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If your smartphone was ever lost or stolen, would you know what to do? Lock it remotely, call your carrier or use a tracking app. That’s a start.
Even smart shoppers can get taken; here’s how to make sure you don’t.
Breaking news and tips
Your smart thermostat is basically a nosy roommate
Charles in San Antonio asked, “Kim, I have one of those smart thermostats. It must collect a lot of my data. Where does it all go?”
Buckle up, Charles, because your thermostat might know more about you than your best friend, your doctor or your cat. If you’ve got a Nest, Ecobee or any of those sleek little screens controlling your HVAC, they’re managing temperature while they basically stalk you, politely and with your permission.
Smart thermostats have evolved. They don’t just follow schedules; they predict them. That means they’re quietly paying attention to the kind of stuff normally reserved for very nosy roommates.
🔍 What it’s tracking
- The time you leave and return home
- Which rooms you’re in the most (thanks to motion sensors)
- How long it takes to hit your ideal temp
- Your sleep and wake-up patterns
All this creepy-cool behavioral tracking gets sent to the cloud to “optimize” your comfort and help you save on energy.
If your thermostat knows your schedule, chances are someone else could, too. That data might be shared with advertisers, third-party companies, or worse, it could be accessed by cybercriminals if your account isn’t locked down.
🔧 What you can do about it
Turning off these smart features below is a great move for your privacy, but there are a few catches.
You’ll lose a bit of the magic that makes your thermostat “smart.” Without learning or motion sensing, it won’t adjust based on your routines or know when you’re home or away. You’ll need to set manual schedules.
Disabling data sharing and deleting your history means no more personalized insights or energy reports. You could also miss out on utility rebates that rely on usage tracking.
If you’re OK giving up convenience, the trade-off is keeping Big Tech out of your living room. Note: Steps below work for most, but may vary based on your specific model number.
Homebody armor
🛟 Think of this list as bubble wrapping for your everyday life.
- Leg covers (29% off) keep your chairs from scuffing your beautiful floors.
- These stretchy chair covers (20% off) add color and guard against spills.
- Stop door slams and pinched fingers with handy door stoppers ($9).
- Big project? Cut-proof gloves (30% off) protect your hands while you DIY.
- Slip on some tinted safety glasses (19% off) that fit over your regular specs.
🔒 Lock it down: Add an extra layer of “hands off” with a two-pack of padlocks (22% off) for your backpack, briefcase or luggage.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Good post + bad timing = zero likes. Let’s fix that.
Are your carefully crafted social media posts getting the same amount of attention as a tree falling in the forest with no one around? As the French say, that’s no bueno.
Running a business is hard enough without your social media posts falling flat. You spent 30 minutes picking the perfect image, debated emojis for another 12, added hashtags that deserve a Pulitzer, and then? Radio silence.
💸 Learn to make money from your hobby: The Hobby Letter is sharing ways everyday people are turning their hobbies into real cash using social media. There’s no fluff, just short, tactical reads you can apply in under five minutes. Start your free trial (cancel anytime) and follow their 30-day plan to make your first dollar from social media.
🚭 Parents, watch out for smart vapes! They look like colorful gadgets that play music, run games, take calls and send social media notifications. But they’re actually vapes … with up to 30,000 puffs, and some even give you points for every hit. Yep, it’s nicotine, sweet flavors and gaming all rolled into one. It’s kind of like a Tamagotchi, except instead of you keeping it alive, it’s killing you.
Did your selfie train ChatGPT?
Ever post a pic online? There’s a good chance it was scraped and added to an AI dataset. Check this site to find out.
🚐 Uber and Volkswagen are teaming up: They’re launching a robotaxi service in the U.S. with self-driving electric microbuses. First stop? Los Angeles, starting in late 2026. But don’t get too excited just yet. You’ll still see a human behind the wheel until at least 2027. Why? They’ve gotta wait for those permits to clear.
7.3 out of 10
What Lenovo laptops got for repairability, according to PIRG’s annual report, considered an F rating. The catch? They only submitted one model, so they were slapped with a failing grade for not providing enough data. Other brands sent in nine or 10 models. I guess they didn’t read the terms and conditions.
100% critics’ score for Netflix’s new comedy series
That’s the critics’ score for Netflix’s new comedy series North of North. It follows a young Inuk mom who moves back to her small hometown after leaving her husband. It’s like Gilmore Girls meets snow meets 9,000 percent more gossip. The trailer looks pretty good.
Affordable portables
🧳 You’ve got places to go. My picks are built to come along for the ride.
- Kick back, relax and save on a folding camping chair (14% off).
- Take a quick rinse anywhere with a portable shower (20% off).
- This handy 3-in-1 vacuum (43% off) can also dust and pump air.
- Charge up with the sunshine with a solar power bank (20% off).
- Tiny screen? Grab an extra monitor (33% off) to double your real estate.
🐶 Fur real safety: Snag a belt leash (15% off) to keep your pup strapped in while you’re on the road.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
☑️ Badge means business: Is your identity verified on LinkedIn? Your little checkmark is about to get a big upgrade. Adobe just added LinkedIn verification to its new Content Authenticity app. That means when your content pops up with your badge, folks will know it’s really you, not some AI bot. Hiring? Use my link to post a job for free.
How to find anyone’s email
Looking for a way to get in touch with someone online? Try these pro tips.
🥾 Going hiking? Your map app might send you off a cliff. UK mountain rescue teams were called out last year. Blame bad directions and folks blindly following routes. So, use a proper map, learn a few survival basics and maybe pack a flare just in case. “Recalculating route” shouldn’t mean straight into the abyss.
📧 Google phishing scam: If you get an email saying there’s a legal subpoena tied to your Google account, don’t panic and don’t click. It’ll send you to a fake support page to steal your login info. Google says they’re working on a fix. Imagine getting sued by Fake Google, and losing.
🧠 ChatGPT passed the Turing test: Yep, the big one where a machine tries to convince you it’s human. In a study, people chatted with the new GPT-4.5 for five minutes, and 73% thought it was a real person. The bot was told to act like a slightly awkward, internet-savvy introvert with dry humor. Without that personality prompt, it only fooled 36%.
Will Google sell Chrome? — April 26th, Hour 1
Google’s ad-tech was ruled a monopoly. Now the big question is how to break it up. Plus, a listener in Texas survived a home invasion. Did he pick the right security setup? Also: drones nearly hitting planes, and an Apple Watch rescue at sea.
$50 billion
That’s how much Google Chrome might be worth if Google was forced to sell it off. At least that’s what DuckDuckGo’s CEO estimated at Google’s antitrust trial. (Spoiler: DuckDuckGo will not be bidding.) The DOJ is still deciding how to break up Google’s search monopoly, and selling Chrome is on the table. AI players like OpenAI and Perplexity say they’d be interested.
4
The number of toys your toddler needs to be happy. Yep, no need for a mountain of plushies and plastic cars. A study found that kids given too many playthings got overstimulated and jumped from toy to toy. But with just four? They slowed down, focused and played longer. Oh, and no need to toss everything. Just rotate them.
Psychiatrist falls for $500K pig butchering scam — April 26th, Hour 2
A doctor who lost half a million says greed got the best of him. Melinda Gates finally talks Bill, Epstein, and trust. Plus, an Uber driver drives off with a sleeping child, and my go-to tip to lock in the lowest hotel price.