Why I Got in Trouble for Trying to Help You
Plus: The real reason your social media keeps getting hacked (and how to stop it)
Hello, and thanks for taking a look at my newsletter!
Last weekend, my wife and I bee-lined it to Las Vegas for the iHeartRadio Music Festival. It was two evenings of concerts with a varied lineup. We had a blast, and I got to hang out with some of the folks I work with at iHeartMedia. I even did my radio show from my hotel room and had dinner at one of my favorite spots. So fun.
First Up
Social media is great, but this week, I got a reminder about why writing directly to you is always best. You see, I tried to help out my followers by debunking a post on Instagram that said you needed to copy and paste a legal warning to ensure that Meta doesn’t use your stuff to train its AI.
Obviously, that’s fake, and it’s been circulating in one form or another since the beginning of the internet. But Instagram’s AI didn’t realize that I was explaining why you shouldn’t post it, and not only censored the post and marked it as false but sent me a stern warning that I should be careful with my future posts. They also now see my account as low quality, so they show my stuff lower in the feed and to fewer people.
How frustrating… and all because I tried to do the right thing.
Anyway, it just makes you realize that you can’t put all your eggs in one basket—especially since Meta runs Instagram, Facebook, and the fledgling Threads.
On another Meta note, so many of the emails I get are from folks who get their Facebook and Instagram accounts hacked. They want me to help them regain access to their account. I can’t do that, but I can tell you how this happens in the first place so you can avoid it.
Most of the time, you get an email or notification that says there is an issue with your account or a post and you click it, log in and then realize it’s bogus. By that time, hackers have already taken over your account, changed your email address and started posting crypto scams to your feed.
The only hope you have of getting your account back is to go to instagram.com/hacked or facebook.com/hacked. It will walk you through a process to hopefully restore your account. This could take a bit, and it’s going to be frustrating.
The best way to prevent this? Set up two factor authentication now. Here are instructions for Facebook and Instagram.
This way, if you do happen to log into your account from a bogus link, the bad guys will not be able to gain access immediately since they would still need this secondary code. They won’t get it because what you really just did is hand over your username and password. You can type anything into those fields, and the hackers on the other end will immediately try to log in with that combination.
If you get a notification that asks “Did you just log in from (insert random country here)?” you’ll realize your mistake.
In that case, you should change your password immediately and NEVER resuse the same password across accounts.
Why? Because that same combination of username and password you just got tricked into handing over to the hackers will then be used immediately on other popular sites to see if it lets them in.
And remember, two factor codes by text are OK, but two factor codes by authentication app are way more secure. Apple has a new Passwords app built into iOS 18 that you can use for free to do this, I also like Bitwarden as a free cross platform solution and Dashlane as a paid solution.
TV Segment Recap
Have you ever been stuck in traffic and daydreamed about flying over it? I have. Now, that reality might be coming true thanks to several startups working on flying electric air taxis. I profiled one of them named Joby Aviation (and it was started by the same guy who created those GorillaPods tripods back in the day!)
I’ll be honest. I don’t completely understand the whole thermal energy thing. But some smart people do, and they are working on new ways to capture energy when it’s cheap and sustainable and release that energy when it’s more expensive and dirtier. Check out this hotel in Beverly Hills, which uses an ice-based thermal energy system to help cool down rooms during peak hours.
September was a big month for augmented reality. Not one but two major tech companies unveiled oversized glasses that have little screens in their lenses. Walking down the street and having a heads-up display seems closer than ever.
Tech News to Know
Meta held its Connect event this week and unveiled new features for its Ray-Ban glasses, a more affordable Meta Quest, and prototype AR glasses called Orion.
Samsung unveiled more products in its FE lineup, which are more affordable versions of its flagship devices. The Galaxy S24 FE starts at $650, while the Galaxy Watch FE LTE starts at $250. I’ve got them in for testing and will have more thoughts soon.
Tech Q&A
Tracy from Carlsbad writes in...
"Hi. Last Saturday 9/21, I heard a piece of a segment talking about how to hide banking/financial apps on your phone so that if phone was lost/stolen it would not be obvious those things are on there. Can you point me to where I can learn about that? Thank you and I really enjoy your show!"
Sure, I was referring to a new feature in iOS 18 on the iPhone that lets you lock and/or hide apps completely. The easiest way to do this is to long press on an app icon and tap the option that says “Require Face ID.” Once you’ve done this, you’ll get an option that asks if you just want to require Face ID or hide the app as well.
Hidden apps will go into a special folder that no one looking at your phone can see except you (it’s not magical; it just requires a second Face ID verification before the folder shows its contents). At least lock down your financial apps with Face ID and stow them away in a hidden folder if you don’t even want someone to know they’re there.
Just keep in mind that any app you hide will not show notifications and will not be able to be searched for on your phone.
Here’s Apple’s official support document.
Tech Tidbits
The great Disney+ password-sharing crackdown has begun. If you try to log in from outside your home, you might be asked to enter a one-time code to authorize your account. You can also add one extra person outside your home to join your account for an extra $7-$10 a month.
Did your Kaspersky anti-virus turn into UltraAV overnight? You’re not alone.
GoPro unveiled its smallest 4K camera with a screen yet. It’s simply called HERO, and it costs $199.
Tech How To
For many years, Amazon didn’t let shoppers sort by best selling items. I’m not sure why, but your options were limited to things like price, reviews and featured.
But recently, I was looking for something and noticed they added Best Sellers to the dropdown sorting option.
Of course, take it with a grain of salt. Best sellers don’t always mean best, but at least they’re a helpful start.
Also, be on the lookout for a new warning box in an item description that lets you know an item is frequently returned. Chances are customers, over and over, weren’t happy with what they got.
Bookmark this
It’s wild to think that Evite still rules the digital invite. I feel like some of their features and designs haven’t changed since the AOL days. (Not that there’s anything wrong if you still use AOL email! ;)
But if you’re looking for something a bit more modern, check out Partiful.
It’s completely free and chock full of useful features like the ability to poll guests on the best time for the get-together or chip in via Venmo.
Dealspotter
Looking for a great podcast app? I’ve long liked PocketCasts. Right now, you can get a free year of their premium plan. It’s a $40 value.
Usually, I’m not the type to put “Uber Eats delivery” and “deal” in the same sentence, but sometimes it does work out even with all of their added fees.
Uber Eats has teamed up with Spirit to deliver Halloween items, and they’re offering 40% off a Spirit Halloween order of $50. Put the stuff you want in your cart and see if the numbers work out. It might be OK if you’re already an Uber One member, as I am.
But in my test of a $55 Superman costume, the total was still $45. I don’t have to pay the $7.50 delivery fee, but there is a $9 service fee, plus taxes and a bag fee.
Somehow, it still says I “saved” $32.24 with promotions. I think these rapid delivery services bank on pure convenience and the fact that customers don’t do the math. Still, it could be useful if you’re desperate and/or want something last minute.
Also, Uber Eats really needs to change it’s name if it wants to start delivering stuff other than food.
This Week’s Podcast Episode
Curious about all of the cool new iOS 18 features you should be digging into?
Check out the latest episode of my podcast! Remember, if you’re a paid newsletter subscriber, you get an ad-free, high-quality audio feed of my podcast. You can listen on the website, via the Substack app or pop your private RSS feed into Apple Podcasts and more.
Gadget of the Week
Remember Tile? Life360 acquired them and recently released a new lineup of trackers. I’ve been testing them, and even though they don’t rely on Apple’s or Android’s Find My Device network, I had no problem locating them on a map in Las Vegas and various places around LA, even when my phone wasn’t nearby.
The neat thing about their trackers, which cost between $25 and $35, is that they’re platform agnostic—good if your family has a combination of iPhone and Android.
The downside is that if someone uses one to track you, your phone will not alert you to its presence. The app has a way to manually scan for rogue trackers, but it’s somewhat involved.
Tech Trivia
Can you believe it’s already almost time for the holiday shopping season? Adobe says they expect online sales in the US to hit $240 billion, up over 8 percent from last year.
They’re expecting deep discounts this year of about 30%.
Check the image below for the best time to buy various items.
Feedbag
Hi Rich,
I listen to your podcast every week dating back to the beginning of your old podcast.
Thanks for always putting out such a great show and newsletter.
Ben
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Remember to tune into my radio show this weekend. In LA, it’s on KFI AM 640 Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM PT. You can listen anywhere by streaming on the iHeartRadio App or asking Alexa to “stream KFI AM 640” to listen instantly.
Guests this week:
🥽 CNET's Scott Stein compares Meta's Quest 3, Ray-Ban smart glasses, and Orion AR prototype against Snap's Spectacles, and talks about advancements in augmented reality.
🚁 Joby Aviation's Chief Product Officer Eric Allison discusses the future of electric air taxis and their potential impact on urban transportation.
📱 Parent Collective founder Samuel Chapman discusses social media safety, fentanyl awareness, and the impact of recent school phone bans on student well-being.
That’s all for now. Have a great weekend.
Rich