Tag: settings

More than half of America watches TV with subtitles on. It’s not your hearing. Here’s the free 2-minute fix and the gadgets that finish the job.

Turn it up, now it’s blasting, turn it down, have to rewind, “what did she SAY?” A survey found over half of Americans keep subtitles on, mostly because the audio is muddled. The real culprits: razor-thin TVs with speakers firing at the wall, theater sound mixes crammed into your living room and streaming compression.

🍝 ChatGPT can book restaurant reservations for you

ChatGPT will find open tables, book them and even join a Yelp waitlist without you leaving the chat. Here’s how to do it, the prompt that gets the best results and the catch about cancellations.

🏠 How to search rentals and book apartment tours with AI

Zillow is a connected app on both Gemini and ChatGPT, so you can find listings and schedule tours just by asking. Here’s the 60-second setup, the prompt to try first and the privacy catch.

Your smart TV is taking snapshots of everything you watch, then selling the data

Your smart TV has a setting called ACR that’s spying on everything you watch. It’s on by default, and every brand buries it somewhere different in settings. Turn it off and nothing changes except the ads get dumber.

Gadgets under $50 you’ll actually use

Inside: A $10 surge protector, a pocket laser measure, touchless trash can and more clever finds that won’t end up in your junk drawer.

Free streaming got good. Your $69-a-month bill didn’t get the memo.

The average household pays $69 a month for streaming, and 73% are fed up with the price hikes. Nielsen says free services like The Roku Channel beat some paid giants, and Tubi alone has 300,000 free titles. Cancel your least-watched app for 30 days and try one of these instead.

TSA warns you about fake airport Wi-Fi

One scammer got a 7-year prison sentence for tricking airline passengers. The weapon hackers use is legal and costs $100. And in a recent twist, criminals are compromising legitimate Wi-Fi networks at hotels.

Free AI strips the dog, the traffic and the coffee grinder out of your calls in real time

Krisp strips barking dogs, traffic and coffee shop noise out of your calls in real time, using AI that runs entirely on your device. Works with Zoom, Teams, Meet and Slack. Free tier covers about an hour of noise-free calls a day.

Your parents’ phone problems aren’t about the phone. They’re about having no one to ask.

A 20-minute setup stops half the panicked calls. A carrier with a real human who answers stops the rest, for your folks and for you.

Facebook is the No. 1 place Americans lose money to scammers

New FTC data reveals scams starting on social media cost Americans $2.1 billion last year, and Facebook tops the list. Losses have exploded eightfold since 2020. Here are the exact settings that cut scammers off.

Free vs. paid AI: What your $20 a month actually buys (and when to skip it)

Nearly every AI charges the same $20 a month, but the free versions are better than you think. Here’s when paying is worth it and when it’s cash walking out the door.

This July 4, declare independence from the subscriptions draining your wallet

Fireworks are free. Those three streaming services you forgot you’re paying for are not. Here’s how to hunt down and cancel every sneaky recurring charge in under 15 minutes.

Red, white and deals: Amazon’s 4th of July sale is sparking up serious savings

Inside: Summer upgrades, cooling gadgets and vacation gear are all marked down. Up to 57% off.

How to sweep your car and bags for hidden trackers

If you keep “running into” the same person or your gut says you’re being followed, you might be carrying a $30 tracker without knowing it. Here’s how to find it, what your phone misses and what to do before you touch it.

The $250 billion machine that turns your private hardships into inventory

A company you’ve never heard of knows what time your phone went to sleep last night, your real-time medical worries and your exact income. Here’s how it sells your life for pennies, and how to stop it.

The phone in your pocket might be spying on you for someone you know

Stalkerware hides in plain sight, feeding your texts, calls and location to a partner, ex or relative. Here are the warning signs and how to check without putting yourself at risk.

Give your sick computer a free AI checkup (without handing over your files)

Before you pay the Geek Squad $100 or panic-buy a laptop you don’t need, let AI read your computer’s own health report. Works on Windows and Mac. And it never touches your files.

Medical devices in your home are quietly reporting on you to your insurer, which can cost you more.

That CPAP machine? It tells your insurance company whether you used it enough. And it’s not the only device in your house keeping score. Here’s what’s phoning home while you sleep and what you can do about it.

Your Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls are being transcribed by AI

Every major video platform has AI built in to record, transcribe and summarize your meetings. Here’s what to check and what actually matters.

Google announced it wants to run your life. Here’s what to turn off.

From an AI that reads your emails around the clock to smart glasses that snap photos without your phone, Google I/O 2026 was really one big announcement: Google wants in. Every door. Here’s what that means for you.