Hey, hello, Thursday, friends! Today’s helpful tip is a true sanity saver if your phone ever goes missing. But here’s the deal: You need to set this stuff up now, before something happens.

⌛ Quick organization tip: Photo library a mess? Do what I do. When watching Netflix, I delete photos off my phone that are just taking up space. All those food pics and screenshots go right into the intergalactic bit bucket. Nice! — Kim

When I was a kid, I would ask Mom where something was. She’d always say, “Well, where did you see it last?” Argh.

It happens to me, and I’m sure it happens to you, too: You have no idea where your phone is. You’ve looked under every pillow, in every bag and on every random surface. Check the car. OK, still not there?

It’s such a pain when your phone is really and truly gone. Before that ever happens, take steps to make sure everything on it is safe from prying eyes. You don’t need some rando scrolling through your pictures.

No one should be able to unlock your phone

Let’s start by making sure this happens automatically.

• On iPhone: Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and choose a length of time.
• On Android: Go to Settings > Display and look for a Timeout, Screen Timeout or Sleep option. (Note: Steps depend on your model.)

Now, turn on your ‘find it’ mode

There are built-in tools to help you locate it using another phone or computer. Here’s the caveat: You have to make sure the feature is enabled ahead of time for it to work. Do it now!

Turn on Find My for your iPhone

• Go to Settings > [your name] > Find My.
• Tap Find My iPhone, then turn on Find My iPhone.
• To see your device even when it’s offline, turn on Find My network.
• To have the location of your device sent to Apple when the battery’s low, turn on Send Last Location.

Turn on Find My Device for your Android 

• Go to Settings > Security > Find My Device, or try Security & location or Google > Security.
• Make sure Find My Device is turned on.

✏️ You can even lock or erase your phone remotely if it’s really gone. Here’s how. (Don’t want to overwhelm you with too many steps here in this newsletter!)

🍍 Speaking of being found … From my listener emails comes this: "Kim, please tell me what to do. I just found out my wife has a dating profile on Tinder. Let me tell you. She is definitely not 'adventurous' and 'fun to be around.' What should I do?" Go ahead, contact her. Maybe you'll have an experience like that old Rupert Holmes tune, "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)." Yeah, I just heard it in my head, too.

Ach nein! Duolingo users, listen up. About 2.6 million user names and emails were leaked earlier this year, and now hackers are launching personalized phishing emails. Type in your email address to see if you were exposed, and read your messages (especially those claiming to come from Duolingo) very carefully. Get more like this in my daily Tech News email!

🎤 Calling all podcasters: Apple just dropped new tools for podcasters, and Spotify yelled, “Hey, me, too!” You’ll find help to customize your show page, new analytics to see how far your pods reach, the ability to edit previews and an audience dashboard. Be sure to get my podcasts. Just search for “Komando” wherever you listen. I’m perfect to take on a drive or walk!

Free TV: Coming soon to Google TV, 25 new free channels. (Yes, there are ads.) The nice part is they’re built into the app, so no signing into different platforms or downloading anything. You might be excited to know “Baywatch” is included, so you can see all the girls' big, bouncing hair. 

Not a scam: You’ll now see a security prompt if you attempt to create a new mail filter, set up mail forwarding or enable IMAP access in Google Workspace: “Verify it’s you.” Smart, considering all those actions could let someone steal all your email. Workspace is Google’s enterprise software (aka the one you use at work).

💰 Students save big bucks: Students and teachers get Adobe software on the cheap. The All Apps bundle includes Photoshop, Acrobat Pro, Premier Pro and lots more, and it’s $19.99 a month for students — compared to the regular $52.99 a month. Get it here under the Students & Teachers tab.

In my no-nonsense, straight-talking podcast, I serve up everything tech in digestible, fun-sized pieces. New to the tech scene? Or maybe you're a pro? Doesn't matter. I’ve got you covered.

👉 Get my podcasts today!

Every dollar counts: Next time you need to return an Amazon order, think twice about where you do it. If you go to a UPS Store when Whole Foods, Kohl’s or Amazon Fresh is the same distance or closer, you’ll have to pay a $1 fee.

🔥 Hot ones: If your phone is chugging and warm, take off the case for a while to see if it helps. Don’t put your overheated phone in the fridge or freezer; the drastic temperature shift could create condensation.

Word up: You can open Word docs on the Kindle Scribe. From the Microsoft 365 Word app, hit File > Export > Send to Kindle. If you’re still using the same decade-old Kindle, it might be worth it to upgrade to this new version. This Kindle’s on fire!

5 to 7 feet: That’s the ideal height to place a router. Routers emit radio waves that spread outward and downward, and any objects in the way can disrupt those signals. Get yours off the floor!

🤖 Sorry I missed your call: Hackers can use your “voice fingerprint” to access voice-protected financial records or rip off your relatives. Pro tip: Delete your outgoing voicemail message if it uses your voice and replace it with a generic robot-voiced default.

Be that smart person who shared The Current Tech Hacks before it hit a million subs. Tell your friends and family about my free newsletter, and I’ll send you sweet prizes for every milestone you hit. It’s easy!

• Copy your unique referral URL. You’ll see this at the bottom of the newsletter.
• Paste it in a text, email, social media message, post, whatever.
• Your friends click that link and sign up for my free newsletter.
• You earn points toward prizes — including an iPad mini!
• Hit a milestone and I’ll ship out your reward.

🔗 That’s it. Just copy your link, share it and you’re good to go. We’ll keep track of your referrals for you. I appreciate you!

❓ Have a question for me? Drop it right here, or leave me a voicemail at 602‑381‑8200 ext. 290.

Electronics brand Philips has a program where you can get free stuff in exchange for reviews and feedback on upcoming products. You make an account to apply, get a product for free or at a big discount, then submit feedback. Yep, you get to keep it.

Sign up here. →

😂 A mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer and a computer engineer are in a car. It suddenly stops in the middle of the street. The mechanical engineer says, “I know what’s wrong. It’s a mechanical problem and I can fix it.” The electrical engineer says, “No, no, it’s an electrical problem. I’ve got this.” The computer engineer says, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but if we all get out of the car and get back in, I bet it’ll start.” 

Appreciate you reading and gaining all this tech know-how for free. You’re the reason my team and I work so hard every day to bring you the best tech newsletter in the universe! Stay awesome, OK? — Kim