Messaging app Wickr announced just closed $9 million in a series A round of funding led by Alsop Louie. The startup lets users send texts, photos and videos, which are supposed to self-destruct once a conversation has run its course. “The encrypted messaging data is tied to a device rather than a person or a user account, and that data is set to “self destruct” once you finish a conversation,” VentureBeat reports. “Wickr said it services over 1 million messages per day to people in 190 countries.” 

Microsoft’s new personal digital assistant will be included in the Windows Phone 8.1 update, and, as The Verge reports, will replace the built-in Bing search functionality. “Cortana will animate when it’s speaking or thinking, forming a personality not dissimilar to Apple’s Siri,” The Verge reports, citing sources. And, “Just like Siri, Cortana will also allow Windows Phone users to set how they want to be addressed by the voice-activated assistant.”