The Instagram Explore page is one of the most useful tools available to users. It's also one of the easiest ways to discover new content and, if you use it right, to increase your own follower count. There are a couple ways for you to dominate the Explore page. One way is to ...more
Running diagnostics on your Android phone can be a very tedious process. More often than not, you need to key in dialer codes to see if your device's hardware is functioning properly, though you can also download apps — but these are often hard to understand for a layperson. W ...more
Sometimes, you come across a recipe or a food hack and think, "That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard of; who would make that?" That was my initial reaction when I read Food52's piece about popcorn milkshakes. But after a bit more consideration, I decided that popcorn i ...more
When it comes to your baby and your time, nothing but the best and most efficient will do. These high standards carry through every aspect of your life as a new parent, from diapers to strollers and especially to food. Luckily, making your own baby food isn't as complicated a ...more
In 2014, Snapchat introduced a special type of Filter called Geofilters. Geofilters only appear when you're in a specific location. For example, a Disney Land Geofilter will only appear if you're actually there. Rather, your phone needs to think that you're at Disney Land. By ...more
Snapchat doesn't prevent you from taking screenshots of snaps received, but the other user will get an alert either as a prominent push notification or a subtle note in the app. Snapchat has improved its screenshot detection abilities over the years, so it's much harder to cir ...more
One of the best things about Android is being able to control everything you want, from your wallpaper down to the default apps you use for every action. Changing the default SMS app from the one that came with your device can drastically alter your messaging experience. Many ...more
Apple has seemingly always made it a priority to show how much it cares about user security and privacy — enough that it has a page dedicated to it, proclaiming that "privacy is a fundamental human right." It's true that there are few issues more important than user privacy wh ...more
The PlayStation 4 has been around since 2013 and has brought with it countless game releases since then. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the strict device restrictions on the PS4 Remote Play feature for streaming your games. The capability has always been there, but ...more
Group chats on WhatsApp are great for getting your friends all in one place, but the bigger the group, the more notifications you'll probably get. Needless to say, it can get annoying real quick. You can mute notifications for all your conversations, but that's not practical i ...more
If you're looking to keep your conversations private, look no further than Telegram. Its cloud-based chats are secure and its optional end-to-end encrypted chats even more so, but you can't really prevent someone in the conversation from sharing your messages. However, you can ...more
When it comes to customizing Android, there's no better way to make it your own than by installing a custom ROM. You gain new features that were not accessible on the stock firmware that came with the phone, and you get complete control over how your system looks and feels. Bu ...more
News+ is Apple's new digital subscription service for written media that costs $9.99 per month. There is a free trial offered for one month, but you'll start getting charged the monthly fee as soon as your 30 days are up. While it's not very obvious, there is a way to cancel t ...more
While the notch on Apple's newer iPhones started a wave of notches across the smartphone market, there are still plenty of users who don't like screen-obstructing zone up top, and you may be one of them. While it may soon disappear in future iPhone models, or at least get smal ...more
Smart home speakers, such as Google Home and Apple HomePod, are must-have accessories if you're trying to turn your home into a smart home. While HomePod is made to be used with the Apple ecosystem, the less-expensive Google Home can also be used with your iPhone — in more way ...more
If you've ever wanted to download YouTube videos directly to your iPhone, there's an easy solution — just update to iOS 12 and install Apple's new Shortcuts app. With the Workflow-replacement app, you can add a shortcut that lets you download any YouTube video you want, withou ...more
Improved security options in iOS 12 provide you with automatic password suggestions, a way to find and change weak passwords, auto-filling of 2FA codes, and Siri integration. Most of these apply to iCloud Keychain, but Apple hasn't forgotten about users of third-party password ...more
When you leave your iPhone on a table or anywhere within somebody else's eyeshot, a private message may pop up on your lock screen that could be read by anyone who sees it. But there's a way to keep others from reading your possibly sensitive text messages and emails without g ...more
While some of our group chats should probably remain private and closed off, others will only get better with more people. Whether you're organizing an event and need a headcount or you want to share a funny YouTube video with a large crowd, you can add all the friends you wis ...more
While Animal Crossing's emphasis has always been on making friends with the animals that populate your world, each subsequent game following its initial release has stressed relationships with human players more and more. In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, making human friends i ...more
Who doesn't love listening to music or playlists when driving? The open road and an awesome playlist make for a perfect pairing, but it can become quite the challenge if you're trying to navigate at the same time. That's why Waze's built-in audio controls for compatible apps l ...more
Puzzle games are a great way to kill time and exercise your brain in one fell swoop. They challenge you to think strategically and plan ahead, whether that's to create killer chain combinations for maximum points, or to plain old keep from getting killed. But with so many puz ...more
Android's stock battery menu is pretty decent. You can see which apps have been using the most power, and you can tell when your CPU was awake or asleep, among other things. But a lot of times, battery-sucking services will get lumped under the generic "Android System" header, ...more
Welcome back my, tenderfoot hackers! Many people come to Null Byte looking to hack Facebook without the requisite skills to do so. Facebook is far from unhackable, but to do so, you will need some skills, and skill development is what Null Byte is all about. Sometimes, if yo ...more
If you love quenching your thirst with an ice-cold glass of lemonade but aren't a fan of artificial powder mixes, then this hack is for you. When your next lemonade craving strikes, instead of reaching for a glorified Kool-Aid packet, get an instant sip of summer by using pre- ...more
Many people deal with motion sickness on a daily basis, and if you're reading this, chances are you're one of them. Kinetosis can make your stomach roll, your entire body sweat, and make you feel fatigued and dizzy at even the slightest movement, whether it's related to carsic ...more
Deleting text messages on your iPhone may seem like a pretty simple task, but it's those really simple tasks that usually end up causing headaches later on. Data can stick around, even if you asked it not to, so there's always a slight chance that embarrassing and incriminatin ...more
In the wild world of Snapchat lenses, this week was an especially good one for cool effects. Lens-crafters (really hoping I can get that name to stick) have gotten a lot better at making non-gimmicky lenses that allow you to interact with them in new and unique ways. New to t ...more
Ads can detract from your mobile browsing experience, especially if they appear out of nowhere as popups or large annoying banners that take up almost all of your screen. If those weren't bad enough, some ads appear as extremely loud videos that can even disrupt others around ...more
Coinbase sets itself apart from other wallet apps by making cryptocurrency transactions incredibly convenient. You can easily withdraw cash from the app and deposit it into your bank account within days — and now, if you want to cut the time from days to mere minutes, Coinbase ...more
This morning, Google opened a pop-up showroom where anybody can visit to get a hands-on look at the new Made by Google hardware lineup. At 10 am the line at 96 Spring st, in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, was growing but still manageable. As we waited to be ushered in ...more
Google's got quite a few tricks up its sleeve with their Pixel and Pixel XL flagships, including functionality we've never seen before on Android. One awesome feature is called "App Shortcuts," and the basic premise is strikingly similar to Apple's 3D Touch—just long-press an ...more
For photographers, the "plus" in the iPhone Plus models used to mean optical image stabilization, but now that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both have OIS on board, that "plus" has moved onto something else—the dual-lens camera. Actually, the new dual-lens setup on the iPhone ...more
Pokémon GO has become a cultural phenomenon. Finally, we can do what we always dreamed of back when we were kids—catch Pokémon in real life! But let's not forget that we're in adulthood now, and in adulthood, we can catch Pokémon by day and celebrate our successes at night. I ...more
Initially reluctant to port Firefox over to iOS, Mozilla has finally released the first public preview of their famed web browser. While this is great news for all Firefox users, the bad news is that the browser is currently available for download only in New Zealand. A world ...more
Keyboard shortcuts can make using your Mac faster and easier, and leave your mouse feeling archaic. With just a few taps, you can save files, open new tabs, or play a movie—all without using your mouse even once. Don't Miss: 30+ Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Be Using on YouTu ...more
Ice pops are like summer on a stick, with all the sweetness and stickiness of July and August. Store-bought popsicles, although refreshing, are never as good as homemade. So it's time to up your popsicle game with some of these beautiful creations, including some boozy pops (p ...more
Google Docs is made for teamwork and collaboration, but Apple's iWork suite also comes with the same functionality. If you're working on a Pages document on your iPhone, and you want input from other members of your team, you can easily invite them to view, comment, edit, and ...more
Though not as flashy as other mobile gaming genres like first-person shooters, puzzle games continue to glue players to their phones. Puzzlers are perfect companions while out and about or on a commute, and they're also a great way to stimulate your brain and hand-eye coordina ...more
Just like Instagram, Photoshop Express for Android and iOS has its own set of filters you can quickly apply to any photo. It's simple, fast, and more customizable than using Instagram's pre-made filters. The options in Photoshop Express allow you to edit and change your filter ...more
Can you be too lazy for video games? That's how I feel sometimes. I want to play the latest PlayStation has to offer, but I can't be bothered to get out of bed. As if Sony read the minds of lethargic gamers everywhere, the company has released an amazing thing — PS4 Remote Pla ...more
Almost every phone comes with biometric security of some sort these days, but the same can't be said of Windows computers. While fingerprint scanners are becoming increasingly common with laptops and desktops, they're nowhere near ubiquitous. Thankfully, your phone's scanner c ...more
Creating doodles on an iPhone is made easy thanks to the "Draw" tool in Notes and "Digital Touch" for iMessages, but these are limited in scope. Drawing in Notes has no animated effects, and while Digital Touch does, its drawing tools are lacking and the animations can only li ...more
Command injection is a technique used by hackers to execute system commands on a server, usually via a web application or some kind of GUI. This can happen when an application provides some sort of functionality to the user involving the use of system commands. When the input ...more
When it's time to calculate a tip at a restaurant or bar, I usually try some mental math at first, but sometimes I resort to opening the Calculator quickly from the Control Center on my iPhone and doing a quick calculation. But with Apple's Shortcuts app, there's an even easie ...more
It's no secret that you can protect notes on your iPhone with a password, but one thing that most people don't know is that you can actually set unique passwords for each note instead of a blanket password for all of them. It's not obvious at all in the Notes app, but it's eas ...more
As with most social media platforms, Instagram can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's a great way to share and express yourself — but on the other, it can be just as effective at compromising your privacy. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to protect yourse ...more
As you may have heard, Verizon has jumped on the "giving up users' data to whomever will pay" bandwagon with its new AppFlash spyware app that's all set to be pre-installed on at least one of the Android phones they sell. Currently, AppFlash is only being tested on the LG K20 ...more
Android O has finally arrived—well, it's technically a beta version, but that isn't stopping Android enthusiasts from going crazy about it. The first Developer Preview was released earlier today and is available right now to install on Nexus and Pixel devices. While Android O ...more
Near Field Communication, or NFC for short, is a feature that allows our smartphones to wirelessly communicate with other devices over a short distance while using almost no power at all. Think of it like a slimmed-down version of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth that can send a small burst ...more
Android has a single text file named build.prop that determines tons of various system-wide settings on your device. You need root access to edit this file, since it's stored on the system partition—but the various lines of codes it contains are actually fairly easy to interpr ...more
Every home cook has their most-hated kitchen task. For me, peeling hard-boiled eggs and garlic are pretty high up there. Actually, peeling just about anything is, but for every annoying job, there's a shortcut to make it easier. From the folks at Household Hacker, here are 10 ...more
Are you a messy burger eater? Ants and fruit flies invading your home? Hate drinking warm drinks? Find out the quick and easy DIY solutions to these problems with these 10 amazing tips and tricks for the summer. Video: . I had seen pictures of some of these useful ideas on the ...more
Back in 2010, iOS developer Daniel Amitay developed a camera security app for iPhones that used an unlock screen almost identical to that of the iPhone. The app was removed in mid-2011 (though, it eventually reappeared in early-2013, still available in the iOS App Store today ...more
By default, when there's a new event in Samsung's Calendar app, it pops up with an obnoxious full-screen window to let you know. Thankfully, there's a way to turn these into regular notifications. You could always disable the Samsung Calendar app and use a different app inste ...more
The monochrome layout on Samsung's default keyboard can make it a little hard to view keys. Fortunately, there's a setting you can enable that makes your keyboard significantly easier to view and type on. Tap on the cog-shaped settings icon on your Galaxy's keyboard, then go ...more
When it comes to shooting a great Instagram story, spontaneity is often key. Who doesn't love seeing something unexpected pop up on their feed? That said, to catch those moments, you need to be quick, and the standard method for opening Instagram's Story camera isn't that. Ins ...more
It's pretty much a given at this point that Facebook has a lot of data on us. While you might be conscious of the data you share with Facebook when you post, upload photos, or chat with friends on Messenger, you might not be thinking about all the data it receives from website ...more
If you're anything like me, when you first find a good song, album, or playlist on Spotify, your initial reaction may be to share it with your family and friends. While there are the usual share methods available in Spotify that are available in other streaming music services ...more
The default Camera app got a few more tricks up its sleeves when iOS 11 was released, and the best addition by far was the inclusion of a built-in QR code reader since that meant no more third-party apps just for QR code scanning. However, Apple's built-in QR code scanner did ...more