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YouTube has come a long way since 2005. Back then, YouTube had only 10 employees, plus cofounders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen.  Most of YouTube's earliest employees came from PayPal, where Hurley, Chen, and cofounder Jawed Karim met.  While many have since left the company, others — like business development chief Chris Maxcy and engineer Bradley Heilbrun — are still at Google.  Chen and Hurley stayed at YouTube until 2011. These days, Chen is an angel investor and lives in Singapore, while Hurley launched a digital sports startup and is a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Like many Silicon Valley startups, the early days of YouTube were not exactly a formal affair. The company's cofounders — Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley — relied on friends from their PayPal days to help them build components of the site. And at first, everyone just met up in Hurley's garage to work on the company. Nearly all of YouTube's early employees had worked at PayPal with the founders. Over time, YouTube officially incorporated and brought on employees, and moved into an office. "We never conducted a single interview," Chen told Business Insider. "The entire team was already people who had worked together at PayPal for years and years in the past." "Whenever I was trying to recruit an engineer, I would be honest with them: 'Whatever it is you want you do, you don't want to regret the opportunity you're missing here. If you come here now, whether it succeeds or not, I can't guarantee anything, it's going to be one heck of a ride you can't find anywhere else,'" Chen said. The promise ended up being true: YouTube grew to a cultural force that was acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion.  But back in 2005, the year YouTube went live to the world, YouTube was a small team of only 10 employees, plus Hurley and Chen. Here's who was at the company 15 years ago and where they've ended up:  Yu Pan Yu Pan was a cofounder of PayPal, where he met Chen, Karim, and Hurley, and joined YouTube in July 2005 as employee No. 1. He describes the early days of the company as being a "free exchange of ideas," with multiple friends pitching in to help Hurley, Chen, and Karim build the site. He also went to college with Karim and Chen, and has known Chen since high school. These days, he is an engineer at software company Origin Protocol, which was cofounded by early YouTube employee Matthew Liu. Mike Solomon Solomon joined YouTube in 2005 as an engineer. He knew the founders from working at PayPal, where he helped build PayPal's financial system. Gideon Yu, YouTube's first CFO, described Solomon as one of the "unsung heroes of the early days of YouTube" and a "super-genius-type." Solomon is one of the creators of technology that helped YouTube scale. Solomon appears to have left YouTube sometime after 2012, and may have had stints at Yelp and Dropbox. Brent Hurley Hurley, the brother of cofounder Chad Hurley, came on board in August 2005. Hurley wrote on LinkedIn that he "wore many hats and ran finance and operations up until the company was acquired." Hurley went on to become chief financial officer at MixBit, the mobile video startup created by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. These days, Hurley is an investor and adviser to multiple startups. Cuong Do Do worked at PayPal before leaving in September 2005 to become part of YouTube's founding engineering team. He focused on software architecture and site scalability, according to his LinkedIn. He worked at Origin Protocol with Yu Pan and Matthew Liu, an early YouTube product manager, before becoming head of engineering at software company Materialize. Maryrose Dunton Dunton is also a former PayPal employee who joined YouTube in September 2005 as director of product development. She stayed on after YouTube was acquired, leaving in January 2009 to become head of product at Endorse.com, according to her LinkedIn. It's unclear what Dunton is up to these days. Bradley Heilbrun Heilbrun came on board in November 2005 as a systems architect after working at PayPal since 2001. Heilbrun worked at YouTube for over a decade before moving over to Google — he's still at the company working as an engineer, according to his LinkedIn.  Dwipal Desai Desai is an early YouTube engineer who helped create early YouTube features like comments, related video, playlists, and the watch queue. After YouTube was acquired, Desai became head of YouTube Mobile. He left the company in 2009, but returned as a senior product manager in 2019 after stints at Essential and Samsung, according to his LinkedIn. Heather Gillette Gillette joined YouTube in November 2005 as the company's head of content review. Gillette oversaw content moderation, including copyright and abuse, and oversaw the support team as well. She left YouTube in 2010, according to her LinkedIn, and has since launched a company called DesignerInc, an online marketplace for the interior design industry. Chris Maxcy Maxcy was YouTube's head of business development and was instrumental to negotiating YouTube's early licensing deals with record labels and TV studios, according to YouTube's first general counsel, Zahavah Levine. Maxcy is currently in charge of business development for Google.  Christina Brodbeck Brodbeck joined YouTube sometime in 2005, becoming the site's first user interface designer — she writes on LinkedIn that she wore a "wide variety of hats" during that time. She left YouTube in August 2009 and has since become an investor, launching a venture capital firm called Rivet Ventures, an early-stage firm that invests in women-led markets.   Jawed Karim Karim is one of YouTube's cofounders. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Chen and worked at PayPal before building YouTube with Chen and Hurley. The first YouTube video ever posted, "Me at the zoo," features Karim. Karim never had a formal role at YouTube — instead, he was an "informal adviser" who did not take a salary or benefits, according to The New York Times. Instead, Karim left for Stanford University, where he pursued a master's degree in computer science. Despite Karim's lower stake in YouTube than Chen or Hurley, he received 137,443 Google shares, then worth more than $64 million, when YouTube sold in 2006.  Karim launched a venture fund in 2008 called Youniversity Ventures, now called Y Ventures, along with Eventbrite cofounder Kevin Hartz and venture capitalist Keith Rabois.  Steve Chen Chen was YouTube's cofounder and original chief technology officer. He studied computer science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before working at PayPal. He built YouTube with Karim and Hurley, selling the company to Google in October 2006 for $1.65 billion. Chen received 625,366 Google shares from the acquisition, worth more than $326 million at the time.  Chen stayed at YouTube after the acquisition, and left in 2009 to explore other options within Google. In 2011, he left the company, and in 2013, he launched AVOS Systems with Hurley. Chen joined Google Ventures, now GV, in 2014. These days, he's an angel investor and lives in Singapore.   Chad Hurley Hurley joined PayPal as a designer in 1999 before launching YouTube with Chen and Karim. He served as YouTube's first CEO and kept that role after the acquisition until Google's Salar Kamangar took over in 2010. Hurley received 694,087 shares when Google bought YouTube, plus another 41,232 in a trust — at the time, the shares were worth $345 million.  Hurley officially left Google in 2011 and started AVOS Systems with Chen. In 2014, AVOS pivoted to become Hurley's company, MixBit, a mobile video platform.  Hurley is currently an investor, as well as the cofounder of GreenPark Sports, a digital sports company that makes a mobile game. Hurley is also a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Football Club. Now Read: 'We had no idea how to do it': YouTube's founders, investors, and first employees tell the chaotic inside story of how it rose from failed dating site to $1.65 billion video behemoth Take a look at the history-making pitch deck YouTube used to secure its first $11.5 million from Sequoia Capital in 2005, and the investor memo that convinced the firm of the platform's potential 7 early YouTubers on the moments they knew they made it big Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

Evidence is mounting that Google might soon be hit with at least one major antitrust case in the US. But it will be a long and complex battle to prove that Google has acted anticompetitively and hurt consumers as a result. A previous FTC staff attorney who worked on the famous Microsoft antitrust case in the '90s explained how a case could play out, and why it won't be an easy battle. "Ultimately, you've got to show that consumers are suffering higher prices or less choice," he said. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A serious antitrust case against Google is apparently gaining momentum, and could see the company slapped with a lawsuit as soon as this summer. Google has had a sizeable antitrust target on its back for years, paying multiple fines to Brussels (the official seat of the European Commission), but we could be about to see the most significant case brought against the company in the US.  Google is a big business – even bigger if we're considering its holding company Alphabet – but it's the company's advertising practices which seem to be at the forefront of regulators minds. Is Google acting in a way that hurts competitors? Does that also hurt consumers? Those are the big questions lawmakers may soon be grappling with. But years of pent-up antitrust sentiment in Washington doesn't make this a slam dunk, according to David Balto, a previous FTC staff attorney. Balto worked on the famous Microsoft investigation in the early 1990s, where the company was found to have violated antitrust laws following a huge battle in federal court. Balto told Business Insider that he believes any case against Google will be "an incredibly difficult" journey for the Department of Justice or the group of state attorneys general reportedly planning to file a case. Government lawyers will need to unpack a very complex business of ads, auctions, and heaps of complicated algorithms to understand not only if Google has been bending rules to its advantage, but if it has had a meaningful effect on consumers. Here's how such a case might play out, and why it could prove challenging to lawmakers, according to Balto. First thing to know: It could take a long time. A very long time The Microsoft case was dragged out for five years, and it's possible that any case brought against Google could also last several years. Investigating the way Google is running its ad business is not a small undertaking. Google will be asked to provide all sorts of information about its ads mechanisms. But it also won't want to reveal too much of its "secret sauce" here either, which could prolong investigations. And with one of the probes also looking into other parts of Google's business such as Android, this has the potential to be stretched out even longer. It's ultimately about consumers, not competitors A key thing Balto points out is that any antitrust case will have to show an impact on consumers — and it might not be easy to prove. An academic paper, co-written by a former antitrust economist in the Obama administration and published this week, concludes that there is evidence that Google has amassed dominance in advertising, and that it has leveraged its dominance in search "to coerce publishers and advertisers into using Google's ad tech services and relying on the Google exchange to make purchases and sales." But according to Balto, everything comes down to whether Google's practices have harmed the consumer.  "The purpose of the antitrust laws is to protect consumers, not competitors. So the fact that some competitor is disadvantaged or excluded from the market is not an antitrust case," he said. "The way that advertisers have to pay more because of the way auctions are structured – which is a conceivable claim – is not going to matter if it's going to be of the harm to advertisers, it's got to look at the ultimate impact on consumers." As the consumers don't pay for ads, lawmakers will likely need to prove that the ads fed to consumers have forced them to pay more than they should have. "Ultimately, you've got to show that consumers are suffering higher prices or less choice, and I haven't seen anything that suggests that," said Balto. Lawmakers might not like the idea of an ongoing watchdog In the Microsoft antitrust case, a technical committee was established to hear complaints under the settlement. But Balto said the Justice Department was burned by this decision, and likely won't have forgotten that. "It was awful," said Balto. "There were tons of disputes that were never resolved very effectively." In the case that a court rules Google must change certain business practices, it would need a way to ensure Google is enforcing those changes. "A court is going to be extraordinarily reluctant to take on the role of regulator because they just don't have the resources or the technical expertise to do that, and that's the critical point." A breakup seems very unlikely, but Google may have to stop hiding certain advertising secrets Balto isn't the only one who doesn't foresee a breakup of Google's business in the cards. David Cicilline, who is leading a separate investigation into anti-monopoly practices of all four major tech companies, told Business Insider that he doesn't see a breakup being likely, or even possible. "My view is that we have to come up with solutions to bring more competition into the digital marketplace and to prohibit anti-competitive behavior directly," he said. Instead, it's more likely that Google will be hit, at most, with some demands to the way it operates its business. "I think what we're more likely to see is that there might be changes [to Google's] individual competitive practices, maybe some contracting arrangement so they have to tweak something," said Balto. "But the court is not going to say, 'Oh you've got to divest search, you've got to break up the company.' There isn't enough there." One possible outcome, in Balto's opinion, could be for Google to provide "additional disclosure" for businesses to see how its advertising auctions work. Google's opponents might have a credit card problem So bear with us here, but there's a pretty significant case called Ohio v. American Express that some experts like Balto say will have a bearing on any antitrust case brought against Google's ad business. In short, the case surrounded a rule that merchants who accepted American Express were not allowed to steer customers to using others cards that would charge the merchant lower transaction fees. The federal government and a group of states brought an antitrust case against American Express for what were deemed to be "anti-steering" policies, but in 2018 the court ruled in favor of Amex. "For merchants Amex rules were anticompetitive – they paid more – but the Supreme Court said, you're only looking at half of the equation. The other half of the equation is the other set of customers, the consumers, and for them this wasn't anticompetitive," Balto told Business Insider.  It's not a dead certainty that lawmakers will look at Google's business the same way, but Balto said that it's because of this specific case that "the law has gotten a lot worse" for the government since the Microsoft case, and it goes back to how consumers are ultimately affected. "That Supreme Court decision in American Express I think throws a giant monster wrench into any potential case here," he said.SEE ALSO: Google may soon face a pair of major antitrust lawsuits, as probes wind down into the company's ad and search dominance Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Inside London during COVID-19 lockdown

North Dakota debuted a contact-tracing app in April which uses geolocation to track the spread of COVID-19. Analysis by privacy research firm Jumbo has found the app sends location data to data advertising firm Foursquare, despite saying privacy policy that it won't share data with any third parties. The app's maker admitted to sending data from iPhones to Foursquare, but said it wasn't being used for commercial purposes. It said it will revise the privacy policy and reduce the amount of data being sent to third parties. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. One of the first US states to roll out a contact-tracing app has been caught sending user data to third parties without permission. North Dakota launched its app "Care-19" in early April to try and curb the spread of the coronavirus inside the state. "Once the app is downloaded, individuals will be given a random ID number and the app will anonymously cache the individual's locations throughout the day," the state said in a statement when the app launched. An analysis of the app by privacy research firm Jumbo has found that although the app says in its privacy policy that users' location data will be kept private, it sends data to third parties including Google and data intelligence company Foursquare. Potentially passing data on to advertisers Specifically Jumbo found the phone's anonymous code was being transmitted to Foursquare, a company that specializes in passing location data on to advertisers. Significantly Jumbo found the app was sending location data to Foursquare, along with something called an Advertising Identifier (commonly referred to as an IDFA). IDFAs are numbers assigned to phones that help advertisers target them. This IDFA number was also being passed along to Google. "Sharing what is supposed to be an anonymous code along with an Advertising Identifier has serious privacy risks," privacy research firm Jumbo wrote in its analysis. "An IDFA is an identifier that is shared across all apps on your phone, and often leaked by third-party SDKs [software development kits], along with personal information. For example, the Facebook SDK, included in many popular apps, sends the IDFA back to Facebook's servers, and Facebook maintains a database linking your IDFA and your Facebook personal information, for retargeting purposes." Additionally was sharing the anonymous phone codes with a company called Bugfender. In a blog post responding to The Fast Company's coverage of Jumbo's report, Bugfender said: "Bugfender creates a random identifier that is sent to our servers to differentiate one device from another. The sole purpose of this ID is to show the correct diagnostic data to the programmers of the app and does not contain any information related to the user or the device." The app's creator says it's going to make it more private North Dakota's app was built by a Fargo-based company called ProudCrowd, which signed also signed contract with South Dakota for $9,000 to build the same app. According to the AP, the app was based on an older app a Microsoft engineer, Tim Brookins, has designed to help college football fans connect on their way to the game. A ProudCrowd spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Post it was sending data from iPhones to Foursquare, but said it wasn't being used for commercial purposes. ProwdCrowd did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. ProudCrowd also said it would be re-jigging the app's privacy policy and will reduce the amount of data it shares in the future. North Dakota's contact-tracing facilitator Vern Dosch told The Post the state would be taking action. "Should this have been vetted? Yes. We are following up on that as we speak. We know that people are very sensitive," he said. Apple also told The Post it is now investigating the app following the report. Trust issues A major issue for all contact tracing apps will be getting people to use them. For such apps to be effective they need high uptake rates — if not enough people download them, they're useless for fighting the pandemic. An incident like the one in North Dakota make these efforts even harder. Public mistrust of how users' data might be misused is already a hurdle local health authorities have to overcome in convincing people to download their apps, and in some cases seemingly hurried app releases have resulted in a privacy backlash. In Australia authorities were fast to release the country's app, but it was subsequently found to contain serious security flaws. Samuel Woodhams, a privacy researcher who maintains a live index called the COVID-19 Digital Rights Tracker about various efforts around the world to surveil the spread of the coronavirus, said Jumbo's findings were unsurprising. "Of the 47 apps that I've recorded, over half contain third-party trackers, with 17 apps containing Google's advertising and tracking platforms," Woodhams told Business Insider. "The speed in which these apps have been developed and deployed around the world has resulted in lots of shoddy apps that contain unnecessary permissions and redundant functionalities. However, the presence of third-party trackers clearly raises concerns that companies may be looking to profit from the public health crises," he told Business Insider. North Dakota recently announced it would be launching a second app to sit alongside Care-19 using the specialized contact-tracing framework rolled out by Google and Apple this week. While it is possible that this second app could be more secure than the first, it risks splitting the userbase and rendering both apps much less effective. Now it will also have to contend with the first app's bad press.SEE ALSO: Iceland had the most-downloaded contact-tracing app for its population size. Authorities there say it hasn't made much difference. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

Two cybersecurity researchers have identified seven security flaws in the UK government's COVID-19 contact-tracing app. The app is currently being trialed on the Isle of Wight before being rolled out to the rest of the UK population. The researchers recommend that the app switch from using a centralized approach, which pools user data in a central server, to a decentralized approach. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The UK government's contact-tracing app has got a number of serious security flaws according to cybersecurity experts who analyzed its source code. A report by two cybersecurity experts, Dr Chris Culnane and Vanessa Teague, was published on Tuesday. They identified seven security risks around the app, which is currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight and is supposed to be rolled out to the rest of the UK in the next week or two. The way it works is once you download the app, your phone gets assigned a random number ID that changes every day. It then sends out Bluetooth signals, and if it recognises another phone with the app downloaded, it makes a note of that phones ID number in a log. If a user reports themselves as having symptoms, their phone sends a notification to every other phone it has saved in that log over the past two weeks. The vulnerabilities include one which could allow hackers to intercept notifications and either block them or send out bogus ones telling people they've come into contact with someone carrying COVID-19. The researchers also noted that unencrypted data stored on users' handsets could feasibly be accessed by law enforcement. Although the UK government has insisted the data would be used for nothing other than its COVID-19 response, a group of 177 cybersecurity experts have already called on it to introduce safeguards protecting the data from being repurposed for surveillance. In building its app, the UK decided to reject the customized contact-tracing API (application program interface) put out by Apple and Google. This is because Apple and Google require anyone using their API to build a "decentralized" app, meaning all data processing would stay local to the users' handset. The UK decided to opt for a centralized approach, drawing user data into a central server so it could more easily analyze the data it pulls in. This has already thrown up data protection concerns, as well as worries that it may impede the functionality of the app on iPhones. In their report Culnane and Teague say a decentralized app would be better. "The huge advantage of the Google/Apple decentralized API is that there's no central database that retains information about every infected person's contacts," Teague told Business Insider.  There is a possibility that a Google/Apple NHS app could emerge, as the Financial Times reported earlier this month the government was quietly working on a second app using the tech giants' API. They also highlight that while both the NHS and the Google/Apple API use rotating random ID codes to protect users' privacy, the NHS app only switches up the numbers once per day, while the Google/Apple API does so every 15 minutes. The UK vs. Silicon Valley Privacy researcher Samuel Woodhams told Business Insider the report shows the UK's decision to build a centralized app needs a "substantial rethink." "As the report shows, the current approach considerably increases the risk that sensitive data collected by the app will be exposed or manipulated. By only generating a random ID code once a day, the risks of identifying an individual are dramatically increased. This could have significant repercussions for users' privacy and lead to serious real-world consequences," Woodhams said. "Recent developments have once again shown that the UK's approach is lagging behind the more privacy-friendly and probably more effective approach taken by Apple and Google," he added. The report was shared with Britain's cybersecurity center NCSC prior to publication, and Teague said NCSC has already committed to fix some of the bugs identified, but others (like the 24 hour ID rotation) it had only committed to "review." NCSC director Ian Levy publicly thanked the researchers for their work in a blog post. "In future versions, the team are going to try to publish a summary of the backlog of issues, so people can see what we know about, but haven't had time to fix yet. The app is a work in progress, and future versions will have all these issues fixed," Levy writes. For the contact-tracing app to be effective, it needs to be adopted by roughly 56% of the UK's population, epidemiologists have told the NHS. The researchers note that to do this the public need to feel like they can trust the app. "The messaging around the app, and in particular suggestions of broadening the data collected, combined with insufficient legislative protections, a lack of siloing of the data, and no sunsetting of the data retention or usage, risk undermining the trust that has been earned," they conclude.SEE ALSO: The UK accidentally left secret plans for its COVID-19 contact-tracing app on an open Google Drive Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

Google has significantly scaled back diversity and inclusion efforts, moves that employees said were meant to help the company avoid a conservative backlash, NBC News reported Wednesday. Since 2018, popular training programs have been watered down or scrapped entirely, and jobs on the team responsible for the programs have been outsourced or reassigned, according to NBC News. "Any suggestion that we have scaled back or cut our diversity efforts is false. Diversity, equity, and inclusion remains a company wide commitment and our programs have scaled up to match the pace of Google's growth," a spokesperson told Business Insider. Google has faced intense criticism in recent years from employees over racism, pay discrimination, and its handling of sexual misconduct amid a broader referendum on the tech industry's diversity problems. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Google has made massive cuts to its diversity and inclusion initiatives, with current and former employees saying the moves were meant to shield the company from conservative backlash, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Since 2018, several popular programs aimed at teaching employees about implicit bias and how to have difficult conversations about race and inequality have been scaled back, while the team responsible for the programs has gotten smaller — due to outsourcing and Google opting not to refill positions after employees leave — according to NBC News. "One of the major motivations for cutting Sojourn [one of Google's diversity initiatives] is that the company doesn't want to be seen as anti-conservative," an employee told NBC News. "It does not want to invite lawsuits or claims by right-wing white employees about Google discriminating against them." A Google spokesperson disputed employees' claims, telling Business Insider in a statement: "Any suggestion that we have scaled back or cut our diversity efforts is false. Diversity, equity, and inclusion remains a company wide commitment and our programs have scaled up to match the pace of Google's growth." A former Google engineer and author of a controversial anti-diversity memo circulated while he was still an employee sued the company in 2018, alleging that Google discriminated against conservatives, but he dropped the suit earlier this week. Google told NBC News that it cut Sojourn because the program was mainly focused on racism in the US, making it difficult to scale globally. The majority of Google's 100,000-plus full-time employees are based in the US. Google has had a tumultuous few years internally. In November 2018, nearly 17,000 employees staged a walkout in protest of the company's handling of sexual misconduct investigations following a report that Google paid a top executive $90 million despite concluding he needed to resign due to a credible misconduct allegation against him. Since then, employees have also spoken out against racism and sexism within the company's ranks. An engineering director who is black said last fall that he would be harassed less at work if he dressed like a janitor, while a black former employee circulated a memo saying he "never stopped feeling the burden of being black." Last September, a Google engineering executive sued the company, alleging she was paid "hundreds of thousands" less than her male peers and demoted for complaining. Multiple employees have left or been fired by Google after speaking out about its treatment of women and marginalized groups, and the company now faces an investigation from the National Labor Relations Board into its firing of four employees in November. Google's diversity and inclusion efforts haven't yet led to substantial progress for marginalized groups. The company's chief diversity officer left the company in April 2019 amid a string of controversies. In 2019, black employees made up just 2.7% of Google's global workforce, a gain of 0.2 percentage points from the year before, while the share of Latinx employees increased from 3.6% to 3.8% and Native Americans made no progress, remaining at 0.3%. Similarly, women represented 30.9% of Google's workforce in 2018 and just 31.6% the following year. Google's struggle to hire and keep diverse candidates reflects a broader trend in the industry, even though the issue has received widespread attention in recent years thanks to the #MeToo movement and several years of tech companies releasing diversity data.SEE ALSO: Kickstarter is reducing its workforce by 39% through layoffs and voluntary buyouts as crowdfunding projects plummet during the pandemic Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 — this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

Google employees have been told to expect to work from for the remainder of the year, but it will open its offices in June or July for those who need it. The company had already extended work-from-home until June 1, but it sounds like Google's workforce could be working remotely for many months to come. The news comes the same day that Facebook told employees they could work from home for the rest of the year. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google-parent company Alphabet, told employees they will likely be working from home until the end of the year. During an all hands-meeting on Thursday, Google employees were told that those who needed to return to the office would be able to do so in June or July, but said there would be certain safety measures put in place. The news was first reported by The Information, and confirmed by an independent source to Business Insider. It follows a similar announcement from Facebook, which today told employees they could continue to work from home for the remainder of 2020, though said it would start reopening its offices on July 6. Google last month told employees that it was extending work-from-home to June 1, and planned to "stagger" a return to the office. However, it now looks like most of Google's workforce will be operating remotely for quite some time to come. A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Do you work at Google? Contact this reporter using encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or email (hlangley@businessinsider.com).Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

You can activate voice controls on your Android device in two ways: through the Google app, and through the Voice Access app. The Google app will let you use voice controls to make Google searches and surf the web. The Voice Access app, meanwhile, will let you navigate your Android device and type or edit text with your voice. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. There are a variety of reasons why you might need to use voice controls on your Android device. Maybe you're driving and need to keep your hands on the road, or have tremors that make it difficult to use a touch screen. In any case, your Android phone or tablet offers a few different voice control features, which make it easier to navigate your device. Here's how to activate voice controls on an Android device in two ways. Check out the products mentioned in this article: Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $859.99 at Walmart) How to activate voice controls on your Android device using the Google app There are two major ways to turn on voice controls on an Android device.  First, we can use the Google app. This will let you make Google searches with your voice. 1. Download the Google app and launch it, then tap the three little dots in the bottom-right corner. 2. Tap "Settings" and then tap "Voice." 3. Tap "Voice Match" and then toggle the switch by "Hey Google" to the right. You can now make searches by saying "Hey, Google" or "OK Google" (depending on your device) followed by commands. For example, try saying "OK Google, search for Business Insider." How to activate voice controls on your Android device using the Voice Access app Secondly, we can use the Voice Access app. This will let you navigate your phone's menus and many of your apps with voice controls. For even more control over your phone, consider getting the Voice Access app from the Play Store. Once it is installed, follow the steps to set up your advanced voice controls: 1. Download the Voice Access app.  2. Open the Settings app — not the Voice Access app — and tap "Accessibility." 3. Scroll down and tap "Voice Access." On the next page, toggle it on. You can now use the same "Hey, Google" or "OK Google" commands. You can use these to open apps. For example, try saying, "OK Google, open Spotify." You'll also see that when you talk to your phone, anything on the screen that can be interacted with will have a number appear next to it. You can say which number you'd like to "tap" on that part of the screen with your voice.   Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech: 'What is Google Assistant?': How to use and customize Google's smart assistant on any compatible device How to connect your Roku device to Google Assistant to control your Roku with voice commands How to turn on and add custom words to the new Voice Control feature on an iPhone with iOS 13 How to turn off the voice control feature on any iPhone model, or switch it out for Siri How to reset your network settings on an Android to fix connection issues and speed up your internet SEE ALSO: The best speakers with Google Chromecast built-in you can buy Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

  Google's new Pixel Buds get the basics right for earbuds: they sound good, they look good, they're comfortable, and they're compact.  Sadly, however, there's no noise cancellation feature, background static is noticeable when listening to quiet songs, and I continue to find Google Assistant to be an awful mess in earbuds. For $180, you'd be overspending on the Pixel Buds. That's because there are lots of wireless earbuds that sound similar with lower price tags and less issues to deal with.  If you're looking for more headphone recommendations, be sure to check out our roundup of the best headphone deals.   There are countless wireless earbuds for Android, many of them with Google Assistant functionality and varying degrees of sound quality at different price points. Serving as a true wireless successor to Google's 2017 Pixel Buds, the new Pixel Buds are yet another entry in this crowded field of earbuds.  But, in effect, there isn't much about Google's new Pixel Buds that help differentiate them from the competition, save for an easy pairing feature for Android phones that's only really useful once or twice in their lifetime.  I honestly can't say that I've tried all wireless earbuds out there, but I've tested a few of the Pixel Buds' major competitors, including the AirPods, Samsung Galaxy Buds, and Sony WF-1000XM3s. Among those, the Pixel Buds sit squarely in Apple's AirPods category — good, but expensive for what you get. Specifications IPX4 sweat resistance 5-hour battery life, 2.5 hours of voice call time 24 hours of battery life in wireless charging case Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity Google Assistant support 12mm drivers Style and fit Style-wise, these are some nice earbuds. They're small and they don't stick out of your ears. They're true "buds" in that they don't have an arm that sticks out, like Apple's AirPods.  They're available in different colors, including white, orange, mint, and black. But those options are only for the earbuds themselves — the charging case is white no matter which option you go for.  The new Pixel Buds will likely fit and stay in several ear sizes and shapes with their in-ear and rubber tip design. For reference, Apple's AirPods and similar earbuds slide out of my ears no matter what I do. You get three different rubber tip sizes included with the Pixel Buds, so you'll likely find a comfortable fit that also keep the Pixel Buds in your ears, even during workouts. The wireless charging case is small and lightweight — it's like carrying around a small, smooth plastic pebble. The fact that the case can be charged wirelessly means it's comparable to Apple's $200 AirPods with wireless charging case.  How do they sound? The Pixel Buds sound good. In fact, they sound better than Apple's AirPods, and even the $250 AirPods Pro, both of which have a somewhat hollow sound compared to the Pixel Buds. More relevant to Android users, the Pixel Buds sound better than Samsung's Galaxy Buds, which are totally devoid of bass. Still, they're not as good as the amazing $230 Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds, which are frankly incredible. Listening to "Bubbles" by Yosi Horikawa proves that the Pixel Buds have a surprisingly well-balanced sound. The Pixel Buds includes deep lows, decent bass punch, rich mids, and detail-revealing treble. No characteristic overwhelms the other on the Pixel Buds, making them great choices for almost any music genre, except for music that benefits from a lot of bass, like hip-hop, electronic music, and reggae. Bass-heads won't be satisfied here. Pretty much any track by Destructo — where much of the excitement comes from bass — reveals that you don't get the kind of bass that envelops your ears. Small wireless earbuds shouldn't typically be a bass-head's first choice, but the Sony WF-1000XM3 should get a mention, as they are capable of delivering that head-wrapping bass while still delivering on the mids and highs. Otherwise, I enjoy listening to tracks like Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe," John Prine's "Illegal Smile," Doom Flamingo's "Telepathy", Jack Johnson's "Wasting Time," and other non-bass-focused songs on the Pixel Buds as much as I enjoy these tracks on more expensive headphones.   Notable things about the Pixel Buds The Pixel Buds pair more easily with Android phones by simply opening the wireless charging case. Within seconds, you'll see a notification on your screen asking if you want to pair the Pixel Buds with your phone. This is nice, and you'll see a lot of hype around this feature, but it's only really useful once. Don't base your buying decision on this feature alone.  Switching the connection between devices, like a smartphone and laptop, is fairly easy — you just need to go into the device's Bluetooth settings and click/tap the Pixel Buds to switch the connection.  The Pixel Buds don't come with active noise cancellation, but the in-ear rubber tip design acts a little like an ear plug, and some noise is muffled as a result. Still, not as much as with active noise cancellation.  Problems with the Pixel Buds Background static noise The Pixel Buds make an audible and unfortunate hissing/static sound that's noticeable if you're listening to quiet music, like soft classical, in a quiet environment, which is distracting. I asked Google about this static background noise I was hearing. Here's what the company said: "All Bluetooth earbuds create some amount of noise at certain frequencies when components turn on. In our lab testing we've made sure that any noise on Pixel Buds falls within a normal range for Bluetooth earbuds. A small percentage of users may be able to hear these frequencies, though most cannot. We're continuing to work on software improvements to further reduce these noises for listeners that can perceive this."  It's true that Bluetooth headphones can create some background static noise, but I never noticed it as much before. That's to say, it's pretty bad on the Pixel Buds. Hopefully this is something that Google can address with a software update.  Google Assistant on the Pixel Buds "Use Google Pixel Buds to receive and respond to incoming messages, emails, and important calendar events on the go," Google says. Indeed, Google Assistant can speak into your ear when you're wearing the Pixel Buds, telling you about all the notifications you're getting on your phone.  Let me tell you, there's nothing worse than listening to a song you love and getting rudely interrupted by Google Assistant's voice telling you about a message you just received. It's a wonder how Google ever thought this would be a good idea.  You can turn off the voice part, and a "ding" noise will sound off when you get a notification instead. But that's as equally disruptive and annoying as the voice. There are ways to manage notifications, but the settings are clunky, limited, and just hard to use overall. The language translation feature works surprisingly well, but it's hard to imagine anyone actually using it. Getting to the translation feature is a clunky, unintuitive mess, which isn't helpful while you're flustered in a foreign country trying to communicate with someone in different languages. If you plan on using this feature, make sure to practice how to set it up before you travel. While you're at it, you may as well practice how you're going to communicate that you're using your earbuds to translate, and that you're not being rude and listening to music while other people speak.  My take? Just disable Google Assistant on the Pixel Buds. Entirely and totally. That way, you won't get the annoying notifications. I only kept Google Assistant enabled for testing purposes, and when I was finally done testing, I disabled Google Assistant with immense frustration-fueled satisfaction. Maybe Google Assistant in headphones or earbuds can be truly useful at some point in the future, but in its current iteration, "this ain't it." Google's alternative to active noise cancellation Instead of noise cancellation, the Pixel Buds have a feature designed to raise the volume when you're in a noisy environment. This seems like a poorly thought-out feature, as higher volumes can be harmful to long-term hearing. Plus, it doesn't work very well. I played audio of the notoriously loud NYC subway system on a 5.1 surround sound home entertainment setup at a very high volume (the best thing I can muster during the pandemic lockdown), and I think the Pixel Buds raised the volume. I'm not entirely sure ... Either way, I couldn't hear the song I was playing any better, and it reflects how poorly the feature actually works. Perhaps it's Google limiting how high it raises the volume to protect your hearing, in which case, this feature shouldn't exist in the first place. Thankfully, it's just an option you can leave disabled and forget about completely. If you want noise cancellation, this isn't a good alternative. You'll have to spend the extra cash and get noise-cancelling headphones.  Not the earbuds for phone calls As with most earbuds, you can place phone calls with the Pixel Buds. And, like most earbuds and headphones, they're fine for indoor phone calls, but they're unsuitable for calls outdoors, even in a relatively quiet outdoor setting. I live in the deep, quiet suburbs, and a person I was speaking to on the phone with the Pixel Buds was distracted by the sound of chirping birds above me coming through the earbuds.   Should you buy Google's latest 2020 Pixel Buds? Would I buy these? It wouldn't be the worst decision because the Pixel Buds get the core earbud basics right — they sound good, the look good, they're comfortable, and they're small and compact.  But, I'd be buying them with the knowledge that I could have gone with something less expensive that offers similar quality. I expect better for $180, just like I'd expect better from Apple's AirPods for their similarly high price tags.  Above, I spend more time complaining about the Pixel Buds than praising them, but most of the things I complain about, like Google Assistant, can be totally ignored. However, the especially-noticeable background static noise can be a deal-breaker, alongside the Pixel Buds' high price tag.  At $180, the new Pixel Buds are competitively priced against Apple's AirPods, but not against other options. There are plenty of well-reviewed wireless earbuds that cost less, like our favorite pick based on a colleague's review, the $100 Cambridge Audio Melomania, or Anker's Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro wireless earbuds. And, if I'm going to spend as much as $180, I'll fork out the extra $50 to get the Sony WF-1000XM3.  Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

  Google's new Pixel Buds are now available to buy for $179.00 from Google's online store, Best Buy, Verizon, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. The new Pixel Buds are direct answers to Apple's AirPods — they're wireless ear buds that come in a wireless charging case, and they have a few smart features, like pairing automatically with your Android phone and summoning Google Assistant. They also have sweat-resistance and an in-ear design for a snug fit, making them a viable option for workouts. Google introduced its new $179.00 Pixel Buds on Monday, which are available to buy from Google's own store, Best Buy, Verizon, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. Google's Pixel Buds are totally wireless earbuds that come in a charging case. In a sentence, the Pixel Buds are Google's direct answer to Apple's AirPods. They're the Android user's wireless ear buds that pair automatically with their Android phones, and summon Google Assistant. Google touts up to five hours of listening time for the Pixel Buds, and two and a half hours for voice calls. The charging case, which can charge wirelessly or via USB-C, holds enough charge for 24 hours of battery life, or 12 hours of voice calls, in total. Charging the Pixel Buds in the battery case for just 10 minutes gives two hours of listening time, or one hour of talk time, Google claims. Google Pixel Buds features The Pixel Buds are also sweat resistant, and they have a snug in-ear design with small fins to help stabilize the Buds in your ear and keep them from falling out with too many vibrations. The Pixel Buds have touch sensors on each bud for pretty typical audio controls, like skipping tracks, pausing, adjusting volume, and picking up phone calls. Of note, the Google Pixel Buds don't have active noise cancellation like the $250 AirPods Pro do. At $179.00, the Pixel Buds are cheaper than Apple AirPods with Wireless Charging Case. First impressions of Google Pixel Buds I've had the Pixel Buds for a few days, and they sound impressive for such small wireless ear buds. With that said, I've noticed some slight background hissing noise when playing music at low volumes. The noise is so quiet that you may not notice, but once you do notice, it's impossible to ignore. It's a shame they don't come with noise cancellation, but that would surely raise their price tag above $179.00. Plus, the in-ear design acts a little like ear plugs that block out some external noise, but not as much as active noise cancellation. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: We tested a machine that brews beer at the push of a button

There's a power battle between the UK, Germany, and France on one side and Apple and Google on the other about coronavirus contact-tracing. Like other countries, the UK, Germany, and France are creating apps that will track people who report COVID-19 symptoms or test positive and then alert those they have had contact with. The fight centers on how much data these apps gather up and where that information is stored, with Apple and Google pushing for a more privacy-friendly approach. If France, Germany, and the UK try and roll out their apps in defiance of Apple and Google, there's a good chance they won't work properly, particularly on iPhones. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The UK, France, and Germany are locked in a power battle with Apple and Google over the way COVID-19 should be tracked via apps. Like other nations, the three countries are racing to launch apps that would rely on signals broadcast via Bluetooth to monitor the spread of COVID-19. Broadly, this is how such apps will probably work: if someone running the app reports coronavirus symptoms and tests positive, the app will alert people who may have had contact with them over the previous 14 days. These people can then go for testing themselves. It's a digital form of "contact-tracing," an established way for public health authorities to find and notify people with exposure to a disease. The current fight centers on how much data these apps gather up and where that information is stored, with Apple and Google pushing for a highly privacy-friendly approach. Contact-tracing is an established way of monitoring disease outbreak, and it's becoming digital during coronavirus Contact-tracing has conventionally been performed manually, but with global smartphone penetration averaging out at an estimated 80%, using apps may make more sense. The risk here is that individual countries each put out their own apps based on wildly different privacy protocols and technologies, ending up in a piecemeal approach and increased surveillance. Most people in western Europe certainly aren't used to any form of pervasive tracking by authorities. Apple and Google, being the dominant providers of smartphone software as the makers of iOS and Android, respectively, have sought to unify the approach by jointly creating an API. Public health authorities and governments can base any contact-tracing apps they build on Apple and Google's API, making for a consistent, privacy-friendly approach. You can read about the Google-Apple API and how it works here. The issue is that Apple and Google have indicated they will only permit apps that meet their privacy standards to use their API, and not every country seems to agree with those standards. Similarly, Google and Apple unveiled their joint API after several countries began building their apps. The tension lies in how, exactly, contact-tracing apps collect information and where they store it. The UK, Germany, and France are pursuing a centralized approach not currently permitted by Apple and Google The UK has not revealed in-depth technical details of its app. Still, expert sources with knowledge of its development, and public statements indicate that authorities want to be able to collect and analyze more data than the tech giants are comfortable with. If apps collect more data than basic privacy-preserving identifiers, it would almost certainly need to be stored in a centralized way by health authorities or governments, experts told Business Insider. This is what Apple and Google oppose, instead favouring a decentralized approach. "I am worried about function creep," said Eerke Boiten, cybersecurity professor at De Montfort University. "You shouldn't collect more data than you need to in the first place, which is known as data minimization." Professor Boiten added that if, in the UK, the NHS simply wanted to send out alerts to people about possibly being infected, there would be zero reason to store that information centrally. But it sounds like the UK wants people to put more information about themselves into the contact-tracing app. NHSX, the arm of the NHS developing app, said in a blogpost on Friday: "In future releases of the app, people will be able to choose to provide the NHS with extra information about themselves to help us identify hotspots and trends. "Those of us who agree to provide this extra information will be playing a key role in providing additional information about the spread of COVID-19 that will contribute towards protecting the health of others and getting the country back to normal in a controlled way, as restrictions ease." Boiten said: "The NHS app announcement includes a statement that people can choose to give the app additional information. That's an inherently centralized idea." Professor Ross Anderson, a University of Cambridge computer scientist who advised the government on the app, previously told BI that UK authorities wanted to collect more information to conduct "fine-grained" contact-tracing to enable epidemiologists to take more effective action in response to COVID-19. As it stands, none of these apps will probably work on the iPhone Why does this all apparently technical quibbling matter? The governments could simply go ahead and launch apps based on their preferred protocols and technology. But here they run into the global power of these two tech giants, and the fact they have the entire 3.5 billion smartphone ecosystem tied up. The way France, the UK, and Germany's contact-tracing apps are thought to work means that they would require phones to scan for Bluetooth signals continuously. It is not something permitted on the iPhone, which only allows such scanning if an app is open and running on your phone screen. If you swipe away from the app or lock your phone, the scanning stops. To get the app to work correctly, you would need to have it running all the time on your unlocked phone — itself a privacy and theft risk. This effectively renders Bluetooth contact-tracing apps useless — and it's been a key problem for Singapore's TraceTogether app, which was only downloaded by about a sixth of the population, according to The Economist. And yet the success of contact-tracing apps relies on the bulk of the population using them. An Oxford study says the NHS app will need to target 60% of the population to be effective. Here is where the Apple-Google API comes in. The two firms will make an exception on this Bluetooth-scanning restriction for contact-tracing apps that meet their privacy standards. Obey our privacy standards and your Bluetooth contact-tracing app will work, is the message to governments. While privacy advocates have praised the Apple-Google approach, which should ensure governments aren't spying on you more than they need to, some countries appear to dislike the restrictions. France, as first reported by Bloomberg, has lobbied Apple to permit its Bluetooth-powered contact-tracing app saying that the current restrictions mean its app won't work correctly. Per TechCrunch's reporting, Germany also appears to be pushing for a more centralized approach with its app, which will do more than just issue alerts. Reuters reported that Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel is in talks with Apple. And sources told Business Insider earlier this month that the UK was likewise lobbying Apple to permit the current version of its app. It's possible European countries will fall in line with Apple and Google Sources with knowledge of the UK's app development expect the NHS to rewrite the contact-tracing app to abide by Apple and Google's rules, but public statements so far mean this is still ambiguous. NHSX said on Friday: "We are working with Apple and Google on their welcome support for tracing apps around the world." This, according to both Profs. Anderson and Boiten, is not a guarantee the NHS will reconfigure its app. "That is a little unclear, because of the way they have phrased it," said Professor Boiten. "You could [take it to mean] they'll connect directly to the Google-Apple proposal, which would be good, but it could also mean they realize that for the app to work they need to collaborate with Google and Apple, and so [add to] the French pressure on Apple." Anderson said: "I expect that the UK, French, and German governments are still arguing with Google and Apple behind the scenes." A further complication is that other European countries have backed a decentralized technical solution, called Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (DP-3T). This does align with Google and Apple's requirements. Estonia, Austria, and Switzerland will all base their apps on the DP-3T protocol. Meanwhile, Apple and Google plan to launch an early version of their contact-tracing API for developers as early as next week. All of this may prompt the UK, France, and Germany to change up their approach. And it would be another indication of Apple and Google's global power. As Logan Finucan,  senior manager of data and trust for Access Partnership notes: "None of this would be possible without the technology these companies provide. I don't think it is entirely unreasonable for Google and Apple to refuse to be deputized to carry out state surveillance. Because if France can do it, then China and Iran want it too, which could enable harms we don't want on a much larger scale. "At the end of the day, while governments will be accountable to their citizens, technology providers will be responsible to their consumers. If people don't trust the technology, they won't use it, and that helps no one."Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 — this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

The UK has a fight on its hands to launch its official coronavirus-tracing app in the coming weeks, thanks to limits set by Apple and Google on how such apps work. The government has already announced the app and it is thought to be in advanced stages of development. But a new system announced by Apple and Google means that the app may not be able to track people's phones as closely as UK officials would like. The NHS is in discussions with the two tech giants over its app, sources said, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The UK has a fight on its hands to launch its much-vaunted contact-tracing app, which would monitor people diagnosed with or reporting COVID-19 symptoms and alert those they had been in contact with. The experimental digital arm of the NHS — NHSX — has been developing a tracing app for some weeks, but was blindsided by a joint announcement last week by Apple and Google on a contact-tracing system that sets limits on how invasive such apps can be on iPhones or Android devices. Now there's a conflict between the political win of getting the app out on time, and actually ensuring it works properly. Apple and Google are not building an app themselves, but released a set of privacy-focused APIs in May on which governments and public health agencies like the NHS can base their own contact-tracing apps. A key advantage of the system is that approved contact-tracing apps will be able to run in the background. Contact-tracing apps mostly rely on Bluetooth scanning, which normally isn't permitted to run in the background on iOS. For example, Singapore's Bluetooth-based TraceTogether app reportedly requires the user to leave their phone unlocked to work properly — a privacy risk and a battery drain. Adopting the Apple and Google system means approved apps would work properly even when a phone is locked, making it more likely people would actually download them. But in order to access this better functionality, governments and public health authorities must ensure their apps meet the tech giants' privacy standards. The idea here is to ensure governments don't push out highly invasive apps that track people's movements through location data, or build up centralized databases of people's medical information. According to people familiar with the matter, the NHSX app may not meet Apple and Google's privacy restrictions but has already been announced by the government and is at an advanced stage of development. These people said NHSX is in discussions with Apple currently. Although the NHSX app is not expected to be especially invasive, sources suggested that NHSX's view of the ideal balance between specificity of tracing and privacy differs from that of Apple and Google. The cybersecurity arm of the UK's spy agency GCHQ, the NCSC, is also thought to be advising on the app. Ross Anderson, a University of Cambridge professor who advised on the app's security and development, told BI that UK authorities want "fine-grained" contact tracing. The logic here is that it would enable the UK's epidemiologists to take more effective action in response to COVID-19. Now it isn't clear that the app meets Apple and Google's standards, and whether it would work properly, particularly on the iPhone. Anderson told Business Insider: "The NHSX people [have] this delightful choice between an app that won't work... or an app that will run on the platform but won't enable them to do the epidemiology they want." Jon Crowcroft, Marconi professor of Communications Systems at the University of Cambridge, raised similar questions. "Apple and Google's policies on all COVID-19 related apps was that if they came from a government health agency, subject to normal other checks, they'd be okayed," he told Business Insider, saying that it wasn't clear if the NHSX app might be blocked. Ultimately, practicality may win out over politics. The obvious solution would be to rebuild the app on Apple and Google's APIs. Another source said: "Everyone expects the [Department of Health] to rewrite their app to use the API, and claim victory." NHSX and Apple did not return a request for comment.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: We tested a machine that brews beer at the push of a button

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says tech companies like Amazon have provided a "profound benefit" during the coronavirus pandemic and people should "be a little bit grateful." "Think about what your life would be like in America without Amazon," Schmidt said during a video interview hosted by The Economic Club of New York on Tuesday. Schmidt argued that having to navigate the pandemic without the tools offered by tech companies would be much more difficult. Google, Amazon, and others in the tech industry have poured money and resources into responding to the coronavirus, but some have also been accused of failing to protect their workers. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. People should be grateful for the role technology companies like Amazon have played during the coronavirus pandemic, the former Google CEO and chairman Eric Schmidt said Tuesday. "The benefit of these corporations, which we love to malign, in terms of the ability to communicate, the ability to deal with health, the ability to get information, is profound," Schmidt said during a video interview hosted by The Economic Club of New York. "Think about what your life would be like in America without Amazon," Schmidt said, adding that people should "be a little bit grateful that these companies got the capital, did the investment, built the tools that we're using now, and have really helped us out." Schmidt said that having to respond to the outbreak without the tools provided by Amazon and other internet companies would be much more difficult, echoing an argument he made in an op-ed article for The Wall Street Journal several weeks earlier that tech companies should play a more significant role in US infrastructure once the pandemic is over. "Companies like Amazon know how to supply and distribute efficiently," Schmidt wrote. "They will need to provide services and advice to government officials who lack the computing systems and expertise." During the interview Tuesday, Schmidt repeatedly expressed frustration with the US government's response to the pandemic, asking why it didn't act more quickly and suggesting that officials were making decisions "flying blind." "We probably were one month late in the way we organized ourselves," Schmidt said, arguing that more money should have been spent researching the virus, scaling up testing, and developing vaccines and treatments. "It's now happening," he said, "but that month has cost us lives." The US government's widely ridiculed pandemic response allowed the country to become the global epicenter of the pandemic, with the most reported cases and deaths. Apple and Google said this week that they're collaborating on a new technology to track the spread of the virus using Bluetooth; Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn have joined forces to fight misinformation on their platforms; and Amazon has offered to help transport coronavirus kits in the Seattle area. Some of these same companies, however, have also been accused of failing to look out for their workforces, particularly hourly and contract workers who often have jobs that must be done in person, putting them at a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. Amazon workers in at least 74 of the company's warehouses have tested positive for COVID-19, and many have gone on strike to protest the company's health and safety practices, prompting pushback from lawmakers, while both Google and Facebook faced criticism for initially not allowing their armies of contractors to work remotely.SEE ALSO: Charities backed by Rihanna, Jack Dorsey, and Jay-Z are teaming up to donate $6.2 million to coronavirus relief effort Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

Shuttle drivers for Google, Apple, Facebook and more are being paid to stay home, but as contractors don't get a direct line to these tech companies, they're now relying on their employers and unions to fight for their wages. 'Sometimes we don't get a straight answer from our company': Drivers are worried that payments might stop if they're made to work from home into May and beyond. Tesla has flat-out refused to pay for its contracted drivers. For smaller tech companies, the future is even less certain. Are you a contract worker for a tech company? Contact this reporter using encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or email (hlangley@businessinsider.com). Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. When Silicon Valley's army of techies work from home, so must the bus drivers who ferry them to their offices each day. But unlike the employees they transport, these drivers face a bumpy and uncertain road ahead. In more normal times the famous, and controversial, tech shuttles – a common sighting on the roads of the San Francisco Bay Area – play a vital role in keeping the Silicon Valley machine whirring. According to the most recent data from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, there are just over 1,000 shuttle buses criss-crossing the Bay Area every day. But right now the shuttles are nowhere to be seen. Instead they sit idly in depots and will likely do so for weeks, if not months, to come. As for the people who usually drive them, the future is a big unknown. Tech companies usually contract their drivers through companies such as WeDriveU and Hallcon – two popular bus services in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of right now, most of the tech companies have agreed to cover 100% of the compensation these drivers would normally be making through April. Tesla is the notable exception, having flat-out refused to cover any drivers' compensation. But after April, things become less clear, and drivers say the anxiety is compounded by the fact they don't have a direct line to the tech companies they drive for. Instead, they have to wait and hope their contractors can negotiate a continued income while they're made to stay home. "We all know these tech companies have money to pay us if they want to, but who knows how long this will last?" said one driver who regularly ferries Facebook employees to its Menlo Park, Calif. campus, and asked not to be identified.  "Sometimes we don't get a straight answer from our company because it seems they are at the will of Facebook's needs and wants. Any issues we have, we try to bring up with the union." Teamsters Union represents many tech shuttle drivers in the Bay Area including Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and Facebook. Google is the only major exception. The union says that the average wage for a tech company shuttle driver in the Bay Area is $30 an hour, and in many cases a smaller percentage is also paid for the hours in the day between commutes when drivers aren't on the road. This amount is still being covered during the pandemic, but the union says it's a detail that must be negotiated as the weeks go on and isn't guaranteed. "The company we've had the most trouble with is Apple," Stacy Murphy, business representative for the Teamsters 853 division, told Business Insider. The union says that Apple, which contracts its drivers in the Bay Area through Hallcon, agreed to pay drivers but was much slower than other companies to iron out the details, leading some of ther drivers to file for unemployment in the meantime for fear their wages wouldn't be covered. The union says that last Friday Apple agreed to expedite payments for the time drivers had spent at home so far, and that it had agreed to pay drivers through at least May 4. "We're working with all of our suppliers to ensure hourly workers such as janitorial staff are being paid during this difficult time," an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider. Google has agreed to pay its contracted workforce, including drivers, and will continue to do so through April, it told Business Insider. Meanwhile Amazon said its drivers will be paid for as long as they are made to work from home. "We continue to pay all hourly employees that support our offices around the world – from administrative functions to shuttle bus drivers to janitorial staff – during the time our employees who are able to work from home do so," said a spokesperson. "The outlook is very sad" As the biggest tech companies have continued to expand, so has their desire to use contractors and vendors. But these workers don't enjoy the same benefits and privileges of full-time employees. The bus drivers of Silicon Valley have spent more time in the spotlight than most tech contract workers, notably in 2013 and 2014 when they were the subject of protests against the continued gentrification of the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, the city brought in more regulation of the shuttles. But this pandemic poses a much greater threat to job security, and if it keeps people working from home for much longer, drivers are concerned that they may lose their jobs. As a result they're relying on the unions to keep fighting for them. "I've wondered about my subcontracting company that works with Google," said one driver for Google who also spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity. For these drivers, it's imperative that tech companies keep paying them – if the tech companies decided to stop paying, the bus companies that employ them are unlikely to cough up. "They have offered nothing to their drivers," the Google driver said of his subcontracting company. Some of the WeDriveU shuttle drivers said they were being given safety and procedural online training courses to complete at home, with deadlines, assigned by the company. Some higher-ranking employees such as supervisors are also still being paid to "get the basics in operation" ready for work to resume after the pandemic, as one described. "The outlook is very sad," said one driver who usually runs the Apple campus route to Cupertino. "We are getting training courses online, and I am getting to spend more time with my kids. But they are getting bored ... I can only hope for the best." These drivers are relying on Silicon Valley to keep supporting them. As soon as it stops, they will have to look for work elsewhere, or file for unemployment. "The future feels unpredictable, but for now my feet are flat on the ground," said another driver who usually transports Google employees on their 80-minute drive to the Mountain View campus in Calfornia. "It's a strange adjustment." More concerning still are the smaller tech companies, which unions are worried may not pay beyond the middle of April, potentially leaving many drivers unemployed. "Every day something changes," said Teamsters' Stacy Murphy. "We know the money's there but we're not taking it for granted. We're appreciative of any client that has stepped up." Are you a contract worker for a tech company? Contact this reporter using encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or email (hlangley@businessinsider.com).SEE ALSO: Google is fighting COVID-19 by monitoring location data in 131 countries. It's a reminder of how much info Google has about us and how easily the pandemic could blow up privacy. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

Google is temporarily reducing the video quality of its Nest security cameras in an attempt to preserve bandwidth. Nest cameras' quality and bandwidth setting will be set to the default setting amid the strain placed on internet resources caused by worldwide coronavirus lockdowns. An email from Google to Nest users states that the change is "temporary" and that users will be able to change their video quality to a higher setting "if needs require." Other firms including Netflix and YouTube have also reduced stream quality to lower the amount of bandwidth they take up. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Google is temporarily reducing the video quality of its Nest security cameras in an attempt to preserve bandwidth. Nest cameras' quality and bandwidth setting will be set to the default setting in the next few days, amid the strain placed on internet resources caused by worldwide coronavirus lockdowns and an uptick in people working from home. Multiple Nest camera users shared an email from Google, which states that the change is "temporary" and that users will be able to change their video quality to a higher setting "if needs require." "With so many people working and attending school from home, we're stretching our resources in ways we haven't before – including the internet" the email reads. "As local internet resources are stretched past their limits, you and many others may have noticed interruptions like dropped video calls or frozen screens. During this time, it's critical for us to work together to ensure we find ways to help the community at large." The tech giant added it will inform users when it has changed the cameras' quality and bandwidth setting to the default setting, and will also inform them when it has restored these settings to their original states. It's not clear exactly how long Google intends to keep the measure in place. Google did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Numerous other content providers whose services rely on steady bandwidth have also temporarily lowered the quality of their video streams in large swathes of the world to help ISPs manage demand, including Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon, Disney Plus, and YouTube. You can read the full Google letter as shared by one displeased Nest owner here: Not sure if this qualifies as @internetofshit but Google Nest is changing the quality of my camera feeds because... they can. I've got a gigabit connection, so it's not necessary... and they could run a speed test to verify that. pic.twitter.com/y1W2ELRpMq — Brendan Corcoran (@bcorcoran) April 14, 2020  SEE ALSO: YouTube is reducing the quality of videos for the next month — and it's because increased traffic amid the coronavirus outbreak is straining internet bandwidth Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

President Trump claims Google and Apple's technology for detecting COVID-19 poses "big constitutional problems" for "a lot of people." The US president made the remark during a White House press briefing on Monday, adding that the issue would be discussed over the next four weeks. Google and Apple are partnered last week to create a contact-tracing system for detecting the spread of coronavirus, which will gradually be rolled out in the coming months. It's not clear what specific constitutional problems Trump thinks the tech poses, but the two firms say it requires explicit user consent and does not collect personally identifiable information. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Trump said Google and Apple's technology for detecting COVID-19 poses "big constitutional problems" for "a lot of people." The US president made the remark during a White House press briefing on Monday, adding that the issue would be discussed over the next four weeks. On Friday, Google and Apple announced a partnership that will see them create a Bluetooth-driven contact-tracing system for detecting the spread of coronavirus, which will gradually be rolled out in the coming months. The basic idea is to alert people if they have come into contact with someone infected with the virus. Discussing this tech, and how it might be used, Trump said: "We have more of a constitutional problem than a mechanical problem, but we will be making a determination on that. That's something we're gonna be discussing with a lot of people over the next four weeks. That would be a very accurate way of doing it, but a lot of people have a problem with it." It's not clear what specific constitutional problems Trump thinks the tech poses, but the firms say it will require explicit user consent and does not collect personally identifiable information. People who test positive for COVID-19 will not be identified to other users, Google, or Apple. The partnership would enable iOS and Android devices to communicate using apps from public-health authorities. with the firms initially aiming to release a set of APIs in May that would enable interoperability between Android and iOS. Then, over the coming months, the firms hope to build a broader, more robust platform for tracking the spread through Bluetooth technology that users can opt in to.SEE ALSO: Apple and Google are teaming up to create a way for your smartphone to alert you if you've come into contact with someone infected with the coronavirus Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos reportedly just spent $165 million on a Beverly Hills estate — here are all the ways the world's richest man makes and spends his money

Palantir is providing the CDC with software to help it monitor the spread of COVID-19 and assess how hospitals are dealing with spikes in new cases, Forbes reported Tuesday. Palantir's software uses data from hospitals and public health agencies — such as test results, bed capacity, and ventilator supply — to give the CDC insight into where additional resources are needed, according to Forbes. The tool resembles one Palantir built for the UK's top health agency and has raised significant privacy concerns, with sources telling Forbes that, while it uses anonymized data currently, personally identifiable information could be used in the future. Palantir, a secretive big data company, built has been slammed by critics for using its technology to assist ICE with tracking and deporting immigrants. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Big data firm Palantir is providing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with software to help it monitor the coronavirus pandemic, Forbes reported Tuesday. The tool uses data such as lab test results, hospital bed capacity, and ventilator supply, gathered from hospitals and health agencies, to help the CDC assess where the virus is spreading (or could spread to) and how best to allocate limited resources, according to Forbes. While sources told Forbes the tool currently uses anonymized data, they also said personally identifiable information could be used in the future, raising significant privacy concerns. Palantir, in partnership with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, has built a similar tool for the UK's National Healthcare Service, which relies on Palantir's front-end software, Google's data collection capabilities, and Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. The BBC reported that Amazon is involved in the project too, although specific details were not given. Palantir, which was last valued at $20 billion and counts Peter Thiel and the CIA among its investors, has a checkered history. The company operates under the radar and has come under fire from immigrant rights groups for its work helping Immigrations and Customs Enforcement track and deport immigrants. In late 2019, it took up a military contract with the Pentagon previously abandoned by Google after employees protested it was unethical. "Palantir have a poor reputation, as engaging in activities which threaten personal privacy and may lead to other human rights abuses," Jim Killock, executive director of UK pro-privacy organization Open Rights Group, said in a press statement last week. Privacy concerns have come to the forefront amid the coronavirus pandemic, with tech companies like Palantir, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Zoom, and others eager to offer technology solutions despite potential worries about how data will be used or shared, especially after the immediate need for COVID-19 surveillance subsides. Palantir, the CDC, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon could not immediately be reached for comment.SEE ALSO: Amazon, Microsoft, and Palantir will help the UK health service map its coronavirus response, raising privacy worries Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Watch Google reveal the new Nest Mini, which is an updated Home Mini

Alphabet's biggest revenue stream is set to be hit hard by the coronavirus, with digital advertising already dropping off. Key analysts predict that the effects could be felt throughout the year, with one predicting Google's first year-over-year decline in ad revenue. It would be a more significant drop than the company experienced during the last financial crisis. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. As startups get battered by the economic shockwaves of the coronavirus, tech giants like Facebook and Google are in a stronger position thanks to large cash reserves and surging demand for their services by quarantined consumers. But it will be far from smooth sailing, with spending on digital advertising — the primary business for Google and Facebook — set to take a big hit. Facebook has acknowledged that its ad business is feeling the impact, while Twitter has completely withdrawn its financial forecast. And Google, the world's dominant search engine, has significant vulnerabilities that could erode its topline and even cause it to shrink — something that has never happened in the company's twenty year history. "We've cut our Google revenue and earnings numbers three times in the last three weeks, and we now think Google will face its first ever year-over-year decline in ad revenue in the June quarter," RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney told Business Insider. "We have them down 5% year over year, for the first time ever." Although Google's self-service ad platform provides marketers with a huge return-on-investment – which should allow it to fare better than smaller, competing online ad platforms like Twitter or Snap – analysts believe it is already seeing a reduction in advertising from the drop-off in global travel. "They get about 10%—15% of their revenue from the travel and hospitality vertical." Mahaney told Insider. "We estimate that Booking Holdings generates about 3% of Google's ad revenue. So if you throw in Expedia, the airlines and hotels themselves, rental cars, cruise ships etc, that's probably 10-15%." RBC's Mahaney now projects that Google parent company Alphabet's Q2 revenue will be roughly $37 billion, compared to $39 billion in the same three-month period of 2019. An Olympic sized revenue hole? Meanwhile, the cancellation or postponement of major events such as the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, a global brand advertising bonanza, mean that Google will miss out on major ad opportunities this year. Financial firm Cowen estimates that Google and Facebook combined could lose more than $44 billion in ad revenue this year. In his latest note on the company, MCH analyst Brian White recalled the 2008-2009 downturn which plummeted Google's growth from 42% in Q1 2008 to just 3% in Q2 2009. That was a significant slowdown, but it wasn't an actual revenue decline. "Given this new economic reality, we believe it will be difficult for digital advertising spending to escape the impact of the COVID-19 crisis," White wrote. Despite the loss of the Olympics, some analysts think Google may still be able to lean on big brand advertisers for support. Daniel Salmon, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, reckons that Google's "higher exposure to larger enterprises versus small businesses" could give it better protection than Facebook in the coming months. In a research note on Monday, Salmon points to efforts by Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler to push "broader enterprise sales engagement" through ad partnerships with bigger companies like Disney. And Google's cloud computing business is likely to benefit from the ongoing trend of large corporations and federal agencies shifting their computing resources to remote data centers. That's a potential win for cloud services operated by the likes of Google, Amazon and Microsoft.  YouTube, the video streaming site owned by Google, represents another important service that should see a boost in usage from the quarantines and stay-at-home orders throughout the world. Whether all that usage translates to a revenue benefit or a growing cost for Google is unclear however. "I think advertisers are pulling back from YouTube like every other channel, but I'm sure consumers are binging on YouTube," said RBC's Mahaney. "So I think they're seeing more usage across their properties, just less monetization."SEE ALSO: How Sequoia Capital's $100 million bet on a little-known video-chat app turned into a $2.3 billion venture capital grand slam because of the coronavirus Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How autopilot on an airplane works

You can get your toolbar back in Google Chrome if you've hidden it, in three different ways. There's no way to hide your toolbars in the mobile app, so you can only "get them back" in Google Chrome's desktop app. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In our distraction-prone lives, it's an understandable desire to be as minimalist as possible. However, it's also possible to be too minimalist. This is especially true when it comes to the programs we use every day, like our web browser. In a web browser, toolbars are important — they contain many of the features that make browsing the web easier. But in a quest for minimalism, it's possible to shrink or even remove the toolbar, cutting us off from its features. Luckily, if you're using the desktop version of Google Chrome for a Mac or PC, there are a few different ways to get that toolbar back. Here's what you need to know. Check out the products mentioned in this article: Apple Macbook Pro (From $1299.00 at Apple) Lenovo IdeaPad 130 (From $469.99 at Walmart) How to get your toolbar back in Google Chrome Through the extensions menu If you've hidden your extension icons, you can get them back through the extensions menu. 1. Open Google Chrome on your Mac or PC and click the three vertical dots found in the top-right of the browser window.  2. Select "More Tools" from the drop-down menu, toward the center of the list, and then "Extensions." 3. Find the extension you'd like to make visible on the toolbar again — it should have a small switch icon at the bottom-right of its box. Click that switch so it flips to the right. The extension should instantly reappear in your toolbar. Through the bookmarks menu Normally, Chrome will show a selection of your bookmarks below the address bar. Here's how to get them back if they've disappeared. 1. Open Chrome on your Mac or PC and click the three vertical dots icon in the top-right corner. 2. Select "Bookmarks," and then "Show Bookmarks Bar." Exit full screen mode If you're in full screen mode, your toolbar will be hidden by default. This is the most common reason for it to disappear. To leave full screen mode: On a PC, press F11 on your keyboard. On a Mac, bring your mouse up to the top-left corner of the screen and hold it there for a moment. When the menu bar appears along with a green circle and a red circle, click the green circle. Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech: How to backup your Google Chrome bookmarks in 2 ways, so you never lose track of your favorite sites How to go into 'Incognito Mode' on a Google Chrome browser, and stop Google from saving your search and browsing history How to unsync Google Chrome from your devices and clear your browsing data How to clear your browsing history on Google Chrome, either all at once or site-by-site How to change your homepage on a Google Chrome browser for Mac or PC SEE ALSO: The best iPhone for every type of person and budget Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos reportedly just spent $165 million on a Beverly Hills estate — here are all the ways the world's richest man makes and spends his money