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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.
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.
Breaking news and tips
Check your kid’s phone for this app now
Briana from Houston is like so many moms I know. She’s busy, loving and doing everything she can to raise smart, safe kids in a digital world that changes faster than you can hit “update.”
She told me that when her 12-year-old daughter asked to download an app called Zepeto, it seemed harmless enough. Create a cute avatar. Dress it up. Play games. Chat with friends.
A digital Barbie? Not even close
Zepeto carries a 12+ age rating, the kind of label that gives parents a false sense of security. Briana trusted it. Why wouldn’t she? That rating implies it’s safe and age-appropriate.
Narrator voice: It was not harmless.
Within days, her daughter was receiving explicit messages from a stranger pretending to be a teenager.
He asked: What do you like to do? Do your parents check your phone? Have you ever had sex?
That’s not harmless chat. That’s grooming. And it was happening right under her mom’s nose inside what looked like a sweet, sparkly avatar world.
Mash-up of Roblox, Snapchat and The Sims
Zepeto, developed in South Korea, is a metaverse-style app where kids create 3D avatars, explore virtual spaces and chat with others. It has bright colors, customizable outfits, dance moves and digital selfies.
But behind the filters and fashion lies a darker reality.
Apps like Zepeto are wide open to abuse:
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.
Bring your old phone back from the dead
We’ve all got one (or five): that old smartphone buried in a drawer, sitting there like a digital paperweight. You don’t use it, but you don’t toss it either because maybe someday it’ll come in handy.
Today is the day to let your old phone defend your castle as a security camera.
Code and go: Want to read a web page from your computer on your phone? Just use a QR code. In Chrome, find the page, click the three-dot menu > Cast, Save, and Share > Create QR code. Scan it with your phone’s camera, and voilà, the link opens in your mobile browser.
“KYS” isn’t harmless teen slang: Parents, you might see “kys” or “keys” online and think it’s just another TikTok-ified acronym. But it’s actually short for “kill yourself,” and it’s alarmingly common in teen comment sections and DMs. Some teens use it jokingly (🤨), but it can land with real emotional weight.
How to find anyone’s email
Looking for a way to get in touch with someone online? Try these pro tips.
🍎 Bad apples: Apple just got a reality check from the National Advertising Division, which told them to cut it with the “available now” marketing for Apple Intelligence. Most of the shiny AI features they hyped aren’t ready. Apple Intelligence is like that friend who says, “I’m on my way” while still in the shower.
$100
That’s how much people are allegedly paying for six ice cubes from Greenland. Greenland entrepreneurs are harvesting 100,000-year-old glacial ice (paywall link) and shipping it to Dubai, where it’s sold in cocktails like the $218 Scotch-on-ice at Nahaté. Talk about an ICE detention center.
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.
Less mess, more yum
😋 Here’s your shortcut to faster meals and easier prep.
- This 64-oz insulated bottle (21% off) keeps your drinks hot or cold all day.
- Cut down on your meal prep time with a vegetable chopper (22% off).
- This cute Splatypus jar spatula ($13) scoops every last bit.
- Your food stays warm on an electric tray (33% off) when friends arrive late.
- These oven rack guards (36% off) help protect against burns and scars.
- Don’t let leftovers go to waste. Grab a 24-pack of glass storage containers (8% off) to keep them fresh.
👩🍳 My kitchen faves: From the breadmaker I use to the nontoxic cookware, check them out here.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Max is cracking down on password sharing: If you’re letting someone outside your house use your account, you’ll have to pay up. The new Extra Member Add-On is $7.99 a month and lets one person have their own profile under your plan. Not ideal, but still cheaper than a full $9.99 subscription. Next up: HBO Max charges you per emotion felt.
3 easy tech tips for grocery shopping
Not a fan of the grocery run? Use these quick tech tricks to stay organized, save money, and skip the hassle.
🎬 Insta edits drops: Meta just launched Edits, a new free video editor app to compete with TikTok’s CapCut. It includes AI tools like “Cutouts” and “Animate,” and exports without a vibe-killing watermark. Finally, an easier way to spend three hours editing a video that gets 11 likes and a passive-aggressive DM from your aunt.
Scam on the line: Phone buzzing with job offers? You’re not alone. Fake posts scammed folks out of $61 million last year, up from $14.8 million in 2023. When money’s tight, scammers know you might take a job you’d usually think twice about. Jobs where the CEO’s email ends in .biz.ru? Pass.
🤠 I’m trapped in a Waymo in Texas: No, it’s not the latest country music hit. Two women were stuck in a Waymo in Austin. The doors wouldn’t unlock but did open after they threatened to go live on TikTok. Waymo says they hit the “pull over” button. Nothing like threatening a viral video to make a robot say “my bad” and let you out.
Tell mom and dad the truth
Older Americans lost nearly $5 billion to scams last year. Don’t let it happen to your loved ones.
1 terabit per second
Of data was sent over 750 miles using optical fiber. For context, that’s like streaming around 40 Netflix shows in Ultra-HD at the same time. The real twist? Researchers did it completely securely. How? They built a new “IEAC” system that hides the encryption inside the light signal itself. Pretty genius.
3,000 years old
The age of a mummified crocodile scientists recently cracked open. They used X-ray and CT scans to peek inside and found gastroliths, aka small stones crocs swallow to help with digestion. Even weirder? They also discovered a fish and a bronze hook, still intact, meaning the croc was probably caught right before it was sacrificed.
AI bots make bets on the next pope
Who will lead the Catholic Church next? ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok all have guesses — but they can’t seem to agree.