This isn’t going to be a surprise: Your online social circles have become more toxic. Nearly two thirds of online risks come from strangers or people you only know on the internet, according to preliminary results of a Microsoft survey about online safety. Risks include bullying, unwanted contact, unwelcome sexual images and messages, scams, fake news, fraud …

For the first time, the Federal Communications Commission is auctioning spectrum for 5G. On Wednesday, the FCC is opening up the bidding for spectrum in the 28GHz band, with a total of a little more than 3,000 county-based licenses up for grabs. That will be followed immediately by an auction of spectrum in the 24GHz band. Then in 2019, the …

Portal, an ad-free social video app, opened to the public on Tuesday. The startup also closed a $4.2 million round of funding from investors such as Mark Cuban, Day One Ventures and Social Start, according to The Wrap. Portal, which launched in beta in June, was reportedly inspired in part by CEO Johnathan Swerdlin’s belief that advertising is “the biggest …

Another HQ Trivia-like app is in the game. Ripkord.tv on Tuesday launched an interactive entertainment app that integrates mobile gaming, social media and live streaming. The company rolled out five live game shows that let viewers participate, including games similar to a trivia bowl and a scavenger hunt. Similar to HQ Trivia, Ripkord is offering money to viewers who compete …

Netflix may test new low-cost plans in certain areas. The popular streaming service plans to experiment with a cheaper version in some regions to try to boost sales, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in Bloomberg article Monday. Reed didn’t reveal when or where the company will test these cheaper plans. Netflix has more than 137 million subscribers worldwide, and the company’s international …

Giphy wants you to start watching movies. Really short movies. On Friday the company behind the popular website for animated GIFs — where people go to find the perfect expression of their current mood — rolled out a new page on the site for videos of 30 seconds or less. “Giphy is now looking to the future — the future …

A vacuum giant may be looking to hoover up some of the wearable tech market. Dyson is considering making a wearable air purifier that could double as headphones, according to Bloomberg, which reported the company submitted patents for wearable air-purifying tech earlier this year. Dyson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.  Air purifiers are popular in Asia, especially in …

T-Mobile says it’s ready to block more scam calls. On Thursday, the wireless carrier said it had integrated new spoof identification technology into its network to better guard customers against scam calls. The company also said it’ll comply with the Federal Communication Commission’s request to employ technology that’ll detect illegal caller ID spoofing.  T-Mobile has blocked more than 1 billion …

Bald emoji are bold emoji.  The hairless man or woman emoji have proven to be the most popular of Apple’s new iOS 12.1 emoji since they were released on Oct. 30, Emojipedia said on Thursday. The bald icons were followed by woozy face, smiley face with three hearts and feet. Emojipedia, whose name explains its purpose, generated the ratings from a Twitter thread based on comments, …

Files Go is getting a new look and losing half its name. On Thursday, Google rebranded its Files Go app. It’s now called Files by Google, according to a company blog post. Google said it redesigned the app to focus on content in Android phones, such as telling you how much space you’re saving and how you can fill up …