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Kobo will soon let you upload and sync your own ebooks across devices, for a price

Kobo will soon let you upload and sync your own ebooks across devices, for a price

Kobo Stack is a new monthly subscription service that’s first launching outside the US as part of a big e-reader update.

Kobo Stack is a new monthly subscription service that’s first launching outside the US as part of a big e-reader update.

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

Kobo is launching a new monthly subscription service called Stack that lets you upload your own ebooks and documents to the company’s servers where they’ll be synced across multiple devices and apps, including your reading progress, highlights, and annotations. Kobo Stack is similar to Amazon’s Send to Kindle feature that allows users to upload a wide variety of files to their Kindle libraries for free, but Kobo’s version will cost a few dollars each month.

Kobo Stack is being introduced as part of a major 6.0 update to the company’s e-reader software, which is available in beta now as an optional upgrade ahead of a wider official release. Supported document types include EPUBs and PDFs up to 200MB in size and files can be pushed to Kobo Cloud using a drag and drop interface on the company’s website, or by emailing them to a custom address you get when you subscribe to Stack.

Your uploaded documents are synced and available anywhere you’re logged in to your Kobo account, including the iOS and Android apps, the Kobo website, and the company’s e-readers. Kobo Stack’s e-reader support is currently limited to recent devices including the Clara BW, Clara Colour, Libra Colour, and the Elipsa 2E, but access for older devices “made between 2018 and 2024 will arrive soon,” according to Kobo’s website.

The initial rollout of Kobo Stack is limited to Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Spain, according to details Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn shared on Threads, but not the US. Canadian pricing is $3.99 per month, while in the UK it’s £2.99 per month. Kobo is offering a free 90-day trial for those wanting to test it out, and there’s a 60-day grace period if you choose to cancel your subscription. That gives you around two months to download and back up any files you’ve uploaded, and to export your notes and annotations. After 60 days, everything will be permanently deleted.

Other features being introduced as part of the new Kobo firmware update include the ability to add multiple library cards so you can borrow books from several libraries through Libby, lower stylus latency on devices with pen support, improved accessibility with even larger font options, and support for EPUB files protected by LCP DRM.

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The EU Commission says TikTok’s ‘rabbit hole’ effect can pose harm to users.

The EU Commission says TikTok’s ‘rabbit hole’ effect can pose harm to users.

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

The European Commission claims TikTok broke its online platform rules by offering a recommendation algorithm that creates a “rabbit hole effect” on users. In an announcement on Friday, the regulators allege TikTok’s algorithm can harm users with “endless and repeated exposure” to content related to sadness, isolation, or body image.

The findings come months after the EU Commission declared that TikTok’s design is too “addictive.” While TikTok has implemented controls to mitigate the algorithm’s “rabbit hole effect,” the Commission says its preliminary findings suggest that they’re not effective. TikTok must now change the design of its For You feed, or else face fines of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover. The platform is also facing pressure in the US, with lawmakers and a wave of lawsuits raising concerns about child safety.

Since enacting the Digital Services Act in 2023 — a set of rules that hold tech companies legally accountable for their impact on users— the EU Commission has targeted several companies for allegedly violating the regulations, including X, Meta, Temu, and AliExpress. As reported by Politico, this is the first time the Commission has cited a recommendation algorithm as the reason for a breach.

“Every time a user scrolls or likes a video on TikTok, the algorithm serves more of the same leading users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from,” Henna Virkkunen, the EU Commission’s executive vice president of tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, says in the press release. “Today’s preliminary findings show again that TikTok needs to step up its efforts to protect users’ well-being, including those of minors.”

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