iPhone pro tip: Apple’s Shortcuts app lets you automate actions with just one click. The sky’s the limit — for example, you can set up navigating to an event on your calendar, shrinking screenshots to save space and auto-sending happy birthday messages to your favorite people. Here’s a full guide on how to use it.
Are your apps spying on you? Check your phone's privacy report
There’s an easy-to-miss tool built right into your phone that shows you which apps access your microphone, camera, location data and everything else.
Don’t like what you see? Adjust the app’s permissions (I’ll show you how) or delete the app entirely. Let’s take a close look at Apple’s iPhone Privacy Report and the Android Privacy Dashboard.
Privacy, please
In the Apple-sphere? Your iPhone’s Privacy Report shows the network and web activity of each app on your smartphone. It looks at how often an app has accessed your phone’s sensors, camera and microphone, along with where it sends all your data back to.
You have to turn it on and let it gather data before you’ll see any of these insights. If you turn off the Privacy Report, it’ll clear out everything.
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Turn on App Privacy Report.
Make sure your iPhone is running iOS 15.2 or later. If not, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
After about a week, hop in and see what the Privacy Report has collected:
- Open Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report.
Here, you’ll see all the apps that gather your data. Tap an app’s name for more info. If you spot one that’s way too nosy:
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Tap on an individual permission, like Health or Camera. To revoke an app’s access, toggle off the switch.
Use an Android?
Some great apps you need to try
“Poke” your way to love: Facebook Dating has grown 20% every year since launching in 2019. One big reason? It has free features other dating apps charge for. Friends can do the swiping for you and you can let someone know you like them anonymously. It makes sense; Facebook knows everything about you, so it should be able to find you a date.
💰 Your go-to rideshare app may not offer the best deals, depending on your location. Type your pickup and drop-off points into RideGuru to get a comparison of rideshare options in your area, including Uber, Lyft, Curb, Ola Cabs and DiDi Rider.
Smaller or regional options (like those names above you probably don’t recognize) can be a lot cheaper than Uber. Try Wingz, too, if you’re scheduling a ride to the airport in advance.
Speaking of, many airports add an expensive rideshare fee that gets passed along to you. I know someone who takes the airport shuttle to the nearest hotel or parking area instead of directly to the airport, and they catch an Uber from there to their destination instead.
5 genius tech tips you’ll use all the time
I read every comment you leave at the end of this newsletter, and one theme always stands out: You want to know all the hidden things your tech can do! Lucky for you, uncovering those “I had no idea!” moments is my superpower. I’m here to teach you the things you didn’t even know you were missing!
Best AI tools for search, productivity, fun and work
In the past week, I’ve used AI to analyze a loved one’s health care records, create replies for a bunch of emails and map out two weeks in Europe. I used it to make a pic of me look better, too.
I know the wide world of AI tools is overwhelming, so I’m breaking it down today. Consider what’s below your primer on where to start if you’re brand new to the AI game or want to try out some new tools.
🤖 No truckin’ around: Late musician Jerry Garcia’s voice has been cloned by AI company Eleven Labs. Grateful Dead fans using the ElevenReader app (on iOS and Android) can now listen to the legendary guitarist read audiobooks, articles, poetry, PDFs and more in 32 languages. His daughter says it’s all about continuing his legacy as a tech enthusiast. Uh-huh … I’m seeing dollar signs all over this.
A hush-hush economy: When you agree to an app’s terms and conditions, you’re agreeing to be tracked — so says the Secret Service (great read, but it’s a paywall link). They used a data-broker company’s tool called Locate X to follow people over time through the apps they’d given GPS access to — no warrant needed or required. Now you know what you’re really doing when you agree to those permissions.
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.
Out the door, dinosaur: Microsoft is ending support for its Windows Mail, Calendar and People apps. Starting Dec. 31, 2024, you’ll lose the ability to send and receive emails through Mail. Microsoft wants everyone on its new Outlook app. Here’s the official exporting guide for your Mail emails and contacts. FYI: The Outlook app is slow, so you might want to switch to a different email client altogether. Thunderbird is a good free option.
😡 WTH? Black people in over 20 states are receiving racist text messages ordering them to report to plantations for slave labor. These hate-filled messages, which target kids and adults alike, are sent from unknown numbers, many of which are through the anonymous TextNow app.
Microsoft Paint and Notepad are getting AI features: Rewrite in Notepad will rephrase sentences, adjust tone and tweak content. Paint will feature a generative fill option to add an image with a prompt, while a new generative erase tool removes parts of a picture and blends the space left behind. That’s kinda like putting high-octane gas in a Mini Cooper.
Want to lock an app on your iPhone? It’s easy if you’re running iOS 18. Press and hold the app icon > Menu > Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode). That’s it.
👁️🗨️ Your eyes only: Android 15 lets you hide apps in a secure folder. Go to Settings > Security and privacy > Private space > Set up. (For added security, you’ll see the option to create a new Google account, but you don’t have to.) Choose your authentication method, then tap Use screen lock for your phone’s default method or Choose new lock to set up a new one. Press Done.
Dating app nightmare: A Utah woman matched with a “serial killer in the making” on Tinder. They chatted for months, and she met his parents. For their second date, he brought her to a secluded park for a picnic and stabbed her multiple times. Miraculously, she escaped. When detectives asked him if he would do anything differently, he said, “I’d get a sharper knife.”
Android folks, watch out for this: FakeCall malware is targeting over 20 banks. It starts with an infected app that becomes the default calling app on your phone. The next time you call your bank, it redirects to the attacker’s number with a fake screen and everything. Remember, you should only download apps from the official Google Play Store.
📍 Secret Service agents spilling secrets: How? By using the GPS fitness app Strava, which is more like a social media site. Sure, agents can’t use their personal devices while on duty, but it’s OK off the clock. Agents’ Strava profiles gave away the locations of President Biden and his wife, former President Trump and his wife, and Vice President Harris. If you use Strava, set your privacy to the “Only You” setting. You’d think that the Secret Service’s top brass would’ve known about this. FWIW, I’ve been warning about this app for years.
⛽ New pain at the pump: When you swipe a credit card at a gas station, it usually checks for a $1 balance, lets you fill up, then charges the full amount. Thieves have caught on. They can use practically any stolen card to rack up hundreds of dollars in free gas. To not get taken, use Apple Pay, Google Pay or the gas station’s app.