Smartphones: Page 5

It's open season on Zoom, the video conferencing platform that has grown in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic but has come under fire due to privacy issues.

Accompanying Snapchat's core features, like editing snaps and applying filters to them, is Bitmojis. These are small avatars that you create in your own likeness and use all throughout Snapchat. Formerly, there were two "styles" that you could pick from to make your Bitmoji: Bitstrips style and Bitmoji style. But Snapchat has a third style now that will redefine the way you use Bitmojis.

With Avatar, Facebook's personalized stickers for use on its social and messaging platforms, those who aren't on Facebook or have otherwise dumped the social network may feel left out.

Snapchat popularized personalized stickers for social media and messaging with Bitmoji, followed by walled-garden versions from Apple with Memojis and Samsung with AR Emojis. Even Google has gotten into the game, integrating an emoji generator for Gboard.

While the airline, casino, cruise, and hotel industries are asking for government bailouts during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies around the US are giving away its apps and services for a limited time. So while you're stuck at home, keep your mind off of coronavirus with free movies, TV, music apps, concerts, internet, fitness sessions, classes, and more.

Dark themes are all the rage these days, and both Android and iOS have system-wide versions. Many big-name apps and device manufacturers have already jumped on board the night train, and Google Chrome is no different. But the Chrome mobile browser offers various ways to enable its dark theme.

Google Meet might not have virtual backgrounds like Zoom, but it hits all of the other basics, from hosting many multiples of video participants to sharing your screen, that you'd expect from a robust video conferencing platform.

The Los Angeles Rams are the latest NFL franchise to introduce new or modified uniforms for the 2020 season, joining the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their neighbors, the Los Angeles Chargers.

Google's strategy for updating its apps with dark mode options is apparently "one at a time" and "as slow as possible." Even after the company added a dark theme to many of its apps for Android and iOS, such as Calendar, Chrome, Keep, and Photos, Gmail seemed to remain "light" for the longest time. However, the app now supports dark mode on both mobile OSs. Here's how to enable it.

When you post a photo or video on Instagram, it's always nice to see positive comments from friends, family, and even fans. On the other hand, it's never fun to see spam or hate messages underneath your posts. Before, you'd have to delete these comments one by one, but now you can delete comments in bulk.

Over the past few months, Google has prioritized the development of its video communications products as the demand for social distancing solutions continues to increase in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asana mobile app lets you manage your projects with the same functionality as the website. Most features are pretty straightforward, thanks to Asana keeping the same design cues from the web app. However, one element is very easy to miss: adding subtasks.

Facebook's mobile app lacks many features from the desktop site. Even if you open Facebook in your phone's browser and request the desktop version, all that does is basically resize the mobile app. But there's a simple workaround that will force Facebook to appear in all its desktop glory on your mobile browser of choice.

One of the benefits of Blu-ray and DVD is the ability to share discs with friends and family without any hassle. Want to show off your favorite movie? Just lend them your copy. A digital movie isn't so kind, as it's typically locked to the account that purchased it. But now there is a way to share your digitally purchased movies with friends and family — and it won't cost you or them a dime.

Staying inside during the coronavirus pandemic isn't easy for most of us. As important as it is to keep away from others, it can be challenging to keep to ourselves day after day. That's why mobile game developers are stepping in to help; many are making their games free for a limited time, to provide some much-needed fun during scary times.

AirPods are starting to show up everywhere, and with more and more people owning them, it can be fun to make yours a little more personalized. One way you can do that is by giving your AirPods a unique name, something a bit more fun than "John's" or "Jane's AirPods." With just a few taps, you can change your AirPod's name right from your iPhone or Android phone.

The "Zoombombing" trend is still strong on the Zoom video meetings service, despite security measures Zoom put in place to stop it. That's why it's up to you, as either a host or co-host, to be proactive about preventing Zoombomber harassment, as well as stopping it whenever it slips through the cracks.

When you're stuck working or learning from home, video meetings can help you stay connected to employers, coworkers, schools, students, and more. And Zoom is the hottest video conferencing service at the moment. While Zoom is easy to use, it does have a fair share of sketchy features you should know about, such as attendee attention tracking.

One of the scariest things about the COVID-19 virus is that you can show no symptoms but still be infected (and contagious). Naturally, we all want to know whether we're carrying the new coronavirus, but if you're showing signs of COVID-19, how can you be tested to know for sure? Websites are popping up to help with that, screening for symptoms, and directing you to a testing site if needed.

If you're quarantining with other people, consider yourself lucky — but it's not always easy. Staying in one space for so long with too many people can be challenging, so you need to find things to do to make the time go by (and to keep everyone sane). Our advice? Try out these seven free multiplayer games that only require one iPhone or Android device to play.

During a meeting in real life, you could ask non-essentials to exit the room temporarily so that you can speak to just a few privately, but now that conferences exist online, it requires a bit more finesse. You could start a new video call on Zoom or remove individual participants, but that makes it hard for those who left to join again. But there is a feature where you can just put some users on hold.

If you're using or need to use Zoom, the popular video teleconferencing service, you've almost certainly heard about "Zoombombing" by now. While Zoom has been adding security measures to address the problem, there are other things you can do to prevent or stop Zoombombers in their tracks so that your video meetings and chats go undisturbed and uninterrupted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has practically shut down all sports except for World Wrestling Entertainment, which has continued staging matches without an audience, leaving us sports fans with nothing much to cheer for. While they can't replace live games, smartphone games provide an alternate reality to live out our competitive entertainment in the absence of the real thing.

As government officials scramble to contain the new coronavirus outbreak with bans on large gatherings, travel restrictions, and school closures, the rest of us have to worry about how we're going to safely purchase water, toilet paper, groceries, and other household goods during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Even for those of us who enjoy spending time alone at home, at a certain point, it just gets boring. We all need social interaction, but with stay-at-home orders, that can be hard to come by. If you're feeling the itch to hang out with friends and have a good time, you should know there are plenty of free multiplayer games for iPhone and Android that will let you do just that — remotely.

For the most part, Google Wifi and Nest Wifi systems take care of themselves. But there are still a few manual features that might come in handy, like being able to check on network activity to see which devices are using the most bandwidth when your connection gets bogged down.

As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, counties, cities, and states are closing down businesses, events, and schools that aren't absolutely necessary. Some companies around the US are recommending or requiring employees to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic. If you're stuck at home, there are apps and services to help you make it through a lockdown.

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 accidentally exposing themselves while using the bathroom, you can block their camera, as long as you know how.

It's OK to want an extended break when you're working or learning from home. Maybe you want to play a video game, spend more time with your family, hang out with your dog, or FaceTime with friends. But how can you do that when you're supposed to be in a Zoom video conference or class? Thanks to one Zoom feature on your iPhone, it may be easier than you think.

When it comes to cybersecurity, one layer isn't enough. A complex password (or one created with a password manager) does a good job of protecting your data, but it can still be cracked. Two-factor authentication strengthens this by adding a second layer of security, giving you even more protection against online threats.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a frenzy for news and information that is nearly unprecedented in the smartphone era, with a major side effect of misinformation. Now, major tech companies are making it easier to ask for advice about novel coronavirus from their respective digital assistants. Results may vary, but Apple and Google are the most useful at the moment.

Whether you were exposed to the COVID-19 virus or just taking precautionary measures, self-quarantining is a tremendous disruption for anyone. Still, we all have to eat, pandemic or not. But unless you like eating canned food for two weeks, you're going to want to explore other options. That's why food delivery apps are going to be so necessary during such a hectic and uncertain time.

To reduce stress on internet bandwidth during the COVID-19 pandemic that the novel coronavirus is causing, Google decided to set YouTube's default video quality to 480p. That said, even when you could stream at HD quality without adjusting anything, you still couldn't switch the default to whatever you liked. We have a few methods on hand to help you change that.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has practically guaranteed that the virus, along with the phrases "social distancing" and "flattening the curve," will rank among the top search terms of 2020. USA Today combined the phrases in its latest augmented reality experience, which quizzes your knowledge in the best practices of social distancing.

The awkward silence when you're adding someone's name and number to your contacts is worse than usual since you're meeting a new person and this is part of their first impression of you. So don't get labeled as clumsy or slow before you even get a chance to network with your new contact — just whip out your phone and confidently showcase this trick instead.

There's only so much Netflix and TikTok a person can take in quarantine before they've had enough. We've only just started our stay-at-home lifestyle, but already TV and movies are getting old. The COVID-19 lockdown doesn't just have to be a mindless watch party, so why not take the time to learn a new language?

On March 13, President Trump announced during a briefing in the Rose Garden that Google was building a COVID-19 screening website to help Americans understand if they might have the new coronavirus. If likely infected, the site would also include the location of a local drive-through testing site to visit. So how can you access the screening website?

With the whirlwind of noise surrounding the COVID-19 virus sweeping the nation, it's not hard to default to panic mode. One of the best ways to avoid panicking, however, is to follow trusted sources of information and avoid all of the opinions and trolls that don't reflect reality.

It's not hard to let the new SARS-CoV-2 strain of coronavirus put pressure on our minds. Fear of catching COVID-19 is never far from the topic of conversation. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you're struggling with anxiety, stress, depression, or any negative emotions due to the virus's effect on our lives right now, you might find some solace in meditation.

With group chats, arguments tend to devolve from a dispute between two people to a giant debate amongst all members. But before things get out of control, Telegram has a feature that can help.