Privacy & Security
How To: Hide Your Liked Videos on TikTok So That Nobody Can See Them but You
Every video you like on TikTok, whether it's a stranger performing a series of choreographed movements or a celebrity showing off their new workout, is saved to your profile. If you want to watch your liked videos at any time in the future, you can easily do so from your profile — but so can everyone else.
How To: Keep Your Phone Unlocked When It's Paired with Your Smartwatch
Apple just rolled out the of iOS 14.5 to developers and beta testers, and one of the headlining features is the ability to keep your iPhone unlocked when your Apple Watch is nearby. As these things tend to go, Android has actually had this same feature for years, though it isn't quite as polished.
How To: Use This Gmail Trick to See When Apps & Sites Sell Your Data
How do spammers get your email? You give it to them. Not directly, no — you sign up for an app or service and happily hand over your email to verify your new account, then that app or service sells your email address to marketers who now know what kinds of apps and services you like.
How To: The First 12 Things to Do When Switching to Signal Private Messenger
Signal is one of the best end-to-end encrypted messengers on the market. It offers robust security, keeps minimal information about its users, and is free to use. Switching to it as your main messenger can be a bit daunting, so to help, we created a guide to walk you through the process.
How To: Disable or Delete Your Location History in Google Maps for More Privacy
Google Maps tracks everywhere you go with your smartphone, even when you're not using the app. Even if it's as mundane as your weekly grocery trip, Google Maps has it saved for you to see in its Android and iOS apps. And while it's mostly used for recommendations and your reference — you may not want Google Maps to keep such a rich location history.
How To: Stop Websites from Asking to Use Your Location Every Single Time for Uninterrupted Browsing in Safari
If you surf the web on your iPhone, you no doubt run into this problem all the time: a website wants your location. It can happen when performing a location-based task, such as using a store locator, or whenever a web app just wants to deliver better ads or local recommendations. If you're tired of allowing or denying permission each time, there's an easy way to stop the annoying security pop-ups.
How To: Ditch Google's WebView & Switch Android's System Browser to Bromite
Apps don't need to come bundled with an entire browser just to be able to display web pages — instead, they can call on the system WebView browser to render content for them. Android's default WebView renderer is Google software, which isn't quite as privacy-forward as some other options.
How To: Get the iPhone's Auto-Hiding Lock Screen Notifications on Android
The iPhone has a setting that will obfuscate the content of notifications on its lock screen until you're recognized by Face ID. Google implemented this same feature in its Pixel phones, but many Android devices have no such option. At least, not by default.
How To: 9 Things You Should Be Doing to Make Your TikTok Account Secure from Hackers
You should feel relatively safe to watch and post videos on TikTok, but like with any online service, you're always at the mercy of hackers.
How To: Trick Your MacBook's Touch ID into Registering Twice as Many Fingerprints for Each Account
While Touch ID has been a part of the iPhone's legacy since 2013, Apple waited until 2016 to add biometrics to its MacBook lineup, and it's not as impressive. An iPhone with Touch ID can register up to five fingerprints, but Macs can only register a maximum of three per account. If that seems unfair, there's an easy trick to doubling that number, meaning six of your fingerprints could unlock your laptop!
How To: Auto-Delete Messages for Everybody in Regular Telegram Chats — Not Just Secret Chats
Have some sensitive information you need to share with somebody on Telegram but are worried it might fall into the wrong hands? You don't have to worry anymore because Telegram now sports a way to automatically delete all new messages in any chat of your choosing, not just end-to-end encrypted ones.
How To: The Best 'No-Logs' VPN Apps for Safe & Private Mobile Browsing
There's a lot of misinformation about VPN services, and it stems from the fact that not all of them are created equal. Some focus on privacy, others on security, and a few VPNs are seemingly even purpose-built for the polar opposite: data collection. We made this guide to help clear the air on some of these issues while objectively ranking the best of the best.
How To: Stop Your TikTok Account from Being Suggested to Contacts, Facebook Friends & Other Users You May Know
Your TikTok videos might be interesting, creative, fun, and appealing, but that doesn't necessarily mean you want the entire world to see them. While you're fine with strangers watching your videos, you may not want your close friends, family, and coworkers to see the kinds of mischief you're up to.
How To: Quickly Generate Anonymous, Throwaway Email Addresses on Your iPhone to Keep Your Real Email Accounts Safe from Spam
A temporary email can go a long way. Using your actual email to sign up for a mailing list to receive 10% off a purchase doesn't make sense if you don't use the website much. It means you'll have to deal with spam emails from then on, which is why an anonymous email is perfect not to have to deal with all that trouble. And that's where the TempMail shortcut for your iPhone comes in handy.
How To: Enable Offline Finding on Your Galaxy So You Can Locate Your Phone in Airplane Mode
Nowadays, even the dumbest thieves know that the first thing you should do after you steal a phone is turn on airplane mode. Not only does this make it harder for police to track the phone through cell tower triangulation, but it also disables security features the person you stole it from may have implemented — for instance, Samsung's Find My Mobile service.
How To: Find Out Which App Is Displaying Toast Notifications on Your Android Phone
Standard notifications on Android are pretty intuitive, but the little popup toast messages that appear at the bottom of the screen can be a bit elusive. They come and they go, and that's about it. You can't long-press them to change their settings or even tell which app displayed them in the first place.
How To: What Are Those Orange & Green Dots for in Your iPhone's Status Bar? To Protect You from Malware & Hackers
After updating to iOS 14 or getting a new iPhone with iOS 14 preinstalled, you'll notice orange and green dots that occasionally appear at the top of your iPhone. These dots appear on all supported iOS 14 devices, from the iPhone 6S to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and are there to protect you, but how?
How To: Check This Setting if You Don't Want Your Friends to See What You're Listening to on Apple Music
You shouldn't care what other people think, but sometimes, it's unavoidable. Take your music tastes, for instance. Sure, you might want your friends to think you only listen to the coolest songs, but we all have our guilty pleasures. If you're uncomfortable with your peers seeing your listening history in Apple Music, know there's something you can do about it — on iOS or Android.
How To: Apple Saves Your Siri & Dictation History — Here's the Easy Way to Delete It
Apple has an excellent reputation for its privacy and security policies. That said, it isn't a perfect reputation. Take Siri, for example. The helpful iOS assistant isn't just communicating with you — Apple saves and listens to a history of your Siri interactions. If you don't want Apple storing your Siri history forever, there's something you can do about it.
How To: Stop Getting Unwanted AirDrops on Your iPhone from Strangers & Pranksters
One of Apple's best features is AirDrop, which easily lets you send files to other Apple devices with a simple tap. That said, it might be a little too easy to use since just about anyone can send a file to your iPhone, whether you know them or not. The difference between AirDrop as a useful tool among your contacts and an open channel for the entire iPhone community comes down to one setting.