Growing your side hustle? Switch your Instagram account to a Business profile to add shopping links to your posts, run ads and lots more. From your profile, tap Edit profile > Switch to professional account.
Tips to take the best holiday photos
Forget getting everyone together at Christmas for a photo opp and having them all say, “Cheese!” Instead, use words that end in ‑ah. These sounds put the muscles around the mouth to work, creating a genuine smile. Try “yoga,” “mocha” or “banana.”
Now, I’ve got more great tips you can use for your perfect Christmas pics!
Just a few of you?
Focus on capturing candid moments. Take a few selfies, and use your phone’s timer to take a group shot or two.
- Pro tip: For selfies, switch your camera to .5x or .7x magnification for a wider, unique perspective.
- AI tip: Use portrait mode to blur the background and add focus to faces, even for selfies.
Lots of folks?
Give your photo some depth and dimension by having some people standing and others sitting. If someone else can take the photo, have them use Burst mode by holding down the shutter button.
Switching to Burst mode allows you to capture multiple photos in quick succession, increasing your odds of a really great shot. If everyone needs to be in the photo, use your phone’s timer to make sure no one is left out.
Let there be light
Lighting is the most critical factor in whether your pics turn out great, so-so or downright terrible. Here are a few tips:
- Avoid direct overhead light: It highlights bumps, wrinkles and blemishes — not what anyone wants to see!
- No squinting: Have your subject face the light so it illuminates their features. Ask them to look toward the light or sun (just not directly at it).
- Cloudy days are perfect: Soft, diffused light on cloudy days eliminates harsh shadows and squinting. It’s a photographer’s dream.
- Shoot for the “magic hour”: The hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise provide warm, soft lighting that’s perfect for capturing holiday memories.
Spice up your photos
Tech tip: Share your ETA on the go
I hate being late. No one wants to leave friends hangry at a restaurant. Here’s a trick I use: Share your ETA right from your map app. It keeps everyone in the loop.
It’s way better than sharing your location 24/7. Imagine if we’d had this tech back in our 20s. Total concert and party game‑changer!
Looking for work? 5 mistakes that will hurt your chances of getting hired
Social media is a place where we can loosen up a little. You can post jokes, silly pictures, or whatever on Instagram, X, Facebook and more. Unlike most social media sites, our sponsor, LinkedIn, is pretty buttoned-up.
Tech steps to take before you die
It’s a grim topic, but we have to think about what happens to all our online accounts, data, notes, photos, videos, websites, playlists, blogs and subscriptions once we’re gone. Do your loved ones a favor and get this sorted out beforehand.
🕵️ Website detective: Use this IP address tool to look up any URL. I do it all the time. Click the IP address to see where it’s located. Look for suspicious signs, like an American business with an IP address from somewhere overseas that just doesn’t make sense.
Before you hit the road: Download your directions so you can still navigate if your cell service cuts out. Open the Google Maps app and search for your destination. On Android, swipe up. On iOS, swipe to the end of the options. Tap Download to save an offline map you can access anytime.
Netflix shortcuts: Try these next time you’re watching from a browser. Hit F for full-screen mode and Esc to exit. Hit the spacebar to play and pause. M mutes, and the up and down arrows control the volume. Sweet!
✈️ Lost your luggage? United, Delta and Air Canada now accept Find My item locations. If your lost bag has an Apple AirTag, open the Find My app > select the tracked tag > Share Item Location. Grab that link and email it straight to the airline. Easy!
If your health claim gets denied: FightHealthInsurance.com is a free AI tool that helps you untangle why your claim was denied and quickly draft a custom appeal letter. It was made by someone who had to fight their own insurer. Pro tip: Make sure you include the word “appeal” in your letter or it may not be considered one.
🤳 Look your best: Ever been caught checking your hair in a video call? Kind of embarrassing. Adjust yourself and the lighting before the meeting. On a Windows PC, open your Start menu and search for the Camera app; on a Mac, open Photo Booth.
🇷🇺 So long and farewell, comrade: The U.S. government banned Kaspersky Lab and its cybersecurity products over the company’s ties to the Kremlin. If you’re using Kaspersky for your antivirus protection, try my antivirus pick instead.
So you’ve spotted a scammer on Facebook: Do your good deed and report them. Go to the scammer’s profile, and, in the top right corner, click the three dots. Select Find support or report, then follow the on-screen prompts.
👂 Alexa, can you hear me? Struggling to get your smart speaker to hear you? Keep it at least 8 inches away from walls and other objects to reduce echo and interference. Psst, look how cheap this Echo is.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
“Give me 10 more examples”: That’s a prompt I use with ChatGPT all the time to make the chatbot a better brainstorming buddy. Some of its “ideas” are downright bad, but it might spark something creative in your brain, too.
Hide-and-seek: You’re shopping online when your gift recipient walks in. Quick! Hide your open browser windows. On a PC, press the Windows key + M. (Use the Windows key + Shift + M to reopen your closed windows.) On a Mac, it’s Cmd + Option + H + M. Phew, no Santa spoilers.
💊 Who’s in your doc’s pocket? Worried your doctor might not be giving you impartial advice because they’re getting paid by Big Pharma? Look up your doc in this government database (U.S. only) and see which companies are giving them money. That includes celebrity docs, too!
Scammers are targeting teens – Warn your Gen Zer about these tricks
I told you about the 14-year-old who committed suicide after following the advice of an AI chatbot. Another family is suing the same one — Character AI — after it told an autistic 14-year-old to kill his parents. It also exposed an 11-year-old to sexual content.
Smartphone shortcut: On a Samsung, go to your Contacts and choose a person you want to talk to. Swipe left to begin a text message to them or swipe right to call them — no extra tapping required. Cool.
Make your app icons useful: On an iPhone running iOS 18, press and hold an app icon. At the top, you’ll see a few icons. Choose the second one to transform that app into a widget. Long-press again to change what that widget does. Apple’s Weather app widget, for example, can display the forecast. Neat!