Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks » help for cell phones, pdas, iphones, android, and more

How To: Use This Trick on YouTube Videos to Find the Exact Frame You're Looking for More Easily

When it comes to finding the exact moment you want to see in a video, the seeking function can be hit or miss depending on the streaming service you're using. On YouTube, though, it just got much better.

How To: View Popular Hours, Wait Times, and Live Visit Data for Businesses to Determine When to Go Out, Stay Home, or Move On

Unlike Apple Maps, Google Maps can tell you when a restaurant, bar, club, or other business you're thinking of visiting is busy. It's extremely helpful if you want to avoid peak times or wait for the place to be empty. If you can't pry yourself away from using Apple Maps, there's an easy alternative to see the popular times of most businesses.

How To: Crop, Tilt, and Rotate Videos Using Google Photos on Android or iOS

If you have a screen recording with distracting UI elements, black borders, and other unneeded visuals, Google Photos can help you crop out all the junk from the video, leaving you with only the important stuff.

How To: Replace the Goals Function in Google Calendar After Google Kills It for Good

If you use Goals in Google Calendar, you've probably already received the notification that Google, in typical executioner fashion, has marked the feature for death. As of November 2022, you can't create new goals, and your current goals won't repeat anymore. Google suggests switching to repeating events or tasks, but there's a better option to use on your Android and iOS device.

How To: Unlock Snapchat's New Green Screen Filter to Create TikTok-Style Videos Using Any Background You Want

TikTok is all the rage right now, and its green screen effect is one of the more popular augmented reality tricks creators use to boost their viewership numbers. Now Snapchat has leveled the playing field by making it easier to access its own green screen effect.

How To: Unlock YouTube's New Ambient Mode for a More Immersive Experience (Or Disable It if You Don't Like It)

To celebrate YouTube's 17th birthday, Google has gifted the app with new features, including pinch to zoom, precise seeking, and a darker dark theme. But the highlight is a new cosmetic upgrade called Ambient mode, which makes the viewing experience more immersive. Here's everything we know about the new background effect.

How To: Hide Your WhatsApp Online and Last Seen Statuses from Everyone or Just Some of Your Contacts

By default, everyone on WhatsApp can see when you're using the app. If someone recently messaged you and sees you're currently online, they may think you're avoiding them if you don't respond right away — especially if you don't share read receipts. However, you can block them from seeing your online or last seen status and apply it to everyone or just specific contacts.

How To: Shuffle YouTube Music Playlists in the New Playlist UI

YouTube Music just refreshed the user interface for playlists, seemingly taking away the ability to shuffle the songs in your playlists. While the update has been rolling out for months, you might just be getting the updated look on your smartphone, and there's no giant "Shuffle" button like there was before. But that doesn't mean there's no more shuffling.

How To: Play Pokémon Go Like a Pro with These Companion Apps for iPhone and Android Phones

When the topic of Pokémon Go comes up, the typical response is, "Do people still play it?" The answer is a resounding yes!

How To: The Best Wordle Spinoffs You Should Be Playing on Your Phone

There are two types of people in this world: those who recognize Wordle grids of yellow, green, and gray/black blocks and those who do not. No matter which category you fall in, there's a Wordle-inspired game that's perfect for you.

How To: Make Spoofed Calls Using Any Phone Number You Want Right from Your Smartphone

Spoofed phone calls originate from one source that's disguising its phone number as a different one, and you probably get these calls all the time. Maybe they're numbers from your local area code or for prominent businesses, but the callers are just hijacking those digits to fool you into picking up. Turns out, making a spoofed call is something anybody can do — even you.

How To: The Hidden Meaning Behind Those Mysterious Dialer Pad Keys on Your iPhone or Android Phone

You might not have ever noticed, but your smartphone's keypad for phone numbers has a few mysterious buttons. They'll appear in your phone and contacts app whether you have an iPhone or Android phone, but most of these puzzling keys aren't explained by Apple, Google, Samsung, and other device brands.

How To: Can You Bring Your Phone to a New Carrier? This Is How You Tell

If your current cellular provider costs too much, has poor reception in your area, or doesn't support features you'd like to use, switching to another carrier is the obvious move. But can you bring your current iPhone or Android phone?

How To: This Is One Reason to Get Google Voice on Your Smartphone ASAP

Google Voice has a hidden feature that lets you record any phone call you're participating in, and unlike other apps, it doesn't cost a dime.

How To: See Who's Viewed Your TikTok Profile (And How to Stop Them from Knowing You Visited Theirs)

Most of you have probably wondered at least once who has been checking out your social media profiles. While most platforms prohibit you from seeing who's viewed your profile, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, TikTok is one of the few places that lets you track profile visitors. And unlike with LinkedIn, you don't have to pay for the privilege.

How To: You Can Now Use Any Emoji for WhatsApp Message Reactions

Instead of responding to a WhatsApp message with short texts like "LOL" or thinking too hard about something meaningful to say, use an emoji reaction. They cut down on clutter in group chats and take up less space than typing emoji individually in a conversation. WhatsApp initially limited reactions to just six emoji, but a new update lets you use any emoji you want.

How To: 3 Ways to Find TikTok Videos You've Already Watched

It's easy to lose the TikTok video you were watching when you accidentally refresh your For You feed, but it's not gone forever. TikTok has a new feature for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device that can show you all your watched videos over the last seven days. There are also other, more hidden ways to see your watch history — one that goes well beyond a week.

How To: The Simplest Way to Remove the Background from Photos on iOS, iPadOS, and Android

It's super easy to add filters, adjust levels, and crop images using the default photo editor on your smartphone, but there's rarely any built-in tool for removing the background in a photo. A third-party app can help isolate people and objects in your pictures, and we've found a free one that's easy to use, works with high-resolution images, and is available for Android, iOS, iPadOS, and the web.

How To: The Trick That Lets You Link to Specific Start Times in YouTube Videos Right from Your Phone

You can add a timestamp to any YouTube video in just a few clicks from the desktop website on your computer but not from YouTube's iOS or Android app. Until YouTube adds a "start time" when sharing videos from the mobile app, you'll have to use one of these workarounds on your phone or tablet.

How To: See Your Likes on Instagram — Every Photo, Video, and Reel You've Ever Hearted

Unlike TikTok, there isn't a convenient "Likes" tab directly on your Instagram profile page to see all the posts you've ever loved. That's too easy. Instead, you have to dig a bit deeper if you want to take a trip down IG memory lane.

How To: Record 10-Minute Videos on TikTok Using Your iPhone or Android Phone

In mid-2021, TikTok rolled out three-minute videos, but it's not stopping there. The company is rolling out a feature that will let you record up to 10 minutes in a single TikTok video — only the update hasn't appeared for everyone yet.

News: How Does the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's Battery Life Compare to the iPhone 13 Pro Max's?

With the new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra release, the first thing you may be wondering is how its battery life compares to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple's biggest model from 2021. We've rounded up some of the most popular Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max battery tests from across the internet to bring you answers.

How To: This Is How You Get Music in Your Instagram Stories

Music goes well with almost every Instagram story, but adding a particular song or soundtrack isn't the most obvious task if you've never tried before or haven't done so in a long time.

How To: Download the Real Wordle Game on Your Phone for Years of Free Offline Gameplay

The hottest word game right now is Wordle, a simple game that gives you six chances to guess the five-letter word of the day. I've already shown how you can add the real Wordle app — not a fake clone — to your iPhone or Android phone's home screen. But there's also a way to save Wordle for offline gameplay for years to come.

How To: Install the Real Wordle Game on Your Phone — Not a Fake Wordle Clone

Wordle has been popping up all over in the app stores, but none of them are the real Wordle. The popular word game app has amassed two million users since its launch in November 2021 but has no plans to hit the iOS App Store or Play Store any time soon — but you can still install the official Wordle app on the Home screen of your iPhone or Android phone.

News: Sony Might Be Working on a DualShock Controller with Built-in Phone Dock for Dedicated Mobile Gaming

A new Sony patent shows the company doubling down on mobile gaming, and it could mean more advanced controller features for your iPhone or Android phone, similar to those in PlayStation's DualSense and DualShock controllers.

How To: Scan Food with Snapchat to Discover New Recipes to Try Out

Have you ever had a great meal at your local restaurant and wondered how to make it yourself? Or perhaps you've found yourself stumped at what to make for dinner based on the random provisions in your kitchen? Now, you can discover solutions to these food-based problems via Snapchat's computer vision wizardry.