Mobile Phone Hack

When it comes to smartphone screens, there are two predominant technologies—the traditional LCD panel, and the newer AMOLED display. Most phones still use LCD screens, as the tech is more cost-effective due to its longstanding reign as the primary display type in TVs, smartpho ...more

Welcome back, my fledgling hackers! Hacking has a long and storied history in the U.S. and around the world. It did not begin yesterday, or even at the advent of the 21st century, but rather dates back at least 40 years. Of course, once the internet migrated to commercial use ...more

When it comes to automation apps on Android, Tasker is still the king of the hill. For a price of $2.99 on the Google Play Store, it's a great buy for any would-be tinkerer that would like to get into automating actions on their Android device. Then, when you consider that the ...more

You see it in the movies all the time. A character on the phone doesn't like what the other person is saying or telling them to do, or they just don't want to talk to them anymore, so they fake bad reception and cut the call off. In real life, it's pretty easy to tell when som ...more

We all know Google keeps a history of everything we do on our phones unless we say otherwise. However, you might not realize just how detailed it is until you check it for yourself — even the actions you do in each app are tracked by default. Even if you aren't trying to hide ...more

One of the coolest things about Android is the ability to tweak things to your liking. When it comes to Galaxy phones, Samsung is no stranger to adding extra customizations. Want to add an equalizer to your volume panel? Samsung has an app specifically for that — no joke. Ope ...more

While mobile data caps are larger than they used to be, many of us still have limits to contend with. If you find yourself up against that ceiling month after month, your iPhone itself might be to blame. Luckily, there's an easy fix to stop your iOS device from burning through ...more

Before you go out to protest, understand what you are facing. Sometimes these demonstrations become infected with looters and rioters, which could mean interaction with law enforcement and potentially arrest. And if your phone is on you, it can be used as a tool against you. ...more

While Snapchat had a head start in making augmented camera effects popular on smartphones, Facebook has spent the past few years in hot pursuit, with no less than three apps offering mobile AR experiences, plus its Portal hardware lineup of smart home devices. Facebook's late ...more

Undo. Redo. These two actions are forever intertwined, but they're missing from the standard keyboard on Android. Accidentally delete a word, and there is no Ctrl + Z to undo this mistake. But there is finally a solution available on Samsung Galaxy phones. Now, if you acciden ...more

No website, service, or platform is immune to being abused or exploited by hackers, and Google Analytics is no exception. To better understand how Google Analytics can help deliver payloads and bypass security protocols, one might want to learn how to use Google Analytics from ...more

If you're using a VPN app to block ads or secure your Galaxy's internet connection, Samsung has decided you need yet another non-dismissible notification from One UI to tell you about it. Not just a status bar indicator like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, but a full-size alert that can't ...more

To stand out on Instagram, you need more than just the great camera on the Galaxy S20. You have to think like a professional photographer, which means two things: using manual mode and editing your photos. It is only with the latter that what you imagine becomes a reality. Th ...more

An unfortunate byproduct of Samsung's One UI version of Android is redundancy, where you have the Google/AOSP way of doing things mixed with Samsung's methods at the same time. One example comes in taking screenshots, where Samsung has added its own take on editing and sharin ...more

When it's hard to hear what's being said, subtitles give you clarity where audio falls short. Thanks to Android 10, your Galaxy S20 now lets you enable a live transcription of your phone's internal audio stream, meaning you can get closed captions in virtually any app — even i ...more

If you have a OnePlus phone with an in-display fingerprint scanner like the 6T or 7 Pro, the "Quick launch" feature can put a variety of app shortcuts right on your lock screen for easy access. For example, you could use the "My apps" shortcut for the Play Store to check for y ...more

Several popular custom ROMs and root mods let you double tap the status bar at the top of your screen to put the phone to sleep. It pairs perfectly with the double tap to wake gesture you'll find on pretty much any Android phone. But if you're not rooted, you'll be glad to kno ...more

The original iPhone SE was, for some, the perfect iPhone. It brought back the popular one-handed form factor of the iPhone 5 but packed in the internals of the then-new iPhone 6S. Now, the second-generation iPhone SE is here for 2020, but can it live up to what made the first- ...more

It's nice having a dark theme on Android 10 and One UI 2, but setting it on a schedule takes it a step further. Imagine the light theme turning on every morning, and the dark theme taking over after sunset — all automatically. It sounds pretty simple, but it's one of those thi ...more

As a meeting host on Zoom, you can't control what a participant does during your live video call, but you do have the power to turn off their camera so that other people aren't subjected to distractions. So if you catch someone in your call purposely making obscene gestures or ...more

Sometimes, we get stuck on a song so good we want the world to know about it. Sure, you could take the time to save the album art to your iPhone, then upload it to your Instagram or Facebook story, but why bother doing that when you can simply share the song to your story righ ...more

As long as you have the meeting ID, you can join and interrupt virtually any video call on Zoom. And that's how we get terms such as "Zoom-bombing," where someone jumps into a chat to say or visually show vulgar and inappropriate things to the other participants. However, host ...more

Since Stadia is an early access game streaming platform, Google is still working on bringing big things to the table. You can expect wireless Stadia controller support for many more devices, high-quality 4K gaming on all Chrome web browsers, and more Google Assistant features. ...more

Beyond Apple-specific services like iMessage, having intuitive navigation gestures is certainly one of the features that makes the iPhone so hard to quit. Thanks to Android 10 and One UI 2, however, devices like the Samsung Galaxy S10 have caught up and now provide you with a ...more

The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in an unprecedented time in modern history where terms like "social distancing" and "self-quarantine" have pushed their way into the zeitgeist. One of the most popular (and likely most effective) ways that employers have done their part in ...more

Recovery mode and download mode are useful for modding and they can come in handy in a pinch. Booting into recovery mode to do a factory reset or wipe cache fan save your Galaxy S20 from a soft brick, and entering download mode lets you install firmware with utilities like Odi ...more

When Apple removed the Home button from iPhone, it introduced a new way to install apps that caused confusion over what to "double click." Like most iOS changes, it didn't take long to get used to double-clicking the Side button. But for some, performing a double-click on the ...more

Google has always experimented with Chrome's UI, but when they make more drastic changes, they start by hiding them in the feature flags menu. One of the latest designs makes Chrome more accessible in a world of big and tall phones. "Duet" is an optional redesign that takes C ...more

Like other popular social media apps, TikTok features a tagging system — dubbed TikCode — to follow people in your immediate vicinity. Instead of searching for their username, you can scan their TikCode, and TikTok will launch their page immediately. Of course, you have a TikC ...more

Group chats in Facebook Messenger can devolve into outright noise pollution as people chit chat randomly and bombard you with distracting notifications. Unfortunately, leaving the group outright alerts everyone inside, so if you want to get out of the thread unnoticed, what ex ...more

Back in the earlier days of Android, you were able to connect your phone to a computer, and it would mount automatically. This meant once the USB connection was made, your internal storage would pop up on the computer and you could go about your business. But recent versions o ...more

Two minutes on TikTok is all it takes to learn that Renegade is a huge deal. The song and the dance combined are a viral trend that shows no sign of stopping. Feeling left out? Let's change that. You can learn the entire dance in just 20 seconds. First, what is the Renegade c ...more

One of Android's biggest strengths relative to iOS is how simple it is to sideload apps that aren't on the official app store. Rather than having to sign IPA files or tell your phone you trust a developer every two weeks, you can just enable a setting and be done with it. Jum ...more

Android is all about customization. That's why it's entirely appropriate that Spark for Android's newest update adds a ton of customization options for your out-of-control email alerts. Now, you can add lights, sounds, and vibrations to notifications, and you can even set spec ...more

After Android 10 added a system-wide dark mode, hordes of app developers rushed to add support for the feature. This even helped users on Android 9 and below since most apps could be manually set to a dark theme now. Emphasis on most — WhatsApp was conspicuously absent, for on ...more

While Snapchat is no stranger to location-based AR scavenger hunts, the app's new world-facing game adds some environmental understanding to the mix. This week, Snapchat launched a new Snappables game dubbed Scavenger Hunt. However, while most Snappables games use the front-f ...more

Using Apple Pay in stores to make purchases is as easy as holding your iPhone near the NFC reader and authenticating with Face ID or Touch ID. That method uses the primary payment card in Apple Wallet automatically, and your primary card may change from week to week based on y ...more

While the App Store is filled with news aggregators, Apple News is a solid choice when it comes to keeping up with current events. Apple recently made it easier than ever to stay informed, thanks to a daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox. The problem? It's unclear how ...more

Have you ever wondered how some people know you're online even though you swear you set the Messenger app to hide your active status? No, you're not crazy — it's an issue with two conflicting settings, and there's an easy fix. Many don't realize this, but you have two differe ...more

When using face unlock on the Pixel 4, your lock screen notifications are bypassed by default to help you unlock your phone instantaneously. This is different than Face ID on the iPhone, which shows the lock screen until you swipe up, but only shows notifications when you've b ...more

The Pixel 4 comes with a new "Styles and wallpapers" app that lets you change icons, accent colors, and more. But if you're on a first-gen Pixel, a Pixel 2, or a Pixel 3, you don't get this feature. On the bright side, there's still a way to use it. Your circular home screen ...more

With the files on our devices getting more important as the years go by, the need to keep things organized continues to rise. The longer you have a device, the messier the internal storage might become. Having a file manager would be extremely useful in this situation. You cou ...more

Your Pixel has a few hidden features you probably don't know about, like the ability to clean up your funky contacts list. Since I'm sure you haven't manually organized your contacts since the inception of Android, there are likely some incomplete and duplicate contacts. Thank ...more

Samsung launched One UI in 2018 to replace the now infamous TouchWiz. Since then, things have been looking pretty bright for Galaxy users. Now, the much-anticipated arrival of Android 10 is ushering in the One UI 2.0 era, including a new set of gesture-based controls. Since y ...more

When attending networking events, a LinkedIn exchange is a common occurrence. Equally common is the awkward fumbling dance with how to add each other. Fortunately, we have the solution: the ultimate way to add LinkedIn contacts. You no longer need to spell names with non-typi ...more

Google has started to release a Go line of Android apps. These apps offer a minimalistic version of their major app counterpart. So far, we have Go versions of Maps, Photos, Gmail, and more. Who are these apps for and why would you want to use them? Here's a quick overview of ...more

If you're concerned about someone accessing your OneDrive files, you may want to upgrade your protection by enabling fingerprint or Face ID unlocking. Your sensitive information deserves to be protected, and now you can do so easily. Worry no longer — if you need to let someon ...more

Public Wi-Fi networks that have a captive portal sign-in screen can sometimes be broken on Android. This seems to happen randomly and on some devices more than others. You'll get the "Sign into Wi-Fi network" notification, but it just doesn't work. If that's happening to you, ...more

So, you snapped a great picture, but it's just a little off-center. Usually, rotating a photo requires cropping it, which will lower the overall quality of the image. That's not the case on the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, however. Apple's new flagships allow you to rota ...more

Businesses that have adopted enterprise-grade wearables for their workforces now have a new option among the multitude of AR productivity apps that can help their team members communicate in AR. A well-known brand among IT and help desk technicians, TeamViewer is extending it ...more

After adding dual cameras to its camera glasses, Snap is finally taking full advantage of the depth-sensing abilities of newer iPhones as well, extending the use of its new 3D Camera Mode. Rolling out to Snapchat on iPhone X, XS, XR, and new 11-series iPhones this week, 3D Ca ...more

Dark mode is finally rolling out for Gmail on Android. But this is a Google product, so you already know it'll be a while before the server-side update hits most devices. Sideloading the newest APK doesn't work, neither does switching accounts. But if you're rooted, you can en ...more

Scanning pictures and uploading them to Google Photos is a great way to digitize your collection. With unlimited high-quality storage and text recognition capabilities, it's hard to pass up. And for your older family pictures, Google Photos will soon even colorize black and wh ...more

"Why do I keep getting popups on my phone when I'm not even doing anything?" I see this question asked all the time. The answer? You have a shady app on your phone and it started showing full screen ads. But people either don't know this (so they don't know they just need to f ...more

Disabling clunky, revealing link previews on Google Keep can serve multiple purposes. You know, those expanded versions of the same URL you pasted into your note, except duplicated, tacked onto the bottom of your note, and showing a preview picture. Removing these can help opt ...more

The augmented reality cloud will probably be one of the most important pieces of digital real estate in the next few years, and China has no intention of being left out of the virtual land grab. During Huawei's Developer Conference this weekend, the company took the wraps off ...more

You know the drill. You need answers, and your friend has them. The problem? It's way too late to text them. Maybe they have Do Not Disturb enabled. Perhaps they don't, and you wake them up, ruining their entire Monday. Don't be that friend. Instead, send a message silently wi ...more

OxygenOS is often described as one of the best skins for Android on the market. It's fast, clean, and has a ton of useful features that appeal to just about everyone. However, it's also faced a significant issue for the longest time — overly aggressive battery optimizations th ...more

It's been proven that hackers can manipulate your screen with fake taps through specific exploits, so they can potentially hit the "Grant" button when you get a superuser request. This is the last thing you'd want to happen since the malicious app from that point forward has f ...more

The art of emoji — the next level beyond the simple text-based emoticons we used once upon a time in the not so distant past. We rely upon emojis so much in our always-connected world of today simply because they help portray emotion into our typed out words. They've not been ...more