Kindle upgrade: KTool lets you use your Kindle for more than books by easily sending articles, X threads and newsletters (like mine!) right to it.
Your IP address: What it is and why you need to protect yours if you care about privacy
Using the internet is a complicated affair. It may not feel like that to you as a user. You click on your browser and get on with your day — it’s as easy as pie.
Behind the scenes, though, is a whole different story. It’s full of numbers like your Internet Protocol (IP) address, basically your digital home address. This numeric label distinguishes your phone or computer from other devices worldwide.
When you type in a website, your computer translates that into numbers, searching the site’s IP address and loading it onto your screen. Just as money makes the world go round, so, too, do numbers keep the internet chugging along. But your whole digital world can crash when someone snatches your IP address.
An exposed IP address puts you in danger
Your IP address plays a significant role in sending and receiving data online. It’s tied to sensitive information, like your online identity and location. If someone tracks down this number, they could use it as a starting point for nefarious purposes.
Sadly, it’s easy for strangers online to find your IP address. It’s a huge vulnerability: They could hack your device or steal your identity. Or they could enter your address into a free tracking website like iplocation.net to find out where you live. It even comes with a built-in map:
A lot of people on social media apps will doxx one another. Suppose you comment that you like pineapple on pizza on Twitter. Someone having a bad day might respond by tracking down your IP address, posting your name and address and calling their followers, like “Let’s protest in front of their house.”
Of course, that’s a light-hearted example. Reality can be much grimmer.
And get this: Tracing someone else’s IP address is legal. Authorities only intervene when people use one another’s IP addresses for crimes. All the apps and websites you use collect your IP address and other private data.
So, how does someone find out your IP address?
First, they could try to impersonate you. For instance, a hacker could break into a vulnerable social media account if you aren’t using two-factor authentication. If you reuse passwords, they could break into even more accounts until they reach one with sensitive data. Then, it’s a free-for-all with your private info.
Good enough for government work: Elon Musk is talking about bloated government departments and wasted taxpayer dollars in posts to his 205 million X followers. He’s targeting specific federal employees, too, like Ashley Thomas, who makes $172,075 a year as the director of climate diversification for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. This sparked a ton of memes and ridicule, such as, “Sorry Ashley Thomas Gravy Train is Over.” Ouch.
Which social media platform was originally named Picaboo? Was it … A.) Instagram, B.) Snapchat, C.) Twitter or D.) Pinterest?
700,000 people
Signed up for Bluesky in a week. The X rival is feeling pretty blue-tiful with over 20 million members and counting. Perks include feeds with custom algorithms and the option to pick your moderation filters.
🗞️ We’re in trouble: Nearly 40% of Gen Zers get their news from social media influencers. X is the go-to news source, with Instagram close behind. Male influencers outnumber women 2-to-1, and news influencers lean a bit more right than left (27% to 21%). Wonder how long it’ll take for TikTokkers to be moderating debates.
Big Bluesky: Over a million people have joined X competitor Bluesky since the election. It’s a top free app on Apple’s App Store and Google Play now; Meta’s Threads is at No. 2, with 11 million active users. Heck, even X has grown by 5% since Election Day.
275 million accounts
Using Meta’s Threads, the rival to X. Zuckerberg says it’s on track to be their next major social app, with over 1 million people signing up each day. I think it’s kinda lame …
🛑 Nothing but blue skies: X recently changed its policies to where if you block someone, they can still see your profile and posts. Competitor BlueSky, meanwhile, added 500,000 new members in just one day. I’m going to start posting on BlueSky and see what happens. Too many people on X are mean.
💔 It’s not you; it’s me: Apple iOS 18 will now summarize your texts. A guy is going viral on X after receiving this summarization following an argument in a bar with his girlfriend: “No longer in a relationship; wants belongings from the apartment.” Hey, at least it didn’t beat around the bush.
78.7% drop in value
For X since Elon Musk took over. Yeesh. That’s based on a Fidelity disclosure valuing its stake in X at around $4.19 million. The initial investment? $19.66 million.
What was the most downloaded app of the 2010s? Was it … A.) Twitter, B.) Skype, C.) Facebook or D.) Candy Crush?
47% of Gen Z
Wishes TikTok didn’t exist. Half think the same about X (yeah, I still think of it as Twitter). The average time per day spent on social media? Four hours. You can’t convince me it’s anything other than addiction.
This is the same generation that ate Tide Pods: Gen Z’s latest social media trend is snapping photos of their TSA security trays while we all wait in line behind them. They neatly arrange their sunglasses, jewelry, bags and shoes before sending them through the X-ray, captioning it with gems like, “Am I overpacking for the one-day late-summer getaway?” Oof.
Love this idea: Two Colorado sisters launched a dating app designed for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Users can tap “X” or “❤️” to sort through matches, and there’s a “Dateability Deets” section where you check off terms that describe your condition. Check it out on iOS and Android.
New to Instagram: Comment on a story. Yep — a public comment, not a direct message only the person posting sees. To try it, tap the speech bubble icon in the bottom left corner of a story.
I got a kick out of this: Football player Travis Kelce’s dad is banned for life on X. He posted (on Facebook!) about the hypocrisy of arms dealers in Yemen selling weapons on the platform when all he really did was follow sports reporters. X hasn’t given him a clear reason — just a generic Terms of Service violation.
Length matters: On Facebook, you can go up to 63,000 characters (don’t, though — that’s too long!). Mobile cuts you off at 150. On X, you have up to 280 characters; 70 to 100 tend to perform best. As for Instagram, it’s 2,200 characters max, but only the first 125 are seen. With LinkedIn, go long if you must, but the first 25 words matter most.
X marks the spot: When Elon Musk took over Twitter two years ago, he told employees they’d need to work “extremely hardcore” with “long hours at high intensity.” Those who didn’t agree within 24 hours were fired. It turns out that not responding doesn’t legally count as resignation. A canned employee got $600,000.