#WeArePlay | Learn how a childhood experience with an earthquake shaped Álvaro’s entrepreneurial journey

Posted by Leticia Lago – Developer Marketing

Being trapped inside a house following a major earthquake as a child motivated Álvaro to research and improve the outcomes of destructive, large-scale quakes in Mexico. Using SkyAlert technology, sensors detect and report warnings of incoming earthquakes, giving people valuable time to prepare and get to safety.

Álvaro shared his story in our latest film for #WeArePlay, which spotlights the founders and creatives behind inspiring apps and games on Google Play. We caught up with him to find out his motivations for SkyAlert, the impact the app’s had and what his future plans are.

What was the inspiration behind SkyAlert?

Being in Colima near the epicenter of a massive earthquake as a kid had a huge impact on me. I remember feeling powerless to nature and very vulnerable watching everything falling apart around me. I was struck by how quick and smart you had to be to get to a safe place in time. I remember hugging my family once it was over and looking towards the sea to watch out for an impending tsunami – which fortunately didn’t hit my region badly. It was at this moment that I became determined to find out what had caused this catastrophe and what could be done to prevent it being so destructive another time.

Through my research, I learned that Mexico sits on five tectonic plates and, as a result, it is particularly prone to earthquakes. In fact, there've been seven major quakes in the last seven years, with hundreds losing their lives. Reducing the threat of earthquakes is my number one goal and the motivation behind SkyAlert. The technology we’ve developed can detect the warning signs of an earthquake early on, deliver alerts to vulnerable people and hopefully save lives.

How does SkyAlert work exactly?

SkyAlert collects data from a network of sensors and translates that information into alerts. People can put their zip code in order to filter updates for their locality. We’re constantly investing in getting the most reliable and fast technology available so we can make the service as timely and effective as possible.

Did you always imagine you’d be an entrepreneur?

Since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. This was inspired by my grandfather who ran a large candy company with factories all over Mexico. However, what I really wanted, beyond just running my own company, was to have a positive social impact and change lives for the better: a feat I feel proud to have achieved with SkyAlert.

How is Google Play helping your app to grow?

Being on Google Play helps us to reach the maximum number of people. We’ve achieved some amazing numbers in the last 10 years through Google Play, with over 7 million downloads. With 35% of our income coming from Google Play, this reach has helped us invest in new technologies and sensors.

We also often receive advice from Google Play and they invite us to meetings to tell us how to do better and how to make the most of the platform. Google Play is a close partner that we feel really takes care of us.

What impact has SkyAlert had on the people of Mexico?

The biggest advantage of SkyAlert is that it can help them prepare for an earthquake. In 2017, we were able to notify people of a massive quake 12 seconds before it hit Mexico City. At least with those few seconds, many were able to get themselves to a safe place. Similarly, with a large earthquake in Oaxaca, we were able to give a warning of over a minute, allowing teachers to get students in schools away from infrastructure – saving kids’ lives.

Also, many find having SkyAlert on their phone gives them peace of mind, knowing they’ll have some warning before an earthquake strikes. This can be very reassuring.

What does the future look like for SkyAlert?

We’re working hard to expand our services into new risk areas like flooding, storms and wildfires. The hope is to become a global company that can deliver alerts on a variety of natural phenomena in countries around the world.

Read more about Álvaro and other inspiring app and game founders featured in #WeArePlay.



How useful did you find this blog post?

#WeArePlay | Learn how a childhood experience with an earthquake shaped Álvaro’s entrepreneurial journey

Posted by Leticia Lago – Developer Marketing

Being trapped inside a house following a major earthquake as a child motivated Álvaro to research and improve the outcomes of destructive, large-scale quakes in Mexico. Using SkyAlert technology, sensors detect and report warnings of incoming earthquakes, giving people valuable time to prepare and get to safety.

Álvaro shared his story in our latest film for #WeArePlay, which spotlights the founders and creatives behind inspiring apps and games on Google Play. We caught up with him to find out his motivations for SkyAlert, the impact the app’s had and what his future plans are.


What was the inspiration behind SkyAlert?

Being in Colima near the epicenter of a massive earthquake as a kid had a huge impact on me. I remember feeling powerless to nature and very vulnerable watching everything falling apart around me. I was struck by how quick and smart you had to be to get to a safe place in time. I remember hugging my family once it was over and looking towards the sea to watch out for an impending tsunami – which fortunately didn’t hit my region badly. It was at this moment that I became determined to find out what had caused this catastrophe and what could be done to prevent it being so destructive another time.

Through my research, I learned that Mexico sits on five tectonic plates and, as a result, it is particularly prone to earthquakes. In fact, there've been seven major quakes in the last seven years, with hundreds losing their lives. Reducing the threat of earthquakes is my number one goal and the motivation behind SkyAlert. The technology we’ve developed can detect the warning signs of an earthquake early on, deliver alerts to vulnerable people and hopefully save lives.


How does SkyAlert work exactly?

SkyAlert collects data from a network of sensors and translates that information into alerts. People can put their zip code in order to filter updates for their locality. We’re constantly investing in getting the most reliable and fast technology available so we can make the service as timely and effective as possible.


Did you always imagine you’d be an entrepreneur?

Since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. This was inspired by my grandfather who ran a large candy company with factories all over Mexico. However, what I really wanted, beyond just running my own company, was to have a positive social impact and change lives for the better: a feat I feel proud to have achieved with SkyAlert.


How is Google Play helping your app to grow?

Being on Google Play helps us to reach the maximum number of people. We’ve achieved some amazing numbers in the last 10 years through Google Play, with over 7 million downloads. With 35% of our income coming from Google Play, this reach has helped us invest in new technologies and sensors.

We also often receive advice from Google Play and they invite us to meetings to tell us how to do better and how to make the most of the platform. Google Play is a close partner that we feel really takes care of us.


What impact has SkyAlert had on the people of Mexico?

The biggest advantage of SkyAlert is that it can help them prepare for an earthquake. In 2017, we were able to notify people of a massive quake 12 seconds before it hit Mexico City. At least with those few seconds, many were able to get themselves to a safe place. Similarly, with a large earthquake in Oaxaca, we were able to give a warning of over a minute, allowing teachers to get students in schools away from infrastructure – saving kids’ lives.

Also, many find having SkyAlert on their phone gives them peace of mind, knowing they’ll have some warning before an earthquake strikes. This can be very reassuring.


What does the future look like for SkyAlert?

We’re working hard to expand our services into new risk areas like flooding, storms and wildfires. The hope is to become a global company that can deliver alerts on a variety of natural phenomena in countries around the world.


Read more about Álvaro and other inspiring app and game founders featured in #WeArePlay.



How useful did you find this blog post?

Chrome for Android Update

 Hi, everyone! We've just released Chrome 120 (120.0.6099.230) for Android: it'll become available on Google Play over the next few days.

This release includes stability and performance improvements. You can see a full list of the changes in the Git log. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.


Android releases contain the same security fixes as their corresponding Desktop  (Windows: 120.0.6099.224/.225; Mac: 120.0.6099.234; Linux: 120.0.6099.224) unless otherwise noted.


Harry Souders
Google Chrome

Stable Channel Update for ChromeOS / ChromeOS Flex

Hello All,

The Stable channel is being updated to 120.0.6099.235 (Platform version: 15662.76.0) for ChromeOS devices and will be rolled out over the next few days.

If you find new issues, please let us know one of the following ways:

Interested in switching channels? Find out how.

See the latest release notes.

Security Fixes:

Security Fixes Included:

[NA]  High Fixes CVE-2023-4969 (LeftoverLocals) GPU Memory Leak on impacted platforms. For more, see: https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/446598



Please Note: Users who are pinned to a specific release of ChromeOS will not receive these security fixes or any other security fixes. We recommend updating to the latest version of Stable to ensure you are protected against exploitation of known vulnerabilities. 


To see fixes included in the Long Term Stable channel, see the Long Term Stable release notes.

- Google ChromeOS

Use comments & action items on your client-side encrypted Google Docs

What’s changing 

You can now collaborate with others on client-side encrypted Google Docs to add, edit, reply, filter, or delete comments. You can also assign action items to yourself or others. This added functionality helps bring parity to unencrypted docs while also ensuring your data is behind encryption keys you control, including the identity provider used to access those keys. 


This feature is available as an open beta, which means you can use it without enrolling in a specific beta program. While this feature is available for Google Docs initially, with support coming for Google Sheets and Slides in the future.




Additional details

Note that when sharing encrypted files, you can only assign “viewer” or “editor” permissions — the “comment only” permission is not supported.


Comments are saved each time the document is autosaved. If you restore the document to a previous version, the comments added to the document in that version are also restored.

Getting started

Rollout pace



Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers

Resources