App Indexing updates Google

[admin]

In October, we announced guidelines for App Indexing for deep linking directly from Google Search results to your Android app. Thanks to all of you that have expressed interest. We’ve just enabled 20+ additional applications that users will soon see app deep links for in Search Results, and starting today we’re making app deep links to English content available globally.

[Albert Davis]

Google App Indexing is a system that allows people to click from listings in Google's search results into apps on their Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Google App Indexing was launched in October 2013 for a limited set of publishers. ... In May 2015, support for iOS via Chrome was added.

[Evanvincent]

Google updates Chrome browser with a focus on easier content distribution
As Google LLC hosts its annual Chrome Developer Summit this week, it’s announcing several developer-centric updates to its popular web browser.

A big focus of Google’s efforts with its Chrome browser in recent times has been on expanding the versatility of the internet and making it more accessible, and to do that it’s giving developers access to tools that will allow them to distribute their content more easily. One example is Google’s Portals tool, available in preview since last year, which developers can use to “pre-render” content and then embed it within their websites, allowing for much faster loading times.

Extending this capability, Google today introduced Web Bundles, an experimental new feature that enables content to be distributed across the web in any format without the need for a constant connection, be it email, FTP or USB.

“Not only does this unlock delivery of web content at lightning fast speeds, it also allows for distribution to happen when your user is offline,” Dion Almaer of Chrome’s Web Developer Ecosystem team wrote in a blog post.

Web Bundles is complemented by Google’s new Background Periodic Sync and Content Indexing application programming interfaces. Currently available as “Origin Trials,” they can be used by developers to “proactively cache and surface relevant web content for people, even if they’re not on an active internet connection,” Google said.

Additional updates to Chrome cater to what Google calls “the rise of mobile-first in developing markets.” They’re focused on bringing “native-like experiences” to those who primarily access the web from mobile devices.

[Albert Davis]

App Indexing on Google Search
With App Indexing, users who have installed your app can open links from Google mobile search directly in your app.

To use App Indexing, you'll need to verify your website.

[Charliegrover]

Project Zero



Project Zero is a team of security analysts employed by Google tasked with finding zero-day vulnerabilities, the secret hackable bugs that are exploited by criminals, state-sponsored hackers, and intelligence agencies. It was announced on 15 July 2014. After finding a number of flaws in software used by many end-users while researching other problems, such as the critical "Heartbleed" vulnerability, Google decided to form a full-time team dedicated to finding such vulnerabilities, not only in Google software but any software used by its users. The new project was announced on 15 July 2014 on Google's security blog. When it launched, one of the principal innovations that Project Zero provided was a strict 90-day disclosure deadline along with a publicly visible bug tracker where the vulnerability disclosure process is documented.

While the idea for Project Zero can be traced back to 2010, its establishment fits into the larger trend of Google's counter-surveillance initiatives in the wake of the 2013 global surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden. The team was formerly headed by Chris Evans, previously head of Google's Chrome security team, who subsequently joined Tesla Motors. Other notable members include security researchers, such as Ben Hawkes, Ian Beer, and Tavis Ormandy. Hawkes eventually became the team's manager. The team's focus is not just on finding bugs and novel attacks, but also on researching and publicly documenting how such flaws could be exploited in practice. This is done to ensure that defenders have sufficient understanding of attacks; the team keeps an extensive research blog with articles that describe individual attacks in detail.

[Evanvincent]

Google: App Indexing
Google App Indexing is a system that allows people to click from listings in Google’s search results into apps on their Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.

Google App Indexing was launched in October 2013 for a limited set of publishers. It was expanded for use by anyone in June 2014. In April 2015, Google added support so that even those without a particular app would get recommendations to to install. In May 2015, support for iOS via Chrome was added. In October 2015, Google announced support for app indexing within Safari.

For more background on Google App Indexing, see Google’s guide about it here. Also see our App Indexing & Deep Links category for more information about app indexing efforts generally.