🔴 How to record a call on your iPhone: It’s built into iOS 18.1. During a call, hit the Start Call Recording button. (It’s not a secret — you and everyone else on the call will get an audio notification.) To stop recording, tap the Stop button or hang up. Recordings are automatically saved to a Call Recordings folder in your Notes app. Neato!
8 ways your phone is tracking you - That you can stop now
You understand that your phone knows where you’re located. This is how GPS works, how Find My sees your location and why you get local ads on Facebook and Google. Like other data on your phone, that location data is a hot commodity for internet marketers.
Thankfully, you don’t have to stand for this kind of data collection. These tactics are legal because the companies behind them give you a choice to opt in or out, but not everyone knows how to change the settings. We’ll show you how to stop your phone from tracking you. Ready to go dark? Let’s get started.
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1. Tweak your phone’s location settings
You can prevent iOS and Android from tracking you, but companies don’t make it easy. The feature is buried inside your device’s privacy settings and, by default, records your daily routine.
Known as “Frequent Locations,” it keeps track of where you are and how long you stay there. It even knows where you live and work based on how long you’re there and when you visit.
If you find this unsettling, you can turn the feature off. Here are the basic steps, but depending on your specific model and operating system, you may need to follow different instructions.
Turn off location settings on Apple devices
- Open Settings.
- Tap Privacy & Security.
- Select Location Services.
- Scroll down and tap System Services.
- Choose Significant Locations to see the logged record of where you’ve been and toggle it off.
You can also clear your history here by clicking Clear History.
Hidden trackers invade your browser – How to delete them
Internet cookies have been around for the last 30 years. Blame them on a programmer at Netscape who figured out a way for websites to “remember” users. Today, there are a few different types of cookies.
A first-party cookie is stored in your browser when you visit a website. It keeps things like your account or login info and shopping cart so you don’t have to fill them in each time. We like those kinds of cookies.
A new YouTube trend: I thought this was interesting. Searching for “IMG_0001” on YouTube lets you watch videos uploaded from early iPhones between 2009 and 2012. The clips show life before social media took over. There’s no editing, no descriptions and no flash … because the iPhone 3G didn’t have one.
Antivirus isn't just for your computer - Here's why you should protect your smartphone, too
You probably know that antivirus software is essential for your computer. Without it, you’re browsing without protection, exposing yourself to ransomware, viruses, Trojans, spyware and countless other threats. But your computer isn’t the only gadget that needs antivirus protection.
Holiday tech hacks: Digital cookbook, easier cards, group pic tips
I’m not sure where this year went, but it’s time to dive headfirst into the festive frenzy. I’ve got some tech tips up my sleeve that’ll sprinkle a little magic on your celebrations. You’re gonna love ‘em!
If your recipes are printed or handwritten, snap a pic with your phone or tablet. Add them all to one folder (or try the Notes app on iOS or Google Keep for Android) for easy swiping. Listen here for more tips about that.
Get sound alerts from your phone: Your phone can alert you to noisy things like barking dogs, crying kids or broken glass. Don’t rely on it to tell you if the baby is crying or to keep your dog safe, but it’s a nice fallback.
- On iPhone: Go to Settings > Accessibility > toggle on Sound Recognition. Tap Sounds to customize.
- On Android: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Sound Notifications. Turn it on, then tap the cog icon to customize.
💸 See what you’re spending: Apps and subscriptions add up. On an iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, then Media & Purchases > View Account > Purchase History. You can pick a date range at the top. Team Android, open Google Play, tap your profile icon, then go to Payments and subscriptions > Budget & history.
I know I opened my iPhone for a reason: If you accidentally delete an item from your Reminders app, you can still recover it! Open the app and select Recently Deleted. Find your note, then choose Move To so it goes back to where it was before. Don’t forget: You can only recover reminders deleted within the last 30 days. Now, what was I doing again?
Are you still watching? (No, I dozed off five episodes ago.) Set a timer to avoid unexpected time jumps. For iPhone, open the Clock app > Timer > When Timer Ends and scroll to Stop Playing so Netflix will close when the time expires.
Text-raordinary mistake: RCS messaging makes texting between an iPhone and Android device better, but there’s a catch: These messages aren’t encrypted. Google Messages is encrypted for Android-to-Android, and Apple Messages does the same for iPhone-to-iPhone texts. Between Android and iPhone? No encryption, meaning it’s super easy for a hacker to see your texts.
It’s not just emails: Mark texts as unread so you don’t forget to reply. On iPhone, swipe right on a conversation and tap the Mark as Unread button (it looks like a thought bubble). On Android, hold down on the convo, click the three-dot icon in the corner, then select Mark as unread.
Traveling solo? Share your location with your family and friends. On iPhone, open the Find My app and tap People (bottom of the screen) > + (plus icon) > Share My Location. Then, select a contact, hit Send and choose the duration. In Google Maps, tap your profile icon (top right) > Location sharing > New Share and send the link through your messaging app. Safe travels!
📏 Resize your iPhone apps: Want bigger or smaller app icons? Long-press on the home screen, tap Edit in the upper left corner, then hit Customize. A menu will pop up — choose Small for compact icons or Large for bigger ones. FYI: Selecting Large hides the app names for a cleaner look.
Urgent fire risk recall: For Belkin BoostCharge Pro fast wireless chargers. The iPhone and Apple Watch power pack launched in May 2023. Look for model number BPD005 on the back of your charging pad, and if you have one, stop using it immediately and fill out the refund form.
You’re hitting the road and your phone battery is low: Rats. Set the route in your GPS app before you leave, then switch your phone into Airplane mode. You’ll still follow your route thanks to your phone’s built-in GPS, but you’ll save battery life by cutting off data-hungry apps. Smart.
How to make your phone feel brand-new again
One of the best parts of getting a new phone is how fresh it feels inside and out. The screen is scratch-free, your storage is empty, and the phone is zippy, no matter what. And the battery life? Oh, buddy.
The clock starts ticking the moment you take your new phone out of its box. Let’s give yours that fresh-from-the-factory feel again.
🕵️ The case of the missing Edit button: The Edit button in your iPhone Photos app was last seen in the upper-right corner before a recent iOS 18 update. Now, it’s at the bottom of the screen between the Info (i) and Trash icons. The icon looks like three stacked sliders. Apple probably thinks this is more user-friendly, but I beg to differ.
🍏 Using old Apple tech? Starting Dec. 18, there’ll be no more iCloud backups for devices running on iOS 8 or earlier. Device-wise, that’s anything older than an iPhone 4s or iPad 2. Check if you can update to iOS 9 via Settings > Software Update. If not, it’s time to move on, friend. Cheap upgrades: iPad (10th-gen) for 20% off and the iPhone 12 (16% off).
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Real men cannot be stolen: A woman is going viral on TikTok for the way she discovered her boyfriend of eight years was cheating for the last two years. Yes, you read that right! Mr. “Lyin’ King” got a new iPhone and lost all his contacts. She sent him a text that read, “Hey sexy,” so he could save her number. He replied, saying he needed to leave his apartment but was on his way to bed her, thinking she was the other woman. Yikes.