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Consumer Products => Avast Secure Browser => Beta Channel => Topic started by: sandervh on July 15, 2020, 04:11:08 PM

Title: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: sandervh on July 15, 2020, 04:11:08 PM

Hello everyone -- we are working on an experimental innovation project called Avast News Companion.

The goal of this innovation project is to help you understand the news you consume on the internet; what kind of manipulation may be happening on the internet, and the reliability of your news sources you consume while you browse online. When you participate in this research project, you simply browse as normal and we will provide additional information on the news sites you visit.

You can find more information here:
https://platform.avast.com/innovation/news-companion


How can I be part of the test group?
Selected beta users in the US will be offered to test this feature as part of an opt-in.
If you are not in the beta group and want to try the extension for yourself, you can follow the instructions at the bottom of this post.

Where you can help us
We are interested to know if this feature is something you would be interested in as a feature of Avast Secure Browser or another browser. Please send us your feedback below.

Privacy
We build all our products with privacy in mind, and Avast News Companion is no exception. We've taken as many privacy-preserving measures as possible. You can find more information about this on our privacy page (https://platform.avast.com/innovation/news-companion-privacy)

How to install
Notice: By installing this extension, you agree to our privacy policy (https://platform.avast.com/innovation/news-companion-privacy).

• Download the extension here (https://extension.avastbrowser.com/avast-news-companion/download). (if the download does not automatically start, make sure you click on the download icon in the right top) and unzip the file.
• Open Avast Secure Browser.
• Navigate to secure://extensions, this page shows the installed extensions.
• Enable the developer mode in the top right corner, more options will appear.
• Drag and drop the extension which you downloaded in step 1 into the browser.
• The extension should load and is now visible among other extensions in the toolbar.

Please let us know how you find the feature and give your feedback here on the forum.
Thanks

Title: Re: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: Asyn on July 16, 2020, 10:46:39 AM

Hi Sander,

sounds quite interesting, but it's currently US only, right..?
If so, any future plans for Europe and the rest of the world..?

Cheers

Title: Re: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: sandervh on July 23, 2020, 04:06:27 PM

Hey Asyn,

thanks for getting in touch!

At the moment we are testing the News Companion extension in the US, but you are able to install the extension even if you are in Europe. As we are currently in the testing phase we will have to wait for the results and the feedback of our users. If that is all positive then we can roll it out to more users and to other countries.

All the best!

Title: Re: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: Asyn on July 23, 2020, 04:21:34 PM

Thanks Sander..!! ;)

Title: Re: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: bob3160 on September 03, 2020, 02:32:00 PM

I get an error message Packet not readable.

Title: Re: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: bob3160 on September 03, 2020, 02:43:22 PM

Quote from: bob3160 on September 03, 2020, 02:32:00 PM

I get an error message Packet not readable.

Must have been a download error of the zip file.
A second download fixed the problem.

Title: Re: Beta test - Avast News Companion
Post by: bob3160 on September 03, 2020, 02:53:31 PM

(https://d1ka0itfguscri.cloudfront.net/Lh/2020/09/03/12/49/cYQeldHYmi/preview.jpg)

(https://d1ka0itfguscri.cloudfront.net/Lh/2020/09/03/12/57/cYQelPHYJ5/preview.jpg)