Help Desk

Every tech support task you should do for your family this week

Everything tech-savvy relatives should do for their more analog family members while visiting over the holidays.

Ask Help Desk: Is my phone haunted?

This week, we examine some of readers’ tech anxieties to figure out what deserves immediate attention and what’s out of our control.

By Tatum Hunter

The next generation of home robots will be more capable — and perhaps more social

Geoffrey Fowler has for more than a decade been holding tech companies accountable where it matters most: the products you use every day.

Privacy Reset: A guide to the important settings you should change now

From Facebook to Venmo, staying on top of your privacy starts with these key settings.

By Heather Kelly and Geoffrey A. Fowler

THE HELP DESK TEAM

Heather Kelly is a veteran journalist on the intersection of humans and gadgets, and offers humorous advice on our digital lives.

Chris Velazco is the guy you’d want to take shopping with you for deep knowledge about what’s new, what’s a rip-off and what’s actually right for you and your family.

Tatum Hunter goes deep into how apps, websites and other technology actually works to help you get the most out of it.

Danielle Abril covers how technology is impacting the way we work and how companies are using artificial intelligence and other tools to exert more control over us.

Ask us your personal tech questions

We want to hear your questions about the phones, computers, apps and speakers that we surround ourselves with.

TECH IN YOUR LIFE

Apple’s AirTags can be as creepy as they are helpful. Finding them with some phones is easier than with others.

Every tech support task you should do for your family this week

Ask Help Desk: Is my phone haunted?

By Tatum Hunter

Big Tech doesn’t always make it easy to use the apps you want. Here’s how to take back control.

TECH AT WORK

Future of Work: Requiring workers to return to the office is a ‘doomed approach’

Ask Help Desk: How to fix that dreaded echo when you’re on a video conference

Video calls can be a pain for hybrid offices. Tech companies say relief is coming.

Big Tech is pushing smart home devices as the latest work-from-home tools

Your Data and PRIVACY

The ultimate guide to secure passwords

By Tatum Hunter

How to read and understand Apple’s new iOS App Privacy Report

Apple iOS privacy settings to change now

Your next smartphone might have a camera that’s always watching

Internet Access

The latest space race is all about improving Internet access. Here’s what you should know.

Analysis

5G is a little better than before, but don’t rush to upgrade your phone just yet.

By Chris Velazco and Geoffrey A. Fowler

How Internet and TV providers get away with jacking up your bill

5 tricks to lower your Internet bill

WHAT’S NEW

Apple will start selling you the parts you need to fix your iPhone in early 2022

A new wave of home fitness gear puts cameras front and center

You, another new search engine, hopes privacy can help it take on Google

Mark Zuckerberg just laid out his vision for the metaverse. These are the five things you should know.

ETHICAL ISSUES

Your drawer full of old tech could have a new life — or start a fire. Here’s how to handle it.

Anyone with an iPhone can now make deepfakes. We aren’t ready for what happens next.

Everyone’s AirPods will die. We’ve got the trick to replacing them.

Review

Not all iPhones are the same. These cost less and are better for the Earth.

The Price of BigSeries on how tech monopolies impact you

How Internet and TV providers get away with jacking up your bill

Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.

There’s no escape from Facebook, even if you don’t use it

iTrapped: All the things Apple won’t let you do with your iPhone