Google pays out cold cash to security researchers who hack its systems, then report the problems. Photo: tookapic/Pixabay CC

Google paid out more than $2 million in bounties to security researchers last year in an effort to keep its applications and services safe from hackers.

The payments came via the company’s Vulnerability Reward Program, which gives researchers a financial incentive to locate security holes in Google’s software, then report them to the company rather than exploit them.

Snapchat user profile sharing just got easier. Photo: Snapchat.

Tucked away in a recent Snapchat update for Android and iOS, users of the app will notice a new option that allows for the quick and easy sharing of a URL that links directly to their user profile. The link, which can then be copied or shared anywhere a link can be tapped or clicked, takes Snapchat users directly to the app on mobile, and then into the linking user’s profile.

Snapchat pushed updates to both of its primary applications, Android and iOS, a couple of days ago but made no mention of the new URLs.

Is this the Galaxy S7? Photo: PhoneArena

The keynote slide you see above, leaked by an apparent Samsung employee, may reveal the Galaxy S7’s design and specifications just weeks ahead of its official debut. It confirms whispers we’ve already heard, but is it genuine?

Samsung will still be concerned about growth. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Smartphone shipments surpassed a record 1.43 billion units in 2015, according to the latest figures from IDC, and 22.7 percent of them carried the Samsung logo. Despite falling Galaxy sales, the South Korean company still shifted 93.3 million more devices than Apple.

Go get your OnePlus X now! Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

The new OnePlus X is now available without an invite — and not just for a limited time. OnePlus has today announced it is scrapping its invite system for its latest smartphone, just 92 days after it made its official debut.