TikTok in limbo: President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to delay TikTok’s ban, set to kick in on Jan. 19 — just a day before his inauguration. He wants more time to try to save the platform. No word yet on what that deal might include, but it’ll likely involve ByteDance selling a big chunk of its TikTok ownership to a U.S. company.
Retailers have so many ways to track you – Here’s how to fight back
If you have a pulse and an internet connection, companies want all the details they can get about what you’re willing to buy. Now that your holiday shopping is done, it’s time to take back control.
There’s a bit of work you can do and then to reclaim your privacy, but if you’re looking for a longer-term solution, I’ll share my secret weapon in the fight against tracking.
‘The Way We Were’
This appropriately titled hit song by Barbra Streisand, released in late 1973, was still a chart-topper in June 1974, when the Universal Product Code (UPC) hit grocery and department stores.
Before UPCs, retailers could decide prices based on things like race, gender, or whether the store clerk liked you or not. Could you imagine going to Walmart and hoping the cashier thought you were cool? Sheesh.
But the introduction of barcodes brought retailers an even bigger benefit: They could use them to track what you bought so they could influence your purchasing habits. Yep, Big Brother’s been watching you in Aisle 5 for decades. UPCs were just the beginning.
The methods are many
We love to blame the digital age for targeted ads, but retailers already had a ton of consumer data by the time the internet came around. It only helped them step up their game a ton.
- Loyalty programs collect data on your purchases, frequency and preferences.
- Mobile apps know when you’re in their store. Nope, those perfectly timed coupon notifications aren’t a coincidence.
- Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth beacons map where you go and document your movements around the store.
- Point-of-sale systems document your purchase histories and connect them to your email address or phone number (if you’ve provided them).
- Surveillance cameras aren’t just for catching thieves. Some retailers use AI to analyze your shopping behaviors and habits.
Take back your (purchasing) power
Tracking is unavoidable, but there are ways to protect your privacy. Use these tips to feel less watched and more sane:
- Uninstall retail apps from your phone. If you can’t part with them, disable your location permissions for each.
- Limit loyalty cards. The fewer you sign up for, the better your privacy. I find most cashiers are willing to let me use theirs in the checkout lanes.
- Switch off Bluetooth if you don’t use it often.
- Know your rights. If you use a retailer’s website or app, there’s usually a section where you can opt out of specific data collection or sharing methods.
“The biggest influencer scam of all time"
That’s what YouTuber MegaLad calls the coupon browser extension Honey, which PayPal bought for $4 billion in 2020. He says they’ve been deceiving shoppers and influencers for years by ignoring coupon options and hijacking links through sneaky pop-ups. While I am researching to see if this is true, I uninstalled Honey and you should, too. I’ll let you know what I find out.
20 years ago
Yelp launched. Over 300 million reviews later, it’s still one of the first places most of us go to check out a restaurant or bar. They just rolled out an AI assistant that gives recommendations and weeds out phony reviews. A restaurant owner offered me a free calamari appetizer if I gave him a good review on Yelp. It was squid pro quo. (I saw you smile!)
🏥 Remember the massive Ascension data breach? You know, the one that exposed the personal and medical data of 5.6 million people earlier this year. It turns out an employee accidentally downloaded a malicious file and exposed the whole data dump. Basic network security and training could’ve prevented this mess. I hope they get hit with a big fine.
“The biggest influencer scam of all time”: That’s what YouTuber MegaLad calls the coupon browser extension Honey, which PayPal bought for $4 billion in 2020. He says they’ve been deceiving shoppers and influencers for years by ignoring coupon options and hijacking links through sneaky pop-ups. Watch the vid here. While I’m researching to see if this is true, I uninstalled Honey and you should, too. I’ll let you know what I find out.
⚰️ “Obituary pirating”: If you look up someone in your life who recently passed, you just might see random YouTube videos of someone reading their obituary. Video creators are doing it to make a few ad bucks. Aren’t you glad to be ahead of the rest? I told you about this a year ago, and now the mainstream media’s picking it up.
The opposite of artificial intelligence is natural stupidity: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just teased new ChatGPT features coming in 2025, including family accounts, improved voice mode and a “grown-up” version without the content guardrails. That last one frightens me; there’s already a problem with AI-generated child porn.
🗣️ “Hey, Alexa”: The voice of Amazon’s smart assistant doesn’t belong to actress Kristen DiMercurio, and she wants to make sure others know it. She’s heard on over 8,000 projects and is often mistaken for Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. Her TikTok video about the mix-up (and the real Big Tech voices) has racked up nearly 28 million views. She’s got skills.
Life Skills 101: Gen Zers grew up with apps and cards, not cash. That’s why you might have trouble paying for items if you get a 20-something cashier. More often than not, they think bills are counterfeit. Know someone born between 1997 and 2012? Tell them no one really counterfeits $5, $10, $20 or $50 bills — only $100s! Meanwhile, a new study proves handing over cash gives you a “sting” you don’t feel with an app. Want to keep your spending in check? Use cash. No wonder Gen Z is so in debt.
🙃 Smile for the bot: A new AI tool calculates your biological age by looking at your face. Created by cancer doc Raymond Mak, FaceAge spots signs of aging by analyzing wrinkles and skin texture. Mak’s team says it’s even better than doctors at predicting your life expectancy. Your next annual exam might include a photo opp. I wonder how it deals with Botox.
Ever wonder who’s behind scam rings? The Wall Street Journal just published a great story about a giant pig-butchering scam operation (paywall link) in the Philippines run by the former mayor of a town 60 miles north of Manila. Alice Guo had thousands of workers scamming people, including Americans. She swindled millions from mostly retirees to pay for fancy cars, designer goods and a helicopter. Now, the 34-year-old is facing human trafficking and corruption charges. I hope she rots in jail.
About to see way mo’ Waymos: Google’s Waymo took the lead in the self-driving robotaxi race, with over 3 million driverless rides across three cities this year. In 2025, we could see autonomous Teslas, and Amazon’s Zoox plans to open up to customers early next year, too. OK, this made me laugh: A confused cop tried to pull over a car with no one in the driver’s seat.
$1.3 million
Prince Harry’s salary at BetterUp. The U.S. company is the app equivalent of a life coach, yet ex-employees describe it as “a toxic trainwreck” where “everyone is living in fear.” Didn’t he use those words to describe the royal family?
Hear, there, everywhere: Leaks for Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 hint at nifty, new features, like heart rate monitoring, temperature tracking and other cool health metrics. No release date yet, but, based on Apple’s usual timeline, we should see them next fall.
🧑🎄 Sleigh what? Elon Musk posted an Ozempic Santa pic on X, with Saint Nick looking festive and slim in a suit and beard. He’s technically using Mounjaro, but it has the same GLP-1 hormone that regulates your blood sugar. Musk says he isn’t a big fan of the gym and uses drugs to drop weight instead.
☢️ Toxic wrist: This is bad. Your smartwatch band may be loaded with forever chemicals linked to cancer, infertility and high blood pressure. Researchers found a particularly nasty chemical in 22 smartwatch brands, including Apple and Google. The highest concentrations were in the more expensive bands; all the under-$15 ones were clear. Here are options for Apple Watches and Fitbit.
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Judge, jury and Oculus: A Florida judge strapped on an Oculus Quest 2 to take a virtual journey through the eyes of a man accused of pulling out a gun at a wedding. His attorney wanted the judge to feel the chaotic scene. Back in the ‘90s, the same lawyer submitted a computer-animated recreation of a crime. Future jurors, buckle up (literally) for more of this.
Forget cash: Today’s teens are paying off debts to each other using Starbucks items. Almost 31% would rather settle for a cold brew or cake pop over cash. The chain is the go-to spot for teens, and a whopping 89% know their bestie’s drink order by heart. That’s friendship goals in the 2020s for ya.
60% reduced risk
Of Alzheimer’s disease for regular caffeine drinkers. The sweet spot for most is no more than four cups a day (around 400mg of caffeine), but cut that to two cups if you have high blood pressure. Fascinating read here.