Happy Tuesday, friend. Ever regret selling an old collectible, only to find out it’s now worth enough to buy an island? 🏝️ Yeah, Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne gets that. He sold this thing for $800, and it would later be worth over $100 billion (That was not a typo!).

🤔 Thinking cap time: What do you think it was? A) His stock in Apple, B) His stock in Samsung, C) Apple’s original patents, or D) Apple’s secret formula for constant upgrades. Keep reading, the answer’s at the end. Bonus points if you think Ron’s upset about it or not.

Don’t gatekeep the good stuff. Forward this newsletter to that one coworker or friend who still uses “1234” as a password. You know the one. — Kim

Charles in San Antonio asked, “Kim, I have one of those smart thermostats. It must collect a lot of my data. Where does it all go?”

Buckle up, Charles, because your thermostat might know more about you than your best friend, your doctor or your cat. If you’ve got a Nest, Ecobee or any of those sleek little screens controlling your HVAC, they’re managing temperature while they basically stalk you, politely and with your permission.

Smart thermostats have evolved. They don’t just follow schedules; they predict them. That means they’re quietly paying attention to the kind of stuff normally reserved for very nosy roommates. 

🔍 What it’s tracking

• The time you leave and return home
• Which rooms you’re in the most (thanks to motion sensors)
• How long it takes to hit your ideal temp
• Your sleep and wake-up patterns

All this creepy-cool behavioral tracking gets sent to the cloud to “optimize” your comfort and help you save on energy.

If your thermostat knows your schedule, chances are someone else could, too. That data might be shared with advertisers, third-party companies, or worse, it could be accessed by cybercriminals if your account isn’t locked down.

🔧 What you can do about it

Turning off these smart features below is a great move for your privacy, but there are a few catches.

You’ll lose a bit of the magic that makes your thermostat “smart.” Without learning or motion sensing, it won’t adjust based on your routines or know when you’re home or away. You’ll need to set manual schedules.

Disabling data sharing and deleting your history means no more personalized insights or energy reports. You could also miss out on utility rebates that rely on usage tracking. 

If you’re OK giving up convenience, the trade-off is keeping Big Tech out of your living room. Note: Steps below work for most, but may vary based on your specific model number.

1. Turn off auto-learning

• Nest: Google Home app > Tap your thermostat > Settings > Temperature Preferences > Auto-Schedule or Smart Schedule (4th gen) > Off.
• Ecobee: Menu (three lines) > General > Preferences > Smart Recovery > Disable.
  

2. Disable motion or occupancy sensors

• Nest: Settings > Presence sensing > Turn off “Allow this home to use phone locations.”
• Ecobee: Menu > General > Sensors > Tap each one > Participation > Disable “Smart Home & Away.”
  

3. Review your data-sharing settings

• Nest: myactivity.google.com > Activity Controls > Turn off Web & App Activity.
• Ecobee: Account > Donate Your Data > Toggle off Donate Thermostat Data > Confirm.
  

4. Delete your usage history

• Nest: Visit Google My Activity > Filter by date & product > Select Nest > Apply > Delete results > Delete.
• Ecobee: Fill out a Personal Information form to request data deletion.
  

🎅🏻 Basically, your thermostat knows when you’re sleeping, it knows when you’re awake, it knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake.

🌡️ Let me tell you, my husband and I are playing the passive-aggressive thermostat game lately. I’m winning 73 to 68.

▶️ Ready to hit pause on the chaos and press play on self-care? Start here.

• Try these cooling pillowcases (23% off) for a soft touch on your skin.
• Drift off to sleep to calming music with a Bluetooth headband (38% off).
• Soothe your scalp with a portable massager (10% off) to feel your best.
• This mini fridge (17% off) for skin care keeps your beauty stuff chill.
• Grab a silicone face scrubber (20% off) that’s gentle but works wonders.

💐 Mother’s Day will be here before you know it. These are the gifts I want. Guys, I couldn’t make it any easier, seriously. Speaking of, I’ve totally revamped my Amazon storefront! You’ll find picks like my favorite dermaplaning tool (32% off for a nine-pack) that I reorder all the time.

💸 $20 scam spreading: Don’t fall for it. A stranger walks up and says you dropped $20. They try to stuff the cash back into your wallet, but they’re really swiping your debit card. One woman at a Ralphs grocery store fell for it. Thieves withdrew thousands in 30 minutes. Yikes.

🤖 No more humans working: The future is bright, if you’re a GPU or own six condos. Mechanize wants to replace all human work with AI. They say it’ll boost the economy since companies won’t have to pay salaries. Because robots are totally going to pay taxes for us. 

🚨 Don’t fall for this Zoom scam: Hackers are tricking people into installing malware. It starts with a fake podcast or interview invite. They ask you to share your screen. Then they request remote access but change their display name to “Zoom” so it looks like the app. Click Approve, and they’re in! Tip: Disable remote control in your settings.

🌳 No green thumb required: Why wait years for your yard to bloom? Fast Growing Trees makes it simple to plant like a pro. They’ll recommend the best trees and shrubs for your exact location and ship them straight to your door. No hauling, no guesswork. Use promo code KIM to save an extra 15%. I got an avocado tree, and it’s thriving!*

🗣️ YouTube wants to dub every video: AI tools will soon translate any video into any language (paywall link). It’ll use the creator’s own voice and sync their lips to match. The AI behind this is trained on current videos … and you agreed to it years ago. If you’re a creator, congrats, you’re multilingual now.

📢 Government drone testing is back: The FAA says don’t panic if you see them swarming New Jersey skies. They’re testing over 100 drones through April 25. It’s apparently to improve drone detection and to make sure they don’t mess with aircraft navigation. New Mexico, North Dakota and Mississippi, you’re up next. Don’t worry, it’s just 100 flying robots stress-testing your paranoia.

🛒 Check yourself: Say goodbye to all traditional and self-checkout lanes at Sam’s Club’s nearly 600 stores. Instead, you’ll use “Scan & Go” on their app. Then, AI-powered cameras and sensors will check your cart as you walk right out. Shoplifting? No. Shop-glitching? Maybe.

🤝 I want to be your secret helper and mentor: Do you think you’re getting scammed? Wondering how to use AI in your business or life? Need some advice? I would love to help you. Ask me your questions here on my site. I read every single note.

Today’s hearing aids are nothing like those old, clunky ones your grandparents used to wear. The IX hearing aids from hear.com are a total upgrade, offering crystal-clear sound thanks to cutting-edge multi-stream processing. They separate speech and background noise, then blend them back together perfectly, so you never miss a word… Even in a noisy room.

With Bluetooth streaming, smartphone control, and lightning-fast dual processing, these are the most advanced, natural-sounding hearing aids on the market.

🎧 Ready to hear life in full clarity? Rediscover sound like never before!

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: PC lagging? Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to skip the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen and open Task Manager immediately. Or just scream internally like the rest of us.

🎓 AI free ride: My college readers, you’re in luck. Google is giving away a year of Gemini Advanced for free. It’s part of the Google One AI Premium plan, which means you also get tools like Veo 2 for video, NotebookLM, 2TB of cloud storage and more. This runs until June 30. Just use your .edu email to sign up.

📺 Cast away: Got an Android and a Roku? Share your phone right to your TV without extra gadgets. On your Roku, go to Settings > System > Screen Mirroring and toggle it on. Then, grab your phone, head to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Cast. This won’t work for Apple folks, so fire up AirPlay. Now your screen can be blurry in 60 glorious inches.

🤓 Lost your glasses? Save a digital copy of your prescription, so it’s always handy while you’re away from home. On iPhone, open the Health app > Browse > Body Measurements > Vision Prescription > Add a Prescription. Tap Add once you’ve filled in your info. Android crew, scan your card and upload it to Google Drive. The future is 20/20, but only in your file storage settings.

📁 Too many tabs? It’s easy for things to get out of control. Try Chrome’s Tab groups to keep your flow tidy. Just right-click on any tab you have open > Add tab to group > New group. Give it a name, highlight color and drag any tabs into the group. Ah, no more chaos. Still lost, but now color coded like a beautiful breakdown.

🌍 Heading overseas? Don’t get slammed with outrageous roaming fees! Stay connected affordably in 200+ destinations with the eSIM I trust. Just download the Saily* app, choose a plan and connect instantly — no physical SIM needed. It’s fast, secure and hassle-free. Grab yours now and save 10%!

🍎 The answer: A) His stock in Apple. Ronald Wayne sold his 10% share in Apple just 12 days after founding the company in 1976. If he had kept it, his stake would be worth over $100 billion today. Wayne has said in interviews that he has no regrets, explaining, “I made the best decision I could with the information I had at the time,” and adding, “I don’t waste my time getting frustrated over the might-have-beens.”

🥣 I’ve started investing in stocks. My favorites are beef, chicken and vegetable. One day, I hope to be a bouillonaire. (I saw that smile!)

Tomorrow, how Susan got scammed out of $55,000 buying a car online. Spoiler: She did everything right except for one thing. Hope you’re enjoying getting tech ahead with the best tech newsletter in the USA. Now, Alexa plays you for inspo. Just saying. 🎶🗣️ — Kim

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