Hello to a fabulous Friday! I need a favor. We’re working hard on improving our deliverability so the big email providers don’t mark us as spam. You can help: Just reply to this email. That’s it. It makes a bigger difference than you know. Thank you!

Now, let’s get that brain working. Is this statement true or false? If you’re outside during a thunderstorm, your smartphone could attract lightning. You’ll find the answer at the end, along with how I did on my singing audition with a founding member of the Beach Boys. — Kim

It seems like every tech outfit is bragging about they’re now “AI-ready!” So, where do you think they get the data to train their artificial intelligence (AI)? Come on, make one guess. 

The answer is YOU. And no, dear, you won’t get any royalties. They can get away with it because they updated their terms and conditions … which no one ever reads in the first place.

Look at Zoom. Folks discovered the app was using data from video calls to train its AI. It didn't go over well. Zoom backtracked … sort of. (More on that below).

While some services now allow users to opt out of AI training, the LA Times showed how many of your favorites operate in quite murky waters. Here's how some popular apps feed your info to the robots.

Training day

ChatGPT: OpenAI's chatbot helps solve problems and generate ideas. But it collects enough data that many organizations have banned it from the workplace. (Even big companies like Amazon and JPMorgan Chase have issued warnings.) 

If you have a ChatGPT account, follow these steps to disable AI training:

• Click the three dots next to your account name in the bottom left corner, then Settings > Data controls.
• Toggle off Chat History & Training.

Google and Gmail: Wasn’t so long ago Google's AI could read your email. You know, to "better serve you" (eye roll). They say they don’t anymore. I vote you lock down your account.

• Log in to your Google account.
• Click your profile icon.
• Select Manage your Google account.
• Tap Data & privacy on the left side of the page.
• Scroll to History settings.
• Toggle off Web & App Activity, Location History and YouTube History.

Zoom: Zoom took back its AI training clause, but here's what you still agree to every time you sign in. Try to read it aloud without running out of breath:

“You agree to grant and hereby grant Zoom a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license and all other rights required or necessary to redistribute, publish, import, access, use, store, transmit, review, disclose, preserve, extract, modify, reproduce, share, use, display, copy, distribute, translate, transcribe, create derivative works, and process Customer Content.”

The only way to opt out of all that is not to use Zoom.

Privacy, please

Companies and services reveal everything they do with your data in their privacy policies. Here’s a trick: Use the Ctrl + F shortcut on Windows (Cmd + F on Mac) to search for keywords like "privacy" or "AI training" and scan through that section.

When companies say, “We value your privacy!” they really mean, “We put a value on your privacy!” You can switch to services that don’t use everything you do.

• A private, encrypted Zoom alternative for texts and video calls is Signal. 
• ProtonMail and StartMail are alternatives to mainstream email that put your privacy first.
• DuckDuckGo and StartPage are search sites that don't track you. 

🏃 Keep going! Here on the site, I’ll give you the rundown on Instagram, Grammarly and Reddit data collection. (Sorry, I ran out of room!)

💊 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 for sale online that include the active ingredients, semaglutide and tirzepatide (WSJ paywall link). How do you know what’s in them? You don’t. Just talk to your doc.

Speaking of, big news if you’re on diabetes meds: Amazon Pharmacy will now auto-apply manufacturer coupons to more than 15 insulin and diabetes medicines. The biggest insulin makers say they’ve lowered prices, finally.

ChatGPT leans liberal: University of East Anglia researchers asked the OpenAI tool to answer a survey on political beliefs. The results? “Significant and systematic political bias toward the Democrats.” That’s not a shocker; humans train AI, and humans have biases.

Five seconds: That’s how long X (formerly Twitter) delayed links to Facebook, Instagram, Substack, Bluesky, Reuters and other competitors. X can slow traffic to any site it wants. Btw, the only official reply from X: A poop emoji. Seriously, Musk acts like a 12-year-old sometimes.

Venmo for teens: You can now make your kid’s allowance digital. Under Venmo’s Me settings, create a profile (for teens ages 13 to 17), pick a color for their debit card and add as much as you want to their balance. Speaking of … The Vatican doesn’t accept Venmo, only Papal.

⭐️ Five stars: No, not every restaurant near you is a winner, but you wouldn’t know that by browsing Google Maps. Fake reviews are flooding in, and it’s tough to figure out what’s real. Yelp is a better choice till they sort this out.

“Oh, these are so good!” Says every Trader Joe’s cashier. Those friendly folks are part of the experience, and TJ’s CEO says don’t expect to see self-checkout kiosks. In the same podcast, he said (despite what the collective internet thinks) employees are not trained to flirt with you. Maybe you really are having a great hair day.

🙅 Just say no: Viewcoin is a hot, new app that says you can make money (really gift cards and discounts) off the photos on your phone. All you have to do is give it full access to your camera roll, among other things. I say absolutely do not download it.

Sound like a tech pro, even if you're not one. Try my award-winning, daily podcast. Search for my last name with "K" wherever you get your podcasts and "Go Komando!"

Listen to my podcast, Kim Komando Today, here.

What a world we live in. Use Instacart and someone else can brave Costco for you. An Uber Eats driver will pick up your dinner. And, for a couple hundred bucks, someone with a great eye will sift through all the crap at Goodwill to thrift the wardrobe of your dreams.

What’s in demand? Clothes from the 1990s. I knew I should’ve saved those sweet flares! No joke, people are making a living selling used "clothing bundles," and buyers are getting great wardrobes at a fraction of the price of buying new.

Get social

Instagram and secondhand shopping sites like Depop and thredUP are full of digital personal shoppers who put together personalized clothing bundles. It starts with finding out what the client is looking for. Some ask for a Pinterest board (huh, didn't know people still used that) or just some photos.

How much you get depends on how much you're willing to spend. One shopper, Micah Russell, told CNN packages range from $150 for up to 10 items to $500 for 24 to 31 items. She (and other sellers) may even toss in some accessories or shoes.

Business is booming. Russell says she creates 30 to 60 bundles each week, and she's booked out through December. The process isn't super quick, either. Sourcing all those used clothes takes time — in some cases, up to two months.

Used is in

Most of Russell's clients are those ages 18 to 24, which follows numbers from thredUP's latest resale report. By 2027, thredUP predicts the online resale biz will bring in $38 billion.

👖 Share this one with your friends and fam in their 20s and 30s. Could be a sweet way to make extra money if they have great style — or a personal shopper tip if they don’t. (Just don’t tell them that, K?)

🐝 I brought home a record I found at Goodwill. It was called "Sounds Wasps Make.” I put it on my record player and thought, "This doesn't sound anything like wasps!" Then I realized I was playing the bee side.

You’re a multitasker! You have a dozen applications open on your screen and who knows how many tabs. 

But did you know all those open windows slow your computer and heighten your stress levels? Oops. A recent study shows media multitaskers actually perform less well on cognitive tests than non-multitaskers.

Here’s an easy trick to hide all your applications so you can focus on one thing at a time:

• On the Windows taskbar, right-click and select Show the desktop. (Click Show open windows to get everything back up.) You can also click and hold one window, then shake the mouse lightly. Everything else will minimize. Shake it again to restore everything. 
• On Mac, hit Cmd + Option + H.

🪟 Ah, breathing room. Doesn’t that feel nice?

Be that smart person who shared The Current Tech News 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!

The IRS is the best at finding people.

The answer: False. Lightning usually goes for taller objects that conduct electricity well — things that provide a direct path to the ground. Your smartphone? It's got such a tiny amount of metal in it that's all encased and doesn't conduct electricity. So, no, it's not likely to attract a lightning strike.

Go ahead and share your referral link below with fam and friends so everyone will be tech-safe and savvy. Sing it with me: “We are the world … ” Maybe not.

👙 True story. I ran into a founding member of the Beach Boys a few months ago. Turns out, he listens to my show and said, “You have such a great voice that would lend itself to music, too. Sing for me.” There were a handful of people around, and I politely declined because I really cannot carry a tune. He insisted, so I belted out the first few lines of “Good Vibrations.” Afterwards, he said, “Stick with radio.” Yup, I failed a singing audition with a Beach Boy! Thanks for being here and stay awesome! — Kim