The truth about doorbell cams

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Law enforcement can access your videos without your okay. Here’s how to keep your footage private.

Woz-not-Woz: Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak went on CBS to warn about fake videos of him promoting Bitcoin. The scam clips promise to double whatever BTC you send. The funny part? While telling the story, CBS showed a fake 1970s “Woz in his garage” photo, which turned out to be of a Disney animatronic. Awkward.

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The number of cat nap videos researchers scrutinized … for science. Cat’s out of the bag, 65% of cats snooze on their left side. Why? Experts say it activates the right brain for lightning-fast reflexes and spatial finesse. The purrfect slumber isn’t just cute. Think elite soldier … in sleep mode, dreaming of chaos.

Got videos eating up space on your PC? HandBrake is a free tool that shrinks them down. Drag and drop your video into the app, choose a Save location, pick a Preset like Very Fast 1080p30, and click Start Encode. FYI: Quality may drop depending on the Preset, so keep testing until you find your sweet spot. This tip alone is worth the price of this newsletter.

Data today, gone tomorrow: Back it up before it backs out on you. Total Drive automatically saves your photos, videos and important documents in the cloud, safe and sound. Simple, secure, and yes, I trust it with my own files. Get 10TB for just $18.

▶️ Find your liked videos on YouTube: Tap the three-line menu in the top left and select Playlists. Your liked videos will be right there. To keep something for later, tap the Save button below the video player and select Watch Later. Head back to Playlists to find it in the list.

Fake pics, real charges: A student was hit with a $9K damage bill after her NYC Airbnb host claimed she cracked furniture and peed the bed. But the “proof”? AI-edited photos. Airbnb initially sided with the host, then backpedaled fast after a newspaper got involved. Full refund issued, host slapped with a warning. PSA: Take inside and outside videos of any rental property.

😱 Instagram’s embarrassing new feature: You can now see which Reels (videos) your friends are liking. Just tap the Reels icon, then the Friends tab, and bam, their profile pics show up on whatever they hearted. Scared? Me, too. To turn it off, go to Settings > Who can see your content > Activity in Friends tab > No one.

✅ Back it up, or risk losing it. Total Drive is offering a great deal! Total Drive automatically backs up your precious memories, family photos, graduation videos and all your important documents. Everything’s safely stored in the cloud. It’s simple, secure, and yes, I use it, too! Get 10TB for just $18 with this limited time offer.  

📺 Skip the fluff: YouTube’s Jump Ahead AI feature is finally rolling out on TV apps. Previously mobile-only, it now uses watch data to hop over boring chunks of videos. You’ll see a dot on the progress bar and can jump with your remote. Premium paid accounts only, of course.

Delete YouTube history: Sign into YouTube on your PC and click the three-dot menu (top left). Tap History, then select Clear all watch history on the right side of the screen. You can also choose Pause watch history to stop it from tracking future videos. PSA: This will also change your recommendations.

☁️ Back it up, or risk losing it forever: Total Drive backs up your precious memories like family photos, graduation videos and all those important documents, automatically. All safe in the cloud. It’s simple, secure, and yes, I use it, too! Get 10TB for just $18.  

🖼️ Smarter photo searches on iPhone: The Photos app can now understand natural language. Open the app, tap the blue magnifying glass at the top and type something like “beach walks with dog” or “1 year ago.” You can even search for sounds like “laughing” or “clapping” to find matching videos.

Cloudy with a solid chance of deletion: AT&T is shutting down its Personal Cloud service on Oct. 31, 2025, and any files stored there will be deleted permanently. If you ever used the app to back up photos, videos or documents, download everything before it’s gone for good. You can move them to Google Photos, OneDrive or your device.

Stop WhatsApp from eating data: Group chats can auto-download tons of photos and videos in the background. Go to Settings > Storage and data > Media auto-download and uncheck all file types under Mobile data, Wi-Fi and Roaming. FYI: You can still download what you need later.

Hackers can stop trains with a $300 device — July 19th, Hour 3

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A small, cheap tool lets anyone control train brakes remotely. Tesla’s new robotaxi zone looks … suspicious. Plus, scammers using fake news videos to steal your cash, purple streetlights messing with your eyes, and Florida’s next-gen 911 system.

Apple fights nudity

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The U.S. produces millions of porn videos every year but now Apple’s drawing a digital line.

⏩ 2x speed frying memory: A new study says bingeing podcasts and videos at warp speed might make you dumber or at least worsen memory retention. Turns out 2x pushes the brain past its “working memory” limit, especially for older adults. Teens? Basically brain athletes for TikTok TED Talks. The rest of us? Toast. 

Have mandatory cybersecurity classes at work? New research from Purdue found anti-phishing training may make workers worse at spotting scams. Turns out, binge-watching security videos doesn’t build instincts, it builds false confidence. One group even clicked more after “interactive” training. That’s right: Your IT team’s monthly guilt-trap quiz might be actively hurting.

🔍 Zoom in on Instagram posts: Using Instagram on your phone and can’t see the tiny details? You can zoom in on photos and videos by spreading two fingers apart on the screen. It’s great for reading small texts. Just don’t double tap by accident while snooping. That late-night “like” is hard to explain.