only problem is that it requires that users use the same service, meaning that users on WhatsApp will have to send messages to another WhatsApp user if they want to enjoy the security and privacy that end-to-end encryption offers.

This creates a problem because not everyone uses the same messenger service, but that's something that Google is hoping to address. The company has announced that they will be supporting Messaging Layer Security (MLS), which basically means that messages sent from iMessage users to RCS users will remain end-to-end encrypted.

"By ensuring a uniformly high security and privacy bar that users can trust, MLS will unleash a huge field of new opportunities for the users and developers of interoperable messaging services that adopt it. This is why we intend to build MLS into Google Messages and support its wide deployment across the industry by open sourcing our implementation in the Android codebase."

That being said, Apple's iPhones have yet to support/adopt RCS. This is largely because iMessage is being viewed as an exclusive feature and Apple is banking on it to a certain extent to attract users to hop on board the iOS bandwagon. Google has long campaigned for Apple to support RCS but we're not sure that will happen anytime soon.

Earlier this year when the Pixel 7a was launched, it was discovered that the phone's price had increased from its predecessor. If you were hoping that won't be the case with the Pixel 8, you could be in for a disappointment.

This is according to a recent tweet by tipster Yogesh Brar, who claims that the Pixel 8 could be priced starting at $650 and could go up to $700 depending on the storage configuration that you've chosen.

For context, the Pixel 7 was priced at $50 less than the rumored price of the Pixel 8, which means that Google will be maintaining the $150 price gap between its Pixel A series of phones and its flagship Pixel handsets. This is kind of disappointing, but at the same time we suppose it shouldn't be too surprising.

Prices of phones have been steadily increasing over the years, where some higher-end flagship models are now priced beyond the $1,000 mark. While Google's Pixel phones have always been slightly cheaper compared to the competition, the rising cost of components means that Google probably has no choice but to hike up its prices.

Google hasn't confirmed anything yet so there is a chance this rumor could be wrong, but at the same time don't be too surprised if it ends up being right.