Google’s privacy tools
Google celebrated Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October) by rolling out tools to give customers greater control over their privacy when using Google Maps, YouTube and Google Assistant, reports The Verge. Google confirmed that it was launching incognito mode for Maps, which was scheduled to appear on Android in October before expanding to iOS “soon.” When you turn on incognito mode, your Maps activity on that device, like the places you search for, won’t be saved to your Google Account and won’t be used to personalize your Maps experience. As for YouTube, Google said it was introducing the same rolling auto-delete feature that can already automatically clear out your location history and web data at an interval of your choosing. And last, Google is letting you wipe recent voice commands or questions to Google Assistant without opening an app on your phone. Just say “Hey Google, delete everything I said to you the last week.” (Unfortunately, you can’t delete more than a week’s worth of history.)
Sleep tight
Big presentation tomorrow? Get a good night’s sleep with Adiva One, a set of modular bed legs that can be attached to any standard bed frame, reports Digital Trends. The legs move in a pattern to give the bed a gentle rocking motion while you sleep. The manufacturer, Adiva, cites research that found an oscillatory motion improved the length and quality of sleep of participants in the study. Two motion sensors clip to the mattress to provide integrated sleep tracking. The artificial intelligence that powers the system is said to automatically adjust the speed and intensity of the motion to keep the user in deep sleep cycles.
‘My AirPods are dying’
AirPods are comfortable, convenient and popular, but each them contains a rechargeable battery marching toward an untimely death in as little as two years, according to an article in the Washington Post. “When your AirPod batteries finally go, even Apple’s employees are confused about your options,” according to the writer. “Across three separate support encounters in the store and online, they told me I had to buy a replacement pair for $138, nearly the price of a whole new set.” But here’s the straight story: If your AirPods are less than a year old and performing poorly, an Apple store will replace them at no cost. You can buy an extended warranty for $29; it covers the battery – but only for two years. And if your AirPods are out of warranty, you’ll pay $49 per stick – or $98 per head.
Hold the phone!
Tired of listening to bad “hold” music? DoNotPay, the app, launched a new feature, “Skip Waiting On Hold,” that does the listening for you, reports Tech Crunch. “Just type in the company you need to talk to, and DoNotPay calls for you using tricks to get a human on the line quickly,” according to the report. “Then it calls you back and connects you to the agent so you never have to listen to that annoying hold music. And in case the company tries to jerk you around or screw you over, the DoNotPay app lets you instantly share to social media a legal recording of the call to shame them.” Skip Waiting On Hold comes as part of the $3 per month DoNotPay suite of services.
Lost and found
Apple is rumored to be making a tracker tag similar to Tilesmart trackers, reports CNET. And since Apple debuted new ultra wideband or UWB technology in its iPhone 11 models, speculation heated up that the company could release its Tile-competitor before the end of 2019. Reports suggest the tags will be battery-powered and able to attach to items like keys, a purse or a backpack, and could then be used to help you find them if the item is lost. The tracker tags can reportedly pair with your iCloud account by proximity to an iPhone or other Apple device, according to CNET. Users would get notifications when the device gets too far away from the tag, so you wouldn’t lose things. If the tagged item is in a location that the user has set as a safe place, users won’t be notified by the app.