Smartphones Features
Snapchat 101: How to Use Your Selfies to Create a Bitmoji Deluxe
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.
How To: Set & Remove Nicknames in Facebook Messenger Chats for More Personalized Conversations
For the most part, people use real names on Facebook. That's all fine and well for keeping tabs on those you know, but it can make friendly Messenger chats feel oddly formal. Skirt around this stiffness by giving your friends nicknames in Messenger for Android and iOS, so your conversations reflect the way you and your friends communicate in real life.
How To: Hide What You're Listening To on Spotify So Your Friends Don't Make Fun of You
There's nothing wrong with indulging in guilty pleasures on Spotify every once in a while — we all need a little Coldplay and Creed in our lives. The only problem is, all of your friends and family might be watching. Anyone that is following your Spotify account can potentially see what you're listening to, but there are several ways to hide this shameful and embarrassing activity from the world.
How To: The 5 Best Two-Factor Authentication Apps for iPhone & Android
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.
How To: Copy & Share a Link to Your Instagram Story That You Can Post Anywhere
On Instagram, it's all about the sharing, but not all sharing is equal. Take stories, for example. Up until recently, stories couldn't be easily shared outside the Instagram bubble. Now, Instagram lets you share a convenient link to a part of your story or your entire story on any other platform — text, email, social app — pretty much anywhere.
How To: There's a Super Easy Way to Select Multiple Pictures in Google Photos
Selecting multiple pictures or videos in Google Photos can be tedious. Usually, you'd long press on the first image to select it, then tap on other pictures one by one to select them as well. But there is a much easier and faster way to do this.
How To: Hide Your WhatsApp Profile Photo So Other Users Can't See It
WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Facebook, has several important privacy and security-related features, including end-to-end encryption, screen lock, read receipts, and two-step verification. If you're an avid WhatsApp user, you'll be happy to know there are more privacy features you might not know, such as hiding your profile photo from other users.
Google Photos 101: How to Make Your Own GIFs Out of Pictures You've Taken
You really can't beat Google Photos. Not only does it give you free unlimited cloud storage and let you search for almost any object in one of your pictures, but it also packs a few powerful editing tools. Among these is a dead-simple way to create your own animated GIFs out of any set of pictures.
How To: The 5 Best Apps for Transcribing Lectures & Converting Speech to Text on iPhone or Android
The transcribing app can be an invaluable tool, especially if you're a student or are in a profession that relies on audio journals or interviews. These apps can convert important recordings like lectures and meetings into text for you to carefully read through to better comprehend.
How To: Make Sure Videos Are Playing at the Highest Resolution Possible on YouTube, YouTube Music & YouTube TV
Most streaming platforms have seen a huge viewership increase in the past few months. As a result, wireless carriers and ISPs are struggling to provide the necessary bandwidth for everyone, resulting in some customers being limited to DVD quality. The same applies to YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube TV, but you can see the resolution being used and change it to something better.
How To: Remove a Participant in a Zoom Video Call & Ban Them from Joining Again
As more and more people use the video conferencing service Zoom, the chances of trolling behavior and attacks only increase. But it's not just "Zoombombers" you need to worry about. A heated discussion between family, friends, or colleagues could turn sideways real quick, and sometimes the best course of action is to remove the participant from the group video meeting altogether.
How To: Chat with End-to-End Encryption Using Facebook Messenger's Secret Conversations
Traditionally, if you were looking for end-to-end encrypted messaging, you'd stick with something like iMessage, WhatsApp, or Signal. However, if you already use Facebook Messenger, you have all you need for truly private chats with its built-in E2E encryption. It's available to all users, on Android and iOS — you just need to know where to look.
ARKit 101: How to Place 2D Images, Like a Painting or Photo, on a Wall in Augmented Reality
In a previous tutorial, we were able to measure vertical surfaces such as walls, books, and monitors using ARKit 1.5. With the advent of vertical plane anchors, we can now also attach objects onto these vertical walls.
How To: Forward WhatsApp Messages & Attachments to Your Other Contacts
When someone sends you a funny video, image, tweet, what have you, often the first thing you want to do is share it with someone else. Instead of copying the link and jumping over to another chat to do so, WhatsApp makes it easy to share content right from the thread you received it in, via the forward feature.
Snapseed 101: How to Save Photos in Full Quality
If you want to take your iPhone or Android photos to the next level, Snapseed is one of the best options. When it comes time to share pictures with friends and family, you want them to look as good as possible, so a little post-processing is in order. The problem is that Snapseed, by default, saves your edited photos at a lower quality than it first came in. What gives?
Telegram 101: How to Password-Protect Your Chats for Extra Security
If you're using Telegram for its "Secret Chats" feature, which provides end-to-end encryption for your messages, then I'd highly recommend locking down the app itself with a passcode, PIN, or password. While your phone itself may have a secure lock screen already, if that gets compromised, you'll at least have an extra layer of security on your important conversations.
How To: Make the Most of Your Trip to the Movie Theater with These Apps
With the list of available mobile apps for moviegoers constantly expanding and improving, seeing a film at your local theater has never been better. With the right apps for your iPhone or Android phone, you can research movies, find out if showings are sold out, reserve seats, save money on tickets and concessions, preorder popcorn and soda, and even find dull bathroom-worthy scenes.
Outlook 101: How to Customize Notifications & Alert Sounds for Individual Accounts
With email, one size does not typically fit all. You have multiple email accounts, each for different purposes and with varying levels of importance, so it only makes sense to customize the way your phone alerts you to each account's incoming emails. Luckily, Outlook allows you to do just that.
How To: Avoid the Spiny 'Blue' Shell in Mario Kart Tour
It happens to all of us. You're ahead of the pack, clearly in first place, when someone launches the Spiny Shell (aka, the blue shell). It catches up and circles you before crashing into your kart, and there's seemingly nothing you can do about it. But what if I told you there are two ways to avoid this fate in Mario Kart Tour?
How To: Change Your Primary Shipping & Billing Addresses on PayPal to Avoid Purchasing Mishaps
Whenever you move into a new home, whether that's a house or apartment, changing addresses on all your online accounts is one of the most monotonous tasks that needs to be done. It's even more tedious when you have to update both shipping and billing addresses. But it's necessary, and if you regularly use PayPal, it'll be one of the first places you'll want to update.
How To: 11 Micro-Gig Apps to Earn Extra Income Right from Your Phone
The gig economy is thriving, and if you aren't already making money with your phone, you could be missing out on easy residual income. Some people just want extra cash, and some even manage to completely ditch the 9–5, enabling them to work at their own pace and set their own hours.
How To: Check Real-Time Network Traffic on Google Wifi or Nest Wifi
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.
How To: Turn Your Boring To-Do List into a Real-Life RPG
When you think about it, isn't life just one big open-world RPG just begging to be conquered? We all have a set number of specific tasks or chores we must complete every single day like clockwork. Sometimes, these items on our to-do list can become tedious and cause us to lose motivation. What if you could take those tasks and turn them into something awesome instead? Now you can.
How To: Save Money on Your Disney+ Subscription with These Deals
With shows like "The Mandalorian" and movies like "Frozen 2," Disney+ has quickly become a must-have streaming service. However, with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, adding another subscription-based service can become expensive — but there are ways to trim down the cost.
How To: Keep Your Smartphone Charged During a Power Outage
When the power goes out, having the ability to contact others becomes extremely important, and your cell phone can be one of the most important tools to have. But if the power is out for an extended period of time, battery life becomes a constant problem.
News: Amazon Sumerian & 8th Wall Weave Web AR Experience for 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Movie
Sony Pictures has tapped the powers of augmented reality as provided by startup 8th Wall & the Amazon Sumerian development platform to help it promote the latest motion picture manifestation of Spider-Man.
How To: Transfer Your Apple Music Playlists to Spotify from an iPhone or Android Phone
Switching from one popular music streaming service to another shouldn't have to be a hassle, but it is if you want to transfer all your favorite music over. No popular service offers a built-in feature to export or import playlists, so if you want to move your favorite Apple Music playlists over to Spotify, you'll have to use a third-party service.
Anonymous Texting 101: How to Block Your Cell Phone Number While Sending Text Messages
When browsing the web, I enjoy my privacy. It's reassuring that I can peruse the internet without the worry of having my activity tracked back to me, allowing me to leave fun, anonymous comments when I get the urge to troll.
News: How to See What Traffic Will Be Like at a Specific Time with Google Maps
As intuitive as Google Maps is for finding the best routes, it never let you choose departure and arrival times in the mobile app. This feature has long been available on the desktop site, allowing you to see what traffic should be like at a certain time and how long your drive would take at a point in the future. Fortunately, Google has finally added this feature to the app for iPhone and Android.
VLC 101: How to Cast Any Video to Your TV Natively
When it comes to media players, few are more capable than VLC. With its extensive codec support, VLC is able to play almost any video file. Partly due to its open-source nature, features are constantly added. This trend has continued with a new update that added native Chromecast support.
How To: Archive Telegram Conversations to Keep Your Main Chats List Clean & Organized
In Telegram — as with all instant-messaging apps — threads and conversations can pile up quickly. But you don't need to stare at all of your open chats on the main screen of the Android and iOS app. Instead, you can archive any conversation you like, keeping your main chats view relevant to your day-to-day communications without needing to delete any for good.
How To: View All the Songs You've Loved on Apple Music in One Convenient List
In Apple Music, loving and disliking songs is a great way to teach Apple's subscription service what type of tunes you like and which you don't. While it also seems like it should be an excellent way to keep track of songs you enjoy in the wild, there's no clear way to view all of your loved tracks in one convenient list. There is a way, however, but easy it is not.
News: Ditch MoviePass for Stubs A-List if You Live Near An AMC
AMC Theatres was never a fan of MoviePass and even predicted its unsustainability. After the struggling MoviePass turned off diehard fans with too many new restrictions to combat its cash problems, AMC stepped in to save the day with its AMC Stubs A-List subscription for cheaper movie tickets.
How To: Sick of Thumbs Up? Here's How to Change the Default Chat Emoji in Individual Messenger Threads
When you can't think of a way to respond in Messenger with words, emojis and stickers will do the trick. Since Facebook is all about the "likes," which use a thumbs-up icon, there's a shortcut to the symbol just to the right of the chat field. It's always there to send a quick like in response to something. But it doesn't have to be the standard Facebook thumbs-up sign — it can be any emoji you want.
How To: Use Google Voice as a 'Burner' Number
No matter your reasons, you might need a second phone number that's a little more disposable than your primary number — a "burner" number, so to speak. If you create this burner number using Google Voice, you'll get new functionality like call forwarding and voicemail transcripts, and best of all, it's completely free.
News: 8 Free Must-Have Games to Play with Friends on Your Phone
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.
Snapchat 101: Never Lose a Snapstreak with These 3 Tips & Tricks
One of the most popular things to do on Snapchat is to earn a Snapstreak. This occurs when you and one other friend have sent snaps (not chatted) to each other within 24 hours for at least three consecutive days. One you've passed the three-day mark, then you and your friend will receive a fire emoji next to your names.
How To: Use This Zoom Hack to Make Everyone Think You're Still in the Video Meeting When You're Not
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.
How To: Redial Busy Phone Lines Automatically on Your iPhone or Android Phone
Whether you're calling the unemployment office, a popular radio contest, or any other phone line that gets super busy, having to recall the number manually is a pain. Whatever you do, however, don't punch in the same digits over again and again — our smartphones can help do it for us, saving our time (and sanity).
How To: Hack Someone's Cell Phone to Steal Their Pictures
Do you ever wonder how all these celebrities continue to have their private photos spread all over the internet? While celebrities' phones and computers are forever vulnerable to attacks, the common folk must also be wary. No matter how careful you think you were went you sent those "candid" photos to your ex, with a little effort and access to public information, your pictures can be snagged, too. Here's how.