Google Focuses On Personalisation And Fake News In App Updates

Google has announced multiple updates to its iOS and Android mobile apps, all of which focus on improving the feed experience to add a greater degree of personalisation.

In a blog post, Google Says: “Sure, we all have many things in common, but none of us has quite the same mix of passions, interests and goals as the next person.

“And, while we each keep up to date on the things that matter to us in different ways — social media, news apps, talking to friends — it’s hard to find one place to stay in the know about exactly what matters to you. Today that’s changing.”

App updates

The new feed experience introduces three updates that aim to make it easier for users to search for and stay connected to what matters to them.

The first of these comes in the form of improved machine learning algorithms that anticipate what’s of interest to each individual user, such as sports highlights, news, videos and new music.

The algorithms will base a user’s feed on their interactions with Google, as well as factoring in trending topics in their local area and around the world. It will also continue to evolve as a user’s interests change and reflect their levels of interest for various topics.

The second update is around following favourite topics. Users can now choose new topics to follow, such as movies, sports teams, bands and celebrities, straight from the Search results by clicking on the new ‘FOLLOW” button.

Finally, the updated app provides broader context and deeper exploration. News stories will include multiple viewpoints from a variety of sources in order to provide information from different perspectives.

Users will also be able to fact check stories and access other relevant information, seemingly in a push to counter the growing issue of ‘fake news’ which the likes of Facebook has also been trying to clamp down on.

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