Setting Up Your Home Office

Backups are always a smart move. If your data is only stored in one location, it's not safe, as it only takes one device failure to lose all that information for good. While there are plenty of ways to back up your data, companies like Google make it easy with built-in cloud backups. Once you set it up, all of the photos and videos you take are synced to the cloud, so you never need to worry about losing everything if your phone goes belly-up. While cloud backups are convenient, they're far from the only option you have, as you could routinely save copies of your photos and videos to an external drive. If you move platforms—say, from Android to iPhone—and you'd prefer to…

It feels like every social media site now has a 'reply guy' problem. You'll post about something that you know your followers will get, but if the post goes any degree of viral, multiple random strangers will appear in the replies questioning all your decisions and putting you down for making a harmless quip or a minor error. Bluesky is now helping you do something to address this problem. The site's moderation tools are among the best I've seen on social media platforms and in its latest update (1.98), Bluesky is doubling down on its efforts to help you keep harassment at bay. You can now restrict replies to only your followers, which is another great tool to reduce the…

If the cost of signing up for a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder has ever given you pause, good news: You can now use your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds to cover race registration fees. Spartan has partnered with Flex, a platform that enables HSA/FSA payments across fitness and wellness brands, to make this possible. How using your FSA to pay for a race worksA quick refresher on how HSA and FSA accounts work: Both are funded with pre-tax dollars, meaning the money goes into them before the IRS takes its cut. When you spend those funds on a qualifying purchase, you're effectively getting a discount equal to your tax rate. For most people…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Google doesn't have the best track record when it comes to user privacy, but every once in a while, they do something surprising. Back in April, the company began testing end-to-end encrypted email messaging for enterprise users. On Thursday, it officially rolled out the feature. If you have a Google Workspace through work, you should now be able to send emails protected by E2EE, even if you're sending the email outside of Gmail. That should make it possible to send emails that only you, the recipient, and t…

If you and your friends have the same taste in music, you probably text each other what you're listening to. I know when I stumble upon a new discovery I love—or even something I think is trash—I fire it off to the group chat to talk about it. Of course, I just forward the song to the group chat in the Messages app, like any other thing I'd want to send to that group. If you have Spotify, however, you have a new group chat option to choose from: Spotify itself. Spotify heads might already know that the app has had a messaging feature since August. While the point of the feature is to send Spotify content to your friends, it's a basic messaging service, which means you ca…

After adding a Voice Assistant feature to the iPhone app, Perplexity is now available in WhatsApp. Working just like any other chat, you can use the Perplexity chatbot without an account or any setup. Simply send it your questions, and the Perplexity AI model will reply to you. It has access to the internet, too, so it can provide the latest information, generate images, and more. How chatting Perplexity on WhatsApp worksUsing Perplexity on WhatsApp doesn't require a Perplexity account, and as it stands, there isn't even a way to link your Perplexity account to WhatsApp. This is nice for easy setup, but also, your chats won't sync to your account. To start talking to Perp…

Searching for a video on YouTube hasn't changed much in the past 20 years: You launch the site, bypass the algorithmic recommendations, and enter your query. I've found this to be a relatively reliable method for finding a video I'm looking for. In my experience, if it doesn't pop up in a search, that usually means YouTube doesn't have the video in question. But we're now in 2026, which means I can only wonder: Why isn't YouTube search powered by AI? How YouTube's new AI search worksSarcasm aside, AI search is of course something Google is working on. As reported by The Verge, the company is testing a new search experience that takes a page from its "AI Mode" feature in G…

There's no shortage of ways to jot down ideas these days. Your phone comes with a notes app out of the box, and its app store is full of alternatives if you're looking for any number of features or advantages. But, often, the best way to keep track of thoughts, photos, or anything else, is by texting yourself. If you don't normally text yourself, this might sound a bit odd. Why would you text yourself? I'll get into that soon. But first, let's discuss the latest app to do self-messaging right: Google Messages. Text yourself with RCS using Google MessagesAs reported by Android Authority, Google Messages' latest beta now offers users the option to text themselves via RCS. A…

Gmail has had an Undo Send feature for years now, and it looks like Outlook for Mac is about to get a version of it too. While Outlook Recall technically isn't new, Microsoft is streamlining bringing it to Outlook's Mac app. Recall allows you to unsend an email in Outlook and works on both the service's free and paid tiers, and you can try out a beta version right now. What is Outlook Recall?I've often sent emails without thinking too much, and only after sending did I realize that I could have chosen a different example to illustrate a problem, my tone could be perceived as a bit rude, or that my email has an embarrassing typo. I've even misspelled my own name in an ema…

The pace of AI development doesn't seem to be slowing down, and we're seeing a flurry of updates for the big apps and models every week. One of the most recent of those updates makes it easier to integrate ChatGPT into Android: You can now set it as the default digital assistant on your phone or tablet. As spotted by Android Authority, you need to have the beta version of ChatGPT for Android installed for this to work at the moment, though the feature will no doubt roll out to everyone in due course. If you'd rather have ChatGPT answering your questions about life, the universe, and everything, this makes it easier to access. To access the beta for ChatGPT, you need to ha…

When the Google Pixel 9 series launched, it came with a number of exclusive software features to tempt more people into upgrading, including Pixel Screenshots and the Add Me tool for composite photos. The latest Pixel 9-only feature to roll out is called Connected Cameras, and it means you can use any Pixel 9 series handset as a viewfinder and remote for a compatible GoPro camera, or another Pixel phone. It's easy to see why this could be useful: You could mount your GoPro on your helmet, or put another Pixel phone in a spot you can't easily get to (like on a high wall), and then control these cameras and see what they're seeing from your Pixel 9 handset. For this to wor…

Sometimes you need just a little bit more light during a video call, especially if you're in a dimly lit room. The latest macOS update (26.2) has a trick for this: you can use the edge of your screen as a ring light. The feature, which adds a rounded white rectangle to your screen, is called Edge Light. The rectangle takes up part of your screen but will become partially transparent if you move your mouse pointer into it, meaning you'll mostly be able to use your computer normally. You can use the feature by clicking the camera icon on the menu bar during a call and toggling on the Edge Light option. You can also adjust the brightness and the color of the edge light from …

It finally happened. After months of speculation, ChatGPT officially has ads. OpenAI revealed the news on Monday, announcing that ads would roll out in testing for logged-in adult users on Free and Go subscriptions. If you or your organization pays for ChatGPT, such as with a Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Education account, you won't see ads with the bot. OpenAI says that ads do not have an impact on the answers ChatGPT generates, and that these posts are always clearly separated from ChatGPT's actual responses. In addition, ads are labeled as "Sponsored." That being said, it's not exactly a church-and-state situation here. OpenAI says that it decides which ads to s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Presidents' Day sales are around the corner, and the deals are coming in early; right now, Amazon has the latest Kindle Paperwhite from 2024 in "Like-New" conditions for $114.99 (originally $143.99). This Paperwhite in new condition would cost you $159.99, making the refurbished version a much cheaper choice to get while it lasts (discounted Kindle Paperwhites usually sell out quickly). Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 16GB 7" eReader (Like-New, Black) …

TikTok has gone through a lot of changes as of late, especially since U.S. companies took a majority stake in the company. But while users have had to decipher new terms of service, some of which raise alarm bells, they've also had some innocuous adjustments to contend with as well. Case in point: TikTok now has a game, built right into your DMs. You just need to know where to find it. TikTok told TechCrunch about the game on Tuesday. While you might assume the gameplay has something to do with TikTok itself—short-form videos, influencers, etc.—the game itself is a very basic platformer. In fact, it strongly resembles "Doodle Jump," if you ever played that on your iPhone…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Google is releasing their budget a-series version of the Pixel 10 on March 5, a whole month earlier than the 9a was released in 2025. There is not much dividing the 10a from the 9a, but there are a few software updates that can make it worth it for some people. Throw in a $100 Amazon gift card, and it's hard to say no. Google has the pre-orders for the Google 10a out already, going for $499, plus the gift card. Alternatively, you can get their Pixel Buds 2a instead of the $100 gift card for the same $499 price. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Samsung just announced its new earbuds during the Samsung Unpacked 2026 event earlier this week, and Amazon is already offering a pretty sweet deal to preorder them. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 are $179.99 and come with a $20 Amazon gift card, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro go for $249.99 and come with a $30 Amazon gift card. Both will be released on March 11, but you can pre-order them now. Considering these will be their flagship earbuds for some time, it's a great opportunity for any Samsung fan or anyone curious about Samsung's new earbuds to s…

There are times when blocking someone on Discord just seems downright harsh. Plus, when you block someone, they'll know that you've done so, which might lead to unwanted drama. Perhaps you simply want to ignore that they exist. You can go on with your merry life, and they can do their own thing. No hard feelings. Well, Discord has now added a feature appropriately called Ignore, so you can do just that. What does it mean to Ignore someone on Discord?Ignore is basically a mute feature. It lets you mute someone who's annoying or downright abusive. All without the added drama that comes with outright blocking someone. You can even use it to take a temporary break from someon…

When Amazon stopped letting us download copies of our Kindle books last month, I began looking for ways to preserve e-books and audiobooks that I've paid for. Buying from Amazon really limits those options thanks to DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is designed to prevent piracy, but ends up having far bigger consequences on digital goods like e-books. Eliminating DRM effectively removes Amazon's control over what you do with your e-books. If Amazon were to go DRM-free, you'd be able read Kindle e-books on any e-book reader or app that you like. Amazon wouldn't be able to easily track your reading habits and you'd be free to keep an offline backup of all of your purc…

Many, but far from all, otherwise mobile-only applications are available on the Mac App Store for Macs with an Apple silicon processor. Such Macs can hypothetically run any iPhone or iPad application, though individual developers can choose whether or not to offer that functionality. There are multiple reasons why a company might not offer their iPhone app on Mac—maybe they don't want to optimize it for a bigger display, maybe it's broken in some way, or maybe they just aren't interested in supporting another platform. You might disagree with that decision, though, and wondering whether it's possible to use those apps on your Mac anyway. And it is, sort of: PlayCover is a…

Like the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy handsets come loaded with a bunch of preinstalled Samsung apps that you don't necessarily need and might never use—especially as there are Google-made equivalents for a lot of them that you'll also find on your phone. As these Samsung apps come preinstalled, you might think that removing them might break something on your device, but you can safely uninstall most of them without worrying (and find them again on the Galaxy Store, if you ever need to get them back). Clearing out the apps you're not using regularly means your phone won't need to download updates for them, and you'll free up some storage space too. It's well worth taking a few …

Unbox and power up a brand new iPhone and you'll find there are plenty of apps already on there—which, broadly speaking, is good! You can start browsing the web, checking your email, streaming music, making notes and much more without visiting the App Store. However, you're not necessarily going to make a lot of use of all of these apps. Uninstalling the ones you don't actually need means they won't take up space on your phone and won't take up bandwidth with app updates. In recent years Apple has made more and more apps optional, and you can now get rid of more apps than you may have realized. If you find you do need them again, you can easily grab them from the App Stor…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. People tend to start gardening the same way: They grow their first plant outside, feel the pride of eating their own sun-ripened tomato, and decide to plant two plants the next year. Most of those plants are bought from a nursery, but as you build a garden, buying starts from the store begins to make less sense. If you’re at the point where you’re considering planting, say, eight tomato plants, it might make sense to start growing your own. And you should. You can save a lot of money by growing your own from seeds. Buying garden starts makes sense at firstPeople buy garden starts for simple reasons: By the time the weathe…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. While companies might make you feel like you always need to buy their latest and greatest model, you can save quite a bit by opting for their older devices. These days, the hardware from reputable manufacturers tends to be good enough to last years, which makes one or two generation-old devices a great value. As such, if you're in the market for a new iPad, consider an "old" iPad instead. Amazon has Apple's cellular M3 iPad Air with AppleCare+ up to 23% off for its Big Spring Sale. iPad Air …