Ahoy on this techy Tuesday, matey! To get your mind racing after a long holiday weekend, which of the following smartphone charging “facts” is actually a myth? Is it … A.) Charging overnight damages your battery, B.) Using your phone while it’s charging can make it explode, C.) Charging only when it reaches 0% extends your battery life, or D.) You should only use the charger that came with your phone? Answer’s at the end!

Do yourself a favor. Incogni removed my personal info from 380 data-broker and people-search sites — and I haven't gotten a single spam call or text since I signed up. Total win. I’ll share more about them below. But first, excellent travel tips and the top tech news! — Kim

Attention, travelers: I have good news! Despite a record-setting summer for travel prices, winter isn’t looking so bad — if you know when to book.

Luckily, you have me. I’ve been to 36 countries, and I’m still itching to see the rest of the world. I’ve learned lots of ways to save over the years.

Best time to book for the holidays

Travel booking site Hopper predicts tickets will go up, up, up the later into fall we get. I checked Google’s most recent travel data, too, and it shows you’ll pay the lowest if you book 71 days before departure. Overall, the typical low-price range is 54 to 78 days before takeoff.

🦃 Thanksgiving Day: This year, Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 28, so you’ll need to buy your tickets between Sept. 11 and Oct. 5. If you want to go by Google’s data, purchasing on Sept. 18 will give you the lowest price.

🎄 Christmas: If you’re looking at a departure date of Dec. 20, for example, the ideal date range to buy your airline tickets is between Oct. 3 and Oct. 27. Google recommends booking on Oct. 10.

This is what the research says, but if you want to be sure you have a seat on the plane, go ahead and get those tickets ASAP. Another tip: Travel on Wednesdays for the lowest fares, and take the earliest flight you can; If it gets canceled, you have greater odds of catching another flight.

Google Flights’ lowest-price guarantee

This can help you get the best deal on your plane ticket. Here's how it works: When you book a flight through Google Flights, they guarantee if the price of your ticket goes down after you buy it, they'll pay you back the difference.

You can tell if a flight has Google’s Price guarantee on Google Flights by looking for a little badge or label that says "Price guarantee" when you're browsing flights. Not all flights have this guarantee, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for it.

There are a few gotchas, of course. The guarantee only works if you book through Google Flights, and it only covers the difference if the price drops within a certain time after you book.

Get automatic price drop alerts

No one has time to pop in and check flight prices constantly. Online flight trackers send you alerts when prices drop. Options include Google Flights, Kayak, Hopper, Going and Airfarewatchdog. I use Google Flights.

Best time to book to Europe

Here's research for the savvy world traveler: The golden window for the lowest average prices is 72 days (or even more) before your preferred departure. As the calendar pages flip and you inch closer to that 10-week mark, brace yourself because those airfares tend to soar.

Share this using the icons below with someone who travels around the holidays. Maybe they'll spend the cash they saved on your present, just sayin’.

✈️ For the record, I’m shocked we’re already talking about holiday planning! This year has just flown by.

Data brokers gather and sell your info to anyone willing to pay — and they’re hacked all the time. Instead of spending hours a week removing myself from their scummy lists, I let Incogni do it for me.

Incogni just works. Make an account, add a few details and they start their magic. So far, Incogni has removed me from 380 data-broker and people-search sites, and they send regular removal requests to keep my info off these sites so they can’t sneak me back in.

With more of your data than ever floating around the Dark Web, it’s time to take control. I’m glad I use Incogni and you will be, too.

🚨 All that and dim sum: Researchers dug into Communist China-owned TikTok’s algorithms and found they suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Search for “Xinjiang,” a region linked with genocide and crimes against humanity, and you’ll find only 2.3% of results are anti-China. Compare that to 21.7% on YouTube. And the cherry on top? They’re not above manipulating teens with pro-China propaganda.

Suite dreams: Next time you check into a hotel, don’t be surprised if there are no keycards. Digital options using Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are soaring. Just tap your phone near the door handle to get in. Earlier this year, hackers cracked over 3 million hotel rooms with Saflok locks, so I’m all for this.

💸 Let’s have a pity party: Peloton’s former billionaire CEO says he’s broke and has lost almost all his money. Since stepping down in 2022, he had to sell his Hamptons mansion ($51 million) and a Manhattan townhouse ($35.5 million). Now, he’s back to work on a décor company that sells rugs online. I bet you have to rent stupidly expensive rugs by the month.

The new influencers: Unemployed folks are using TikTok to share “day in the life” videos with followers to show how they cope. The algorithm rewards shocking and emotional content, so it’s a good way to rack up views — and money. Better idea: Refresh your LinkedIn profile and set yourself as #OpenToWork there to find an actual job (paywall link).

📧 Use Gmail on your Android? If you pay for the Google Workspace plan (or your work does), you can now chat with Google’s AI, Gemini, about your emails. The bot has access to your entire inbox, so it can summarize your emails (“What did Mary want?”) or find specific info for you (“When’s the app design deadline?”). To use it, tap the black star logo in the top-right corner of the app. Coming soon to iPhone, I hope!

Someone call Will Smith: 1X Technologies and OpenAI just released a preview of the “Neo beta,” a scarily realistic humanoid robot. It moves like a human, and its advanced vision system lets it interact with the environment in real time. The video is straight out of a sci-fi movie; it picks up a backpack, places its hand around a woman's waist and waves at the camera.

💄 All glammed up and no place to go: TikTok is loaded with people complaining that concealer, fake lashes and overlined lips in your passport photo can lead to big delays if you travel bare-faced (paywall link). You confuse both human and tech scanners. Btw, my passport photo is a publicity shot, and I’m happy to report I never get held up.

No iPhone for you, bad guy: While it’s not explicitly stated in Apple’s Guidelines for Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights, the doc mentions their products must be shown in the “best light” only and never in a “disparaging manner.” Rumors about Apple products being for “good guys only” date back to the early 2000s. In the series “24,” for instance, the good guys use Macs, but the villains are on PCs.

• Get rid of bad breath at the source with a tongue scraper (7% off). Sounds crazy, but it really works.
• Keep your cups from dripping everywhere with these coasters (14% off) 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 keep the whole thing off the floor by sticking it to metal. Smart.
• These ingenious pens (15% off) let you keep a bit of paint on hand for touch-ups. 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.

The closer: You finally read that article that’s been open in your browser all week. Leave your mouse alone and close the tab with your keyboard. On Windows, use Ctrl + W. On a Mac, it’s Cmd + W.

✏️ Whiteout: Those white Apple charging cords get so dirty. Here’s a secret for removing the black streaks: Use a pencil eraser. Yep, it’ll buff them right off. Oh, and I finally hung up all my pencil drawings, but I'm afraid it makes my house look kinda sketchy.

Click and drag: On a computer, you don’t have to go into the settings of your digital calendar tool (like Outlook or Google Calendar) to move an appointment or meeting. Just click it, drag it to the new date or time slot, and you’re all set.

🎤 Listen up: Adobe has a free tool to test if your mic is set correctly for a podcast or video meeting. Try it here. You’ll get pointers on where to sit relative to your mic and whether there’s too much going on in the background. Nice!

Identity crisis: You can prime ChatGPT or any other chatbot to answer how you want with one simple phrase: “You are a …” and then fill in that blank with anything — “marketing expert,” “lawyer,” “landlord attorney,” “master gardener,” “personal trainer.” Go ahead, try “Digital Goddess.”

Yup, that’s me in Tokyo a few months ago!

The answer: A.) Charging overnight damages your battery. Today’s smartphones include tech designed to prevent them from overcharging. Once the battery reaches 100%, the charging circuit is cut off, so leaving your phone plugged in overnight really doesn’t affect the battery's lifespan.

What’s the liquid inside the iPhone’s battery called? Apple juice! (I heard you laugh!)

I wasted so many hours: For years, I’ve been removing myself from people-search databases manually. As it turns out, I barely made a dent. That’s why I’m so glad I let Incogni do all the work for me. Use code KIM60 to try it yourself for 60% off. You’ll be happy you did.

See you right back here tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! Until then, the next time you look in the mirror, smile because you’re tech-ahead, not left tech‑behind! — Kim