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HOW TO
09/30/2022 11:17 pm

It's Easy to Falsify Photo Geotags on Your iPhone to Keep Real Locations Secret

Without realizing it, you may be giving away the GPS coordinates of your home, workplace, school, and other important or secret locations. Unless you've blocked the feature on your iPhone, location data is stored in almost every photo and video you take, and anyone you share the content with can fin ...more

Smartphone screen displaying various app icons on a blue background.
HOW TO
10/22/2021 10:31 pm

Unlock Themed Icons on Android 12 for a More Dynamic Home Screen

Google's new Material You theming engine in Android 12 adds a personal touch to your user interface. The main colors of your wallpaper dynamically affect the colors in menus and apps, essentially putting you in control of the overall theme. But there's another new design element for app icons that's ...more

TimeSync interface with a user photo and a calendar for scheduling.
HOW TO
12/31/2020 12:45 am

Stay Fully in Sync with Your Remote Team Using TimeSync Pro

If you've been working from home a bit more often than usual lately, you're far from alone. Despite some optimistic predictions that things would have returned to normal right now, social distancing guidelines have forced most offices to shut their doors, and it's looking like this is going to be th ...more

A woman writing in a notebook with a coffee cup and workspace items visible.
HOW TO
10/12/2020 12:00 pm

This Seamless Meeting Scheduler & Task Organizer Is on Sale Now

The modern remote workforce faces many challenges, but perhaps none is greater than organizing calls and syncing tasks. Many platforms are convoluted and difficult to manage. Team members get bogged down by administrative tasks instead of staying productive. In fact, productivity losses are among th ...more

Mobile phones displaying horror thriller content on their screens.
NEWS
05/15/2020 1:43 pm

Free Apps & Services to Take Advantage of During the COVID-19 Lockdown

While the airline, casino, cruise, and hotel industries are asking for government bailouts during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies around the US are giving away its apps and services for a limited time. So while you're stuck at home, keep your mind off of coronavirus with free movies, TV, music apps ...more

Video call featuring animated character toys on a smartphone screen.
HOW TO
04/30/2020 7:27 pm

Everything You Need to Know About Group FaceTime Calls

FaceTime has been around since iOS 4, and year after year, things stayed pretty much the same aside from a few small changes. In iOS 6, calls over cellular networks were finally possible, and audio-only calls were officially supported starting in iOS 7. But the one feature most everyone has wanted s ...more

Smiling woman wearing a headset in a gaming environment.
HOW TO
04/13/2020 8:15 pm

How to Inexpensively Edit Your Video Backgrounds with Ease

Producing professional video can be expensive and time-consuming. Green screens are cumbersome and require a lot of space, whereas dialing in the perfect lighting comes with its own challenges. For people working on a budget and space constraints, achieving the ideal background can be a nightmare. T ...more

Smartphone displaying app icons on home screen against a blurred background.
HOW TO
04/08/2020 4:59 pm

How to Set Up Google Fi on Your iPhone

Google's next-gen cellular carrier, Google Fi, which replaces Project Fi, is making waves across the mobile industry. With super-cheap plans starting at only $20 and the ability to connect to millions of Wi-Fi hotspots across the globe, it's tempting many users to make the switch from AT&T, Spri ...more

Smartphone displaying various game applications on screen.
NEWS
04/08/2020 3:57 pm

8 Free Must-Have Games to Play with Friends on Your Phone

Even for those of us who enjoy spending time alone at home, at a certain point, it just gets boring. We all need social interaction, but with stay-at-home orders, that can be hard to come by. If you're feeling the itch to hang out with friends and have a good time, you should know there are plenty o ...more

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HOW TO
04/02/2020 7:16 pm

Get Snapchat's AR Lenses for Zoom & Other Video-Conferencing Apps

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic means that social distancing has become the new normal. It also means that more Americans are using video conferencing to connect with colleagues working from home or friends and family in quarantine because of the new coronavirus. In general, video conference c ...more

To-do list on a smartphone for March 10 with tasks including calling for a business license and sending research to a university.
NEWS
03/19/2020 11:38 pm

27 Best Productivity Apps to Make Working from Home Less Stressful

In the last decade, the number of people working remotely in the US has increased dramatically, and so has their need for technology and software to supplement that remote work. Whether you work from home or a coworking office space, the requirement for highly compatible and helpful productivity app ...more

Google Fi logo on a smartphone screen against a cosmic background
NEWS
05/21/2019 5:36 pm

Traveling Abroad? Here Are 6 Reasons Google Fi Is the Best Option

After reviewing the international plans for major US wireless carriers, it became obvious they're all pretty bad. Your data is heavily restricted, requiring a daily fee which can cost an extra $100+ on a seven-day vacation. That's when I learned about Google Fi, and how for most travelers, it's the ...more

A person holding a smartphone displaying a gallery of interior photos next to a laptop showing design images.
HOW TO
02/19/2019 10:59 pm

How to Back Up Your iPhone Photos & Videos with Google Photos for Free

Since iCloud's introduction in 2011, you get only 5 GB of complimentary cloud storage with your Apple account. With iPhone backups, app data, iCloud Drive files, and even emails (if you have a Mac, Me, or iCloud email address), you'll quickly run out of space to back up photos and videos. Fortunatel ...more

Google Fi settings menu displaying call forwarding and spam options.
NEWS
01/15/2019 1:58 am

Google Fi Finally Added Support for RCS Messaging

Despite being at the helms of the RCS push, Google Fi has yet to support the new messaging protocol. It would've made too much sense if the Google-created MVNO was one of the first to support the feature Google's been pushing on other OEMs and carriers for years, but alas, they haven't. Well, better ...more

Smartphone with messaging app displaying emoji and stickers.
HOW TO
01/11/2019 8:05 pm

Enable Bitmoji Integration in Gboard & Share Personalized Reactions Faster

Bitmoji are personalized emoji that look like you and can be used to make funny memes or snappy replies. Normally, you have to find one of these reaction emojis in the Bitmoji app, then use Android's share menu to send it to the app where you ultimately want to post it, but there's a much better way ...more

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NEWS
10/26/2018 10:39 pm

Snapchat AR Lenses Jump from Mobile to Desktop with Snap Camera App

For the entirety of its existence, Snapchat has lived on mobile, but in its quest to lead the augmented reality industry, the company is now bringing those mobile AR experiences to desktops. On Friday, Snap introduced Snap Camera, an app for PC and Mac that gives users access to thousands of AR face ...more

Smartphones on a metal grid surface.
NEWS
09/17/2018 5:59 pm

7 Features iOS 12 Stole from Android

The great thing about competition is it drives innovation. But when a company tries to one-up its competitor, it's not always with something brand new. Sometimes, one party will draw heavy inspiration from the other — but hey, it's still all good, because the consumers benefit either way. Some of th ...more

Messaging app icons on a smartphone screen.
HOW TO
05/07/2018 10:54 pm

Your One-Stop Guide to Secure, Encrypted Messaging

Now that smartphones have ensured that we're connected to the internet 24/7, online privacy has become more important than ever. With data-mining apps hoping to sell your information for targeted ads, and government agencies only one subpoena away from knowing every detail of your private life, encr ...more

Smartphone screen displaying privacy settings with location services option highlighted.
HOW TO
09/18/2017 6:03 pm

23 Important iOS 10 Privacy Settings Everyone Should Double-Check

If maintaining privacy is an ongoing battle, the front line is your smartphone. Apple included several new security features in iOS 10, but at the same time, some of the best new functionality comes with potential privacy trade-offs that everyone needs to understand. New features like lock screen wi ...more

Connect with Signal app interface displaying phone number entry field.
HOW TO
08/09/2017 3:48 pm

Signal 101: How to Register Using a Google Voice Number

Signal Private Messenger is famous for its end-to-end encryption, but you can't even use the messaging app without having a real phone number attached to it. Luckily, there is a way around this limitation, so you can use Signal even if you don't have a valid SIM card in your smartphone. When you fir ...more

Google Play Services battery optimization settings on a smartphone.
HOW TO
05/24/2017 12:22 am

Fix Play Services Battery Drain by Forcing It to Use Doze Mode

Google Play Services has been near the top of every Android user's list of battery-sucking apps for years now. It's a core system app, so you'd expect some battery drain, but for many folks, it runs rampant. This is partly due to the fact that Google has exempted Play Services from Android's biggest ...more

Video call with two adults and a child on a smartphone screen.
HOW TO
04/01/2017 12:55 am

The 5 Best Phones for Video Chat

Video chatting has become an important factor in the overall smartphone experience. Even just a few years ago, 37% of teens were making video calls on a regular basis, and that number has surely grown. 85% of households with infants have used video chat apps to call relatives in other cities, and it ...more

Chat application interface displaying a conversation with a contact named Meghan.
NEWS
03/28/2017 6:53 pm

Google to Remove SMS Features from Hangouts (Update: New Version Rolling Out)

It's fair to say that Google's messaging services are in a bit of a heap at the moment, and to make matters worse, Hangouts is removing its SMS capacities. Hangouts version 18 is now being rolled out, but doesn't appear to incorporate any functional changes. However, the new update includes code whi ...more

Download your data settings on a smartphone screen.
HOW TO
03/01/2017 2:09 am

Download Backups of Emails, Photos, Videos & Other Account Data from Google

If you're an Android user, Google probably has almost your entire digital life stored on its servers. Family pictures are backed up on Google Photos, your e-book library resides with Google Play Books, videos are on YouTube, chat logs in Gmail and Hangouts, starred places and location history in Goo ...more

Smartphones stacked on a reflective surface.
NEWS
11/22/2016 6:10 pm

User Testimonials: Why People Are Switching from iPhone to Pixel

Reading through various internet forums, it certainly sounds like the Google Pixel and Pixel XL are attracting more iPhone users than any of Google's previous Nexus devices. The sales figures seem to back that up, too, as the Pixel is outpacing last year's Nexus 6P, and pre-order demand has exceeded ...more

Chat messages displayed on a smartphone screen.
NEWS
11/17/2016 6:20 pm

RCS Is Finally Here... If You Have the Right App, Phone & Carrier

The next generation in mobile communications has officially arrived. A new "Universal Profile" was just published to help carriers and OEMs enable Rich Communication Services (RCS) on any of their smartphones, and the standard hopes to replace SMS with a feature-rich, iMessage-like experience on all ...more

Smartphone partially submerged in a bowl of ice cubes.
HOW TO
11/17/2016 1:57 am

Switching from iOS to Android? Here's Everything You Need to Do

Smartphone manufacturers do their best to keep you tied down to their ecosystem, but the reality is that there's not much keeping you from switching. Transfer some files, install a few apps here and there, and all of a sudden, you're knee-deep in a new operating system. Don't Miss: 10 Things Android ...more

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NEWS
10/29/2016 1:11 am

25 Cool New Things You Can Do with Android Nougat

Codenamed "Nougat" after the sugary stuff that fills your Snickers bar, Android 7.0 is living up to its name with tons of sweet features. There's almost too many changes over Marshmallow to cover in one go, with new functionality ranging from a revamped Doze Mode for battery saving, to split-screen ...more

Mobile app interface showing various application icons including Maps, Play Music, Photos, Contacts, and Drive.
HOW TO
10/12/2016 3:00 pm

How to Get the Pixel's New Rounded Icons on Your Android Right Now

Google makes Android, but now, Google makes its own phones, too. Until this point, they've always stayed on the software side of things and let Samsung and friends handle the hardware, but their new Pixel phones are changing all of that. Related: The Pixel Exemplifies Google's New Hardware Philosoph ...more

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HOW TO
09/03/2016 3:15 am

Auto-Mute Group Chat Notifications Before They Get Annoying

If you have any group chats going, you're surely familiar with this scenario: One person sends a picture, then, within 30 seconds or so, all other participants chime in with one-word responses like "Cute," or "Awesome." It's a social nicety, so you have to expect this behavior, but that doesn't make ...more

Email notification interface for a travel booking.
HOW TO
08/26/2016 11:59 pm

10 Reasons You Need to Switch to Google Inbox

Gmail has been the email standard for quite some time now, and for good reason: it's a free service provided by one of the largest tech companies in the world that offers users an amazing feature set to manage, send, and keep track of all their important emails. However, all this functionality has c ...more

Smartphone screen displaying a messaging app interface.
HOW TO
08/05/2016 12:08 am

Android Nougat's Quick Reply Feature Already Looks Dated Next to This App

When Android Nougat is released sometime this fall (or sooner), a new feature called "Quick Reply" will allow users to respond to incoming text messages directly from the notification. It will definitely be nice to carry on a conversation without leaving the screen you're currently viewing, but unfo ...more

Smartphones displaying app icons on their screens.
NEWS
07/07/2016 11:53 pm

10 Ways iOS Beats Android

I've been an Android user almost as long as the operating system has existed, so when I received my first iPhone in April, I felt like I was in a foreign land. Sure, it runs most of the apps I'm used to, and the phone itself feels about the same in my hand as any similarly-sized device, but everythi ...more

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NEWS
06/02/2016 5:07 pm

There's an Easter Egg Hiding in Android Just for IT Crowd Geeks

One thing you have to love about Google is their sense of humor. From their annual April Fool's Day pranks to the hidden Flappy Bird mini-game in Android to tons of hidden commands in Hangouts, you can just tell that those smart guys in Mountain View still like to have a little bit of fun with their ...more

Screenshots of a mobile app interface showing search functionality and content display.
NEWS
05/16/2016 6:00 pm

Google's New Group Messaging App Is Like Pinterest & Hangouts in One

Google is launching a new app called Spaces that lets you share things from the web with small groups of people. The aim of Spaces appears to be granting you a forum with like-minded people to help cut down on off-topic comments that can steer a conversation off the rails. GoogleSpaces comes with Go ...more

Woman distressed while looking at a smartphone.
NEWS
05/05/2016 9:15 pm

Do the Absolute Bare Minimum This Mother's Day with These Hangouts Easter Eggs

Google adds Easter eggs to Hangouts from time to time, and they're marking Mother's Day this weekend with the addition of three pop-up animations. All you have to do is type "Happy Mother's Day" into Hangouts (Chrome app or mobile) and you should see either a bouquet of flowers in a heart-adorned po ...more

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HOW TO
04/29/2016 4:05 pm

15 Tips to Make You a Google Calendar Pro

Whether scheduling meetings, events, tasks, or even keeping tabs on the weather, a good digital calendar can help you stay on top of your game in ways that a normal calendar could never do. Indeed, there are many calendars to choose from, but Google Calendar is one of the best due to Google's excell ...more

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HOW TO
04/21/2016 7:31 pm

3 Easy Fixes for Delayed Gmail & Hangouts Notifications on Android

Many users across the web have reportedissues with receiving notifications from the Gmail and Hangouts apps on Android. The problem is most prevalent with users running Marshmallow, and the gist is that notifications from these apps are extremely delayed or don't come through at all. Google has sinc ...more

Smartphones displaying messaging interfaces for group calls.
NEWS
04/21/2016 4:07 pm

You Can Now Host a 50-Person Group Call on Facebook Messenger

Facebook just added another feature to Messenger as part of its quest to have their service become an all-encompassing communications app. This feature lets you make free group calls using Messenger's VoIP service, and you can chat with up to 50 people at once. Don't Miss: How to Access Facebook's H ...more

Mobile screen displaying a sports app with user ratings and social media icons.
HOW TO
04/14/2016 12:53 am

11 Ways to Use Now on Tap, Android's Best Feature You're Not Using

The Google Now on Tap feature puts the power of Google Search inside each and every application on your Marshmallow-powered device, allowing you to retrieve contextual results based on the content on your screen. Aside from results, Now on Tap can also perform certain actions based on the content it ...more

Android and Apple logos with app icons in the background, representing mobile technology and synchronization.
NEWS
03/24/2016 6:38 pm

23 Important Apps That Work Great on Both Android & iOS

Brand loyalty is one of the main factors behind our decision to choose a particular mobile device, but it doesn't have to be the entire equation. Educated consumers know that certain devices simply fit their budget and usage better than others, which means you can't always let a logo dictate what ki ...more

Colorful cartoon characters celebrating in a vibrant outdoor setting.
HOW TO
03/21/2016 7:59 pm

8 Fun (& Annoying) Easter Eggs in Google Hangouts

Google has added some fun Easter eggs to Hangouts that'll give you a few more ways to procrastinate throughout your day. All of them (except for one) work on the web browser version, the Chrome app, and the mobile apps for Android and iOS, and are activated by sending a specific message. 1. Unleash ...more

Voice search interface over a seaside landscape.
NEWS
03/10/2016 1:24 am

30 Relatively Unknown Google Now Voice Commands & Easter Eggs

As Android's de facto virtual assistant, Google Now lets us speak directly to our phones in plain English to answer our questions and perform many basic tasks. With the app open, just say "Okay Google," then wait for the beep, and ask almost any question. But several Google Now commands aren't as co ...more

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NEWS
03/09/2016 8:28 pm

Breaking: Google Releases 'Android N' Preview Build with Lots of Major Changes

We knew it was coming eventually, but this is a bit out of left field—early builds of the next version of Android have been released almost two months ahead of schedule. Android N, as it's being called for now, is already available for the last two generations of Nexus devices, though it's just an e ...more

Smartphone interface designs showcasing various screen layouts and app arrangements.
NEWS
03/08/2016 9:25 pm

20 Official Samsung Galaxy Themes That Don't Totally Suck

Taste is certainly relative. When you look at Central American architecture and notice all of the bright pastel colors, then move just a thousand or so miles to the north and see that buildings in the United States are mostly painted in earth tones, this becomes abundantly clear. Imagine if you were ...more

Android character with 'Disabling Doze' text and a settings window for Google enrollment options.
HOW TO
02/27/2016 3:00 pm

Android Basics: How to Disable Doze & App Standby for Individual Apps

Android Marshmallow introduced a pair of new battery-saving features called Doze and App Standby, and according to the general consensus, both features are a rousing success. Average battery life has increased dramatically for virtually every phone or tablet running Android 6.0, so there's nothing t ...more

Woman taking a selfie in front of the Colosseum in Rome.
HOW TO
01/22/2016 8:25 pm

How to Call/Text Home for Free When Traveling Abroad

If you ever need to make calls and/or send texts to the U.S. or Canada from abroad, or even just receive them from those locations, there's an easy way to do so without breaking the bank. In fact, it's free, and all you need is a smartphone, computer, and some free tools. A lot of services exist for ...more

Map application displayed on a smartphone showing locations in North America.
HOW TO
12/04/2015 7:51 pm

7 Surefire Ways to Share Your Current Location with Others

Instead of wasting time asking where your friends and family are at a given moment, then having them waste time by describing their location, there are several Android apps you can use that will automate this whole process. To top it off, it doesn't have to be about invading privacy or spying on som ...more

Google logo surrounded by various app icons.
NEWS
10/22/2015 4:17 pm

The 16 Best Google Android Apps You Didn't Know About

It would only make sense that Google is one of the most active app developers on the Android platform, particularly when you consider that they develop the platform itself. From my count, there are an astounding 117 unique apps that the search giant and its subsidiaries have published on the Google ...more

A blue robot icon with a red prohibition sign on a background of green code.
HOW TO
08/28/2015 6:27 pm

Don't Like CyanogenMod? Here Are 4 Great Alternative ROMs for Your OnePlus One

I've been involved in the Android scene for a very long time and have grown to develop a love/hate relationship with CyanogenMod. While I do like the stability they offer in their custom ROMs, they don't always include the flashy features on top of their vanilla Android base. If you're looking to ge ...more

Android-themed communication apps graphic.
HOW TO
07/28/2015 10:02 pm

10 Free Texting Apps for Android That Are Way Better Than Your Stock SMS App

Texting has become the king of communication—gone are the days where everyone called each other. These days, it's down-right weird when someone calls first. Whether it be on a phone or on a computer, SMS and MMS messages are the most common way people keep in contact, so why not make sure your app o ...more

Android and Apple logos on a colorful background of app icons.
HOW TO
07/09/2015 5:51 pm

21 Apps You'll Need When Switching from iPhone to Android

So you finally decided to make the switch from iOS to Android, huh? Well first off: welcome to the world of tomorrow. And secondly: good call, mate. In all seriousness, switching between mobile ecosystems can be quite the hassle. Even after you've grown accustomed to the new interface, you still hav ...more