Happy terrific Tuesday, friends! Today’s brain teaser is a basic true-or-false statement: “Constantly closing apps on your smartphone is a great way to significantly save battery life.” Make your best guess, and you’ll find the answer at the end.

🌟 Be a winner! Share your referral link at the bottom of this newsletter for a chance to win a $1,200 iPad or laptop. Each signup equals one entry. Post that link on your social media, text it to your friends and get it up on Nextdoor. I want YOU to win! — Kim

Modern cars are basically computers on wheels, each with over 1,400 processors. Now, the more complex our cars get, the more at risk we are. I’m not talking about theft; I’m talking about remote carjacking … or worse.

Imagine this: Someone with enough skill and bad intentions could stop your car while you’re driving it. Want a car with all the bells and whistles? That’s gonna cost ya. Charging a subscription to go faster is one thing, but charging for an important safety feature? That’s shady.

🐴 Straight out of ‘The Godfather’

Carmakers are now charging for “protection.” Automatic crash notification, or ACN, uses your car’s communication tools or a paired phone to notify emergency services in case of a crash. If you’re knocked unconscious or otherwise unable to make the call yourself, this is truly a lifesaving feature.

Some carmakers include ACN for free, while others charge as much as $100 annually for it. If you don’t pay, you lose it. Despicable.

• Brands that offer ACN for free: Acura, Audi, BMW, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Polestar, Porsche and Volvo.
• Brands that offer ACN as a five-year (or more) free trial: Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes, Ram, Toyota and Volkswagen.
• Brands that charge for ACN before five years: Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Dodge, GMC, Infiniti, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ram, Subaru and Toyota.

Next thing you know, there’ll be an upcharge to deploy your airbags.

From the critical to the comical

Paying extra for add-ons when you buy a car is nothing new, but these subscription costs will make you laugh, groan or roll your eyes.

• Audi wants you to cough up $260 annually for “dynamic lighting.” If you have to ask, it’s not worth it.
• BMW offers a dashcam function for $19 monthly or $430 for the vehicle's life. You can buy a pretty sweet dashcam that’s 15% off right now.
• Cadillac’s hands-free driving system goes for $25 a month.
• Mercedes charges $1,200 annually to get you from 0 to 60 mph one second faster.
• Porsche will help protect your vehicle from theft … for $280 per year.

We’re not there yet, but I’d bet the trend of charging for what should be standard protection will continue.

✅ Even if a company offers ACN for free, it may not be available on every model. We did the heavy lifting for you. Check this detailed list for yours.

This is important information for anyone in the market for a new car or for someone who’s just purchased one. Use the handy share buttons below to pass this intel to your family and friends.

🎣 The kindness of strangers: Last week, MGM casinos nationwide were hit by a cyberattack. How did the attackers get in? Just a friendly chat with a worker on LinkedIn and a phone call to the help desk. Studies show hackers’ new MO is to pretend to be gentle, kind and need a hand, knowing you’ll help. Be on the lookout.

Do these genes make me look fat? The Italian city of Bergamo had one of the highest COVID‑19 death rates in the world. Why? Researchers found a new link — Neanderthal DNA. It’s a trait present in most of Bergamo's population. Those with the DNA were found to be twice as likely to develop severe pneumonia. I thought that was so interesting.

Puttin’ on the strides: Gen Z’s favorite new TikTok trend is called “Silent Walking.” The rules: Walk by yourself with no distractions — no phones, not even a pet. The older I get, the more I appreciate my father’s advice: “Kim, take a walk when you’re stressed.” It works.

😋 Leave it to salmon else: You can now purchase 3D-printed salmon called “THE FILET – Inspired by Salmon” from Austrian startup Revo Foods. It’s composed mostly of fungi, pea proteins and algae extracts. Oh, and a bonus — it has a three-week shelf life.

The first three letters in crypto are c‑r‑y: Remember when the entire world talked about becoming a gazillionaire with crypto and then it crashed? Bitcoin jumped to $27,000 yesterday, the highest price since August. It was $65,000 in November 2021. Going up again? I wouldn’t bank on it.

Talk to a friend: A recent University of Georgia study found chatting with a real person sitting across from you makes you happier than phone scrolling or chilling alone. Participants initially thought scrolling on the phone would perk their moods. Nope — it made them more anxious and depressed.

Review of reviews: Too much work to read Amazon reviews? AI to the rescue. Amazon is rolling out AI-generated review summaries to boil them down into a single paragraph. Microsoft says it's doing the same in its store. Seriously, can you trust a company to review the product it's selling you? Plus, we already know AI lies.

💊 Give it a weigh: Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are the new weight-loss “miracle” drugs — and you can’t get them without a prescription. No surprise, you can find knockoffs online that include the active ingredients semaglutide and tirzepatide. How do you know what’s in them? You don’t. Just talk to your doc and warn your friends, too.

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!

If you've ever thought of building something as big as the Komando Media Empire, you must know teamwork and collaboration are key. That's why we're all three days a week (at least) in the broadcast center. But I would never implement what TikTok is doing with RTO (return to office) policies.

Newsflash from The New York Times: TikTok's not just peeking at where you're dancing anymore. Enter MyRTO, TikTok's fresh-out-the-box tool that's on overwatch and must be on every employee's personal phone.

Swiper no swiping

Employees swipe a badge to get in or out? MyRTO's noting it. Someone's supposed to be at the office and they're sitting at home? Expect a "Hey, where are you?" ping. TikTok is rolling out this in-house watchdog to bring "crystal clarity" (their words, not mine) about attendance expectations.

You have to wonder … Since the TikTok app on a user's phone tracks their location, personal data, biometrics and more, it probably does the same to its employees, too.

Bosses everywhere are going nuts for these watchful widgets. Remote? They're counting your online minutes and even snapping your screen occasionally. At the office? Sensors might be timing your bathroom breaks.

Are you being watched by your employer?

If it feels like Big Brother is watching you work, it's because he probably is. Employee monitoring systems are getting fancier by the day, but are they legal? The short answer, unfortunately, is yes; however, employees do have rights.

Share this: I put together an excellent guide to find out how far your boss might be allowed to go on my site here. Use the share buttons below to send this to your family and friends.

😂 Bob called work this morning and whispered, "Sorry, boss, I can't come in today. I have a wee cough." His boss exclaimed, "You have a wee cough!?" Bob replied, "Really?! Thanks, boss, see you next week!"

Maybe you keep your computer browser nice and tidy (good for you!), but I’ll bet your phone’s browser is a complete mess. Those tabs running in the background eat up valuable memory. There’s an easier fix than closing tabs one at a time.

On iPhone:

• Open Safari. Tap and hold the icon that looks like two overlapping squares. From the pop-up, choose Close All Tabs. Done!

On Android:

• It’s even easier if you use Chrome. Just say, “Hey, Google, close all tabs.” If you’re using a different browser, there’s usually a menu in the top right corner. Look for the Close All Tabs option. That’s it!

🏁 Speed Rx: Do this once a week to keep your phone’s performance top-notch.

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What are the odds?

❌ The answer: False. Whether you're team iOS or Android, both are pros at multitasking. So, rather than saving juice, constantly closing and reopening apps is like giving your phone a mini workout, burning more battery life.

Thanks for taking on the tech world with me. Hit reply to leave a review and just shout if there’s something you want to see in a future issue. I appreciate you being here with me. It’s so much fun! — Kim