Stories by Austin Blake

Meta will soon give people in the UK the option to pay for ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram, following guidance from the country’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). So here’s the deal: Meta’s rolling out a new option in the UK where you can actually pay to stop seeing ads on Facebook and Instagram. If...

Uber is now available directly inside WeChat (known as Weixin), letting Chinese Canadians and Chinese travellers request and pay for rides without leaving the app. The popular Chinese messaging platform has about 1 million users in Canada, is one of the most popular messaging and payment platforms among Chinese communities. Back in July, Uber launched...

Wealthsimple is making some big changes to its banking products, with one popular perk going away and several new features being added. The company confirmed to customers in an email today that the 1% cash back reward on its prepaid Mastercard will end on October 1, 2025. Clients can still earn cash back up until...

OpenAI has announced ChatGPT Pulse, a new feature that delivers daily updates tailored to each user. Instead of waiting for people to ask questions, Pulse proactively pulls together information based on past chats, memory, and user feedback. It’s launching in preview for Pro users on mobile (those paying $200/month). Sadly, Plus users aren't getting access...

Bell Media has announced what's coming to its streaming service Crave in October 2025. Crave is rolling out a Halloween push in October 2025 with the launch of its “Creepy Cravings” landing page, bundling together hundreds of hours of horror and suspense programming. The themed collections cover everything from classic slashers to lighter “monster mash”...

OnePlus has announced its latest flagship, the OnePlus 15, which the company calls its “ultimate performance” device. This is the successor to the OnePlus 13, but jumping straight to 15. It is one of the first smartphones in the world to feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform, billed as the world’s...

Apple is ripping into the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), saying the new law is breaking the iPhone experience for millions of users. In a fiery statement, the company accused EU regulators of slowing innovation, exposing people to dangerous apps, and even putting their privacy at risk. “The DMA requires Apple to make certain...

Intel has quietly approached Apple about a possible investment in the struggling chipmaker, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with Bloomberg. The discussions are said to be early and might not lead to a deal, but they highlight Intel’s push to bring in big-name partners as it tries to turn things around....

Meta's Instagram now has more than 3 billion monthly active users, head Adam Mosseri announced on Wednesday. The app’s recent growth, he said, has come from three areas: direct messages, Reels, and recommendations of posts from accounts users don’t already follow. Because of that, Instagram plans to “reorient the app more around DMs, reels, and...

The CRTC is asking Canadians—and service providers themselves—to take part in a new survey on how to make internet and cellphone networks more reliable. The consultation runs until December 3, 2025. The public is being asked to share their experiences with outages, including what could have prevented them and how providers responded. Service providers are...

Romance was the vibe on Netflix this week, with two rom-coms stealing the top spots. On the English films list, The Wrong Paris — starring Miranda Cosgrove and Pierson Fodé — hit No. 1 with 21.8 million views. Over on the non-English side, Germany’s She Said Maybe debuted at No. 1 with 7.2 million views,...

Sony will host its next State of Play showcase on Wednesday, September 24, with more than 35 minutes of game updates and announcements. The event starts at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. CEST, and September 25 at 6 a.m. JST, streaming live on YouTube and Twitch, according to Brett Elston,...