A wonderful Saturday to you, friend. Here’s a wild thought: What if you had to pitch the internet before it even existed? No Wi-Fi, no smartphones, with only a vision. Back when a “DM” meant handwriting a letter, one author imagined a future filled with screens, constant surveillance and yes … people living in pods.

Can you guess which work predicted our hyper-connected world nearly six decades before the internet became real? A) 1984 by George Orwell, B) Neuromancer by William Gibson, C) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, or D) “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster. The answer is at the end, no peeking! 

👉 Stop spam texts and calls right now. Data brokers sell everything from your address to your Social Security number to anyone willing to pay. Enter Incogni. They scrub your personal info from the web. I negotiated a 60% discount just for you. If you’re not 100% completely satisfied, they’ll refund your money. — Kim

Ever scroll through Instagram or Facebook and wonder, Why am I still seeing goat yoga videos and political or family drama from 2009? Our social media feeds are Frankenstein monsters built from everything we’ve clicked on, liked, hovered over or even winced at for half a second. 

Good news: You can hit the big, shiny RESET. Let’s declutter the chaos.

📸 Instagram: Wipe it clean

Instagram learns your taste based on Reels, Explore clicks and who you engage with. Accidentally watched a slime video one too many times? Now it thinks you’re obsessed. Here’s how to fix that:

• Go to your profile and tap the three-line menu.
• Tap Settings & activity > Content preferences.
• Choose Reset suggested content.

📘 Facebook: Take back your feed

If your Facebook feed still thinks you’re close to deciding the fate of American politics, reuniting with old friends you muted in your head years ago, and laughing at several pages dedicated to Minion memes, time for a change.

Quick fixes:

• Hit the three dots on any post and choose Not interested to see fewer posts like it or Unfollow to stop seeing updates (they won’t know).
• Want someone to appear first? Tap those three dots and select Favorites.
• Head to Settings & privacy > Settings > Accounts Center > Ad Preferences to adjust what shows up.

🐦 Twitter/X: Bring forth sanity

Elon’s playground gives you two feed views: the chaotic, algorithm-curated “For You” or good old-fashioned chronological order.

Here’s how to switch:

• Tap the Following tab in the top right.
• X should remember your choice next time you open the app.

🎵 TikTok: Reboot that FYP

If your For You Page looks like a digital circus act you didn’t audition for, it’s time to reset.

Steps to refresh your feed:

• Tap Profile > Menu (three lines) > Settings and privacy.
• Go to Content Preferences > Refresh your For You feed.

Social media should reflect who you are now. If an app makes you sigh before you even open it, that’s not just a vibe check. It’s an intervention. Hit reset.

I read every note you send me. Your feedback, your wins, your stories — they make my day. One note caught my attention about Incogni, a privacy service I recommend to everyone I know.

Incogni removes you from scummy data broker and people-search sites that make money packaging up and selling every scrap of info they have about you. It’s nearly impossible to find and remove all those profiles yourself. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Here’s what this loyal reader had to say:

“Thank you for recommending Incogni. Since I subscribed it has saved me from so many annoying spam calls and emails.”

Create an account and Incogni does the heavy lifting for you. It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up, then they get to work. If you’re not happy within 30 days, you’ll get your money back.

🚨 Windows alert: New password-stealing malware is spreading fast. It shows a fake “I Am Not A Robot” CAPTCHA and tells you to open the Windows Run box and type a command. Huge red flag. No legit site will ever ask you to do that. If it pops up, close the page immediately. And yes, real-time protection helps. I use TotalAV.

This leaves a mark: For the first time in over 20 years, Google searches through Apple’s Safari browser have dropped. Not a shocker. More people are using ChatGPT and Perplexity instead. Investors sold on the news, and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) lost around $250 billion in market value in a single day, or about the GDP of Finland or Portugal.

🤲 Amazon’s touchy new robot: Vulcan has a “sense of touch,” which is either a sci-fi dream or the start of our future metal overlords politely handing us our orders. Amazon swears it’s “not replacing workers,” just lifting the heavy stuff so humans can … watch? For now, it’s just in Spokane, but Germany’s next.

“I’d like to thank …”: Golden Globes is adding a Best Podcast category. The top 25 shows will be considered, and six will get nominated. No word yet on how they’ll pick the contenders. Pick me! 

Attention, parents with small kids: Researchers found that parents distracted by their phones around kids under 5 can cause long-term issues. Think poorer cognition and behavior problems. Why? This is when little ones are developing critical language and social skills, and being ignored can seriously mess with that.

🔮 Pet psychics on TikTok: Suckers, I mean people, are paying up to $250/hour to have strangers “speak” with their pets (paywall link), alive or dead. According to one dubious Dolittle, a cat told its owner he’s “very handsome.” I saw a heavyset woman doing this with 220,000 followers. She’s definitely a four-chin teller. 

50% off alert: My home security pick, SimpliSafe, is having a massive sale. When you get a professional monitoring plan, you get one month free! You don’t need to live in fear or worry about burglars when you’re not home. Get all the gear to lock down your home for half off.*

👩‍⚕️ I’ve got some small tools that can do big things for your body.

• Massage away your pain with a vibrating foam roller (22% off).
• A smart tape measure (14% off) gives you accurate body specs.
• Fever? This thermometer (11% off) checks your temp in seconds.
• Tame your nose and facial hair with a trimmer (11% off) for women.
• Can’t hear? You might want an earwax removal tool (27% off).

💙 Keep your cool: Hot and cold gel packs (36% off) work way better than that old bag of frozen peas.

🛒 Visit my Amazon store for more of my recommendations.

🎉 You’re invited! This weekend, my award-winning national radio show is broadcasting on 420+ stations across the U.S., and I’d love for you to join the fun. I’m talking tech tips, digital life hacks, wild stories I can’t fit in the newsletter and taking calls from listeners just like you. Find your local station or get the podcast.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Use MyActivity.google.com to see and delete everything Google knows about you. It’s a wild ride.

Tidy text: Ever copy and paste and get weird fonts? Here’s how to cut the formatting. On a Mac, press Cmd + Option + Shift when you paste. For PC, it’s Ctrl + Shift + V in most apps. Pro tip: If that doesn’t work, first paste into Notepad, then copy that into your document. Neat.

👂🏼 AirPods aren’t the only option: Check out Raycon.* Their Everyday Earbuds sound great, get a ton of battery life and are a fraction of the price. Get 15% off sitewide today with my exclusive deal!

Email déjà vu: Stop rewriting the same message. Create a template in Gmail to save time. On your computer, go to Settings > See all settings > Advanced. Click Enable next to Templates and Save Changes. Next time you hit compose, select More options (three dots at the bottom) > Templates > Insert template.

📅 Alexa, what’s on my calendar? Link it to your Amazon Echo to add or delete events hands-free. Open the Alexa app > More (three lines) > Settings > Calendar. Tap Add Account, choose your provider and follow the prompts. FYI, your events may be seen by anyone using your Alexa.

Don’t know what to watch? Hit up moviewiser.com. Type in the mood you’re going for in their AI tab. It’ll spit out a list of movies that fit the bill. I searched for “summer love story,” and the winners include The Notebook and About Time.

45-day risk free trial: Thanks to tech, these hearing aids have two tiny smart processors that analyze the sound around you to make conversations crystal clear. Incredible. If your ears had a software update, this would be it. See if you qualify today for a 45-day no-risk trial!*

The answer: D) “The Machine Stops” by E.M. Forster. Way back in 1909, this guy sat down and casually invented Zoom, TikTok and emotional burnout. The story described a world where people live isolated and communicate through screens. Sound familiar?

✅ Before you go: Incogni is the reason I have zero spam calls and texts on my phone. They’ve sent over 1,400 requests on my behalf to people-search and data broker sites to remove me. Incredible. Try it yourself for 60% off right now. If you’re not happy, it comes with a money-back guarantee.

One for the road: The plastic straw bans now happening in many cities were predicted by a 16th century prophet. His name was No-straw-damus. Argh. Tough crowd.

🙋‍♀️ Be sure to get more of me on Instagram, X, YouTube and Facebook. Tomorrow, I found an SD card and I’ll share what was on it here in the best tech newsletter in the USA! Until next time, take a break from the screen, even superheroes need naps. 🦸‍♀️💤 — Kim

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