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🛣️ Your driver’s license is worth more than you think

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Your driver’s license has two jobs: ID and moneymaker. But sadly, not for you.

State DMVs across the country are quietly making millions selling your personal data. I’m talking names, addresses, license types, accident records and even court history.

That information gets bundled and sold to insurance companies, private investigators and data brokers. Fun times we’re living in.

😡 DMV: Data Money Vehicle

The numbers are huge. California’s DMV reportedly pulls in around $50 million a year by selling drivers’ records, including names, addresses and other sensitive details. In Oregon, the DMV pulled in over $16 million.

Florida was found selling not just registration data but full contact and demographic information to marketers, insurers and data brokers. Delaware, Texas, Wisconsin and other states do the same.

🤨 Can you opt out?

Nope. According to the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), some disclosures of driver and vehicle information are allowed without your consent, especially for law enforcement, insurance, vehicle safety or other “permissible uses.”

The DPPA was supposed to stop this kind of thing, but legal loopholes let states cash in. You don’t get a say. You don’t even get notified.

Once your info is sold, it’s fair game to be resold, re-shared and packed into digital dossiers that follow you everywhere online and off.

🕵️ Who’s buying your data?

Data brokers aggregate your DMV record with shopping habits, GPS pings, credit profiles and social media posts. Some use it to sell you stuff. Others use it to assess your risk, whether you’re applying for insurance or even a job.

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Movin’ and groovin’

🎶 My pick: Bluetooth FM transmitter (20% off)

Old ride, new tricks. Plug it into your cigarette lighter and you’ve got streaming, hands-free calls and a fast charger in one.

📱 Tablet holder car mount (32% off): Turns your back seats into a rolling movie theater. Cue the Netflix marathons.

📍 AirTag holders (15% off, four-pack): Clip, snap, done. All those “Where’d I put that?” moments are history.

🧳 Carry-on luggage (22% off): Hard shell, smooth wheels. This bag’s built for sprinting to the gate without the struggle.

🚗 Car trunk organizer (15% off): Collapsible, sturdy and actually stays put, unlike that box you’ve been using.

✈️ Pack it, stack it, roll out: See the rest of my travel picks on my Amazon page. Everything from organizers to data blockers is all there.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Gen Z’s secret to better online dates

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Skip the swiping. The new move is checking someone’s Facebook history before you even say hi.

📖 Tell your story: The Library of Congress Veterans History Project gives a permanent digital home to our veterans’ voices. It was created so future generations can hear directly from those who served to understand the true price of our freedom. It relies on volunteers, family, friends, you, to record an interview, capture their voice, their letters and their memories for all time. Because every vet’s story is a national treasure.

Clean your system: Ever feel like your computer’s holding onto too much junk? BleachBit can help. It’s a free tool that clears cache, internet history, logs and more you didn’t know was there. It works with apps like Chrome and can even “shred” files so they’re almost impossible to recover. Download it for Windows and Linux.

See what you swiped away: We’ve all cleared a notification too fast, only to regret it two seconds later. On Android, you can check the alerts, reminders and updates you accidentally dismissed. Go to Settings > Notifications > Advanced Settings and toggle on Notification History. You might even see a DM that was deleted.

📝 Check the receipts in Google Docs: Need to see who changed what? Go to File > Version history > See version history to view every edit and who made it. You can also roll back to an older version if something went sideways. Bonus: Click the Share button in the top right if you don’t want everyone poking around.

🕵️ Go incognito with ChatGPT: Have a weird question you’d rather keep private? Click the speech bubble icon in the top right and select Turn on temporary chat. The prompt box will go dark, meaning nothing you type is saved to your history or the bot’s memory. Don’t forget, once you close it, it’s gone for good.

🚨 Webcam’s worst nightmare: Remember those scam emails claiming someone caught you on camera during some “private” browsing? Stealerium makes that threat real. This dangerous malware spies on your screen and webcam while you browse, especially on adult sites, capturing what you’re watching and your reactions, then packages it all for blackmail. It’s spreading through fake “Payment Due” or “Court Summons” emails and can also steal passwords, cookies and browser history. Rule of thumb: Use a webcam cover, keep your software updated, and never click attachments or links unless you’re absolutely sure they’re legit.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Protect your equity: In Phoenix, scammers forged ownership papers and sold a home for $200K, all without the real owners knowing. They only found out when the fake deed hit public records. This isn’t a movie plot, and it could happen to you. Home Title Lock’s signature TripleLock™ protection safeguards your home from fraud. Start with 14 days FREE and a free Title History Report.

ChatGPT caught the arsonist

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He thought he got away with starting one of California’s worst fires, until investigators checked his ChatGPT history. Yep, AI turned him in. Plus, landlords are using algorithms to hike rent, and a listener finds out his chatbot is a surprisingly good therapist.

The passport stamp is history

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Your next European trip won’t come with a passport stamp. Soon, travelers will face high-tech border kiosks that scan your face, fingerprints, and passport.

Stolen property: With just a forged signature, your home and equity can be stolen. I trust Home Title Lock to get 24/7 monitoring and suspicious activity alerts to safeguard my home and finances. Get 14 days FREE plus a free Title History Report.

Title theft is rising: Crooks can steal your home or equity in minutes with only a forged signature. I trust Home Title Lock to protect my property. Right now, get a FREE Title History Report plus a 14-day trial.

Chrome’s hungry upgrade: With Gemini baked in, Chrome grabs more mobile info than any other browser: name, location, purchases, your search history, etc. If you don’t like Google snooping, go to Activity controls and turn off “Web & App Activity.” Then, in Chrome Settings (three-dot menu) > You and Google > Sync and Google services, and disable the “Help improve Chrome’s features and performance” switch. I did.

📋 Recover text on Windows 11: I sometimes lose links I’ve copied, so I keep Clipboard History on. Go to Settings > System > Clipboard and toggle it on. Next time you need something back, press Windows key + V and your recent text copies pop up, ready to paste. Total lifesaver.

⚡ Crypto malware scare: In the biggest supply chain hack in history, hackers hijacked 18 huge npm packages (chalk, debug and others), slipping in code that swapped crypto wallet addresses mid-transaction. Those poisoned packages? Downloaded over a billion times. Developers yanked the infected versions and purged caches in record time. Mischief managed, but it shows how fragile the web’s plumbing really is.

Use Guest mode in Chrome: Handing your computer to someone else? Ditch Incognito and go with Guest mode. Unlike Incognito, it’s a totally blank profile, so users won’t see your bookmarks, saved passwords or browsing history suggestions. To access it, click your profile icon in the top right and select Open Guest profile.

👀 Sofa surprise: This is wild. The Baroque painting “Portrait of a Lady,” stolen by Nazis in 1940, just popped up casually hanging above a couch in a living room photo on an Argentinian real estate site. Doesn’t take a history buff to guess how that happened. Apparently the Zestimate skyrockets when your décor is a war crime.

🌀 Yeezy rug pull: Kanye launched the YZY crypto coin on X, watched it rocket to $3B, then collapse in three hours flat. Retail investors? Lost $20M. Eight “lucky” traders? Cashed out millions instantly. Ye once called coins a scam, and well, he’s not wrong. Delaware shell company? Check. Cult vibes? Check. History repeating? Absolutely.