WhatsApp is the go-to messaging app for millions worldwide and its easy to see why. The app can be considered the Swiss Army Knife of texting thanks to numerous features like Group Chats and Status Stories, in addition to striking a great balance between ease of access and ove ...more
By default, your Samsung Galaxy S III comes equipped with a few app shortcuts that are available from the lock screen. But what if you don't use those apps very much? Wouldn't you rather customize the lock screen icons on your S3 to your favorite and most used apps? Well, it' ...more
Your Galaxy's built-in flashlight is handy, but if it takes you more than a split second to turn it on, it's not as useful as it could be. Thanks to One UI 2, you're now just a swipe away from instantly lighting up the room. With Samsung's Android 10 update, you can add the f ...more
Your iPhone has a powerful feature that can keep your secrets hidden from other people, and you'll never have to worry about sharing or showing someone something embarrassing or incriminating ever again. No matter who you are, you likely use your iPhone's Photos app a lot sin ...more
The Home button on an iPhone does a lot. That's not necessarily news for anyone who's ever owned an iPhone with a Home button, but what you might not know is that it's capable of so much beyond the standard everyday functions. So if you have an iPhone 7, 8, or the new SE model ...more
If you're all out of prank ideas for April Fool's Day, we've got a few that your Apple-loving friends will enjoy (or hate?). You can have a little bit of fun if you don't have access to their iOS device or Mac, but for the best pranks, you will need access to their devices, ev ...more
There's one reason why most of us have a Samsung Galaxy S3—because we don't want an iPhone. Yes, there are some pretty cool things about the iPhone aesthetically, but looks aren't everything. Anyway, with the nearly unlimited customizations options we have available for Androi ...more
Whether it's because you have nosy family and friends or you're just cautious about losing your device, having a passcode on your Android smartphone is essential for protection. However, you don't always need or want a passcode, especially when you're home alone or in your car ...more
Did you know you can help protect yourself when traveling with a gun? No, not like that; and not in any way that's going to land you in prison. Simply by packing a gun, you can ensure that not only will your luggage be safer, but that the airline will make certain that it reac ...more
With protests springing up across America, there's a chance you may have your first interaction with law enforcement. Many demonstrators will have their phones in-hand to film the action, which, sadly, could prompt an officer to demand the device and any self-incriminating dat ...more
Phones these days are expensive. The iPhone 11 Pro is presumed to start at $999, following the iPhone XS and iPhone X's leads. One way to bring down that cost is to trade in your old iPhone, but there isn't one clear-cut way to do that. You could trade your iPhone into a parti ...more
Out of the box, Apple's digital assistant could be a godsend or a nuisance, depending on your daily interactions it. No matter which camp you fall into, Siri can always be better suited to your personal needs with a little customization. You can make Siri a powerhouse not to b ...more
Pick up any iPhone with a Home button, and you'll notice something peculiar when compared to your iPhone with Face ID. If you press the Side button (aka Sleep/Wake) on the Home button model, it sleeps immediately. When you press the Side button your Face ID model, it lags a bi ...more
One feature in iOS you're likely underutilizing is 3D Touch, a highly useful, unique tool for iPhones ever since it first appeared on the iPhone 6S. Apple's pressure-sensitive interactivity gives iOS an extra layer of functionality, which can be clearly seen across the entiret ...more
There's no denying that there are some seriously useful new features in iOS 11 for iPhone. But there's also no denying that Apple got a few things wrong with the latest iOS update, as well as left a few important features out. Some of the items listed below are things Apple b ...more
Our smartphones are full of personally-identifiable information. So much of what we do with these devices is tracked and recorded to make our experience more streamlined and personalized. For many users, that's a fair trade — but for privacy-minded folks, it's a raw deal. And ...more
Whether you are sending your phone in for repairs or finally selling it to upgrade to a new flagship, you are going to need to make sure all of your personal data is removed from your device. Deleting your messages and pictures manually is a good to protect yourself from aver ...more
If you're as bad at locking your Nexus up as I am, you have the "slide" option set for your screen lock. It may not be the most secure option, but it's definitely the easiest way to unlock your device while being able to utilize lock screen widgets. Now look at your lock scre ...more
Every time Apple releases a new product or software update, people quickly figure out exploits in order to bypass the lock screen without having to type in the passcode. It happened last year in iOS 6, so it's not surprising that it happened again in iOS 7. This time, users w ...more
You probably already know what you want to do when you grab your phone. More than likely, you're either going to make a call, send a text, or open an app. So why can't you just do that right from your Samsung Galaxy S3's lock screen? Instead of entering in your passcode or pa ...more
Android has gotten significantly better at handling intrusive ads over the years. Things have gotten to the point to where these nuisances are largely a non-issue for most of us. However, there are still a few ad-laden apps that fall through the cracks — particularly the kind ...more
The new iOS 14 for iPhone arrived Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2020, alongside iPadOS 14, and there are a lot of features to uncover. Improved widgets. Better home screen customization. Exciting Messages improvements. New abilities in Camera and Photos. There's so much here that it'll ...more
|Choose Your View: Quick Bullet Points | Detailed Descriptions Android's newest major update is a special one — it's the tenth full version of the world's most commonly used operating system. The latest release, dubbed simply Android 10 (codename Android Q), was first showcas ...more
If there's been one signature design element for Apple's iPhones, it was the circular Home button. It served as the "everything" button for each iPhone model until last year's iPhone X, but now, it's completely absent from the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. Should you be worried? ...more
The default Camera app on your iPhone can take some pretty incredible photos during the day. Newer iPhone models can even make nighttime shots look good. But you can't just point and shoot if you want to capture some pretty spectacular fireworks photos on July 4th, New Year's ...more
To please those of us who love to mod and root our Androids, OnePlus has made both the OnePlus 5 and 5T relatively easy to customize — so much so that the 5T topped our list for the best phones for rooting. Unfortunately, unlocking the bootloader and using root to modify the f ...more
There are definitely some great things about iOS 7, but like any good piece of software, it's got some things to kink out—and how wallpapers work seems to be one of the biggest issues, since it's so much different than in previous iOS versions. We've seen tons of questions po ...more
Android's settings menu is actually pretty daunting. There are options for nearly everything, so in the sea of various menus and submenus, it's easy to overlook important privacy and security settings. On Google's Pixel phones in particular, there are 20 such settings that you ...more
Performance and stability improvements, as well as new features, are just some reasons to install iOS 12, but new changes mean new battery health challenges. It can be difficult to boost battery life while taking advantage of everything this update has to offer. Luckily, there ...more
Google Maps, in conjunction with the Android operating system, is a powerful tool for navigation that is often underutilized. While it's no secret that it can get you to wherever you're going and back, some of you might not know that you can use Google Maps without even having ...more
Is your Mac starting to feel messy and sluggish after using iOS 8 on your iPhone every day? Even with all of the iOS-friendly features built in to Mac OS X Yosemite, your Mac can still feel kind of "old" in comparison to an iOS device—but it doesn't have to. Using the tips and ...more
Whenever I hand my tablet over to someone, my heart always races for a second at the thought that they may stumble across my private pictures, texts, and videos. I trust them, and they may not be the snooping type, but it can be easy enough to come across private stuff by acci ...more
If your current cellular provider costs too much, has poor reception in your area, or doesn't support features you'd like to use, switching to another carrier is the obvious move. But can you bring your current iPhone or Android phone? In most cases, your current smartphone w ...more
With the re-emergence of Samsung's Good Lock app, you're once again able to tweak parts of your Galaxy's interface with no root or major modifications required. One add-on in particular even lets you fully customize the Quick Settings panel on your S8, S9, or Note 8 in a full ...more
The lock screen in iOS 7 is great at giving you immediate access to notifications, weather forecasts, date and time, music controls, and even the camera, but for a sports fan like me, there's one critical thing missing—game scores and news highlights. If you haven't updated t ...more
No matter how careful or decent you are, there will always be pictures or videos that you want to keep private. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but if someone were to go through my photo gallery, only one word would be coming out of my mouth—"%@&#!!" If you want ...more
Ubuntu isn't just a cool sounding name, but pegs itself as the world's favorite free operating system. It gained its popularity for being lightweight, fast, and visually appealing, and now that great look and speed can be placed right on the lock screen of your Samsung Galaxy ...more
When your iPhone goes missing, it's serious business. Depending on your usage, your whole life might be connected to your iPhone, not the least of which includes debit cards, credit cards, and Apple Pay Cash stored in Apple Pay. While it's nearly impossible for someone to use ...more
Chances are, you just point, shoot, and share photos and videos on your iPhone without a second thought about how your privacy is affected. It's fairly easy to do so since the Camera and Photos apps that Apple provides seem so innocent. But there are a few things you need to k ...more
If you somehow forgot the pattern, PIN, or password that locks your Android device, you might think you're out of luck and are destined to be locked out forever. These security methods are hard to crack by design, but in many cases, it's not entirely impossible to break into a ...more
Whenever a friend borrows my Samsung Galaxy S3 to browse the web or make a quick call, I always pause to make sure there's nothing incriminating on it. I'm no superfreak, but some of my friends are, so I have more than a few photos on my device that I wouldn't wish upon anyone ...more
Private Browsing mode finally lives up to its name in Apple's huge Safari 17 update for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. So whether you search for things you don't want anybody to know about or want to ensure websites and trackers aren't eavesdropping on your activity, you'll want to up ...more
Every summer for the last 26 years, hoards of hackers have descended on the Las Vegas Strip for DEFCON, the biggest hacker conference in the US. There's a wealth of talks every season (DEFCON 27 has at least 95 scheduled), and there have been some essential topics to learn fro ...more
Whether we like it or not, our personal information and smartphones are tied together at the hip. The former needs the latter to deliver a personalized experience that matches our individual needs. This personal data, however, makes your phone a prime target for thieves of all ...more
TouchWiz might not be the Android skin of choice for hardcore aficionados, but the Galaxy's OS still has a ton of great features up its sleeve that help provide one of the most enjoyable smartphone experiences out there. Many of these are relatively hidden and overlooked featu ...more
Smartphones are like high tech buckets that collect our personal information through constant use. This has some obvious benefits, like getting a more personalized experience with our devices. On the other hand, this data is a tempting target for bad actors looking to make a b ...more
When it works, Android's Smart Lock feature is incredible. There's no need to enter your PIN when your phone "knows" it's in your hands — just unlock and go. But Smart Lock, particularly its Trusted Places feature, can be finicky sometimes. Most of Smart Lock's features are r ...more
There's a lot of cool features rumored to be included in next year's HTC One 2 (M8), the follow up to the flagship HTC One smartphone, including a fingerprint scanner, Android 4.4 KitKat, and Sense 6.0, but it's just too far away to get really excited about yet. Besides, that ...more
With voice commands becoming conventional on most new smartphones, it's only ideal that their abilities increase as well. Thanks to Apple's Siri, you can do things like update your Twitter account and look up who the president of Costa Rica is. Siri has strongly commandeered ...more
There are multiple ways to turn your iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, or 13 Pro Max on and off, but it can be confusing because those ways will either shut down, power on, restart, or force restart the device. If you've been using Apple's smartphones for a pretty long time, chance ...more
One of the best things about Android is the ability to customize every aspect of your device to make it your own. However, unless you have prior knowledge or experience with every single setting available to you, you might have missed a few critical features without even knowi ...more
So, you're on the way back from a restaurant and realize you left your iPhone there, but you're late for a meeting and can't go back yet. You may as well kiss that iPhone goodbye, right? Not yet, as long as the right person gets their hands on it first. But that potential do-g ...more
Stories are everywhere in social media today, but that wasn't always the case. In 2013, Snapchat introduced the world to these temporary windows into our daily lives. Since then, stories have infiltrated other popular apps. However, to stand out, you can't solely rely on the a ...more
There's always an iPhone in our list of top phones for privacy and security, due in large part to advanced security measures like Face ID, consistent iOS updates, and easy ways to prevent unwanted access and excessive data sharing. However, some of those options actually do th ...more
Security-minded users can reduce the risk of phishing by enabling Advanced Protection on important Google accounts, requiring a U2F security token to log in. Using these keys isn't intuitive on most popular smartphone platforms, and you can find yourself locked out if you don' ...more
Apple released the iOS 11.2 update for the iPhone to the masses early morning on Dec. 2, and here are all the new features and important bug fixes you need to know about. Of the new features, two of them are ones we thought we'd get when iOS 11 was first released. However, th ...more
Apple's iOS 11 is finally here, and while they showed off several of the new features it brings to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch back at WWDC 2017, they've only just touched the surface of what iOS 11 has to offer. There are a lot of cool new (and sometimes secret) feature ...more
If you've accidentally turned on "Read Receipts" for all of your iMessages, there's an easy way to disable it so that no one knows when you're actually reading their incoming messages. You could also pick and choose which conversations can see that you've read their messages i ...more
There was a somewhat recent outbreak of malware on Android, and it came from an unlikely source—the Google Play Store. Several established apps have received updates a few months ago that contained an unwanted add-on called either DU Quick Charge, DU Battery Boost, DU Boost Ch ...more
When you hand your unlocked iPhone to somebody so they can use the internet real quick, check out some cool photos, or do whatever, there's a possibility that they could snoop around where they don't belong. If you have some secret recipes, login credentials, intellectual prop ...more