If You were a fan of Your News Update (the feature in Google Assistant that generated a personalized audio news stream based upon your data), it is time to say goodbye. It was abruptly removed by Google in recent days.
Advertisement
Your News Update was an algorithmic audio feed that provided short updates to users. Google's updates were very similar to NPR's, which provides the hour's top headlines in just minutes. Google used all of its information about you to create your personalized news feed. This included your location, interests, preferences, and user history. It also selected topic-specific stories that it licensed from partners. Google began to add longer-form content as the update progressed.
9to5Google reported the death of Your News Update in recent days. 9to5Google reported that users were sent a message stating that the feature was no longer available. It was also removed from the Google Podcasts Explore tab. Later, the company confirmed that the news was true to the outlet.
A spokesperson for Google stated that we are streamlining our audio news products in order to improve the user experience. You can still access audio briefings via News Briefings on Google Assistant.
Google has made clear that this does not mean you cannot listen to news via Google Assistant. This does not mean that the company won't go to the effort of creating a playlist with the news you want. It will leave that up to you.
G/O Media might get a $59 commission on AirPods Pro with MagSafe. Hear the difference
The 2021 AirPods Pro, newly refreshed with MagSafe charging, get their first major price reduction. Amazon: Buy for $190
The News Briefings feature allows users to select specific news sources, including NPR, Reuters and Fox News. Users can also choose to hear it in a particular order. News Briefings are not new. It existed before Your News Update, and it seems to have outlived it. Google's history of killing products means that News Briefings may not be around for long. Only time will tell.
Take advantage of it while you still can.
