How WhatsApp, Facebook, Gmail drain data when you’re not even using them

A new app-usage finding, conducted through millions of Opera Max users, shows that on average over 30 percent of all data is used by apps running in the background. Facebook Messenger and Gmail are the most data-hungry apps this way, with some 73 percent of their total data usage happening in the background.

Google Drive and WhatsApp showed more than 50 percent background data usage. Google Hangouts uses 39% background data.

Why is background data usage a problem? Background data is all the internet traffic that goes on when you’re not actually using an app: email syncing, pre-fetching ads, news articles or feeds – even though you may never read them.

“Most apps are made to give a great user experience, not to save data. If you fetch background data through your data plan, it’s like throwing away $1 out of every $3 you spend on your mobile data plan,” says Sergey Lossev, Product Manager at Opera Software.

“Most people are not aware of this background data drain and may not have authorized it, nor do they know how to stop it from happening,” adds Lossev.

Samsung Galaxy S7: The next flagship from Samsung to launch tonight

It’s that time of the year when the news from the world of mobility increases in frequency. Not only is it the run up to Mobile World Congress, the mainstream event for mobile devices and mobility technologies, it also happens to be the time South Korean giant Samsung decides to launch the next iteration of the Galaxy series – Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

There have been a series of leaks over the past few months. From what we do know about that, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is supposed to have a 5.1 inch display. In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is expected to have 5.5 inch display. The two devices are expected to have a QHD array offering 2560 x 1440 pixels. In addition, there were also rumours of a Galaxy S7 Edge+, but there are no details available as yet.

Recent leaks also suggest that the two flagship devices are expected to be powered by an Exynos 8890 processor. Some reports also hinted at a Snapdragon version with the 820 chipset. But we’d know for sure early 22 February.

As far as leaks go, as ever, Evleaks posted an image with the Galaxy S7.

In terms of the camera, the device is expected to have a 12 or 13MP rear snapper. However, considering that most recent flagships tend to go higher, this could be improved.

According to a recent promotional ad campaign that was run by Samsung, the device is expected to be waterproof, and would support wireless charging as well.

Samsung is livestreaming the Unpacked event from Barcelona where it is expected to launch the devices at 1800 hrs local time. This translates to 2330hrs Indian Standard Time.

Facebook rolls out Live Video functionality globally

Facebook is making good on its promise to roll out its Periscope-like Live Video feature to user around the world. As noted by Engadget, the social networking firm has now confirmed it’s begun rolling out the feature globally. The company started testing Live Video with a small percentage of U.S. celebrities, verified profiles and other users last December.

“Facebook expects its iOS rollout to take a couple of weeks but remains quiet on when Live Video will come to Android,” said Engadget.

To check if your account has become eligible for this feature, select Update Status at the top of your News Feed and tap the new Live Video icon, if present.

Users can also discover Live Videos from their friends and public figures in their News Feed. While watching a Live Video, you can tap the Subscribe button to get notified the next time the broadcaster goes live.

Upon starting a live-video session, the users can see related stats such as the number of live viewers, the names of friends who are tuning in and a real-time stream of comments. When you end your broadcast, it will be saved on your Timeline like any other video, which you can then delete or keep for your friends to watch later.

Now’s your time to shine.

Liven up your tweets and direct messages on Twitter with animated GIFs

The next time you tweet out an update or message someone on Twitter, try adding a little flair to your tweets or direct messages in the form of animated GIFs.

Earlier in the week, the micro-blogging startup announced it’s integrating a dedicated GIF search button in its mobile apps and on twitter.com to help you add that viral kitten GIF to your posts without leaving the compose window.

Twitter’s partnered with Giphy and Riffsy to help you find the right GIF animation to express your mood. You can search GIFs by keyword, or browse categories of different reactions like Happy Dance, Mic Drop, YOLO and more.

The new GIF button is located between the photo and polls options, or to the right of the photo button in direct messages, in the mobile Twitter app. It’s also available on the web at twitter.com. As I said, you can search for GIFs by entering various keywords in the search box, or you can look through the auto-displayed categories to choose a GIF.

The GIFs are coming! Get ready to search and send GIFs in Tweets and Direct Messages: https://t.co/uk75stt1zN pic.twitter.com/1dDD1B4CW2

— Twitter (@twitter) February 17, 2016

Animated GIFs cannot be included in tweets with multiple images as the service allows only one GIF animation per tweet. Anyone with the link to a GIF shared in a direct message will be able to view the content.

Animated GIFs can be up to 5MB in size. Tags cannot be applied to animated GIFs. For those wondering, Twitter supports looping GIFs. “If your animated GIF doesn’t loop and plays a single time, it will display as a static image,” cautions the company.

Searching for a GIF may not be available if your device is experiencing poor cellular connectivity. “If you find you cannot search for a GIF through the media library, you can still upload a GIF that is saved to your phone’s photo library,” according to Twitter.

This is a staggered release so not all users will see this option at once. For its part, Twitter says that GIF search will roll out “over the coming weeks to everyone around the world” on iOS, Android and on twitter.com.