What is Find My Network for Apple Devices?

If you lose your Apple device or an object tagged with an AirTag, you can utilize a network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices with Bluetooth to help get it back.

If you lose your Apple device or an object tagged with an AirTag, you can utilize a network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices with Bluetooth to help get it back. Let’s explore this feature.

This is for Apple devices. Screenshots are from Apple and iPhone XR

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What is Find My Network

Apple’s Find My network is a crowdsourced method of locating your lost iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, AirPods, Apple Watch, or Mac. You can also use it to locate lost items that have AirTags attached to them. It’s available as a free service to Apple device owners.

The Find My network utilizes Bluetooth sensors on hundreds of millions of Apple products to report the location of missing Apple devices around them. When an Apple device on the network detects a missing Apple device nearby, it reports the lost item’s approximate location back to the device’s owner through the Internet.

What About Privacy

You might think that with a network of almost a billion Apple devices reporting back on the location of lost items, there might be some privacy issues. However, Apple has taken privacy into account when designing this network.

Apple has worked to avoid privacy issues whenever possible, engineering a system that utilizes end-to-end encryption while also transmitting anonymized data to keep your device’s location known only to you while also keeping your identity and location private when using a device that’s active in the Find My network. According to Apple, neither it nor third parties can access the location of your devices on the Find My network. Only the person seeking the lost device can see the item’s location. Hey, if you don’t trust Apple, who can you trust? I am pessimistic on this feature.

Apple’s AirTags do pose more of a privacy risk, but Apple has taken steps to make it harder to track people who use AirTags without their knowledge. Time will tell if those measures are sufficient.

Setup the Feature

To do so on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, navigate to:

Settings > Apple ID > Find My > Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

and tap to turn the Find My network switch On. While here, turn On the Find My <device>, for example, Find My iPhone as shown below. Now, exit Settings. Refer to below image:

Network 1
Enabling the feature

How to Use the Feature

For you to use the Find My network your lost item or AirTag must first have Find My enabled and also be registered to your Apple ID. To locate the item, open the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac. Choose the devices tab, tap the device’s name, and you will see its location on a map. If you can’t see it, you can mark the device as lost and hope that someone finds it later and returns it to you. See below image from Apple:

Network 2
Map of lost device – per Apple

Can I Opt Out

Even though the Find My network does not represent a privacy issue for most people (unless you work in a sensitive, high-security field, we recommend that you keep it enabled), you can still turn it off (and opt out) if you would like.

To do so on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, navigate to:

Settings > Apple ID > Find My > Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

and tap to turn the Find My network switch to Off. Now, exit Settings. See following image:

Network 3
Disabling the feature

To opt out of Find My network on a Mac, open:

System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud

and then click the Options button beside Find My Mac. In the pop-up window, click the Turn Off button beside Find My network.

Keep in mind that if you turn off the Find My network feature not only will your device’s Bluetooth sensors stop assisting others in locating lost devices, but also, you will not be able to take advantage of its benefits if you lose your device.

Throttled Back

Although not a part of this feature, Apple has been noted in recent lab tests to have “throttled back” (reduced speed) in iOS 14.5.1 on iPhone models 10, 11,and 12. You have to wait for the next iOS update for Apple to fix this issue.

Quote For the Day

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison

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What’s Coming in iOS and iPadOS 15

Apple in June 2021 introduced the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 15, which is set to be released in the fall. iOS 15 introduces new features for FaceTime calls, tools to reduce distractions, a new notifications experience, added privacy features, complete redesigns for Safari, Weather, and Maps, and more.

Courtesy of MacRumors.com

In June 2021 Apple introduced the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 15, which is set to be released in the fall. iOS 15 introduces new features for FaceTime calls, tools to reduce distractions, a new notifications experience, added privacy features, complete redesigns for Safari, Weather, and Maps, and more.

This is for devices running iOS and iPadOS 15

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Notifications have been redesigned in iOS 15, adding contact photos for people and larger icons for apps. To reduce distraction, a notification summary collects notifications together for delivery at an appropriate time and arranges notifications by priority.

Focus is a new feature that can filter notifications and apps based on what a user wishes to focus on at a certain time. When a user’s Focus is blocking incoming notifications, their status will be displayed to others in Messages. iOS will suggest a Focus for different occasions, such as work hours or winding down for bed, using on-device intelligence, but users can also create a custom Focus. When a Focus is set on one Apple device, it automatically applies to other Apple devices.

Safari features a completely new design. Controls are now easier to reach with one hand and give more focus to a webpage’s content. There is a new, compact tab bar that floats at the bottom of the screen so users can easily swipe between tabs. Tab Groups allow users to save tabs and easily access them at any time across devices. There is also a customizable start page and web extensions for the first time.

The Maps app now offers a new 3D view in cities with significantly enhanced details, showing buildings, pedestrian crosswalks, bike lanes, and more. There is a new city-driving experience with added road details and improved Transit features, such as pinned favorite lines, notifications to disembark, and walking directions.

iOS 15 brings voice isolation and Spatial Audio to FaceTime calls so that voices appear to sound as if they are coming from where the person is located on the screen.

FaceTime also supports Portrait mode and offers a new grid view to see more faces at the same time. SharePlay is a new feature that allows users to share media together in sync during a FaceTime call. Users can also generate shareable links to a scheduled FaceTime call, which can also be opened in Android and Windows devices.

The Weather app has been redesigned in iOS 15, showing more graphical displays of weather data, full-screen maps, and dynamic layouts that change based on weather conditions. Totally new animated backgrounds can now more accurately reflect the sun’s position and current precipitation, and there are notifications to highlight when rain or snow starts and stops.

The Wallet app adds support for new key types in iOS 15, such as homes, offices, or hotel rooms. Later this year, customers in participating U.S. states will be able to add a driver’s license or state ID to the Wallet app.

The Photos app features a major update to Memories with a new design and an interactive interface. Memories how supports integration with Apple Music, using on-device intelligence to offer song suggestions for personalized Memories.

Live Text is a new feature that uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in a photo that users can search for, highlight, and copy it. Spotlight can now search for photos by location, people, scenes, objects, and text. Spotlight now offers web image search and richer results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies. Enhanced results for contacts show recent conversations, shared photos, and even their location if shared through Find My.

iOS 15 also introduces new privacy measures, such as processing Siri requests directly on the iPhone, which has the added benefit of better responsiveness, Mail Privacy Protection to stop senders knowing if an email has been opened and detecting a recipient’s IP address, and an App Privacy Report view to show how often apps use the permissions they have been granted.

There are dozens of tweaks and changes for other apps, such as user-created tagsmentions, and an Activity view in the Notes app, TrendsWalking Steadiness, and a new sharing tab in the Health app, a systemwide Shared with You feature for highlighting content that has been shared in Messages conversations, and a new For All of You row in the TV app to suggest entertainment for the whole household.

iOS 15 is compatible with the iPhone 6s and later, which means it runs on all devices able to run iOS 14, and will be released this fall, 2021.

As you have read, lots of new features. Look forward to learning about iOS 15 in upcoming TechSavvy.Life blog posts.

Quote For the Day

I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Occasionally, I find an answer.

Stephen Hawking

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How to Access iPhone Camera From Lock Screen

If you need to quickly take a photo or video on your iPhone, you can swipe into the Camera app quickly without unlocking your phone. Let’s explore how this is done.

If you need to quickly take a photo or video on your iPhone, you can swipe into the Camera app quickly without unlocking your phone. Let’s explore how this is done.

This is for the iPhone

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First, wake up your iPhone. Place your finger anywhere on the lock screen and swipe it to the left until the Camera app appears. If you try to swipe on a notification that will reveal options for the notification rather than opening the Camera app. Refer to below image:

Camera 1
Swipe left to open the Camera

Next, with the Camera app open, you can take photos or videos as you normally would, and they will be saved automatically to your Photos library. You can even use the volume buttons to trigger the shutter if you like. See below image that will be saved to Photos library:

Camera 2
Your photo

Now, to exit Camera mode, press the top button (for iPhones with home buttons) or the side button (for iPhones without home buttons) to turn off your screen. The photos you took will still be saved.

iPhones Without Home Button

If you have an iPhone without a home button (one that uses Face ID) you might notice a tiny camera icon in the lower-right corner of your lock screen. See following image:

Camera 3
Access Camera by the photo icon

You can use this button to launch the Camera app with a long-press. Just place your finger on the camera icon for a moment. When you lift your finger, the Camera app will launch.

When you are done, press the side button, and the photos and videos you have taken will be saved automatically.

Quote For the Day

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

Plato

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How to Access Two-Factor Authentication for Major Apps

Two-Factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra security layer to your accounts across the internet. 2FA means your accounts require information beyond user name and password to confirm you are who you say you are before you can get into the accounts. Let’s explore how to access 2FA.

Two-Factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra security layer to your accounts across the internet. 2FA means your accounts require information beyond user name and password to confirm you are who you say you are before you can get into the accounts. Let’s explore how to access 2FA.

This is for iPhone, iPad, PCs and Macs. Screenshots are from Windows 10 and iPhone XR

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The “second factor” comes in after you enter your username and password, which are considered to be the “first factor.” 2FA can be used to confirm your identity by asking for an extra piece of information. The additional information can be:

  • Something you know, like an additional passcode.
  • Something you have, like your phone to receive a one time authorization code.
  • Something you are, like a fingerprint or voice print. This is also called biometric security.

The idea is to provide another piece of information a hacker would not have, making it harder for the bad guy to break into your account.

The following is not an exhaustive list of services with 2FA ability, but we cover the major services everyone tends to use, and walk you through how to access. We will cover Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Twitter. Activate 2FA on all of these and you will be more secure. Once you have found their 2FA screens you can can set it up for each app.

Amazon

First, launch Amazon.com on the desktop and login in to your account. Next, click the Menu icon in upper left-hand corner. Now, scroll down the drop-down menu to Your Account option.

Next, click on the Login & Security big button. Now, on the next page, click Edit next to Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings. The preferred method is an authentication app (scan the QR code); phone number(s) are the backup method. Refer to below image where I already have 2SV based on my phone number (which is dimmed out):

2FA 1
Amazon 2SV

If you think your account has been comprised, go back to Login & Security and click the Edit button next to Secure Your Account.

Apple

Following are the steps on how to access 2FA for Apple using either iOS or macOS.

On iOS go to:

Settings > [your name at the top] > Password & Security > Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.

On macOS go to:

System Preferences > iCloud, then sign in, click Account Details > Security > Turn on Two-Factor Authentication.

Note! once Apple 2FA is activated for two weeks, you can not turn it off. “Certain features in the latest versions of iOS and macOS require this extra level of security, which is designed to protect your information,” according to Apple. See below image for iOS:

2FA 2
Apple 2FA

Facebook

First, login to Facebook on your desktop. Next, click the Down arrow in upper right-hand corner. Now, from the drop-down menu that appears, click on the Settings & Privacy option. On the next screen, click the Privacy & Checkup option. From there, click on the topic How to keep your account secure. Under this topic, you can access 2FA for Facebook. See following image where 2FA is On with a backup method of sending a text message to a phone number.

2FA 3
Facebook 2FA

Related

How to Perform a Privacy Checkup on Facebook

Google

First, sign in to your Google account on your smart device. Next, at the top of the screen, locate the Security tab and tap it. Now, scroll down and tap the 2- Step Verification option. You can continuing scrolling to see more ways to verify you. Refer to below image where my 2SV is already turned On and I am using the backup method of Voice or text message:

2FA 4
Google 2SV

Google calls its system 2SV . It’s all about identifying you via phone. When you enter a password to access your Google account for almost any service, if 2SV is on, there are multiple options to get that second step. First among them now: the Google Prompt. You simply add your smartphone to your account, make sure the Google search app is on the phone, and at login, you can go to the phone and simply acknowledge with a tap that you are the one signing in.

Instagram

First, launch Instagram on your smart device. Next, go to your Profile in lower right-hand corner, then tap the menu (the hamburger icon) on the top-right. Tap Settings > Security > Two-Factor Authentication. There you can choose how you would like to get your authentication code by tapping the Get Started button. See below image:

2FA 5
Instagram 2FA

Linkedin

Business social network Linkedin makes it easy to set up verification, either by SMS texts or authentication app.

First, launch Linkedin on you smart device, then go to your Profile at upper left-hand screen. Next, go to Settings > Sign in & Security > Account > Two-step verification to activate it or deactivate. See following image:

2FA 6
Linkedin 2SV

Microsoft

First sign into your Microsoft account on your smart device. Now, tap your Profile. Next, scroll down and tap Security. 2FA is the second option, tap on it. Once again, tap Two -step verification > Manage. Microsoft will suggest you get app passwords as needed for older service or devices (like Xbox 360); go in later to generate one as needed. Refer to below image:

2FA 7
Microsoft 2SV

Twitter

First, to activate Login Verification on Twitter.com on the desktop, login to Twitter, Click the More menu on the left (the three dots) and select Security & Account Access > Security > Two-Factor Authentication. See following image:

2FA 8
Twitter 2FA

Quote For the Day

Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.

Christian Louis Lange

That’s it. With 2FA activated on these apps you are more secure. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

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How to Copy an Image or Video From Files to Photos

If you have downloaded images or videos to your Files app on your iPhone or iPad, you might be wondering if you can copy them to your Photos library. The answer is yes.

If you have downloaded images or videos to your Files app on your iPhone or iPad, you might be wondering if you can copy them to your Photos library. The answer is yes. Let’s explore how this is done.

This is for the iPhone and iPad

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First, open the Files app. Refer to below image:

Accessing the Files app

Now, navigate to the folder that contains the media files that you would like to copy to your Photos. In our example, we are using the Downloads folder on the iPhone, but the files could just as easily be copied from other folders in Files, such as Dropbox or your iCloud Drive. See below image:

Accessing the Downloads folder on my iPhone

If it’s a single photo or video, (like our example), tap on it to open up its detailed view.

If you want to select multiple files on an iPhone, tap the ellipsis button (three dots in a circle) in the upper-right corner of the screen and choose Select. (On an iPad, just tap Select). Then, place check marks on the items you want to copy to Photos. See following image:

Accessing a single image

Either way, once you have a single item opened or multiple items selected, tap the Share button. On the iPad, it’s in the upper-right corner of the screen. On the iPhone, it’s located in the lower left-hand corner. Refer to below image for the iPhone:

Accessing the Share button

On the Share pop-up list, tap Save Image or Save Video. If you selected multiple items, tap Save X Items, where X is the number of items you have selected. See below image:

Saving the single image to Photos

The next time you open your Photos app, you will see the images or videos you saved from Files.

This process works both ways. If you want to copy photos or images from Photos to Files, select them in the Photos app, tap Share, then select Save to Files.

Quote For the Day

Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.

Freeman Dyson

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

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How to Use Spell Check Everywhere on Chrome

We have all been there; looking up a word on Google just to find out how it’s spelled. No matter the typos, Google usually knows what you want to type. Thankfully, Google allows you to use its spell-check feature everywhere in your Chrome web browser.

We have all been there; looking up a word on Google just to find out how it’s spelled. No matter the typos, Google usually knows what you want to type. Thankfully, Google allows you to use its spell-check feature everywhere in your Chrome web browser.

Called the Enhanced spell check, this setting allows you to access Google’s more advanced spell check whenever you type something on the Internet.

But as is the case with most Google services, there is a privacy cost to this. Turning on Enhanced spell check in Chrome also means agreeing to send everything you type on the web to Google’s server. So enable it at your own risk. But, you can also enable Basic spell check without sending data to Google. Lets explore how to do this.

This is for PCs, Macs, Chrome OS, or Linux running Chrome

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First, open your Google Chrome browser. Next, click the three-dot hamburger icon located in the top right-hand corner. Refer to below image:

Spell Check 1
Accessing the menu hamburger icon

Now, from the drop-down menu that appears, select Settings. See below image:

Spell Check 2
Accessing Settings

Alternatively, you can press the Cmd+Comma keyboard shortcut on a Mac or Alt+E on a Windows PC to access the Settings option.

Next, in the sidebar, click Advanced to reveal the advanced menu. Now, choose Languages from the list. See following image:

Spell Check 3
Accessing Languages under the Advanced section

Under the Spell check section, toggle the radio button in front of the Basic spell check option to turn it On. If you want enhanced spell checking, toggle the radio button in front of the Enhanced spell check to turn it On. Keep in mind, the enhanced option means you are sending your browser activity to Google. Refer to below image:

Spell Check 4
Enabling Basic spell check option

At the time of writing, Enhanced spell check is not available for Google Chrome’s Android and iPhone clients.

In case you are still not satisfied with your Chrome’s spell check, you can give a third party Chrome extension called Grammarly, a try.

Quote for the Day

The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn’t think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft

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How to Preview Safari Links Before Opening

Peeking at the URL of a link that you are about to open is a good way to make sure the URL is what you expect and not a trick by the website.

Peeking at the URL of a link that you are about to open is a good way to make sure the URL is what you expect and not a trick by the website. Let’s explore how to preview Safari links for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

This is for iPhone, iPad, and Mac using Safari

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How to Preview Safari Links on a Mac

Popular desktop web browsers have featured URL status bars for decades. But Safari for Mac does not enable one by default. If you want to quickly check the URL of a link, you can do so by enabling the status bar.

First, open the Safari app on your Mac. Click the View section in the menu bar and choose the Show Status Bar option. Refer to below image:

Safari Link 1
Enabling Status Bar option

Now, with this enabled, when you hover over any link, you will see its full URL address in the status bar in the bottom-left corner of the page. See below image:

Safari Link 2
Displaying URL address

If you ever want to disable this link preview, click:

View > Hide Status Bar

in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

How to Preview Safari Links on iPhone and iPad

Unlike the Mac, Safari on iPhone and iPad does not have a status bar. But it does let you peek into the page that you want to open. You can tap and hold any link to load the page in a pop-up preview window. If you do not like the full preview, you can switch to only viewing the URL (Like Safari on Mac).

First, open a page in Safari on your iPhone or iPad. Next, tap and hold any link on the page. See following image:

Safari Link 3
Accessing a link

Note! For this feature to work, you need to be running iOS 13, iPadOS 13, or higher. You will see a thumbnail preview of the page pop-up. To preview the URL instead, tap the Hide Preview button located at the top of the pop-up window. Refer to below image:

Safari Link 4
Accessing Hide Preview option

The thumbnail will disappear and you will see the URL listed in the box. If it looks safe and you want to open the page from this pop-up, tap the Open button in the menu list. See below image:

Safari Link 5
Open the link

If you want to get the thumbnail peek back, just tap and hold a link again and select Tap to show preview at the top of the pop-up window.

Keeping an eye on URLs is one way that browsing with more knowledge will help you avoid web-based scams and keep you safer on the web.

Quote For the Day

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.

Clive James

That’s it. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Clear Recent History in Safari

As tracking goes, Safari keeping your recent browsing history is less about privacy and more about just being useful. It’s your history that means Safari remembers where to go to when you choose forward and back within a site, for instance.

As tracking goes, Safari seeing your recent browsing history is less about privacy and more about just being useful. It’s your history that means Safari remembers where to go to when you choose forward and back within a site, for instance.

While it’s possible to completely wipe your History in Settings, you can also erase only more recent history if you would like. Let’s explore this feature.

This is for the iPhone and iPad. Screenshots are from iPhone

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Clear Recent History

First, open Safari on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Bookmarks button. On the iPad, you will find it in the upper-left corner of the screen beside the address bar. On an iPhone, it’s at the bottom of the screen. Refer to below image:

Accessing Bookmarks button

Next, in the pop-up that appears, tap the History tab (which looks like a clock face), and then tap the Clear button. See below image:

Accessing History tab

Now, after you tap Clear, another pop-up will give you another choice. You can select All time, Today and yesterday, Today, or The last hour.

Choosing one of these options will remove your browsing history, cookies, and other browsing data from the point you select until now. For example, if you click Today, all the browsing history from sites you visited today will disappear, but everything earlier than that will remain on the list.

Next, tap the option you would prefer (or you can tap outside the pop-up box to cancel). See following image:

Selecting an option for deletion of Recent history

If you made a selection from the pop-up list, your browsing history will be cleared accordingly. Now, tap the Done button in upper right-hand corner to exit.

Erase a Single Entry

Also, you can delete individual entries by swiping to the left on them with your finger. When a red Delete button appears on the right, tap it. Refer to below image:

Selecting to delete a single Recent history item

When you are finished deleting single entries, tap the Done button in upper right-hand corner. See below image:

Exiting the History tab

Using this method, only the single entry you just swiped will be erased. This can be a easy way of erasing certain history items without having to clear everything at once.

Quote For the Day

Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.

Gertrude Stein

That’s it. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Perform a Privacy Checkup on Facebook

The Privacy Checkup tool allows you to determine how much or how little information you reveal, and to whom.

Facebook has tons of privacy checks that it would take three or more blog posts to cover the topic. In this post we are going to tackle two topics. The Privacy Checkup is tedious and laborious, plus, there are way too many checks. In our opinion, Facebook is a giant bureaucracy, too big for its own good Regardless, you may be surprised at the kinds and amount of information you are sharing, I know I was. Just take the time to discover what you are sharing using Facebook’s Privacy Checkup tool.

The Privacy Checkup tool allows you to determine how much or how little information you reveal, and to whom. Let’s explore this Facebook tool.

This is for devices running Facebook. Screenshots are from Windows 10

Dilbert and Deal
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Start Privacy Checkup

To run the latest version of Facebook’s Privacy Checkup tool, first, launch Facebook. Next, click the down arrow icon in the upper right-hand corner, then click on Settings & Privacy. Refer to below image:

Privacy 1
Accessing Settings & Privacy

Now, select Privacy Checkup. See below image:

Privacy 2
Accessing Privacy Checkup tool

Choose the First Topic

Next, in the Privacy Checkup window, click the first topic, Who can see what you share. See following image:

Privacy 3
Selecting the first topic

Now, click Continue. Refer to below image:

Privacy 4
Verbiage about the topic, continue to next screen

Your Profile Information

Next, at the Profile Information window, review the settings for your phone number, email addresses, and birthday. Click the button next to each one, and choose whether to change it to Public, Friends, Only Me, or a specific Facebook list. See below image:

FB Security
What and who sees your Profile Information

I changed my Birthday to Friends (it was already Friends, I kept it the same). To exit, click the “X” in upper right-hand corner. See following image:

Privacy 6
Changing who sees your Birthday

You probably want this information to remain private or only visible to friends or a specific group. When done, click Next. Refer to below image:

FB Security 1
Continue to the next screen

Your Posts

Now, at the Posts window, set the option for who should see future posts. You would likely want to set this to Friends. The Limit Past Posts option changes past posts that were seen by the Public or Friends of Friends to only Friends. Click Next to continue. See below image:

Privacy 8
Who sees your Posts, continue to next screen

Your Blocked People

Next, at the Block screen, you can block specific people from seeing things you post, starting conversations with you, or trying to add you as a friend. To do this, click Add to Blocked list link. See following image:

Privacy 9
Selecting your Blocked List option

Related

How to Block Fact Checkers and Gate Keepers On Facebook

Now, type the name of the person or account you wish to block. From the list of suggestions, click the Block button for the correct person, then click Next. Refer to below image:

Privacy 10
Entering a name to block

Next, click Confirm to block the person and continue. See below image:

Privacy 11
Confirming a blocked person

Now, you will be taken back to the Block screen. You may select another person to block. When finished, click the “X” in upper right-hand corner. See following image:

Privacy 12
Exiting the blocked persons screen

Next, to continue, click Next. Refer to below image:

Privacy 13
Continue to the next screen

You Are Finished With First Topic

Now, the You’re All Set window will open indicating you are finished with the topic. To continue, click the Review Another Topic button. See below image:

Privacy 14
You have finished this topic screen

Choose Your Second Topic

Next, select How to keep your account secure. See following image:

Privacy 15
Select the second topic

Note! My Password is OK and Two-factor authentication is on. Now, click Continue. Refer to below image:

Privacy 16
Verbiage about the topic, continue to next screen

Check Your Password

Next, at the window for Is Your Password Private, click Change Password if you are concerned that it was compromised or you want to change it to something more secure then click Next. See below image:

Privacy 17
Manage your password, continue to next screen

Check Your Two-Factor Authentication

If Two-factor authentication is off, click the Get Started button to add Two-Factor authentication to protect your Facebook account. You want to do this. Just, follow the steps to set this up. Now, click Next to continue. See following image:

Privacy 18
Manage Two-Factor Authentication, continue to next screen

Check Your Alerts

Next, at the window for Turn On Alerts, turn on the switch for any alerts you wish to receive if you or someone else signs into your Facebook account from a new or different location, then click Next. Refer to below image:

Privacy 19
Enable/Disable Alerts, continue to next screen

You Are Finished With Second Topic

Now, the You’re All Set window will open indicating you are finished with the topic. To continue, click the Review Another Topic button. See below image:

Privacy 19
You have finished this topic

You may continue to one or more of the next three topics and follow its directions.



Quote For the Day

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master”.

Christian Lous Lange

That’s it. You now have controlled your Privacy settings in Facebook. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

Just click the Tweet icon below. This will launch Twitter where you click its icon to post the Tweet.

Check out TechSavvy.Life for blog posts on smartphones, PCs, and Macs! You may email us at contact@techsavvy.life for comments or questions.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Enable and Use AssistiveTouch on iPhone and iPad

AssistiveTouch is an Accessibility option. This feature allows you a one tap access to “canned” shortcuts. You no longer have to swipe through pages or visit your first or last page for certain options.

AssistiveTouch is an Accessibility option. This feature allows you a one tap access to “canned” shortcuts. You no longer have to swipe through pages or visit your first or last page for certain options. Let’s explore how to enable and use this feature.

This is for the iPhone and iPad

Dilbert and Love
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

To use AssistiveTouch you need to enable the feature. First, launch Settings. Refer to below image:

Touch 1
Accessing Settings

In Settings, locate and tap Accessibility. See below image:

Touch 2
Accessing Accessibility option

Now, in Accessibility, tap Touch. See following image:

Touch 3
Accessing Touch option

In Touch settings, tap AssistiveTouch. Refer to below image where the option is already turned On:

Touch 4
Accessing AssistiveTouch option

In AssistiveTouch, tap the toggle to turn it On. See below image:

Touch 5
Enabling AssistiveTouch option

When you flip the toggle beside AssistiveTouch, a special button (that resembles a rounded gray rectangle with a white circle in the middle) will appear near the edge of the screen. (This button does not appear in a screenshot). It will be translucent until pressed. You can drag it around the edge of the screen with your finger to reposition it. Next, exit Settings.

Now, locate and tap the button to preview the main AssistiveTouch screen. From here, lets tap the Device button. See following image:

Touch 6
Accessing Device button

To access other shortcuts, tap the 3-dot menu button. Refer to below image:

Touch 7
First set of shortcuts under the Device option

Now, you will see the last screen under the Device button. See below image:

Touch 8
Second set of shortcuts under the Device option

Next, just tap an empty space in the shortcuts screen to go back, or tap the Back Arrow in the center until the AssistiveTouch screen disappears.

Quote For the Day

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.

Richard P Feynman

You are finished. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

Just click the Tweet icon below. This will launch Twitter where you click its icon to post the Tweet.

Check out TechSavvy.Life for blog posts on smartphones, PCs, and Macs! You may email us at contact@techsavvy.life for comments or questions.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath