Stop losing your car at the mall: Open the Google Maps app, tap the blue dot that shows your location, then select Save parking.
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!
Google Maps in navigation mode
- Tap the card at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose Share trip progress.
- You can either pick a contact to send updates to through Google Maps or select a messaging app to send a link with your location.
- Tap the bottom card > Stop Sharing to stop sharing your ETA. (It won’t share your whereabouts after you end the trip.)
With Google Maps on Android Auto, you’ll see the same navigation card showing the time left on your journey. Tap Share journey to let folks know where you are. Easy‑peasy.
Apple Maps in navigation mode
- Tap the Share ETA link that appears as soon as you start a journey.
- If the link has disappeared, tap the arrow at the bottom, then tap Share ETA.
- Choose a contact to share your arrival time with.
- Tap Stop Sharing ETA at any time, if you need to.
If you’re using an iPhone, you’ll get a link to see your location on Apple Maps. Team Android gets a text saying what time you’ll show up (and another text if that changes).
In an Uber
After you accept a ride, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the trip details. Tap Share Status on iPhone or Share My ETA on Android. (This works on the Lyft app, too.) Share this with anyone who takes an Uber alone.
Don’t want to be late in the first place?
Schedule a reminder to leave on time. Google Maps has it built right in when you look up a route!
Reset your social media algorithms
Still stuck in election season on your social media feed? Or maybe you bought one bottle of perfume and now Big Tech thinks you’re launching a beauty empire. Algorithms are smart, but they don’t know when you’re ready to get back to your regularly scheduled programming, like cat videos and memes. Here’s how to reset your feed and take control of what you see.
Your inner child just fist-pumped: A new Kickstarter lets you scan any object with its forthcoming Brick My World app, and its AI-powered tech will show you what to buy on the Lego marketplace. Don’t waste your money; Brickplicator does the same thing if you upload a 3D model. While Brickplicator isn’t as snazzy as the Brick My World app’s Kickstarter promises, you can use it now.
Use Excel a lot? Set up a macro to automate anything you do often, like formatting a monthly report the same way. Full guide here. So worth the time it takes to set up.
👻 Now you see it, now you don’t: “Vanish mode” turns Instagram into a Snapchat copycat, where messages disappear after you’ve viewed them. To try it, open a direct message in IG and swipe up from the bottom of your screen. That’s it. Swipe up again to turn it off.
🥳 I’m gonna live to 94: That’s according to the viral Death Clock app that’s all over social media, with people sharing eerie “save the date” results. Drawing from over 1,200 life expectancy studies with 53 million participants, the app analyzes your diet, cholesterol, blood pressure, exercise, stress and sleep to calculate your expiration date. PSA: After you answer the questions, the app tries to sell you a membership. Just click the faint gray “X” in the top left corner to see your results for free.
🖥️ A solid CCleaner alternative: Microsoft released a new version of its free PC Manager app for Windows 10 and 11, and it’s way better. You can view your internet speed in real time from the taskbar and delete temp and unnecessary files even faster. Bonus: On Windows 11, you can integrate it directly into your widgets. Go get it, my Windows friends.
Nice try, Microsoft: The new Bing Wallpaper refreshes your desktop daily, but it’s also pulling some shady, malware-like moves. Hidden tricks include auto-installing Bing Visual Search, pushing Edge as your default browser, and decrypting cookies from Chrome and Firefox. Don’t use it.
➡️ Lightning fast: In Microsoft Word, use Ctrl + the arrow keys to quickly move through words or paragraphs. Combine with Shift to select text as you go.
Welcome to the 21st century: You can finally save WhatsApp messages as drafts. Your unfinished messages will appear at the top of your chat list. Look for Draft in green under your contact’s name to the left of your saved message.
The free video editor does it all: VLC is a free, open-source media player that plays almost every audio and video file format in existence. It runs quickly, and there are no ads. Love that. It’s also simple to use.
📅 Outlook hack: Drag and drop emails to create appointments or tasks. Open Outlook, grab the email you want and drag it onto the Calendar or Tasks icon in the bottom-left panel. A new window will pop up. Now, just edit the details like the subject line or time and hit Save & Close.
🧼 Give your feed a refresh: Instagram is testing a feature that lets you reset your algorithmic suggestions for your Feed, Reels and Explore sections. Head to Settings > Content Preferences > Reset Suggested Content. Note: This reset doesn’t delete anything and won’t change the ads you see.
📝 Spellcheck your ALL CAPS: By default, Microsoft Office programs and Outlook don’t spellcheck words written in all caps, so your BIG TITLES might be full of typos. To fix this in Office apps, go to File > Options > Proofing and uncheck Ignore words in UPPERCASE. For Outlook, go to File > Options > Mail > Editor Options > Proofing and uncheck Ignore words in UPPERCASE.
Coming soon to Microsoft Teams: Real-time AI-powered translation to communicate in other languages. It even simulates your voice. Expect the initial version with support for up to nine languages early next year. Bonus: Soon, Teams will recap visual content (like PowerPoint slides) shared on-screen during a meeting. Thank goodness … I hate presentations.
🔢 Undo it: You’re doing math on your calculator app and one wrong tap ruins everything. Not anymore. On a touchscreen device, swipe right or left to delete the last character. How do you make a seven even? Subtract the ‑s.
Drowning in emails? Stay afloat with custom email filters in Outlook. Open Outlook on the web and click the Settings (gear icon) in the top right corner. Choose Email > Rules > Add new rule, then click Name to name your rule > Add a condition > Add an action. For example, Newsletters > The Current > Mark as important. Aren’t you smart?!
Next time you need a meeting or reminder on the cal: Tell Siri or Google Assistant what your plan is, along with a date and time. For example, say, “Hey, Siri, set up a lunch meeting with Bob tomorrow at 1 p.m.” or “OK, Google, remind me to thaw the steaks tomorrow at 8 a.m.” Nice.
Keep your intimacy wrapped up: The makers of a new app, Camdom, call it a “digital condom” against revenge porn. Camdom blocks all cameras and microphones when two phones are placed together and the app is activated. If one person tries to sneak a pic, an alarm buzzes. Better latex than never.