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Virgin Plus rolls out holiday deals with discounts on Pixel, Galaxy

Bell’s Virgin Plus has started rolling out smartphone deals to match its $50/40GB and $45/20GB promo plans. Check out some of the highlights below:

Virgin also has several “certified pre-loved” devices available too:

Aside from the online deals, some RedFlagDeals users were able to get a deal on the iPhone 14, nabbing it plus the 40GB plan for $75/mo total. Based on the details shared on RFD, it seems like Virgin is offering some bill credit or other discount since online the iPhone 14 costs $47.12/mo financing. The deal does seem to be in-store only, however, so your mileage may vary.

You can check out all of Virgin Plus’ deals here. You can also learn more about the $50/40GB plan here, or about other carrier offers here.

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Best Canadian carrier Boxing Week 2022 deals so far

Boxing Day Week is nearly upon us and already some Canadian carriers and wireless providers are rolling out the deals. We’ve gathered some of the best offers to emerge so far and listed them below. However, make sure to check back as we’ll be updating this page over the next few weeks with new offers.

And, if you’re curious to see how some of these deals stack up to what was available on Black Friday, you can find our old roundup here.

Koodo, Fido, Virgin Plus $50/40GB, $45/20GB

First up, the Big Three flanker brands are offering $50/mo 40GB and $45/mo 20GB plans.

Telus’ Koodo launched the plan first, then Rogers’ Fido and Bell’s Virgin Plus followed soon after. With all three, the deal involves a $15/mo bill credit that lasts 15 months:

  • $65/mo 40GB plan + $15/mo bill credit = $50/mo for 15 months
  • $60/mo 20GB + $15/mo bill credit = $45/m0 for 15 months

This isn’t quite as good as the $45/50GB plan offered during Black Friday, but we’re still early in the Boxing Week deal season, so we’ll see what happens.

Bell

Bell also bumped up the data included on some of its plans:

  • Essential – $85/mo 50GB (250Mbps), normally 25GB
  • Ultimate 100 – $90/mo 100GB (“fastest available 5G+ speeds”), normally $95/45GB or $105/60GB
  • Ultimate 100 with Canada-U.S. calling, texting, and data – $95/mo 100GB (“fastest available 5G+ speeds”), normally $125/mo

Check out all of Bell’s offers here.

Telus

Telus dropped a few plan offers for Boxing Week and is giving out $10/mo bill credits for 24 months when customers shop phones online or bring their own device:

  • Unlimited 50 5G – $85/mo 50GB of data (250Mbps) | previously: $85/25GB
  • Unlimited 100 5G+ – $90/mo 100GB (1Gbps) | previously: $95/50GB
  • Unlimited CAN-US 100 5G+ – $95/mo 100GB (1Gbps) plus unlimited data, talk, and text in Canada and the U.S. | previously: $125/100GB

And phone deals:

  • Save $100 when you buy online ($50 one-time bill credit + Telus waives the $50 connection fee)
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max – $0 down, $30/mo financing with Bring-It-Back (plus get three months of free Apple TV+)
  • iPhone 14 – $0 down, $30/mo financing with Bring-It-Back (plus get three months of free Apple TV+)
  • Motorola Edge 2022 – $0 down, $0 financing with Bring-It-Back
  • Samsung Galaxy S22 – $0 down, $30/mo financing with Bring-It-Back

Check out all of Telus’ deals here.

Rogers

Rogers is offering some plan deals, including $85/mo 50GB and $90/mo 100GB plans (normally 25GB and 40GB, respectively). The Toronto-based carrier also has some deals on smartphones:

  • iPhone 14 – $0 down, $0/mo financing with iPhone 12 trade-in (in-store only)
  • Samsung Galaxy S22 – $0 down, $15/mo financing with trade-in (in-store only), or $30/mo financing online
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 – $0 down, $20/mo financing with trade-in (in-store only), or $35/mo financing online
  • Pixel 7 – $0 down, $23.70/mo financing with Upfront Edge

You can view more Rogers deals here.

We’ll be updating this page through the Boxing Week sale period with more deals. Notice something’s missing? Let us know by tweeting us @MobileSyrup or in the comment section below.

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Bell offers discounts on devices purchased through its SmartPay financing plan

Bell has rolled out a list of offers through its financial plan, SmartPay, for the holidays. The payment option sees customers pay a certain amount for a device over 24 months.

Customers who buy the iPhone 14 through SmartPay will save $40.80 over 24 months. Before the discount, customers would pay $31.70/month for the device. With the discount, it’s $30/month.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 is on sale for $30.46/month compared to $41.30/month before the discount. Customers will save $260.08 over 24 months.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE5G is on sale for $26/month for 24 months, compared to $35.34 before the discount.

Samsung’s Galaxy Flip4 is available for $35/month, compared to $47.50 monthly over 24 months.

Customers can save $136.08 over 24 months on the Google Pixel 7. With the discount, customers will pay $24.83 each month.

Those buying the Google Pixel 7 Pro can save $201.88 over 24 months. The discounted price tag will see customers pay $41.18/month, compared to $49.59/month.

Bell is also offering savings on the Moto G Stylus 5G. Customers can save $247 over 24 months by paying a monthly cost of $10.50. Before the discount, the device cost $20.80 a month.

Bell is also freebies through headphones. Customers who buy the Motorola Edge Verve through SmartPay will get Buds 120 and 12 months of storage on Google One. Select Samsung phones purchased through the financing option will score you a pair of Galaxy Buds2.

Source: Bell

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Canadian carriers app include trackers from Facebook, Google, more

Several Canadian carriers and their flanker brands include trackers from Google, Facebook and others in mobile apps offered to customers.

After recently switching to Telus, I downloaded the company’s mobile app to see if there were any features I wanted to use. Within a few hours of downloading the My Telus app, I noticed that DuckDuckGo’s App Tracking Protection had blocked almost 1,400 tracking attempts using known third-party trackers from Google, Facebook and Adobe.

App Tracking Protection, if you haven’t heard of it, is a feature offered in the DuckDuckGo mobile app for Android. The functionality has been around for almost a year (I first wrote about it early in 2022), but it recently entered public beta, meaning anyone with an Android phone can download the app and try it out. It uses a VPN to filter network traffic coming from your device and blocks known third-party trackers to prevent data from leaving your device. Even though it uses Android’s built-in VPN feature, DuckDuckGo says everything is handled on-device, and App Tracking Protection doesn’t route data through external servers. The search company even made the blocklist used for App Tracking Protection publicly available on GitHub.

Curious if Telus was an outlier, I downloaded the mobile apps offered by several Canadian carriers and wireless providers available in Ontario, including:

  • My Telus
  • MyRogers
  • Fido My Account
  • My Chatr
  • MyBell
  • Virgin Plus My Account
  • Lucky Mobile
  • Freedom My Account

It’s worth noting that Telus’ flanker brands Koodo and Public Mobile don’t offer mobile apps. Additionally, testing was performed on a Pixel 7 running Android 13 and the November 2022 security patch. The apps weren’t tested on iPhone since the iOS version of the DuckDuckGo app doesn’t support App Tracking Protection (iOS does offer built-in App Tracking Transparency, which I’ll touch on further down).

Trackers collect a variety of data

The trackers blocked by DuckDuckGo’s App Tracking Protection can collect a wide array of data. App Tracking Protection lists information that each tracker is known to collect, such as information about the device being used, such as screen resolution, network/carrier, OS version, charging status, device language, headphone status, system volume, rotation data, and more. The trackers also try to collect some personal data, including location, gender, postal code, and email. Trackers also collect unique identifiers, advertising IDs, GPS coordinates, available memory and storage, and much, much more.

The screenshots below show the trackers detected in Canadian carrier apps and what those trackers are known to collect:

Allison Goodman, a senior communications manager for DuckDuckGo, told MobileSyrup in an interview that apps may include these trackers for things like analytics and marketing, noting that over 96 percent of popular free Android apps tested by DuckDuckGo contain hidden third-party trackers. 87 percent sent data to Google, and 68 percent sent data to Facebook. DuckDuckGo also cited an AppCensus report with similar results.

“Personal data companies like Facebook and Google use that information to build a profile that advertisers and content-targeting companies use to influence what you see online,” Goodman wrote.

“The problems with all this information collection go way beyond so-called ‘relevant’ (aka creepy) advertising and targeting. Tracking networks can sell your data to other companies like data brokers, advertisers, and governments, resulting in more substantial harms like ideological manipulation, discrimination, personal price manipulation, polarization, and more.”

Trackers in carrier apps

App Tracking Protection blocked Google, Facebook, and Adobe trackers in the My TELUS app.

App Tracking Protection blocked Google, Facebook, and Adobe trackers in the My TELUS app.

The My Telus app racked up tracking attempts faster than apps from other providers and was also one of only two that included trackers from Facebook. The other was Freedom Mobile’s My Account app. My Telus also included Google and Adobe trackers.

Telus did not provide comment in time for publication.

App Tracking Protection blocked Google, Facebook, and Adobe trackers in the Freedom app.

App Tracking Protection blocked Google, Facebook, and Adobe trackers in the Freedom app

Along with the Facebook trackers, App Tracking Protection blocked Google and Adobe trackers from Freedom Mobile’s app.

Freedom did not provide comment in time for publication.

App Tracking Protection blocked Google and Adobe trackers in Rogers' and Fido's apps.

App Tracking Protection blocked Google and Adobe trackers in Rogers’ and Fido’s apps

Rogers, as well as flanker brand Fido, had both Google and Adobe trackers. Interestingly, App Tracking Protection blocked no trackers from the Chatr app.

A Rogers spokesperson told MobileSyrup that information collected by the MyRogers and Fido My Account apps is used for internal analytics and diagnostics to determine app functionality and operating system support. Moreover, the spokesperson said that the apps don’t disclose customer information with third parties for cross-tracking across apps and websites. Instead, all data is collected and used solely by Rogers and Fido. The Rogers spokesperson said that only customers can choose whether to enable location services and that doing so allows customers to receive more relevant information, like regional service offerings or details about regional network issues.

The spokesperson also emphasized that Rogers’ apps comply with all Canadian privacy laws, including PIPEDA, and both the Google and Apple developer policies.

Bell app tracking attempts blocked by App Tracking Protection

Bell app tracking attempts blocked by App Tracking Protection

Finally, the Bell, Virgin Plus, and Lucky Mobile apps all had trackers blocked by App Tracking Protection. For the most part, Bell and related apps used a third-party tracker from Branch Metrics. According to the Branch Metrics website, it “provides the leading mobile linking platform, with solutions that unify user experience and measurement across different devices, platforms, and channels,” which sounds a lot like analytics. Still, the App Tracking Protection detailed that Branch Metrics is known to collect data like location, email address, postal code, device details, local IP address, and more.

In a statement to MobileSyrup, Bell said:

“The MyBell, Virgin Plus MyAccount and Lucky Mobile apps are used by customers to manage their account and billing, check their usage as well as technical support. In order to provide these services to customers, we need certain information such as device platform, the version of the operating system, and IP address. We also know which province that the customer is located in, because our pricing and services are based by region. However, we do not collect location below the provincial level, nor do we request or use background location. Maintaining the privacy and security of our customers’ personal information is a priority for us, and we do not share this information with other parties.”

What about iPhone users?

As I mentioned above, DuckDuckGo’s iPhone app doesn’t offer App Tracking Protection, but iOS has a built-in App Tracking Transparency feature. However, it differs from App Tracking Protection by operating primarily on an agreement with app developers — if a user chooses to opt out of tracking for an app, then that app can’t use that user’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). However, research revealed many apps build digital fingerprints on users by collecting other data, meaning App Tracking Transparency doesn’t actually do much to stop tracking (Moreover, Apple’s own apps don’t follow the setting).

MobileSyrup asked each carrier whether their apps respected the App Tracking Transparency feature included in iOS. Those that provided comment to MobileSyrup for this story did not directly answer the question, and only Rogers brought up Apple developer policies.

Ultimately, you may want to remove any carrier apps installed on your smartphone, especially if you have concerns about the tracking. Most carrier apps offer the same functionality as what’s available through carrier websites, so there isn’t really a need to install the apps anyway. Moreover, if your Android device comes with one of these apps pre-installed and you can’t remove it, head to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Select the carrier app > Tap ‘Disable.’ This is about as close to uninstalling a pre-installed app as you can get.

Alternatively, download DuckDuckGo’s app and enable App Tracking Protection. Honestly, you might want to do this anyway — it will block trackers from more than just carrier apps. The DuckDuckGo app is available for free on the Play Store.

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Carriers offer $40/20GB plans for Black Friday, but only in stores

If you’re looking to get a good deal on a phone plan, you’ll need to head to your local carrier store. We can’t say that these deals will be available across the country, but we’ve found many in-store deals in Toronto that are as much as $10 cheaper per month than online prices.

As Back Friday approaches, the Big Three (Bell, Rogers, Telus) are offering an online deal that nets users 15GB of 4G data for $60 per month. The carriers have a better arrangement of 20GB of 5G data for $55 in-store. However, most sales associates pushed us to their flanker brands (Virgin, Koodo, Fido) since they offer better deals.

All have some variation of a 4G plan with 20GB of data for $40 per month. These plans are bring-your-own-device promos that require a new activation and only last for 15 months. However, since you’ll need to switch off your current plan to a new carrier to take advantage of this deal, I expect there’s a considerable chance that your old carrier will call you with a stellar deal sometime within the 15 months.

My girlfriend Alex’s phone plan was an aging $65/10GB Koodo plan, so she needed to jump ship to another carrier. We chose Virgin since they offered to waive the $50 activation fee, and the giant Rogers/Fido outage this summer was still fresh in our minds. Not to mention that the girl working the Virgin Plus store at the mall was friendly and the only one to open her pitch by being transparent about the 15-month fine print. It’s also worth noting that if you choose Koodo, you’ll have to pick your perk. This could get you roll-over data, which is cool, but it comes at the expense of international texting (although you can pick international texting as a perk instead).

Shopping in stores is much more annoying than online, but the deals are worth sitting through sales pitches on 5G, awkwardly empty showrooms and suffering through rude or misinformed employees. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to buy a data plan in person, and the experience was not fun, but the deals are well worth it. Who knows, I might even head back next week to see if I can get a better deal on my home internet too.

You can view a complete list of online phone plan deals in Canada here.

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Best Canadian carrier Black Friday 2022 deals so far

Several Canadian carriers and flanker brands have released Black Friday deals with discounts on smartphones, plans and more. There’s a ton going on, so we pulled some of the best Black Friday offers into one place, so it’s easier to keep track of everything.

Below, you’ll find some of the best Black Friday offers split by carrier. Deals are still rolling out, so make sure to check back for updates and new additions.

Rogers

  • iPhone 14 — starts at $0 down, $0/mo financing with Upfront Edge and when you trade in an iPhone 12
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 — $0 down, $15/mo financing with Upfront Edge online (in-store: $360 or $0 with eligible trade-in)
  • Pixel 7 — $0 down, $15/mo device financing with Upfront Edge
  • Samsung Galaxy S22 — $0 down, $0/mo device financing when you trade in a Galaxy S20 in-store

Upfront Edge allows customers to get a discounted monthly financing cost if they agree to return the device after 24 months or pay off the difference.

Along with smartphone discounts, Rogers launched some limited-time plans, including a $60/mo plan with 15GB of data and student plans starting at $55/mo.

Check out all of Rogers’ Black Friday deals here.

Bell

Along with smartphones, Bell is offering customers up to 50 percent on select accessories. Learn more here.

Telus

  • Samsung Galaxy S22 – $0 down, $10/mo financing with Bring-It-Back (Telus claims $1,120 in savings)
  • Pixel 7 – $0 down, $11.67/mo financing with Bring-It-Back
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 – $0 down, $15/mo financing with Bring-It-Back plus get the 512GB storage for the price of 128GB ($1,490 in savings)
  • iPhone 14 Pro – $o down, $37.83/mo financing with Bring-It-Back and get three months of free Apple TV+

Telus’ Bring-It-Back program reduces the monthly financing cost of smartphones if customers agree to return the devices at the end of 24 months. Customers can also pay the difference to keep the phone.

Moreover, Telus is offering a $10/mo bill credit for 12 months on its $95/mo 100GB plan.

Check out all Telus deals here.

Fido

Fido also has a plan deal offering 20GB of data for $55/mo, plus customers can save $5/mo for 15 months with promo code ‘YAYFIDO5.’

Check out all of Fido’s deals here.

Virgin Plus

Virgin also has deals on home internet plans, including a $45/mo credit for 12 months on its $90/mo 100Mbps plan. Moreover, the Bell flanker brand had bonus data available on several plans, bumping offers up to $65/25GB, $60/20GB, and $55/10GB.

Check out all of Virgin’s deals here.

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Public Mobile offering 12GB of bonus data on all plans

If you’re looking for a cheap data plan, don’t count Public Mobile out. The third-tier Telus-owned flanker brand now offers 4G data speeds and great prices.

As of the time of writing, the carrier’s website in Ontario is offering 12GB of bonus data on top of each plan. This means you can get 17GB for $40 or 20GB for $50. There are a few other plans, topping out at 52GB for $90.

Plans also include unlimited Canada-wide calling and texting. It’s worth noting that Public Mobile subscribers on RedFlagDeals mention that upgrading retains your Public Mobile points and promotions like loyalty and auto-pay.

Overall, these are pretty great deals considering 8GB of 4G data from Virgin Plus costs $55 per month.

You can view the plans for yourself here.

Source: Public Mobile Via: RedFlagDeals (BookkeeperBC)

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Carriers waiving fees, offering extra data in Atlantic Canada amid Hurricane Fiona

Canadian carriers have launched various initiatives to aid customers in Atlantic Canada as Hurricane Fiona hits the region with record intensity.

Many residents have been advised to stay home amid the deadly storm, and widespread outages have been reported across the provinces.

As Canadians are forced to hunker down and wait out the hurricane, here’s how the carriers that service this region are responding to the situation.

Bell

The Montreal-based telecom is giving Bell Mobility postpaid customers (consumer and small business) in Atlantic Canada and Îles-de-la-Madeleine an extra 50GB of data between September 24th and 28th.

The company has also pledged a $50,000 donation to Red Cross Canada to support relief efforts, and customers can also test FIONA to 20222 to donate $10.

Fido

The Rogers-owned carrier is giving Atlantic Canada customers (Consumer, Business or Employee accounts) an extra 50GB of mobile data to use between September 24th and 28th while waiving fees for long-distance calls within Canada.

Eastlink

The Halifax-based company is automatically applying free data overage and top-ups until September 28th. It adds that it will “reassess” at that time.

Koodo

The Telus flanker brand is waiving any Canada-wide data, calling, and pay-per-use overages for customers in Atlantic Canada beyond what’s included in their current Mobility rate plans and add-ons between September 24th and 30th. The company notes that you may still be charged during this billing cycle, but you will receive a credit to waive the fees on your next bill.

Rogers

The Toronto-based media giant is providing “eligible customers” with an extra 50GB of mobile data between September 24th and 28th and waiving long-distance call fees within Canada. The company hasn’t clarified who, exactly, counts as “eligible,” so we’ll update this story once we hear more.

Telus

The Vancouver-based company is waiving long-distance charges for calls, text and data overages for customers impacted in Atlantic Canada. Like the other carriers, Telus promises to donate $50,000 to relief efforts, although it simply says “local charities” instead of naming a particular one like Red Cross Canada. Customers can also donate $20 to the Telus Friendly Future Foundation by texting DONATE to 41010.

Virgin Plus

Postpaid members (not including Unlimited or Talk & Text plan subscribers) in Atlantic Canada and the Magdalen Islands will get an extra 50GB of mobile data to use from September 24th to 28th.

To anyone who is in Atlantic Canada or has family there, please stay safe!

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How 5G helps first responders

We know that 5G will change the way we use smartphones, but what about other industries? Watch the clip above as we unpack how firefighters can use 5G-powered headsets to help save lives.

This video is part of our The Future with 5G Series. A full-length documentary on 5G airs on BBC Earth Canada on August 26th.

This story is sponsored by Bell. MobileSyrup publishes sponsored posts. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content.

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Get Samsung’s Galaxy A53 5G for $10/mo for 24 months at Vidéotron

Vidéotron is currently offering a solid deal on Samsung’s recently released Galaxy A53 5G for Quebec-based customers.

The device is available for a one-time payment of $588 or for 24 monthly payments of $10 each, bringing the phone cost down to $240. The smartphone is only available in the ‘Black’ colourway and with 128GB of storage.

The A53 can then be paired with Vidéotron’s plans, including its 20GB/$50 plan, $40GB/$60 plan, 50GB/$75 plan or a different plan that you can find here.

The A53 is Samsung’s new mid-range device with a 6.5-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED display and a quad camera setup. It features a 5000mAh battery and supports 25W fast charging. On the front, the device features a punch-hole setup with a 32-megapixel, f/2.2 wide-angle camera.

“Overall, the A53 is a stellar mid-range option. It features a decent camera, good battery, a premium-like design and a reasonable even price tag,” said MobileSyrup staff reporter Dean Daley in his review of the mid-range device.

Click here to go to the device listing on Vidéotron’s website.

Source: Vidéotron Via: RedFlagDeals