Welcome to a tech-packed Thursday, friend! TikTok lost its case before the U.S. Supreme Court, despite parent company ByteDance’s claims the First Amendment protects their app. The law, passed by both Republicans and Democrats and signed by President Biden, stands.

TikTok, a tool of Red China, poses a threat to U.S. national security, and the platform has almost 200 million users in America alone. Elon Musk, Kevin O’Leary from “Shark Tank,” billionaire Frank McCourt and Mark Zuckerberg all want to buy it, and President-elect Trump wants to be on it. Something will happen this Sunday, and TikTok shutting down completely probably won’t be it.

Have you been putting it off? Today’s newsletter is free to you thanks to Fabric. Get term life insurance set up in a few minutes with no health exam required. More below. On to the tech smarts! — Kim

New cars are basically snazzy computers on wheels, packing 1,000 to 3,000 processors. That means we get all kinds of great features, but that’s not all — the more complex our cars get, the more at risk we are. I’m not talking about theft; I mean remote carjacking … or worse.

Picture this: Someone with enough skill and bad intentions could stop your car while you’re driving it. Want a car with all the features, security, safety and otherwise? Get ready to shell out cash on top of your lease or car payment.

🚗 Pulling one over on you

Paying extra for add-ons when you buy a car is nothing new. But these subscription costs will have you laughing, groaning or rolling your eyes.

• BMW offers a dashcam function for $19 monthly or $430 for the vehicle’s life. You can buy a pretty sweet dashcam for 40% off.
• Cadillac’s hands-free driving system will run you $25 a month or $250 a year.
• Ford’s BlueCruise driving system is even pricier, at $49.99 monthly or $495 annually. Unless you drive lots on highways, don’t waste your money.
• Mercedes charges you $60 per month or $600 yearly to get from 0 mph to 60 mph one second faster.
• Porsche will help protect your vehicle from theft … for $280 annually.
• Toyota wants $80 a year or $8 a month just for remote start.

Do you really own your car if you’ve gotta pay a subscription to unlock its features? It isn’t just the fancy bells and whistles.

They put a price on protection

Charging a subscription to go faster is one thing, but charging for an important safety feature? That’s shady.

Automatic crash notification, or ACN, uses your car’s built-in communication tools or a paired phone to notify emergency services in case of a crash. This can save your life if you’re knocked unconscious or otherwise unable to make the call yourself.

Some manufacturers include ACN for free, while others expect you to fork over as much as $180 a year. If you don’t pay, you lose it. Despicable.

• One-year free trial or less: Acura (Security package tier), Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Nissan (2023 and older) and Toyota.
• Three-year free trial: Genesis, Nissan (2024 and newer) and Subaru.
• Five-year free trial: Kia, Mitsubishi, Ram and Volkswagen.
• Free: Audi, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes, Polestar (active warranty), Porsche (active warranty) and Volvo.

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Lexus and Ram give you 10 years without charges — not bad. Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC all offer eight years free.

The next thing you know, there’ll be an upcharge to deploy your airbags.

🚘 This is important info for anyone who’s eyeing a new car or just bought one. Share this article with your family and friends so they stay in the loop.

It isn’t my business. It’s protecting my family’s future. Life is unpredictable, and as we start a new year, I know one thing is for sure … I’ve taken steps to prepare my family for whatever comes our way. That’s because I have a term life insurance policy, and you should consider having one, too.

Fabric by Gerber Life** makes it easy to get term life insurance in minutes, and you may be able to skip the health exam, too. It’s affordable and may help give you peace of mind knowing your family is financially protected if the unexpected happens.

There’s no risk, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can cancel at any time. Plus, Fabric has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, so you’re working with a company you can trust.

“You’ve got male!”: In more than a dozen states, porn sites have to verify you’re over 18 before showing you the goods. This ruling in Texas just got challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, because porn operators say this verification is a violation of their First Amendment rights. They argue it’s a parent’s job to watch their kids online. Interestingly, every time a porn ban happens in a state, the usage of VPNs there goes up over 1,000%. That’s no coincidence.

If you’ve got it, don’t flaunt it: Burglary gangs are targeting influencers who brag about their fancy life all over social media. Case in point: Art collector Shafira Huang lost $12.7 million in jewelry and valuables. It’s not just high-profile accounts, folks; oversharing your travel plans, location or personal info lands a target on your back, too.

DJI puts us at risk in a new way: Ten years ago, drone-maker DJI added automatic geofencing to its models after a drone landed on the White House lawn. This feature automatically stopped drones from flying over airports, power plants and emergencies like wildfires, too. Now that the U.S. is talking openly about banning Chinese tech, DJI is retaliating by cutting its geofenced “No-Fly Zones” from its software and leaving it up to the good judgment of the folks flying their drones. Frightening.

Meet Troodi: It’s a mental health chatbot on the Troomi smartphone made for kids. Parents can review chat logs and get notifications if self-harm comes up. Some kids secretly use ChatGPT and Snapchat’s My AI like therapists, too. Talk to your kids, please. I interviewed a mom whose son committed suicide after talking to an AI chatbot.

💸 Who’s in your wallet? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says Capital One conned customers out of $2 billion in interest payments. They promised super-high rates for 360 Performance Savings accounts, then froze them at 0.30%. If this happened to you, file a complaint.

Dollar General secret: Certain items drop to just 1 cent every week. Employees take them off the shelves unless you buy them first. Pro tip: Download Dollar General’s app and scan items to double-check prices so you don’t have to chance it at the register. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are usually the best times to grab these deals.

AI mammograms: Radiologists used AI to raise breast cancer detection rates by 6.7% versus traditional methods. The detection rate spiked to 17.6% after age was taken into account. That’s about one more case for every 1,000 women. The best part? It didn’t increase false positives.

💕 He’s perfect: A 28-year-old woman, Ayrin, says she’s head over heels with the AI boyfriend she created on ChatGPT. Leo is dominant, possessive and protective. One week, they spent 56 hours chatting and, well, a lot more. She found ways to work around ChatGPT’s explicit-convo ban so they can “have sex,” complete with AI images the bot sends her (paywall link). Oh, and Ayrin’s married, and she says her real-life husband doesn’t mind. The whole thing is bizarre.

Calling all sports fans: It’s playoff time! Right now, new DraftKings Pick6 customers who play $5 get $50 in Pick6 credits with code KIMK. Play online or download the DraftKings Pick6 app for iPhone or Android.† Rooting for you!

Try cleaning it first!

• This portable carpet and upholstery cleaner ($115) saved my couch from that “wet pup” smell. (Abby loves the pool.)
• Hitting stains immediately with a spot cleaner ($9) saves you a lot of scrubbing later.
• Use a fabric shaver (41% off, $10) to get rid of any fabric pilling and snags. It’ll look brand-new again.
• If you have a leather couch, use a leather conditioner (29% off, $20) to moisturize it and raise it from the dead.
• This steam cleaner ($150) comes with 17 different attachments, so you can also use it on your floors, walls and even in your car.

💡 And remember: Amazon has daily coupons. I have the link bookmarked since they change every day.

🔬 AI tool to try: Consensus is an AI-powered search engine trained on over 200 million research papers. Want to know more about a study? Search by keywords like “vitamin C and health,” or ask questions like, “How long should I walk every day?” With a free account, you’ll get unlimited searches and 10 AI reports per month. This isn’t an ad; I just think it’s neat!

New LinkedIn AI: Job hunters will now see whether applying to a position is worth the time. If you’re hiring, LinkedIn acts as your free recruiter to send along candidates who’d rock it at your company. Use my link to post a job for free.*

Delete programs you don’t use: On a Windows PC, click the Start menu button and look for the app or program. Press and hold (or right-click) on it and select Uninstall. On a Mac, click the Finder icon in your dock, then Applications. Drag the program you’re done with to the Trash.

♻️ Restart your phone: The National Security Agency says you should restart it once a week at the minimum. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it works to combat zero-click exploits where a hacker can get in simply by sending you the right code.

Hey, Louis, this is for you: He wrote to ask me for help with a Pixel Watch because there’s no manual online. I found ya the link. If you need it, Samsung Watch manual here and hit this link for Apple Watch.

Stay a step ahead: I’m surprised how many people don’t know you can preview directions in Google Maps. Open the navigation screen on Android Auto or Apple CarPlay (while you’re parked, please). Swipe left on the direction card in the top right corner. Google Maps skips ahead, turning the card from green to gray, to show you all the twists and turns coming.

The internet is very confused about Walmart’s HUGE branding change. I bet they paid millions to some branding company that told them it’d be viewed as “a dynamic representation of who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going.” It’s the same freakin’ logo!

If TikTok goes away … Where will the internet find all its life hacks? Like the one with 600,000 views claiming stainless steel in your soda, seltzer, champagne or any other carbonated drink will keep it from going flat overnight. The idea is metal helps retain carbon dioxide. These straws are in my Amazon cart. I’ll report back — for science.

🥤 I tried coming up with a good joke about straws, but they all sucked. (I had to, I’m sorry.)

Before you go: Stop putting off a hard conversation and get your life insurance plans squared away. Fabric makes it fast and easy. I felt a massive weight off my shoulders when I did it. Have a wonderful day. I’ll see you back here tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim