Hi there on this happy Tuesday, friend! We all have that drawer of old devices, right? Yup, even me. That leads us right to today’s trivia. What percent of e‑waste — old computers, phones and other tech — gets recycled? Is it … A.) 50%, B.) 90%, C.) 20% or D.) 10%? You’ll find the answer at the end!

🥳 Woohoo! Congrats to Bonnie, who won a $1,000 computer in our latest giveaway! The team and I are brainstorming ideas for our next one. Any tech on your wishlist? Reply to this email and let me know! Then, keep your eyes peeled for our next giveaway. We always talk about it on social, so follow us on Instagram, X, YouTube and Facebook.

Now, on to the news. — Kim

The future of flight is here, and it’s not jetpacks — it’s in-air surveillance. If you thought the most invasive thing that could happen on a plane was the person in front of you reclining, I have some very bad news.

Airlines already collect and track your data, which includes:

• Booking details, like your name, email address, phone number, passport and payment information. The weight of your bag (and you, depending on the airline) is tracked, too.
• Frequent flyer programs, including your travel patterns, seat selections, meal choices and other preferences.
• Onboard Wi-Fi usage, primarily the sites you visit and how much time you spend online.

And if you think that’s where their snooping ends, prepare for some turbulence.

Here’s where they get extra data‑hungry

Airlines also track your customer service requests, car rentals and other travel add-ons. Some airports even use facial recognition.

But I’m willing to bet you never thought they’d track:

• What you drink or eat in-flight and when your beverage is empty. This way, flight attendants can come prepared with refills. Nice, right? Airline food is so plane.
• Your flight history (and complaints) for attendants to see if you’ll be a good passenger or not. Yup, you’re in the judgment zone.
• Your in-flight viewing preferences, based on how you use seatback displays to shop, watch shows or get info.

Airlines claim this data collection will provide a better experience for passengers, but is the extra convenience really worth your privacy?

Why so focused on flyer data?

It’s all about cold, hard cash. Airlines save big bucks by rationing out only the food and drinks data tells them passengers want. And it gets even more cutthroat: They can also prioritize frequent flyers and give less to passengers who don’t pay premium prices.

Not to mention, there’s always a possibility an airline or its vendors will repackage your data and sell it to marketers for even more money. Those aren’t the kind of frequent flyer points I want to earn.

So what can you do?

Secure your digital baggage

You can ask the airlines to remove your data. It’s a complicated, frustrating process, especially if you live outside of California, Colorado or Virginia (the only states with consumer privacy laws in place). No matter where you live, start by calling the airline’s customer service team and asking them how to delete your data. We gathered the real phone numbers for you here.

You can also reduce your in-flight digital footprint by downloading movies and music ahead of time on your personal devices. Yep, another reason to pack your Kindle.

Pro tip: I never get ice on an airplane. It’s made from the plane's tap water, which comes from a water tank that’s rarely cleaned. In other words, it’s a bacteria-breeding container. Room temp is just fine, thanks.

🤣 What do you call an airplane that flies backward? A receding airline. Oof, I know.

• Get rid of bad breath at the source with a tongue scraper. Sounds crazy, but it really works.
• Keep your cups from dripping everywhere with these coasters that look like LPs. The rubber bottoms help you avoid spills, too.
• A magnetic bag for your water bottle — strap your keys, wallet and phone to any bottle, and then keep the whole thing off the floor by sticking it to metal. Smart.
• These ingenious pens keep a bit of paint on hand for touchups. Need this!
• Clever self-watering planters have an aerated bottom to ward off root rot and store water to keep your plants happy. Love the color, too.

It never ends: There are well over a billion malware programs in circulation — and about half a million new ones are detected every single day. Be smart and protect your devices. My pick is TotalAV.* Get access on five devices for a year — for only $19.

🔍 Turning up the beets: Watch out for an Indian content farm behind over 60 domains impersonating huge sites like the BBC, Forbes, The Guardian, Washington Post and CNN. They copy articles word-for-word, sell ads and boost SEO links to gambling sites. They even run phony Facebook pages and sneak into Google News. Why are there no checks in place for this junk?

📚 ScamU: Scammers are targeting parents with fake SAT/ACT prep offers. They know your kid's name and school, and they’re promising "free" materials for a "refundable" deposit. Spoiler: You're out $249.95 and get zilch. Don't get duped: Places like the College Board never call to ask for a credit card over the phone.

Plot twist: Spotify wants to win over Audible subscribers, but its offer must be fiction. The Audiobooks Access Tier is $9.99 per month for 15 hours of audiobook-listening and ad-supported music. Compare that to Spotify Premium, at $10.99 a month, 15 hours of audiobook listening and ad-free music. Do they think we can’t read?

Hot and fresh: Apple’s latest gadgets are the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models, complete with the speedy, new M3 chip (beefy enough to support two external monitors), 1080p webcams and a reported 18 hours of battery life. The cost? $1,099 and $1,299, respectively. Frankly, that’s not crazy for Apple.

🖖 Math, the final frontier: Spock and Kirk can out-calculate your high school math teacher. A VMware study found AI chatbots turn into math whizzes when you use the prompt, “Think like a ‘Star Trek’ character.” Just don't go asking it for help in finances channeling its inner Jordan Belfort.

Oy, original Oculus owners: If you have an Oculus VR headset you haven’t used in the past year, you may lose all your games, data and purchases unless you act ASAP. Create a Meta account by March 29 to keep your heirloom VR headset kicking.

I have these in my freezer! The TikTok-famous Trader Joe's chicken soup dumplings are on recall — 160,000 boxes may contain hard pieces of plastic. If you’ve got a few $3.49 six-packs chilling in your freezer like me, toss 'em or return for a full refund.

Fun fact: You don’t need a smartwatch to measure your heart rate. You can check your ticker with just an app.

It’s neat how these work. Put your index finger on the back camera, and the app measures your heart rate by detecting color changes. Be sure to hold your phone steady and keep still.

Just remember, apps aren’t a replacement for seeing a medical professional or talking to your doctor, especially if you’re not feeling well.

• For iPhone, Cardiio: Heart Rate Monitor is a good choice. It works with iPads, too.
• For Android, the Heart Rate Monitor app works similarly to Cardiio. Cover the back camera, stay still and you’ll get a reading.

❤️ Some people say a rapid, irregular heartbeat isn't a big deal. Sorry, but that’s a‑fib.

Get fancy: Ever see an Instagram bio with a snazzy font? You can do it, too. On your phone, visit LingoJam, paste your bio and copy the one you like best. Open Instagram, go to your profile and paste it in. Voila!

⏱️ Zoom-zoom: On YouTube, double-click the right side of a video to skip ahead 10 seconds. If the intro's still playing, double-click again to skip it. Another option: Hit the right arrow to jump ahead 5 seconds.

It’s a stream-eat-stream world: Is your favorite streaming show on a break? Pause your streaming service, too. First, switch to a monthly subscription to hop between services as needed. You won’t even lose your viewing history — Netflix will remember you watched the last season of “Love is Blind” for up to 10 months (even if you wish you could forget).

🚨 Password police: Change your Wi‑Fi password once in a while, friends. It's a pain to reconnect all your devices, but it's worth it to kick off freeloaders who may have gained access — neighbors, friends, exes ... the delivery guy?

Stop the snooze: No one needs an hour of snoozin’. Instead of relying on self-control, disable the option altogether on your iPhone. All you need to do is tap on an alarm in the Clock app. Toggle off the Snooze option. Rise and shine!

Every day, we're on a mission to boost your digital life to the max. We're out there digging through the internet, chatting with tech geniuses across the globe, and discovering all those sneaky tech tips and tricks just for you.

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Every time you make a typo, the errorists win.

The answer: C.) 20%. Yup, the rest ends up in landfills or incinerated. FYI, places like Walmart, Staples, Best Buy and some grocery chains recycle electronics for you. Another easy way to find a spot? Search online for “electronics recycling [your city].” Just be sure to wipe all your data before you recycle.

🔋 Speaking of, I called my local recycling center to ask what to do with old batteries. They said they'd take them free of charge! (I heard you laugh.)

Thanks for reading, friend. And, as a reminder, you can keep your tech know-how going with my show’s commercial-free podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I’ll see you right back here tomorrow with a scam warning everyone should read. — Kim