Microsoft Launcher beta has been updated today with the addition of Microsoft Family. The latter is a free service that allows families to stay connected and parents to keep their kids safe online. As from today, parents will now be able to view the last known location and app activity of their children. Obviously, the children's device must also be running Microsoft Launcher. According to Microsoft, Family requires Android 4.4+ on parents devices and Android 5.0 or higher on the children device.
Microsoft says in the changelog that this is phase 1 for v4.10 and phase 2 will be released on May 22. Again, Microsoft Family support is available for now in the beta channel. Click here if you would like to join and try new features before public release. Else, get the official Microsoft Launcher app in Google Play Store.
Here's how to setup Family in Microsoft Launcher:
- Create a family including your kids at account.microsoft.com/family.
- Install the beta version of Launcher on your Android device and sign in with your adult account during setup.
- On your device, swipe right to see your Family card in the feed. Follow the steps to send an email or text to your child to have them install Launcher on their device.
- After your child installs Launcher, have them sign in with their Microsoft account. During setup, give Launcher permission to access location and app usage.
- Turn on location sharing and activity reporting for each child from your device.
- On your Family card, for each child, select Turn on location sharing > More options > Find [your child] on a map. Then turn on See my child’s location on a map.
- Select Activity and turn on Activity reporting. You’ll also have the option to turn on weekly email reports.
- Once both parent and child devices are set up, parents can start seeing their child's device location and app activity.
Microsoft published an updated version of its launcher app for Android today. This update is available to beta testers and being one myself, I can attest that it's stable and without risk. So, if you feel like joining the beta program, you can do so here. If you'd rather wait, this update should make its way to 'normal users' in a few weeks.
In the mean time, here's what's new in version 4.7.6:
- Support app sorting for Korean/Japanese/Russian languages in app drawer ;
- New first time experience for mobile connected users from Windows setting;
- Cortana integration improvements:
* Improve app launch experience;
* supports more device settings like WiFi, flight mode, etc;
* support navigation query;
- Bug fixing, code clean up, crash fix and performance tuning
Opera is testing a new feature in its Opera Mini browser beta on Android with the addition of a Facebook notification bar which will give users quick access to the social network. The bar will appear in the notification tray and as can been in the screen capture will allow users directly access Facebook notifications, timeline or messenger without launching the Facebook app. Opera Mini main selling point is the builtin data saving feature while browsing the web and knowing that Facebook puts a lot of pressure on mobile data usage, the Opera's Facebook notification bar maybe a boon for serious Facebook users.
Facebook notification bar is not activated by default after installation. To enable it, tap the Opera icon in the bottom right corner and tap the gear icon to open Settings. Scroll to notifications and toggle the Notification bar for easy access to Facebook. If it's not already the case, Opera will ask for your Facebook credentials.
Opera also added a media control panel and a new one-hand friendly video player in this update, which you can download in the Google Play Store. No signup is required, just download the app from the store to test new features before they reach the public channel.
WhatsApp Beta on Android got a nice little update with placements of some icon made more logical. The Attachment icon which used to be at the top of the app has moved to the bottom, inside the text box alongside the camera icon, thus making it easily accessible to attach documents, photos etc.
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With the Attachment icon made more accessible, WhatsApp has filled the void at the top with a video call icon. Remember, not so long ago, WhatsApp introduced video calls which required tapping the Phone icon first before choosing between Phone and Video calls. From now on, a single tap is needed to quickly initiate whichever call method you choose. This makes more sense.
This update is available in the beta version of WhatsApp, but it will make its way to the official version of the app soon. If you can't wait to get these update and are not afraid to get your hands dirty with unstable software, join the WhatsApp beta.
