Whoa, it’s Wednesday! That was fast. Let’s start this party with trivia. Two engineers set a record for creating the world’s longest 802.11 Wi‑Fi connection. How far did their signal travel? Was it … A.) 50 miles, B.) 89 miles, C.) 120 miles or D.) 237 miles? Answer’s at the end!

❣️ Be sure to show today’s sponsor, Incogni, some love. I used it. It took three minutes or so to set everything up, and now my personal info is GONE from 74 people-search and data broker sites, just like that. Now, on to the news! — Kim

I can’t remember the last time I went into a bank. There’s no reason to now that I do it all from my phone. We trust banking apps to keep our financial info safe and secure — but what about privacy? Oh, yeah, that.

Merchant Machine reviewed the privacy policies of today's top banking and finance apps. Researchers found the 20 worst offenders take an average of 20 unique data types from their users. Major yikes.

We're not just talking about your location, purchases and username. It's everything from your browsing history to your contacts, your device’s usage data, and even health and fitness metrics. What are you giving away?

Robin my data

If you use your smartphone to make investments, you're probably familiar with Robinhood. You might not realize how much info it takes from you: 25 data points, to be exact. (And no, Robinhood’s not giving them to the poor.) Btw, this same company fell victim to a data breach in 2021.

A newer bank on the scene is Chime, which has had its fair share of controversy. In addition to collecting 23 personal data segments from app users, Chime is guilty of locking users out of their accounts and holding their cash hostage.

What about the big hitters?

Chase is one of the biggest names in the banking biz and one of the worst data-collection offenders. The Chase mobile app takes 20 data points from its users.

In case you forgot, Chase was fined $200 million in 2021 for allowing its employees to discuss bank business over messaging apps "to circumvent federal record-keeping laws." Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Download now, steal data later

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) business is booming. BNPL giant Klarna has about 150 million active users who buy stuff from half a million merchants. The app itself grabs 24 types of personal data from its users.

BNPL apps definitely take the edge off a large purchase, but they're also closely tied to your credit score. It’s something to consider before allowing this app — or those like it — to access your shopping habits.

Over in the coupon app world, think twice before snagging a deal on Groupon. It collects 21 categories of personal data — and has a lousy track record of handling it.

Take this to the bank

You can't opt out of all the data sharing, but there are a few things you can do to protect yourself:

• Be choosy. We all give data to some companies and apps, but I recommend selecting just a few for financial purposes and sticking with them.
• When your money’s involved, at least skim the app’s privacy policy. It’s easier to do this on a computer. Use Ctrl + F (Windows) or Cmd + F (Mac) to search for terms like “data,” “third-party” and “analytics.”
• If you have an iPhone, the App Privacy Report shows how apps use your data. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report to access. Android users, go to Settings > Apps > Permissions.
• Here’s a free tool to spot the most data-hungry apps and find recommendations for privacy-friendly options.

🤦‍♀️ I’ll leave you with a word of wisdom. Never trust a website with purple terms and conditions; they clearly violet your privacy.

“Kim, where do spammers get my phone number and email address?” The most likely answer is data brokers. These companies make big money collecting personal information and selling it in bulk to marketers — and, yep, sometimes scammers.

Now the good news: You can do something about it. Before the Black Friday spam madness hits, try Incogni. I did, and it took me three minutes to go through the process. Now, my info is totally wiped out of 74 people-search databases and counting. That would have taken me hours to do on my own.

Get your data off 180+ data brokers and people-search sites automatically with Incogni. They offer a full 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy. Can’t beat that.

😱 Scary bedtime story: Luis Lopez went in to clean his Airbnb and found a guy hiding under the bed. In this video, Lopez politely asked the man to leave, and the man ignored him, so Luis called the cops. How the heck he stayed so calm is beyond me (and the rest of the internet).

A bit of this and a byte of that: OpenAI's GPT‑4 Turbo is here. It now possesses knowledge up to April 2023 and can analyze entire books and docs up to 300 pages. It also creates images and has six voices for text-to-speech. This thing has added so much in the last three months.

Dog food recall: Does your pup eat food made by Mid America Pet Food? Five-, 15- and 40-pound bags of pet food with a June 12, 2024, best-by date may be contaminated with salmonella. This is the second dog food recall in three months for Mid America, btw. If they produce your pup’s brand of choice, find another brand ASAP.

🖖 Beam it up, Scotty: Decades after it was lost, “Star Trek” fans identified the three-foot original model for the USS Enterprise for sale on eBay last week for $1,000. "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's son says it belongs to him and wants it back from whoever listed it. I recently bought a car on eBay that used to be owned by Bonnie Tyler. Every now and then, it falls apart.

Want online coupons and promo codes? Google's going after Honey. It's rolling out a new feature on Search, and Chrome will automatically look for discounts and lower prices on the stuff you want. Search "shop deals" to try it out. Click the bell icon next to a product name to turn on price-drop alerts.

Important sing-along: “Boundaries Song” teaches kids about personal and emotional boundaries. It has over 3.6 million views on YouTube, and a video of a girl singing the chorus has a jaw-dropping 18.4 million views on Instagram. Parents say it’s helping their kids communicate better. Give it a listen — and share it, too.

🎤 Rhubarbra effect: When Barbra Streisand discovered her iPhone's Siri was mispronouncing her name, she did what any of us would do: She called Apple CEO Tim Cook to get it fixed. (It’s Strei-sand, not Strei-zand.) I know where she’s coming from — I cringed the first time I heard Siri say “Komando.” Tim, give me a call.

Extensions let you customize your browser and add powerful features. But not all extensions are beneficial. Some track you across the internet, eat up your computer’s resources — and worse.

A sure sign an extension is bad news? You don’t remember downloading it. In that case, just delete it.

Pro tip: It’s also helpful to search the web for phrases like, “Is [extension name] safe?” See what pops up, and pay special attention to any security warnings.

Here’s how to remove an extension from Chrome:

• In the top right corner, click the three vertical dots to the right of your profile icon.
• Hover over Extensions and click Manage Extensions.
• Click Remove on the extension you want to remove, then click Remove again.

Use Safari on a Mac? Here’s how to remove an extension:

• Choose Safari > Preferences > Extensions.
• To uninstall an extension, select it and click Uninstall.

🪟 Sometimes, I go to random Windows computers and delete the default browser. Just to take the Edge off, ya know?

I turn tech complexity into simplicity with my Daily Tech Update podcast. I’ll give you the top tech news and a useful digital life hack, all in under two minutes. It's the perfect match for your daily routine — no tech expertise required.

Choose your platform below to listen:

How the heck … ? Next time you’re not sure how to say something, open Google and search for the word, followed by “pronunciation.” You’ll see the word spelled out phonetically next to a speaker icon. Tap the icon to hear it, then hit the mic icon that says “Practice” to practice saying it aloud.

Need a group pic? Open your Camera app and tap the up-facing arrow at the top of your screen to display the app’s secondary menu. Scroll right in this menu to the option that looks like a clock, then tap it. Choose between a three- or 10-second delay, then get in place. Voila!

✏️ Like new: White charging cords get so dirty. Here’s a secret to removing black streaks: Use a pencil eraser. Yep, it’ll buff them right off. You’re welcome.

Magic Windows shortcut: Use Windows key + V to see your keyboard history. It’s perfect for when you need something you copied recently but it wasn’t the last thing you copied. Pin text you paste regularly to the top of the list.

📲 Everyone gets this wrong: If you’re paying with your phone, tap the back instead of the front. On most phones, the antenna that communicates with the checkout station is on the back. No more tapping 10 times, hooray!

This is Jeff Bezos working at Amazon in 1994. It’s too bad Jeff stepped down as CEO of Amazon when he was still in his Prime.

The answer: D.) 237 miles. In 2007, two engineers zapped a Wi‑Fi signal between the peaks of El Águila and Platillon using only the power of highly directional antennas — no amplifiers, no tricks. Meanwhile, the rest of us struggle to get Wi‑Fi from one side of the house to another.

😎 Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to see how Incogni can protect your data. A couple of clicks to wipe your personal info off the web? Yes, please. See you tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! Until then, stay your amazing self! — Kim