A tech-marvelous Thursday is upon us, friend! Let’s start today with a little throwback trivia. Google Photos launched in 2015 as a spin-off of Google+, a pseudo-social media network that didn’t make it. Today, how many photos are stored in Google Photos? Is it … A.) 500 million, B.) 1 billion, C.) 2 trillion or D.) 4 trillion? Make your best guess, and you’ll find the answer at the end!

🏃 It’s a busy day around these parts. Let’s jump into making sure you’re always tech-ahead, not behind. Use those share buttons if you see anything you know a friend or family member would love or needs to know. — Kim

You may not be looking for love online, but Tinder says about 40% of couples meet via apps. I know a couple who met on a dating app for farmers. They’re perfect for each other — they got married and have two boys and two girls under age 8 with another on the way. But for others, dating apps can be a complete nightmare.

The dirty details

A few months ago, I was trying to convince a friend to dump her loser boyfriend. We whipped up a dating profile for her. The next day, she had to delete it. Why? Her messages were filled with nothing but … 🍆.

There are so many stories of men and women dealing with creeps, stalkers, perverts and lowlifes. A recent Pew Research survey agrees:

• 38% of online daters surveyed received at least one unwanted sexually explicit message.
• 30% continued to receive contact from someone after they told them they weren't interested.
• 24% were called an offensive name.
• 6% of respondents received threats of physical harm.

Don't forget about scammers; some 52% of online daters believe they've encountered at least one scam. That’s 63% of men under 50 and 44% of women of any age.

A safe search for love

Looking for love online comes with a warning, but you don't have to throw in the towel. Practice these tips to find your new sweetie safely:

Look for a verified profile badge. Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and OkCupid have them. If they're verified, odds are, they’re not using fake photos.

Keep an eye out for photos that look overly edited. Try a reverse image search to see if the photo pops up somewhere else.

Only talk to new matches through the app. If they want to immediately take things to text or another app, that's a red flag.

Video chat with a match before you meet them in person. Steer clear of people who want to meet up ASAP or don't want to meet at all. I don’t want you to become the victim of a romance scam.

Always meet dates in public. It’s also a great idea to let friends or family know where you are. Take your own transportation so you can bolt if you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

🐦Tweet-hearts: Two birds in love

I interviewed dating expert Amy Chan on my “Kim Komando Today” podcast. I asked her for tips on building a great profile and her formula for dating app pics. Here are her suggestions:

• Include at least one smiling waist-up shot and one full-body shot.
• Each photo should show a different aspect of your personality and interests — think one in the garden, one at a baseball game and one with your pet.
• Any and every pic should be recent enough to confirm the “you” they meet in person looks like the “you” in your pics.

💋 If you know someone trying to find love, pass this along — not to scare them, but so they can know what to watch for! One more thing: Be careful of anyone who says they live in a “gated” community; it could be a prison.

Sometimes, you just need to take a few deep breaths. Other times, you need a piece of plastic called the Bug Bite Thing.

• Magnetic shower curtain weights ($14) keep the plastic off your legs. The ones sewn into the bottom are never heavy enough!
• Suction the bug saliva out of your bites to stop the itch. Sounds fake, but it works and it’s only $10.
• A sturdy plastic scraper (11% off) for decal removal. Scrape off a sticker, use them to clean the counters, whatever.
• Peanut butter stirrer for when you buy the “naturally separated” stuff. Free option: Store the unopened jar upside down for a while.
• Tube squeezer for eeking out that last bit of toothpaste.

Zuck’s singing like a canary: The question is why? Mark Zuckerberg finally admitted Facebook censored conservative views during the pandemic, citing pressure from senior White House officials. Posts criticizing the COVID‑19 vaccines, mask mandates or suggesting the virus was created in a Chinese laboratory were deleted.

🪆 They need to be Putin place: A network of undersea fiber-optic internet cables could be Russia’s next target. If disabled, the West (the USA, Canada, Mexico and Australia, to name a few) could go dark — everything from Wi‑Fi to calls to financial transactions. Russia’s also interfering with GPS systems, causing chaos for commercial airlines. Why? Retaliation against countries that support Ukraine.

Two families ruined forever: A Michigan teenager is facing second-degree murder charges after losing control of a BMW and killing his 18-year-old friend. His mom knew about his reckless driving habits, watching him on the Life360 app, and she even texted him, “I have screenshots of you doing 123 mph. Slow the f… down!” The victim's family wants the mother charged with involuntary manslaughter.

💸 Golden handcuffs: Nvidia employees work seven days a week and until 2 a.m., but they aren’t leaving. The company’s shares have skyrocketed over 3,000% since 2019, turning many into millionaires (or close to it). The catch: The stocks vest over a four-year period, so it's “lock in or miss out” on a fortune (paywall link).

This is a total power move: One solar energy company had the truly bright idea to rent 8.5 million square feet of roof space atop 1,000 self-storage facilities across the U.S. Collectively, they’ll generate at least 100 megawatts of solar capacity, creating discounted energy for nearby homes and businesses, as well. So smart.

Calling all hikers, campers and adventurers: Soon, Starlink’s emergency services on your existing phones will be free, eliminating “dead zones” (paywall link). AT&T and Verizon aren’t thrilled; they say the tech would disrupt their mobile networks. The timing is interesting … SpaceX is waiting for FCC approval to operate its direct-to-cellular Starlink tech commercially.

🤩 I’m a Barbie girl: For $129, you can have your very own hot pink flip phone that looks just like Barbie’s. Manufacturer HMD (the folks who own Nokia) call it a vacation, as in no social media apps — just calls, texts and a 5MP camera. Accessories include stick-on charms, vintage Barbie stickers and a beaded strap. Preorders open Sept. 23. People want it so badly that they’re lining up in a Barbie‑queue.

AI is changing the world at a pace we’ve never seen before in the history of mankind. That’s why you need to take a free test drive to learn how you can save time and money using AI in your business.

The problem: Buying the tech to make it happen is expensive — and who knows if you’re even choosing what you truly need?

The pros at Oracle will bring AI to your company the easy way. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure uses NVIDIA GPUs, so you know you’re getting the gold standard in processing power. Let them worry about updates and maintenance so you can focus on the future.

Try Alt + Shift + arrow keys: This Windows shortcut quickly moves the active window from one monitor to another if you use multiple monitors. Nice!

🔍 Your new favorite Mac shortcut: ⌘ + spacebar. This opens a new Spotlight window. Use it to search for a program, file, contact or anything else.

Never hurts to ask: Some credit cards offer extended warranties on anything you buy with the card. If your expensive vacuum or laptop craps out, it’s worth asking Amex or Chase if they’ll pay to repair or replace it.

📍 For the site you always check (ahem, like mine!): Right-click on a tab in your browser and select Pin. This will shrink it down to a small icon that’s always there.

Instead of turning up the volume, turn on the closed captioning. My son, Ian, uses closed captioning and once asked me to turn it on when we were watching a movie. Now I can’t go back!

What do you call an alligator that wears Crocs? Traitor.

The answer: D.) 4 trillion. That’s more than 500 photos for every person on Earth. Google Photos is a massive hit, really. They cleared the 1 billion user mark in 2019, four years post‑launch.

🥹 And here I am just trying to hit 100,000 YouTube subscribers to win a $25 bet. Be my hero and subscribe — and tell a friend, too! Use this link. We have a blast on my channel!

Thank you for your support. Every click, like, read, watch and listen helps us put out this newsletter free to you. I hope it helps make your digital life just a little better. See you back right here tomorrow! — Kim