How to get a deepfake of you taken down
The full platform-by-platform companion to our deepfake explainer: where the real removal paths are, what each report form actually covers, and what to save before you file anything.
Latest
The sketchy hospital letter that turned out to be real, a deepfake you can't report, and the Windows bug eating your drive
Also in this issue: what data brokers actually sell, the password habit worth one evening, and a five-minute trick for copying text out of a photo.
A Shark vacuum flaw is still open. Here's what yours knows about you.
A researcher pulled a live camera feed, a floor plan, and a Wi-Fi password off a Shark robot vacuum he didn't own. Shark hasn't fixed it. Here's what every robot vacuum collects, and what you can do about it.
Samsung killed its texting app, but your texts are fine.
Samsung Messages stopped working July 6 on newer Galaxy phones. Nothing is broken, your old texts are not gone, and the switch takes about ten minutes.
I lost ten years of photos. Now I print a photo book every January.
Half an hour in January, and a printed book of your whole year shows up at your door. I started because I lost a decade of pictures.
That sketchy letter from your hospital might be real
Rochester patients got a real breach notice with the wrong hospital name on it. Many threw it away.
What do you do when an AI deepfake has your face?
A New Orleans doctor spent months trying to get fake AI ads of himself taken down. What worked, what didn't, and why the settings you've heard about wouldn't have helped.
Your phone can copy text out of any photo
The two-minute trick that ends retyping wifi passwords, codes, and recipes off a screen.
The Meta AI panic is over, but turn off this lingering setting.
Meta pulled the feature that let anyone make AI images from your public Instagram photos. The setting that fed it is still on by default. Here is how to turn it off.
Data brokers have a file on you. California is making them delete it.
Companies you've never dealt with sell lists of who's pregnant, who has Alzheimer's, and who might fall for a scam. Starting August 1, Californians can make them delete it. There are steps for the rest of us, too.
The parental controls that fail, Amazon's Starlink rival, and a VPN warning
Also in this issue: the Windows rewind button, who answers for a chatbot, and a five-minute email fix.
Start using a password manager
One password used everywhere is one key to every lock. A password manager fixes that, and starting is easier than you think.
News
Starlink is about to get competition
Amazon says its satellite internet service turns on later this year. Here is what it is, how it differs from the satellite internet you may remember, and how to think about it if your internet provider options are bad.
Learn
Most teen safety features don't work. Here's what does.
An independent audit tested 86 safety features across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Most failed. These are the ones worth turning on, and the ones you can skip.
Learn
You bought it, but do you own it?
When you click Buy on a movie, book, song, or game, you usually get a license, not the thing itself. What that means, and where you can still own what you pay for.
Blog
Can OpenAI Be Held Responsible When ChatGPT Is Blamed for a Death?
The first lawsuit to blame a chatbot for a death is forcing a question the law has not answered: when an AI is blamed for harm, who is responsible?
Learn
Freeze your credit before someone else uses it
Breach notices arrive constantly, and most people answer with credit monitoring. A freeze is the free step that stops new accounts in your name before they open, and almost nobody sets it up.
News
Windows 11's new rewind button works, but it is not a backup
Windows 11's new Point-in-Time Restore can roll your PC back to yesterday. It is handy, but it is not a backup.
News
Google is changing how Android apps get installed.
A countdown clock says your Android phone is about to be locked down. Here is what Google's new app verification actually changes, and what it does not.
Learn
Why rebooting your router works, and when it won't
Restarting the router clears out clutter and starts every connection fresh. That fixes most home internet hiccups. When a reboot doesn't work, here's what to do.
Learn
Your browser can block trackers and scam sites. The strongest settings just aren't on by default.
Your browser can block trackers and warn you off scam sites. In Chrome the strongest settings are off by default; in Edge they are turned down. Five minutes fixes both.
Blog
The apps I'd recommend aren't the ones I use most
My most-used apps are mostly work, not what I'd recommend. This is the short list for a normal person's phone, and the ones worth deleting.
News
You can finally hide your phone number on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is finally letting you hide your phone number behind a username. Here's what that actually protects, and what it doesn't.
Learn
Your computer feels slow. Here's what to do.
Most "slow computer" problems aren't the computer at all. This is how to find what's really slowing it down, and fix it for free or close to it, on a Windows PC.