Author: The Internet Patrol
X Twitter Is Allowing People You’ve Blocked to See Your Public Posts
X (formerly Twitter) has announced that people whom you have blocked will now be able to see your public posts. While they won’t be able to interact with your posts, blocking someone on X now basically says “Let this person stalk me on X but not interact with me on X.”
Paypal is Going to Share Your Shopping Info with Their Merchants Unless You Opt Out – Here’s How to Opt Out
Paypal has announced (quietly) that they will begin sharing your personal shopping information with merchants, including your products, preferences, sizes, and styles. To opt-out of this egregious invasion of your privacy you must opt-out before November 27, 2024,
Do NOT Put Your Gift Recipient’s Email Address in an Online Order or It May Associate YOUR Credit Card with Them!
If you are ordering a gift for someone online, and most especially if that website uses the Shop app from Shopify, do not, Not, NOT put their email address as the email address associated with the order, as when you complete the order Shop “helpfully” will add YOUR credit card to THEIR Shop account associated with their email address!
How to Turn Off and Disable Read Receipts in Facebook Messenger – Finally!
It’s no secret that one of bigger safety issues on Facebook has been the inability to turn off read receipts in Facebook Messenger; there has been no way to stop someone from knowing if you’ve read their FB Messenger message. So abusers, stalkers, bullies, and other bad actors have always been able to know whether you saw a message that they sent you, because the ‘read’ flag was automatically set to “read” as soon as you opened the message. Now, with very little, if any, fanfare, Facebook has rolled out a way to stop someone from knowing that you have read their message.
How to Scan a QR Code with Your Phone When the QR Code is ON Your Phone
When somebody texts you a QR code to your phone, are you tempted to say “Hey dummy, how am I supposed to scan this QR code with my phone when the QR code is ON my phone?”? It can be really frustrating. This happens often in the context of someone texting you the info for you to send them a payment, such as through Venmo. However, it may be that they know this trick to scanning a QR code with your phone when the QR code is on your phone.
How to Disable and Get Rid of That F*cking AI Overview in Google Search
If you’re wondering how to disable and get rid of that AI Overview that is now being displayed at the top of searches on Google, you are definitely not alone. Here’s how.
How to Dictate Emoji to Insert Emojis with Dictation on iPhone and Android
Did you know that you can dictate emoji on your iPhone or Android phone? This does away with the frustration of dictating an awesome message and then having to interrupt yourself to turn off the dictation, open the keyboard, go to the emoji section and select the emoji. And it’s actually really easy!
How to Add New Custom Tapback Emojis to the iPhone Tapbacks
So you’re having a chat conversation and your friend tells you something that makes you want to send a hug, but your tapback options don’t include the emoji for that. Here’s how to add new, custom tapback options to your iPhone! (Note that Apple has said that they are including the option to change and add custom emojis to tapbacks in iOS 18, so we’re including those directions for if/when that happens.)
How to Tell if You’re Chatting with an AI Bot or Online Scammer on Social Media or a Dating Site
While scammers on dating apps and social media have been around since, well, social media, with the rise of AI and AI bots and other bots the flood of scams has risen to tsunami levels. Here’s how to tell if you are chatting with a scammer or AI bot on social media or a dating site.
How to Obtain a Personal Background Check for Renting in Colorado and Save Money
If you live in Colorado or are planning to move there, you can get your own personal background check to provide to landlords, rental agents, and property management companies. This can save you money by avoiding the background check fee for each rental application.
Cellular Not Working on Your Apple Watch? Here’s How to Test Cellular Calling and Texting on Your Apple Watch
If no matter what you do it seems as if the direct-dial cellular line on your Apple Watch is not able to make calls or texts using your Apple Watch’s dedicated cellular line, here’s how to test whether your Apple Watch is actually hooked up to its cellular connection.
How to Set Up and Connect Your 1st Generation Echo Dot When it Seems Impossible
Here in 2024 it seems nearly impossible to set up a first generation Echo Dot – but it’s not impossible! However it’s very true that there is little, if any, Amazon support for the 1st-gen Echo Dot. So here’s how to set up your 1st-gen Echo Dot, including how to deal with that pesky ‘Local network permission required’ message. Note that you will need to have the Alexa app installed on your phone. Also note that these instructions are for the iOS version of the Alexa app, however if you are using the Android app you should be able to figure it out from these instructions. But first things first!
Why You MUST Turn Off 2FA Before You Cancel Twitter X Premium! And What to Do if You Didn’t (Oops)
It’s a trap! If you have Twitter Premium (X Premium) and you have two-factor authentication (2FA) turned on, turn off the 2FA before you cancel the X Premium (Twitter Premium) or you will not be able to get back into your account!
How to Restore and Get Back Your Vivaldi Tabs on a Mac When Vivaldi Browser Crashes (Works for Other Browsers Too)
If you have had the Vivaldi browser crash on you, and lose all of your tabs, here’s how to get most, if not all, of your tabs back! This solution should also work with other browsers, we just happen to be writing about Vivaldi here.
How to Pin a File at the Top of a Finder Window on a Mac
Here’s how to pin a file at the top of a Finder window on your Mac! If you have ever found yourself working within a folder on your Mac, and wanting to quickly access one particular file over and over, this information is for you! Sure you can always do a Spotlight search, but you’re thinking that there must be an easier, better way for this particular situation. And there is!