Simple phone settings to change for more privacy

Plus: my never-ending quest for the perfect notes app, a CarPlay surprise, and what’s new with AirTags

Greetings, and thanks for taking a look at my newsletter this week.

I often get questions about the newsletter and, specifically, the platform it’s on: Substack. Once you sign up, you may start getting emails directly from Substack, which sometimes makes people wonder if they did something wrong or accidentally signed up for something extra. Rest assured, that’s completely normal. Substack is simply the platform that delivers my newsletter and handles all the behind-the-scenes stuff.

This week, I was actually on a panel talking about the rise of Substack, which made me laugh a bit because I’ve been here since the early days. I joined thanks to my friend Jefferson Graham, who introduced me to the founder and suggested I should hop on board.

So I did.

I jumped in, thought it was great, stepped away for a bit, and then came back a couple of years ago when I launched my radio show. Hard to believe, but this is now year four of that show.

Today, the newsletter is closing in on 65,000 subscribers, and writing it has become a weekend ritual for me. It’s my way of keeping you up to date on the tech stories, tools, and tips I think are truly worth your time.

Let’s get to it.

My never-ending search for the perfect notes app

You know I’m on a never-ending quest for the perfect note-taking app, and this week I found a new one called Craft.

My baseline requirements are pretty simple:

• It has to be cross-platform, including Mac, iOS, and Android.

• It needs a web clipper so I can save articles from the web.

• It has to have privacy and security built in, including the ability to export my data if I ever want to leave.

• And the price can’t be astronomical.

I came across Craft through a site called noteapps.info, which is basically a giant directory of note-taking apps. I must have tried Craft before because I already had a login. I think it was Mac-only at one point, but now that it supports Android, it’s back on my radar.

First impression: it’s beautifully designed. It checks all my boxes and then some. You get folders for your notes, plus built-in tasks and a daily calendar that live right alongside everything else. It feels less like a notes app and more like a daily planner, task manager, and notes system all in one place.

That said, the navigation can be a little quirky. I’d love a big, always-visible search button, and I wish there were more shortcuts. Most of what I want is there, but sometimes it takes a few extra clicks to find it.

There’s a decent free level, but above that is $100 a year, which is definitely on the pricey side. For me, it makes sense because I use it daily to produce my radio show and TV segments. If this were just for casual personal notes, it might be harder to justify.

I still think Obsidian is faster, and I love that it lets you own your files locally. But parts of that interface bug me, especially Markdown, which I’ve never really cared for.

One of my favorite Craft features is how well it integrates with Apple Reminders. I can use Siri on my iPhone to add something to my to-do list, and it syncs seamlessly into Craft. That’s a huge win for my workflow.

And yes, before you ask, didn’t I say I switched to Android? I did. But I ended up moving back to iPhone and Apple Watch because so much of my content creation workflow lives in iOS.

I’ll still be testing the latest Android phones and carrying one in my backpack. I’m especially excited to see what Samsung has coming out next month.

A CarPlay surprise I did not expect

I’m in a rental car right now while my car is getting some work done after a run-in with a pole. Yes, my brand-new car. Please don’t get me started.

The upside: the rental has CarPlay, which I love because my own car doesn’t have it.

Today, when I went to navigate somewhere, I said to Siri, “Navigate to this location,” and Siri replied, “Using Google Maps.”

I stopped for a second.

I have never seen that before.

I don’t know if this is something new or if I’ve just somehow missed it, but one of my biggest frustrations with CarPlay has always been that it defaulted to Apple Maps. If something changed, I’ll happily take it, because this feels like a game changer.

Being able to use Google Maps seamlessly with CarPlay, just by asking Siri, makes a huge difference. If you’ve been avoiding voice navigation because it always sent you to Apple Maps, try it again.

And to be clear, nothing against Apple Maps. I actually think it’s beautifully designed. I just find Google Maps has more raw, real-world data from users and feels more integrated into my daily life.

A handy new feature in Monarch Money

Another feature I discovered this week is in my favorite finance app, Monarch Money.

If you’re not familiar, it’s essentially a modern successor to Mint, with some of the best ideas from Rocket Money. I used Rocket Money for a while and liked it, but it’s ultimately a data play. You’re trading your financial data for a free app, and I never loved having to pay extra just to see net worth.

That’s why I stick with Monarch Money. It’s independent, private, ad-free, and doesn’t sell your information. The tradeoff is price. It’s $100 a year, but for me, it’s worth it because I get a ton of value, especially for expense reports. Everything lives in one ledger, I can tag business expenses easily, and see it all in one place.

This week, I noticed a new feature called Scan Receipts. You’ve always been able to attach receipt photos to transactions, but now you can snap a picture and Monarch will scan it and try to automatically match it to the right transaction.

That’s huge when you’re traveling and dealing with a stack of receipts later. It’s not perfect. I tested it with some CES receipts and it matched about half of them, especially struggling when merchant names or amounts didn’t line up exactly.

Even so, it’s a feature I’ll be using all the time.

Apple updates the AirTag after five years

This week, Apple dropped a new AirTag, the first update in five years. That raises an obvious question: how do you improve on a product that’s already the best-selling item finder in the world?

The original AirTag did a great job of changing how people find lost stuff. Folks put them on everything: pets, kids’ backpacks, wallets, luggage. I would love to see the stats on how many things have been recovered thanks to AirTags.

This new model is the AirTag (2nd generation), and visually, it’s almost identical. The easiest way to tell the difference is on the back. The text is in all caps on the new AirTag, versus mixed case on the original.

Can you spot the difference?

The biggest upgrade is to Precision Finding. Apple has increased the range significantly. In my testing, my phone was able to guide me to an AirTag from about 150 feet away. With the original AirTag, that distance was closer to 50 feet.

Keep in mind, you can always see an AirTag’s general location on a map. Precision Finding is what kicks in when you’re nearby and your phone actively leads you to it.

Another nice addition: you can now use Precision Finding on Apple Watch, though there are some limitations depending on your phone and watch model.

Apple also didn’t change the size, which is great news. All existing accessories still work. And there’s no pressure to upgrade. Your current AirTags will continue to work just fine.

Pricing stays the same: $29 for one, $99 for a four-pack, and they’re available now.

California’s new DROP privacy tool is getting a lot of attention

My most popular segment this week was on California’s new DROP program, the Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform.

If you want to learn more, you can check out my interview with the creators of the site. The program promises to remove your personal information from several hundred data brokers later this year.

You can sign up now, and the actual deletion process is set to begin this summer.

A closer look at ChatGPT Health

This week, I also featured a segment on ChatGPT Health, which is built around a pretty compelling idea.

The concept is simple but powerful: put all of your medical records in one place, from birth to now, and use AI to analyze that data. The goal is to spot patterns, synthesize information, and potentially surface insights about your health that you might not otherwise see.

Of course, putting that much sensitive information in one place comes with both clear benefits and real tradeoffs. That’s exactly what I dig into in the piece: the promise of smarter health insights, and the privacy questions that come along with them.

Simple phone privacy settings you can change right now

In honor of Data Privacy Week, I have some easy tips and tricks to help you boost privacy on your iPhone or Android by changing a few key settings.

They’re small tweaks, but they can make a big difference in how much data your phone shares and who gets access to it.

see the step by step instructions here

Tech tidbits

• Samsung is teasing a new Privacy Display feature on its upcoming flagship phones. The Galaxy S26 series is expected to be unveiled in the last week of February.

• Watch out for fake party invitation emails. Clicking them can be a vector for attackers to trick you into installing remote access software on your computer.

• If you want better voice dictation on Windows, Willow Voice has launched a Windows app. It’s part of a growing wave of AI-powered voice-to-text tools that are far more accurate than traditional dictation.

• Google Chrome now places Gemini in a proper side panel next to your browsing tab, similar to ChatGPT’s Atlas experience. That said, I still find ChatGPT’s Atlas browser better for helping me respond to Gmail.

• You can avoid the TSA’s new $45 fee for not having a Real ID by adding your passport to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and using it at the airport checkpoint.

• Yahoo is back with a new AI-powered search engine called Yahoo Scout.

• Strava now lets Apple Watch users follow routes directly from their wrist. Paying subscribers can also download routes for offline use.

Q&A: Saving text messages before switching phones

Paula writes in:

I’m getting ready to switch to a new phone and I’m worried about my text messages. Do they transfer automatically, or is there a way to print or save copies before I switch?

In most cases, your text messages transfer automatically when you move to a new phone. This process has gotten much better over the years I’ve been testing smartphones, but there’s always a small chance something could go wrong.

For the smoothest transfer, iPhone users should make sure Messages in iCloud is turned on before switching phones. On Android, you can use a free app like SMS Backup & Restore to create a backup ahead of time for extra peace of mind.

If you want to export or save copies of your messages, that’s not built into iOS. However, apps like iMazing and AltTunes can help you export your texts to a computer.

Feedbag

Tom in Los Angeles, listening on KFI AM 640, writes in:

Hey Rich, I heard you on the radio talking about how a lot of us are leaving money on the table by not comparing Uber and Lyft before booking a ride. I tried it and saved over $20 by choosing Lyft instead. That meant more money in my pocket and more for the driver’s tip. Thanks for the advice. It really worked.

Love hearing this. And I’ve been practicing what I preach.

I flew to Seattle this week and, when I landed, I opened both apps to compare prices. Sure enough, Lyft was significantly cheaper for the exact same type of ride. Same thing on the way back.

We all get into the habit of using just one app, but this is a great reminder that it really does pay to take a few extra seconds and check both.

A quick trip to Seattle and a reminder why I do this

Speaking of Seattle…

This week, T-Mobile invited me to their headquarters to appear on a panel called The Rise of Substack. Along with two other excellent Substack creators (Meredith Klein and Alex Heath), we talked with T-Mobile employees about what Substack is, how we use it, and some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

I made it clear I’m no expert. I mostly just do what feels right and what I think is in your best interest. But it was a great reminder of how much the media landscape continues to change. There are more ways than ever to reach people now.

While TV, radio, and this newsletter are very different, my mission across all of them is the same: to empower you with the tech stuff I think you should know about.

As I explained on the panel, you’re busy with your job, your life, and your family. You focus on what you’re good at each day. My job is to keep up with all the tech changes and filter out the most important parts so I can pass them along to you. Think of me as your man on the inside.

It’s a role I don’t take lightly, and one I truly enjoy.

By the way, I flew up to Seattle and back the same day on Alaska Airlines, and I was impressed. Moments like that always remind me what a small miracle modern travel really is.

That’s going to do it for this issue of the newsletter.

Please join me on my radio show Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on KFI AM 640. If you have a tech question, give me a call at 1-888-RICH-101. You can also catch the replay Sunday night at 5 p.m. Pacific on 710 WOR, or subscribe to the podcast.

And if this newsletter has helped you in any way, please forward it along to a friend.

Rich