Google just recently added an incognito mode feature to Google Maps for iPhone and Android. With that, you can now use Maps in private at any time, which means you can browse and search with peace of mind. The incognito feature for Maps is quite similar to what you get from C ...more
A virtual private network is a necessary part of your arsenal if you're insistent on surfing the web privately and securely on your iPhone. The App Store is littered with hundreds of different VPN services that encrypt traffic and mask your IP address, but what they all have i ...more
Let's be honest for a second; we all have sensitive material on our phones that we wouldn't want anyone else to ever see. Maybe it's to protect ourselves or someone else, or maybe it's none of your business why I don't want you to see pictures of my bachelor party. Regardless, ...more
Even if your default mobile browser is Google Chrome, you may not want Google to also be your search engine. Maybe you're not impressed with Google's search results all the time, maybe you want a more private search experience, or maybe you just don't want Google's hands over ...more
The "Albums" tab in Photos is great for sorting through the images and videos on your iPhone since you can narrow things down by your recent pics and recordings, apps used, media types, people, places, and so on. If you never look at all of those folders, however, it could fee ...more
Anytime you surf the web on your iPad or iPhone, Safari saves which webpages you visit, the information you enter into them, and other types of data. This not only make your internet experience quicker, but it'll also keep track of everything you're doing. Safari does have an ...more
One method you can use to protect yourself, is to ensure you clear your private data, such as your search history, and in this screencast tutorial, we show you how to do just that in Mozilla Firefox.
Google has it fingers in just about every digital pie there is, including the App Store of their leading smartphone OS competitor, Apple. This video will show you how to use the Google Mobile App for the iPhone, a great app that allows you to do Google voice searches and all s ...more
Skimming through the hundreds of photos you may have on your iPhone for that one selfie of you and your friends in Los Angeles can be a tedious task, especially if you were inebriated and snapping pics indiscriminately. Thankfully, as one of the many cool features available in ...more
Apple Music, Apple's answer to Spotify, has many interesting features packed in to make that $9.99/month price tag as attractive as possible. One of those features is geared towards social listeners — those who want to follow other Apple Music users and who want to be followed ...more
As an avid reader, I come across a plethora of words I don't know, but my iPhone is always right there to help figure out their meanings. If you're reading an article or email directly on your iOS device, just highlight the word in question and tap on the "Define" option. If ...more
Apple certainly took a page from Google Now with its new "Proactive" search page in iOS 9. Located to the left of the home screen, the page provides quick access to contacts you've recently corresponded with, suggested applications, nearby places, and news articles based off o ...more
Apple's Podcasts app just got a big feature: transcripts. Before, you had to rely on third-party services or the off chance that podcast creators posted transcription links to each of their episodes. Now, you can view, read, and search show transcripts directly in Podcasts, wh ...more
In this quick iPhone 4 user's guide, you'll learn how to customize the Spotlight search application. Whether you're the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 4 or perhaps just considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial. For more information, incl ...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
Aside from identifying songs with Shazam and using the "Hey Siri" feature while driving, Apple's personal assistant isn't something I regularly use on my iPhone. For general searches or queries, I just use a simple Google search. Granted, it isn't as seamless as holding down ...more
When a photo or video is just too sensitive to leave laying around in your Photos app, you'll want to either delete it for good or hide it away in safe, secure location on your iPhone. As for the latter, Apple actually has a few tools available to make photos and videos hidden ...more
Want to use something other than Google as your default search engine? In this quick iPhone 4 user's guide, you'll learn how to change the phone's default search engine. Whether you're the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 4 or perhaps just considering picking one up, you're sure ...more
Spotlight, Apple's system-wide search feature, lets you search for apps, contacts, messages, webpages, music, notes, and other content that's on and off your iPhone. On iOS, it's known as "Search," and you can access it by swiping your home screen down or swiping open the Toda ...more
A picture is worth a thousand words, and depending on what you're taking a picture of, it could be worth a lot more. Our phone's camera can easily capture high quality photos, scan barcodes, and make us Instagram famous. You can compare prices of items and download application ...more
Smartphones are still "phones," which means communicating with others is usually a primary use. Ranging from a simple "hi" to a more personal conversation and even sharing passwords, our messages should remain private so that only the intended recipient sees their content. Whi ...more
The standard way to sort your notes and to-dos in Reminders has always relied on you putting them in the correct list and group. Then came smart lists for flagged and scheduled tasks, followed shortly by a smart list for tasks assigned to you. In iOS 15, Apple brings yet anoth ...more
Google Images, TinEye, and other reverse image search engines can help you find where images appear on the internet. You can discover what TV show or movie an image comes from, who took a photo, and if the profile picture of someone you're talking to online is really them, amo ...more
If you haven't been using Spotlight Search on your iPhone, we've got ten reasons for you to start. Apple's made some significant improvements to the search interface available on the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and it's more useful than ever. The new features and updates for ...more
Spotlight makes finding apps, contacts, emails, songs, and old messages extremely easy on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. You can even search for Wikipedia articles online, as well as perform general web searches. The only problem is that Apple kicked Google Search results to ...more
Safari has a convenient "Find" feature to search for specific words and phrases in a webpage, and Apple Books has a similar feature for e-books and PDFs. But those do nothing for you when searching text in the real world. Hardcover and paperback books are still very much a thi ...more
Apple has packed a lot of new features into the iOS 13 update, and practically no core app has gone untouched. The Messages app, in particular, got plenty of love, including new ways to dress and use your Memojis. Beyond the improvements and additions made to Memojis, Message ...more
End-to-end encryption makes WhatsApp chats private and secure. However, if someone has access to your iPhone, they can easily open the app and browse through all of your personal conversations. Luckily, there's an easy way to block any would-be intruders at the gates — just lo ...more
If you've been using an iPhone for years, chances are you have thousands of photos and videos in your Photos app. And while it may be fun to browse them when you have free time, finding a specific one can be a chore if you're not searching your gallery right. There's a powerh ...more
If you've ever connected your iPhone to a computer before, you know iOS prompts you to "Trust" the computer and enter your passcode to confirm. According to Apple, trusted computers can "sync with your iOS device, create backups, and access your device's photos, videos, contac ...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
Your social security number, credit card information, and medical history can fall into the wrong hands if you're not careful about how and where you share your data online. If you really care about your data, there are tools and techniques you can utilize to protect yourself ...more
Apple's iOS 13 has been available for beta testing since June, and the stable release pushed out to everyone on Thursday, Sept. 19. To help you make the most out of iOS 13 for iPhone, we've rounded up everything you'll want to know, whether a colossal feature, small settings c ...more
Safari's massive upgrade in Apple's latest iPhone software update includes new features you won't find in any other web browsers on iOS, from better ways to stay organized to enhanced security and further privacy protections. Apple's latest Safari improvements make web browsi ...more
In the 21st century, we're all looking for ways to stay private, especially on our electronic devices. We have big tech corporations, enemy countries, malicious hackers, and other prying eyes watching our every move, so it's only natural to want to limit what they can see. Mak ...more
The last iOS software update was a modest one, but iOS 17.4 has a lot more for your iPhone, including changes to emoji, Podcasts, security, Safari, widgets, Apple Cash, CarPlay, and more. Many of the exciting changes in iOS 17.4, as well as iPadOS 17.4, apply to users in the ...more
With the holidays right around the corner, it's easy to miss a big software update on your iPhone, and by that, I mean iOS 15.2, which was pushed out Monday, Dec. 13. There's a surprising amount of new features and changes in the updated firmware, and there are a few big ones ...more
Trying to figure out which music streaming service to subscribe to can be a difficult task when the playing field is so crowded. Each has its benefits, as well as downsides, so finding the right one for your needs and wants can take a lot of overwhelming research. But we've do ...more
Incognito Mode is a privacy feature that was popularized by Google Chrome, and it recently made its way to GBoard. Now it's coming to the YouTube app to help make your video watching experience truly private. While Google initially rolled the feature out slowly, Incognito Mod ...more
The nice part about creating a song playlist is that it's essentially like your own customized album. You can organize all your different music tastes into one large collection or separate them into each of their own genres. If you're using an app like SoundCloud, then instea ...more
Over the years, we've seen security breach after security breach, as well as high-profile data scandals where collected personal information was misused by companies. Apple makes customer privacy a priority, so there have been few issues to worry about when it comes to its ser ...more
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 feat ...more
Smartphones are now indispensable when traveling. Domestic and overseas travel alike require food, navigation, translation, and so much more to make work or vacation successful. Gone are the days of lugging multiple tourist books around with you everywhere you go — you need to ...more
Now that you've updated your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to iOS 8, there's a lot of cool new things to explore. If you felt a little overwhelmed from all of the detailed information available in our Coolest Hidden Features of iOS 8 post, then I've got a simple breakdown of all ...more
By now, you've probably already installed 10.10 Yosemite, the newest version of Mac OS X, on your computer. While you most certainly noticed the visual changes, you might have missed some of the really cool additions. We've spent the last few days getting to know it, and let ...more
Microsoft is working hard to make Bing a good alternative to Google for more than just looking up images of the "human anatomy" that Google and a lot of other search engines filter out of their results. The Bing App home screen has five buttons that let you start searching qui ...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
Overall, iOS is more impressive than ever with its stability enhancements, security tools, suite of apps and services, and intuitive user interface. With each passing update, things just get better and better for iPhone users. But don't think for a second that this is all beca ...more
In Safari for iPhone, as far back as iOS 7, you can request the full desktop version of websites. The process was streamlined starting in iOS 9, but the process remains relatively hidden and easily missed. Now, iOS 13 shines a light on it, as well as adds functionality to set ...more
It's finally out. After months of testing, iOS 13 is available to install on your iPhone, which means over 200+ new features you can use right now. The update, released on Sept. 19, can be installed over the air or from a restore image using iTunes in macOS Mojave and older or ...more
Apple's iOS 16.3 update for iPhone had impressive new features, but iOS 16.4 might impress you even more. The latest iPhone update was released on Monday, March 27 — a day earlier than Apple Music Classical, Apple's new classical music streaming service — has at least 30 more ...more
Apple has an excellent reputation for its privacy and security policies. That said, it isn't a perfect reputation. Take Siri, for example. The helpful iOS assistant isn't just communicating with you — Apple saves and listens to a history of your Siri interactions. If you don't ...more
If you prefer to use Google or another search engine for everyday browsing in Safari but would also like a more secure browsing experience for all your secret searches, there's a simple way to switch between them quickly while also adding additional layers of security on top o ...more
Keeping data private is vital in the days of smartphones and the free-floating information they carry. Justin wrote a guide on many of the deeply hidden and sometimes concerning privacy settings in iOS 7. Now we're back to cover some of the new (and old) privacy settings in iO ...more
Some of the new features in iOS 15 take some getting used to, and the biggest one of those is Safari's relocated search bar, aka address bar. There are more than a few reasons why it's a jarring change, but the good news is that you can return Safari's search bar to its pre-iO ...more
When you're going somewhere for the first time, it's nice to know what the destination will look like. Street View in Google Maps is the perfect tool for that, though it's always been a little awkward to access. But now, Google added a new overlay that will put Street View con ...more
While our smartphones are many things, one of their primary functions is to make calls. Many of us try to avoid ever having to make calls, but there are situations when it's a must, such as wishing your grandma happy Birthday or calling 911 — and in those times you want stella ...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
Apple last month released iOS 17.2, its biggest iPhone software update since iOS 17.0, with 60 new features. Now, as of Jan. 22, we have iOS 17.3. Overall, it's not the behemoth software update that iOS 17.2 was, but it has a few exciting new things you'll definitely want to k ...more
In a way, Twitter is the town square of our era, where people can share and discuss ideas on a wide variety of topics. While the tech giant has its own app for Android, it's pretty bare-bones when it comes to features. This has paved the way for third-party clients that are ri ...more