Quick Amazon privacy fix: Remove items from your browsing history to avoid revealing your gift ideas or embarrassing purchases. Hover your cursor over Account & Lists and click on Browsing History. For each item you want to hide, tap Remove from view.
Time-saving tricks using your keyboard
I spend hours and hours (and hours) online every week looking for the latest in tech for my national radio show, podcasts and, of course, newsletter.
I rounded up eight browser keyboard shortcuts I use so you can spend less time clicking around for the right button, too.
4 if you’re always in Word or Google Docs
These tricks make work (or writing the novel you always wanted to get to) so much faster and easier.
- Just the text: Drop in text from somewhere else — without all the formatting coming with it. Use Ctrl + Shift + V to paste in whatever text you’ve copied, stripped completely of the source formatting.
- Swift selections: Make sure your cursor is before (or after) the text you’d like to select, then hold down Shift and use the left or right arrows to expand your selection, one character at a time. Ctrl + Shift + the left or right arrows will allow you to select the remainder of a line.
- Get in the mode: Need to track your changes? Switch between editing modes by holding down Ctrl + Shift + Alt, then tap X to suggest changes, Z to edit directly or C to just view the document, not edit it.
- Do it in style: Easily change your text formatting by holding down Ctrl + B for bold, Ctrl + I for italics and Ctrl + U for underlining. You already knew that? OK, but what about holding down Shift + X for strikethrough text, Shift + . (period) to superscript something and Shift + , (comma) for subscripting? I thought so!
3 tricks for tabs
These genuine timesavers work in most popular browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.
- Closing time: Hit Ctrl + W (Windows) or Cmd + W (macOS) to shut down the browser tab you’re currently looking at. If you close a tab by accident, use Ctrl + Shift + T (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + T (macOS) to bring it back.
- Tab cycling: On Windows and macOS, you can use Ctrl + Tab to scroll through open tabs (yeah, all 200 of them). Hold down Shift as well to go in the opposite direction.
- Turn over a new tab: Hit Ctrl + T (Windows) or Cmd + T (macOS) on your keyboard to open a new tab and jump straight to it. If you want a new window, use Ctrl + N (Windows) or Cmd + N (macOS).
2 ways to stay in the flow
- Keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling: Engrossed in something online? Tap the spacebar to scroll down the page and keep reading without looking away. Shift + spacebar takes you back in the other direction.
- Eyes on the prize: Follow an interesting link without losing focus while reading. Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (macOS) when you click on a web link to open it in a new tab while you stay on your current tab. Add the Shift key to open a link in a new tab and jump straight to it.
2 ways to re-trace your steps
- Follow the breadcrumbs: You know those “back” and “forward” buttons in your browser? You can do the same with your keyboard, no clicking required — hold down Alt (Windows) or Cmd (macOS), then tap the left or right arrow button to explore your browsing history in the current tab.
- Save your page: Press Ctrl + D (Windows) or Cmd + D (macOS) to bookmark the current webpage so you can get back to it later. Your browser will throw up a dialog box you can use to sort the bookmark into a folder.
Here are the 5 social media companies tracking you the most
Your privacy is at risk if you have an internet connection. Every app and service tracks you to some degree, with some playing fast and loose with your data. Here are the most invasive apps.
It’s no secret that social media companies track almost everything you do, but which are the worst offenders? Check out the full report below.
Exposed: Uncover the tracking secrets of Apple and Microsoft while you work on your Mac or PC
Ever accidentally liked something on social media you didn’t mean to click? Before you panic, read this to see which “likes” you can take back.
That’s just one small slice of what websites you visit and services you use collect about you. Here’s how to see (and erase) everything Google tracks.
Here's what you need to know about TikTok's dangerous reach in the US
Thanks to TikTok’s invasive spying and private data collection, the U.S. government has already started plans to ban it. Here’s what you need to know and how to protect your privacy from the Chinese spy app.
TikTok has over 100 million users in the U.S. alone, many of whom are children. Now, you can watch the videos without creating an account, but does that make you safe? Here’s what you need to know.
That's embarrassing: It's time to wipe out your search history
If you feel comfortable with someone else looking through your search history, raise your hand. Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Sometimes it’s as innocent as shopping for a gift and not wanting to give away the secret. Pro tip: Use Incognito mode so you don’t get many ads showing precisely what you ordered.
Opt-Out Tuesday: How to see what Microsoft knows about you and shut down tracking
Thanks to people search sites, your information is all over the internet whether you’ve ever accessed the site or not. Tap or click here to remove yourself from these invasive data collectors.
There are a few apps and services that don’t require you to sign in or create an account. But the more you use your details on various sites, the more information that company gathers on you. Eventually, these companies compile the data into a neat bundle and use it to serve you personalized advertising.
Yes, your data is for sale - Here's what you can do to stop it
No matter how careful you are, your privacy is always at risk when you go online. You can mitigate this by avoiding social media and certain apps and websites.
We understand that it’s not always easy to avoid the world’s most popular sites and apps. You can still enjoy them as long as you take some precautions. Tap or click here to learn how to check up on your privacy settings with Facebook and Google.
Security tip: How to stop websites from tracking you with URLs
Never underestimate the creativity of online advertisers. Now that many browsers block third-party cookies, advertisers use URLs to track you from site to site. In the name of privacy, it’s time to stop URL-tracking links.
5 ways to keep your online searches private
Everyone wants to keep their online searches private, but many people don’t know how.
You might think you’re protecting yourself and any embarrassing or private queries using incognito mode, but that only goes so far. Tap or click here to see what incognito mode is suitable for and what it can’t do.
Hide your browsing history from your ISP so they don't sell your info
Do you ever wonder how much information your ISP gathers from your browsing habits? Worse yet, how much of it could be sold to advertisers?
These are the tough things we have to deal with in today’s always-connected world. The sad thing is that there is no legislation to protect how ISPs can use your intercepted personal data as it passes through the systems.
Wordle is still free, but now it's packed with ad-tracking tech
You have undoubtedly heard of the word guessing game Wordle by now. It became an online sensation in only a few months, with millions of people trying to decipher the colored clues daily.
Initially, the game’s design was simplistic, with a clean user interface and the promise of remaining free. But as popularity grew, the creator sold the game to the New York Times (NYT) for an undisclosed amount. As many feared, the media powerhouse soon started to make changes.
Your ISP is watching — Here's what it knows about you
You probably know by now that your internet service provider watches what you do. After all, a tiny bit of surveillance helps these companies provide the best services possible. But many ISPs collect data beyond their scope, according to a new report from the FTC.
Update your iPhone, iPad and Mac! New patch fixes nasty Safari issue
You’d like to think your browser prioritizes privacy. Unfortunately, sometimes our search providers let us down. Tap or click here to take a free, fast test that reveals how much private data our browser is leaking.
Attention Mac and iPhone users - Your browser might be leaking Google search history
Every time you visit a website or search for something in your Safari browser, it keeps a record of your actions. Apple’s Safari browser saves a copy of your browsing history with website cookies. Tap or click here to lock down Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari for maximum security.
Facebook privacy: All the ways to stop or limit targeted ads
Facebook loves targeted ads like a dragon loves each golden coin in its mountain of treasure. That’s why Facebook is breathing fire at the thought of Apple’s iOS 14 update.
Later this spring, Apple will launch the “App Tracking Transparency” feature, which requires your consent before an app can track your activity across websites and apps. Mark Zuckerberg was none too happy. He painted the privacy changes as self-serving and anti-competitive during a recent earnings conference call.
Privacy check: 5 Amazon security settings you need to change
Amazon is an essential service for most folks on the internet. That’s why more people are looking at Amazon with skepticism each day — especially in light of its privacy missteps. Click or tap to learn how to stop Amazon from listening to your Alexa conversations.
5 ways you're being tracked that you can stop right now
You probably know by now that you’re being tracked. However, you might not know just how much people already know about you. Google alone knows what you’re watching, where you’re going and what you’re interested in online.
Amazon shares your private info unless you do these steps
Amazon’s stock is soaring as it joins the trillion-dollar club alongside Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube. The buy-anything-you-need site is even moving into our lexicon. Rather than risking a trip to the store amid the pandemic, we say, “I’ll Prime it.”
Your privacy: 5 Amazon settings to change now
Let’s face it: We give big tech companies way more info than we should or ideally prefer to happen. What we do online, what we like, where we go, and what we buy is out for the taking.
You really can’t get around data-sharing, but there are steps you can take to minimize it. To start, take a look at everything Google knows. You’ll be shocked.