Apple hikes price on all apps in Canada

A shopper ltries out the new Apple iPhone 6 at the Apple Store on the first day of sales of the new phone in Germany on September 19, 2014 in Berlin, Germany.  Sean Gallup/Getty Images

 Michael Oliveira The Canadian Press $1.19 is the new .99 on Apple’s App Store in Canada.

Late Thursday, price increases that Apple blamed on the falling loonie began taking effect throughout the electronic marketplace.

The lowest-priced 99 cent apps are now 20 per cent more expensive.

Survey shows majority Canadians are willingly give up mobile privacy for free app

Victor Ferreira | The Right Click –

A recent Symantec survey shows that a majority of Canadians often worry about their mobile privacy, but have no problem trading it in for a free smartphone app.

James Nguyen, a Symantec mobile security expert warns Android users to think twice before they download free apps from Google Play because while they may not be paying with their bank accounts, they could be offering up personal information in exchange, instead.

"There are a lot of free apps out there and they rarely come without a cost," Nguyen said. "Your personal data is used as a sense of currency. It's a trade off."

The survey results show that 54 per cent of Canadians are willing to make that trade.

When Android apps are downloaded, users are immediately prompted with a message alerting them of what information the app requires in order to be installed. Some apps require access to features like a user's contacts and emails for synching purposes, but others require access to features like health and fitness data, camera, photos, and text messages.

Life Made Easy! Klinic, Manitoba government launches app that helps users cope with stress

The ‘Calm in the Storm’ app promotes resiliency, said Tim Wall of Klinic Community Health Centre. Bernice Pontanilla/Metro 

Bernice Pontanilla Metro
Preventing stress is the goal of a new smartphone app developed in Manitoba just in time for the end-of-year holidays.

Named ‘Calm in the Storm,’ the free mobile app aims to help people cope with stress and prevent suicides, said Nicole Chammartin, executive director of Klinic Community Health Centre.

Tim Wall, Klinic’s director of counseling, said neglecting stress management “can lead to painful and sometimes tragic consequences.

“Using proven de-stressing practices such as those in the new app can improve health, happiness, and promote resiliency each and every day,” added Wall in a press release.

Chinese gay dating app grows to 15 million users

In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014, Ma Baoli, founder of Danlan.org, gestures during an interview at his Blue City office in Beijing, China. Danlan.org, a website for gay people to share experiences, has spawned a dating app specifically for gay Chinese men and the company Blue City last month received $30 million in funding. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

By day, Ma Baoli was a high-ranking officer in a seaside city police force. By night, he ran a website for gay people to share experiences and on which he spoke under a pseudonym about the pressure he faced as a homosexual.

After several years, the police force found out and told him he could not run a private website that was earning money from advertisements while serving as a police officer.

Ma chose his website, a move that later proved fruitful. His Danlan.org has spawned a Chinese-language dating app for men called Blued that has garnered 15 million users, 3 million of them outside China, over two years.

And last month, his company, Blue City, received $30 million in funding from Silicon Valley venture capital company DCM Ventures. Ma hopes to use the money to expand abroad and possibly prepare for an IPO. He is also considering launching a dating app for lesbians.