Google is clear: you need to reduce costs. In fact, last July, the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai declared that the technology giant’s productivity “was not where it should be.” Among the first affected were Google Hardware, the division of laptops, and the total elimination of what was left of Project Loon. A balloon project to offer internet in rural areas that was a complete failure.
Now it is the turn of the Google Area 120 ideas incubator. Created in 2016, employees could have the option of dedicating time to development of personal projects in order to be able to materialize the most interesting. And even Google could formally incorporate them and offer them to its users.
In Area 120, any employee could present a project fulfilling a series of requirements. Being accepted, he had up to two years to materialize it and make it work. Definitely, a way to exploit the potential and creativity of the company’s employees which, now, will see the funds cut considerably.
Among the most interesting Area 120 projects that have seen the light, noteworthy Checks. A tool that helps developers make decisions by identifying potential privacy issues, displaying information in plain language and linking to relevant resources. Checks takes the data from Google Play and is able to verify that your application is aligned with the regulations of the European Union, the United States, Brazil and Google Play policies.
Among other data, Checks also analyzes the SDKs included in the application, making sure that they do not change the functionality or data collection policy. The three pillars that are analyzed by Checks are: data use, permissions and privacy policy.
The problems of Area 120
According to Bloomberg, Area 120 is experiencing financial difficulties, which has led Google to cut its funding allocation. In fact, of the 14 projects that had been approved, they have been reduced to 7. Among those cancelled, Qaya stands out, which offered users the option of creating shop windows to sell their services.
The drama continues for these Google workers who have seen how their projects have been canceled. And it is that the company has set a deadline for them, January 2023, to find new functions within Google or they will be directly fired.
According to Google sources, the script twist regarding Area 120 has an explanation, “is an internal incubator for new experimental products. The group regularly starts and stops projects with the aim of looking for the most promising opportunities (…) we recently shared that Area 120 will shift its focus to projects that build on Google’s deep investment in AI and have the potential to solve major user issues.
Area 120 was reorganized just a year ago, when it was absorbed by the newly created Google Labs division. The Labs team is focused on Google’s AR and VR work, and even has a blockchain project. It is not yet known if some of Google’s other experimental work will be closed in the near future as part of this cost-cutting policy. In fact, it is not ruled out that there are even more cuts within Area 120 itself. Which could leave Google without new and interesting projects with which to surprise its users.
