📱TikTok’s parental controls: In a total PR move and after seven years in the U.S., the app is rolling out Family Pairing tools. You can block access at certain times and check who’s following your teens. There’s a new “Time Away” feature to set a schedule and a “wind down” option for bedtime. Why now? It’s looking at a sale or ban next month, silly.
Flying or cruising? They’re watching you.
You might not realize it, but airlines and cruise lines collect a lot of data, from your seat choice to the websites you browse on their Wi-Fi.
When you book a flight or cruise, they collect the usual stuff, including your name, email, phone number, passport info and payment details. But it doesn’t stop there. They also track:
- Your travel habits: Where you go, how often, your seat selection, how many bags you bring and the weight, how likely you are to buy the upsells, and what perks you like (or don’t).
- Your onboard Wi-Fi activity: What sites you visit, how long you stay on those sites and the apps you use.
- Facial recognition: Some airlines and cruise ports scan your face for check-in and boarding. Your facial scan can also be cross-referenced with government databases and that tracking, too.
And they also know:
- What you eat and drink: Yes, all that is saved, and they even track how many minutes it takes for your drink to be empty so they can offer a refill (or sell you another cocktail).
- If you’ve complained before: Flight attendants and cruise staff can see your complete whining history before you even say a word.
- What you watch and shop for: Whether it’s a seatback screen or your in-room TV, they log what you browse, watch and buy.
😳 Your airline or cruise app is tracking you, too
If you downloaded the airline or cruise line’s app, you’ve handed over even more data, including your device info, operating system and cellular carrier. They also track:
- Your location: Even when you’re not flying or sailing, they may collect GPS data.
- Your browsing history: What you’re searching for inside the app, including trips you didn’t book.
- Your fitness data: Cruise lines will log workouts, spa treatments and even step counts.
🔒 How to lock down your travel data
It’s a safe bet that airlines and cruise companies are selling all your data. If this bothers you, there are steps you can take.
- Ask them to delete your data: If you’re in California, Colorado, Connecticut or Virginia, privacy laws work in your favor. Otherwise, call customer service and ask them what you need to do to remove your data.
- Skip onboard Wi-Fi: Download movies, music and books before your trip.
- Use your own devices: Avoid seatback screens and in-room entertainment to limit tracking.
🤣 What do you call an airplane that flies backward? A receding airline. Oof, I know.
📵 Kids glued to their phones? Pick a day or time for the whole family to unplug and spend time together. Download my kids’ tech contract for them to sign and hang it on the fridge as a reminder.
Save battery on your iPad: By default, most apps run in the background and drain power. Social media and messaging apps might need this, but many others don’t. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, check what’s important, and turn off the ones you don’t need.
👮 Need help but can’t speak? In many areas of the USA, you can text 911 instead of calling. It’s not available everywhere, so it’s best to check ahead. Visit text911.info to see if it works in your area. It could literally save your life.
Price tags can fool you: Always check the unit price (cost divided by the number of units). On sites like Amazon, it’s in parentheses in tiny letters next to the sale price. This makes comparing prices easier to see if buying in bulk is actually worth it.
📈 What’s hot? Google Trends knows. If you run a business, search for keywords related to what you do to see what’s popular. Use the filters at the top to search by region, time and category to make your content or products match the buzz.
From Bob in Illinois: “I switched to StartMail and I get no more junk email. Plus, no big tech snoops and trackers!” You can transfer your entire mailbox, including messages and contacts, with zero downtime and 100% security. Right now, get 60% off your first year.
📇 Android clipboard history: Your smartphone stores texts and links you’ve recently copied, making it easy to paste old snippets. To find them, tap the Clipboard icon when your keyboard appears. Don’t see it? Tap the arrow on the left side of the keyboard to open the menu, then select Clipboard.
Accidentally closed a tab in Safari? No need to dig through your history. Just tap the All Tabs button (two overlapping squares in the upper-right corner), then press and hold the “+” icon. A list of recently closed tabs will pop up, letting you quickly reopen any web page.
🚨 Hackers can steal your home without you even knowing: With just a forged signature, cybercriminals can take out loans in your name, drain your equity and leave you with the mess. Home Title Lock monitors your title 24/7 and alerts you to any tampering because your biggest investment deserves the best protection. Click here to get a free home title history report, using code KIM250.
Safety first: Look at the file extension after downloading a PDF online. You’re looking for .pdf. If the file name ends with .exe, delete it. It’s likely malware.
🎓 Take a class about AI: MIT OpenCourseWare offers free classes from beginner to ethics. Plus, you get bragging rights: “I just finished an MIT class about AI.” Amazing. Did you know that evil scientists get their degree at the Poison Ivy League?
📵 Use a burner phone number: Don’t want to hand out your real number to every website? Use Google Voice instead. Sign in with your Google account, choose a free number (you’ll need to link it to your real one) and you’re all set. You can now call, text and receive messages through the Google Voice app or website.
🎙️ Want to record your voice on Windows 11? The Voice Recorder app is gone, but you can use Sound Recorder, which is even better. It shows audio wavelengths while recording and lets you mark important spots. In the three-dot menu (top right), you can also tweak Recording Format and Audio Quality.
⌨️ Shrink the keyboard on iPad Notes: The on-screen keyboard takes up half the screen, which gets frustrating when you need to scroll. Sure, you can hide it, but then you can’t type. Instead, pinch inward on the keyboard to shrink it into a small, floating version. It’s way easier to work with.
💡 Turn: Two outlets into five. This $10 extender gives you four USB ports, too.
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Ding-ding-ding! Sign up for text and email alerts from your bank. I do, and, yes, it’s a bit annoying to approve purchases I’ve made, but it’s also notified me a few times someone got their hands on my card. In your banking app, go into Settings and look for Alerts or Notifications.
🤫 Tired of someone’s posts on Instagram? You can mute them without unfollowing. Next time they post, tap the three dots on their post and select Hide. When the prompt appears, tap Mute and choose to mute either Posts or Posts & Story. Bonus: Instagram won’t tell them you did it!