Plain-English help with the tech in your life: phones, Wi-Fi, scams, privacy, smart home and more.
What smart locks do well, where they fail, and how to handle dead batteries, hacking risk, renting and guest codes before you swap out your deadbolt.
Passkeys let you sign in with your face, fingerprint or PIN instead of a password. Here is how they work, how to set one up and how to keep access if you lose your phone.
Sign out, remove activation locks and factory reset the right way. Device-by-device steps for Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones and Android phones before you sell.
Social media age verification laws require apps to check a user's age and, for minors, get parental consent before opening an account. More than a dozen states have …
Link your own parent account to your child's Roblox account, then use Parental Controls to set the content maturity level, turn chat off or limit it to trusted …
AI companion chatbots are apps built to act as a friend, partner or confidant, and most US teens have tried one. The risks are emotional dependency, sexual or …
Sextortion is blackmail where a criminal, often posing as a teen online, gets a young person to share an intimate image and then threatens to post it unless …
There is no single right age for a kid's first phone; readiness matters more than birthdays. Start with the least device that meets the need, such as a …
Use screen sharing to see what your parent sees, such as FaceTime screen sharing on iPhone (with remote control on iOS 18 and later) or Quick Assist on …
A kids smartwatch combines GPS location, a cellular connection and calling to a short list of parent-approved contacts, usually without apps, browsing or social media. Most need a …
On iPhone, set up a child account through Family Sharing, then use Screen Time from your own phone to require purchase approval, filter websites, set content ratings and …
To set up a phone for a senior, simplify the screen first with Assistive Access on iPhone or Easy mode on Samsung, then enlarge text. Add emergency contacts …
On iPhone, open Find My, tap People, then Share My Location, pick a family member and choose 1 hour, until end of day or indefinitely. On Android, share …
A pop-up saying your computer is infected and telling you to call a number is a tech support scam. Do not call, click or pay. Force-close the browser, …
A package delivery scam is a text posing as USPS, UPS, FedEx or Amazon that says your parcel is stuck and links to a fake site asking for …
Scam text messages usually arrive unexpected, create urgency, impersonate a trusted brand such as USPS, a bank or a toll agency, and push you to tap a link, …
An AI voice scam uses a cloned copy of a loved one's voice, built from a short clip found online, to fake an emergency and demand money fast. …
To report a scam, call your bank or payment provider first to try to stop or reverse the money. Then report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and …
If you got scammed, contact the company you paid through right away, whether that is your card issuer, bank, payment app, gift card company or crypto exchange, and …
A job scam is a fake offer, often for easy remote work, that ends with you paying money or handing over personal data. Key signs are unexpected texts …
The unpaid toll text scam is a fake message claiming you owe a small toll and will face late fees unless you pay through a link. The link …
To tell if an online store is fake, check how old its domain is, search the store name with "scam" or "complaint," compare its prices with major retailers …
To switch from iPhone to Android, back up your iPhone, copy contacts, photos and calendars with the Android setup tool or Google's Switch to Android app, then turn …
A phone battery usually drains fast because of a power-hungry app, a bright screen, weak signal, background activity, heat or an aging battery. Check Settings, Battery to see …
To free up iPhone storage, open Settings, General, iPhone Storage and follow the recommendations. The biggest wins are usually offloading unused apps, setting Messages to keep texts for …
To back up your phone, turn on iCloud Backup on iPhone or Google backup on Android so it runs automatically on Wi-Fi, and keep photos syncing to a …
To transfer data to a new phone, back up the old one first, then use the built-in tool during setup: Quick Start for iPhone to iPhone, Move to …
To stop spam calls, turn on your phone's built-in screening (Screen Unknown Callers on iPhone, Call Screen and spam filtering on Android), activate your carrier's free spam blocking, …
On a new phone, first set a strong passcode, turn on face or fingerprint recognition, Find My or Find Hub and theft protection, and install updates. Then review …
On iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size, or Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Larger Text for extra-large sizes. On Android, search …
Netflix password sharing is allowed only inside your household, meaning the devices at your main home. People elsewhere need their own account or a paid extra member slot. …
TSA accepts digital IDs from a growing list of participating states, plus passport-based digital IDs in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, at more than 250 airports. You add …
Public Wi-Fi is much safer than it used to be because most websites and apps now use HTTPS encryption. The bigger risks today are fake hotspots that mimic …
To cut the cord, list the channels and sports you actually watch, then match each to a replacement. An HD antenna gets free local channels like ABC, CBS, …
To track luggage, put a Bluetooth tracker such as an AirTag or a Find Hub-compatible tag inside your bag, pair it with your phone, and check its location …
To use your phone abroad without a huge bill, check whether your plan already includes international roaming, then choose between a carrier day pass for convenience or a …
To save money on streaming, audit every subscription, cancel the ones you didn't use last month, and rotate services so you only pay for 1 or 2 at …
To use ChatGPT or another AI chatbot, type a clear request in plain language, include the details that matter (who, what, constraints and format), then refine the answer …
Scan your device for malware, then recover the account through your provider's official recovery page and set a new, unique password. Sign out all other sessions, turn on …
A password manager stores your passwords in an encrypted vault that only your master password or device passcode can open, then generates and autofills a unique password for …
A passkey is a sign-in key stored on your phone, computer or password manager that replaces typing a password. You approve each sign-in with your fingerprint, face or …
Enter your email address at Have I Been Pwned, a free breach-search site, then run the built-in password check in your password manager, such as Google Password Checkup …
To remove your info from people-search sites, search each site for your name, phone and address, then follow its opt-out link and verify by email. Repeat every few …
To set up two-factor authentication, open an account's security settings, find "two-step verification" or "2FA," choose a method and follow the prompts. Authenticator apps are stronger than text …
On iPhone, turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, then set each app's location to While Using or Never …
To secure home Wi-Fi, change the router's default admin password, turn on WPA3 (or WPA2 if WPA3 isn't available), use a long unique Wi-Fi password, install firmware updates, …
Buying your own modem and router pays off when your provider charges a monthly equipment fee and you plan to keep the same service for a year or …
Add up what your household does at the same time, then add headroom. Netflix recommends 15 Mbps per 4K stream, Zoom about 3 Mbps per HD call and …
A single good router is enough for most apartments and smaller single-story homes with a centrally placed router. Mesh Wi-Fi is worth it for larger homes, multi-story layouts, …
Slow Wi-Fi usually has 1 of 5 causes: a plan that's too slow for your household, distance or walls between you and the router, crowded 2.4 GHz channels, …
Fiber is usually the best choice where available, with symmetrical upload speeds, low latency and strong reliability. Cable is widely available and fast for downloads but has much …
Smart speakers listen locally all the time for their wake word, but they're designed to send audio to the cloud only after they hear it or you press …
Start a smart home by choosing 1 ecosystem first, such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Samsung SmartThings, based on the phone and speakers you already …
A smart lock is worth it if you want keyless entry, temporary codes for guests and a log of who came and went. The trade-offs are batteries that …
To set up a DIY home security camera, place cameras at entry points like the front door, back door and driveway, mounted high and angled down. Choose local …
Most app-connected robot vacuums build a floor plan of your home and sync it to the maker's cloud, and models with front cameras can capture images to avoid …
Video doorbells record people and sounds beyond your property, and cloud footage can be requested by police. To protect privacy, turn off audio recording where it isn't needed, …
To wipe a computer or phone before selling it, back it up, sign out of your accounts, turn off Find My or remove your Google and Samsung accounts, …
Windows 10 support ended October 14, 2025, but home users can enroll in Extended Security Updates through October 12, 2027, free with Windows Backup, for 1,000 Microsoft Rewards …
Pick a Chromebook if you mostly use a browser and want the lowest price and simplest upkeep. Pick a Mac if you use an iPhone, want long battery …
Keep your photos in at least 2 places: a cloud photo service such as iCloud Photos, Google Photos or OneDrive, plus a copy you control on an external …
Choose iCloud if your household mostly uses iPhones, iPads and Macs. Choose Google Drive (Google One) if you use Android, Chromebooks or Gmail, or mix device brands. Choose …