Facebook cancels launch of teen-oriented app LOL

Facebook has been trying to woo teens back into its circle with a meme app it’s called LOL. It was designed to get memes and other teen-oriented posts from the feeds of popular Facebook pages right into a separate feed. They tried it out with 100 teens but it seems, they weren’t enjoying using said app. That’s why Facebook decided to cancel the app. Online reactions haven’t also been favorable towards it, so that could also be another reason. For now, Facebook is reportedly focusing on an even younger demographic by putting in the work towards developing Messenger Kids, its separate messaging app for children under 13 years old, which is another app that the general public hasn’t expressed particular enthusiasm over.

Source: PhoneArena

Opera brings back VPN as a feature in its Android browser

Opera used to have a standalone VPN that was available to both Android and iOS, but the company discontinued it last April. The feature is making a comeback in the browser’s Android app, though. It’s currently available on the beta version of the app. It’s designed to make it harder for websites or internet service providers to track your internet use. Opera says they will not log information that travels through the service. The feature will let you choose which continent you want your virtual location to be in (Optimal option is set by default). You can also specify when exactly you want the VPN to apply. You can opt to have the VPN be activated when you’re in private tabs or have it disabled when you’re using search engines and you need access to more relevant information. It’s rolling out gradually to users of the app, so be on the lookout for it. There is no word if Opera will be bringing the feature to iOS.

Source: The Verge

Microsoft Surface Headphones are coming to Canada in March

Microsoft’s premium headphones are finally making its way here next month. Canada is joining seven other countries (Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and Switzerland) that will be getting Surface Headphones. It isn’t clear when they’re coming or for how much. It’s currently priced at US$350 (approx. CA$450). As The Verge points out, the product pages for the Surface Headphones outside of the US don’t list the Cortana feature, so it might not be available for now. 

Smart downloads coming to Netflix on IOS

Netflix is launching Smart Downloads for iOS – a seamless way for members to intelligently download titles on their iOS devices. In July 2018, Netflix first launched Smart Downloads for Android users, helping them spend less time managing downloads and more time watching their shows on the go.

How it works: Once you finish watching a downloaded episode, Smart Downloads will download the next available episode and automatically delete one you’ve already watched.

Users do have the option to opt-out of the feature entirely and episodes will only download over Wi-Fi.