Articles
Every week I write up one thing about the devices you use every day that nobody ever stopped to explain. These all started out in the Tech Untangled newsletter, and they're collected here so you can find them again.
Not local? I write a new one every Monday. Subscribe on LinkedIn, or follow along on Facebook.
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Device care
Your phone has two kinds of storage. They're both called storage.
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Device care
You gave away the phone. It still thinks it's yours.
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Passwords and sign-in
If your password keeps failing, you may have signed up another way.
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Passwords and sign-in
Your saved passwords are a list of every account you ever opened.
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Wi-Fi and internet
Every speed test you've ever run measured your Wi-Fi, not your internet.
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Privacy
Your phone is listening. Nobody told you what that actually means.
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Passwords and sign-in
You don't get to keep your work email. Your other accounts don't know that.
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Scams and safety
You were told to be careful on public Wi-Fi. Your phone had already joined.
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Everyday tech
You deleted the app months ago. The charge is still going out.
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Everyday tech
You've been saving phone numbers. Your phone was asking who they are.
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Privacy
Every app has a page listing what it can reach. You've never read it.
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Scams and safety
You were taught not to click the link. This one didn't have one.
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Device care
In September, your phone will ask you to go first. You don't have to.
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Scams and safety
You've been screening your own calls by hand for years
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Everyday tech
You've been emailing yourself for years. Your devices were never introduced.
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Wi-Fi and internet
Your headphones aren't broken. They're connected to something else.
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Privacy
You're not careless. The cookie banner was built to wear you down.
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Everyday tech
Your phone's text size isn't a fact. It's a setting.
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Everyday tech
Your keyboard has been overruling you
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Passwords and sign-in
Your phone keeps offering you something. You keep saying Not Now.
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Passwords and sign-in
There are only three ways to prove you are you.
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Passwords and sign-in
One login. Every app. Nobody told you that was an option.
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Everyday tech
Your screen is still set for noon. Even at midnight.
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Everyday tech
You don't need a tutorial. You need permission to stop apologizing.
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Everyday tech
Your phone is editing your past.
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Everyday tech
You stopped seeing your notifications years ago
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Privacy
Ask App Not to Track isn't doing what you think.
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Everyday tech
Your phone has a search bar you've never used
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Everyday tech
You're screenshotting things you could just send
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Device care
Your digital life doesn't have a will.
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Privacy
Your TV is watching you. Nobody mentioned that part.
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Device care
Your computer has been asking you to restart for weeks now
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Device care
The habit that's actually draining your battery
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Privacy
The permission you gave isn't the permission it took.
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Device care
Your laptop isn't slow. You've just been managing around it.
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Everyday tech
The Three Habits That Make Technology Feel Effortless
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Device care
How to Know When It's Time to Replace Your Devices
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Device care
The Settings I Change on Every New Phone or Computer
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Everyday tech
How to Organize Your Digital Life Without Feeling Overwhelmed
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Wi-Fi and internet
The Simple Wi-Fi Upgrade That Fixes Most Home Internet Problems
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Scams and safety
How to Stop Falling for Online Scams
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Device care
The Backup System Every Household Needs
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Passwords and sign-in
Why Your Password Habits Matter More Than Your Accounts
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Device care
Why Software Updates Matter More Than You Think
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Everyday tech
Why Tech Feels Hard (And Why It Isn't Your Fault)