January 2022 Summaries

Google is enhancing access to differential privacy technology to create a safer online ecosystem, marking Data Privacy Day with the announcement of new tools that enable developers to build applications offering privacy without compromising individual data. Initially launched in 2019, the open-source differential privacy library was available in C++, Java, and Go, and now includes Python, broadening its reach to nearly half of the global developer community. This expansion allows for the development of applications that protect individual privacy while extracting valuable insights from large datasets. Google collaborated with OpenMined to make this technology more accessible and is also providing a new tool for visualizing and tuning differential privacy parameters. Additionally, Google is sharing techniques for scaling differential privacy to large datasets and is training a team of experts to further its implementation. The initiative aims to democratize privacy-enhancing technologies, encouraging feedback from developers to improve usability and coverage, in line with Google's commitment to ensuring world-class privacy for all internet users.

International student Milindi Kodikara, originally from Sri Lanka, revitalized the Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, to foster a more diverse and inclusive tech community. She formed a team of students from various countries, each with different backgrounds, to organize events and workshops aimed at preparing students for careers in technology. These initiatives included networking opportunities, skill-building workshops on topics such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and events like HackVision hackathon, which combined games, mentoring, and thematic workshops. The club collaborated with RMIT's Society for Women in Information Technology to empower underrepresented students, offering professional development activities like resume building and personal branding workshops. Milindi and her team created a safe and welcoming space for students of all identities to learn, grow, and ultimately succeed in the tech industry, emphasizing mentorship and representation as key elements of their mission.

In 2021, the Google Workspace Platform underwent significant developments to better support developers and adapt to the evolving work environment, especially with the rise of hybrid and remote work. This included surpassing 3 billion users and expanding the Google Workspace Marketplace to over 5,300 public apps with more than 4.8 billion installations. Key innovations included the Google Cloud Innovators program to foster community support, the general availability of Alternate Runtimes for greater flexibility in developing Workspace Add-ons, and the introduction of the GWAO Card Builder tool for designing user interfaces. Additionally, new features like Chat Slash Commands, Dialogs, and the Forms API beta were introduced to enhance user interaction and integration capabilities. The platform also saw updates to improve the Google Workspace Marketplace experience, such as detailed application pages, curated categories, and marketing badges, all contributing to empowering developers and non-technical users alike with no-code and low-code solutions.

Aditi Soni's journey from being a novice in computer programming to a prominent software developer and community leader is a testament to her determination and passion for technology. Initially overwhelmed when she joined the Google Developer Group (GDG) in Indore, she persisted in learning programming languages like C and C++ on her smartphone before advancing to Android development. Her active participation in community events and roles, such as a Women Techmakers (WTM) lead and a Microsoft Student Partner, opened opportunities like attending international summits and earning scholarships. Now a full-time developer and a WTM Ambassador, she organizes meetups to empower women in tech and mentors aspiring programmers. Aditi emphasizes perseverance in the face of challenges and advocates for understanding one's learning style to build technical skills effectively. She continues to contribute to the tech community in India and globally, encouraging others, especially women and students, to pursue careers in technology.

Google recently introduced a series of open-source samples demonstrating the integration of Google Pay with various Payment Service Providers (PSPs) through a unified interface, now extended to the Firebase platform via a Firebase Extension for Google Pay. This development aims to simplify the integration process for developers by reducing the time and effort needed to manage multiple APIs and client libraries, especially beneficial for merchants who use multiple PSPs for online sales. The Google Pay Firebase Extension, being open-source, allows developers to easily incorporate this functionality into their apps by passing payment tokens from the Google Pay API to a Cloud Firestore database, streamlining the process of sending and receiving payment requests with PSPs. This extension not only enhances productivity by providing pre-packaged code bundles but also supports customization and contributions from the developer community, ensuring flexibility and the potential for broader PSP compatibility.

Google Play Games launched a beta version for PCs in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong on January 19, 2022, as part of Google's goal to integrate its products and services across multiple devices, allowing users to play their favorite mobile games on Windows PCs. This standalone application, developed by Google, offers popular games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Summoners War, enabling seamless gameplay between devices such as phones, tablets, Chromebooks, and PCs, without losing progress or achievements. Players can also earn Play Points on PC, enhancing the gaming experience with larger screens and mouse and keyboard inputs. Sign-ups for future announcements and beta access are available, with more regional releases and updates expected soon.

The 2022 Solution Challenge, organized by Google Developer Student Clubs, invites university students globally to develop innovative solutions addressing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using Google technologies such as Android, Firebase, TensorFlow, Google Cloud, and Flutter. This annual competition encourages participants to tackle real-world problems, promoting employment, economic growth, and climate action. Students can receive mentorship, prizes, and opportunities to showcase their projects, with winners announced over three rounds. Google offers various resources, including mentorship, codelabs, and design sprint guidelines, to support participants in crafting impactful solutions. The challenge culminates with the top three winners being featured on the Google Developers Blog and awarded cash prizes.

The "Disapproved Ads Auditor" is a tool designed to help advertisers manage and ensure compliance with Google Ads Policies by identifying and optionally removing policy-violating ads across their accounts. Developed using Python, the tool operates in two modes: Audit Mode, which exports a list of disapproved ads, and Remove Mode, which deletes them while logging details. It integrates with Google Ads and BigQuery, allowing advertisers to conduct a holistic analysis of ad disapprovals and derive insights to minimize future violations. Although not an officially supported Google product and provided without warranty, it offers a convenient, experimental solution to streamline ad compliance checking, requiring skills in Python 3.9+, BigQuery API, and Google Ads API for implementation.