Help Desk

Making tech work for you

(iStock/Washington Post illustration)

Ask Help Desk: How to set up legacy contacts for your online accounts

How to set up legacy contacts for all your online accounts.

By Heather Kelly

Coming soon to a phone near you: A new wave of accessibility tools

Smartphones and tablets are getting better at helping people with disabilities understand and interact with the world around them. Here's our guide to the accessibility features that are coming to your phone -- or the next one you buy.

By Chris Velazco

Future of Work: ‘The office as we know it is over,’ Airbnb CEO says

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky believes the future of work may mean the death of the office in its current form as more people opt for remote arrangements.

By Danielle Abril

Uber will order your hot dogs at games now. Getting a ride is harder.

Uber rolled out a suite of new offerings for wedding planners and sports enthusiasts. Meanwhile, customers are paying more and waiting longer for regular rides.

By Tatum Hunter

Privacy and Security

The Online Security Reset Guide: Keeping you safe from scammers, hackers and digital threats

By Tatum Hunter

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

By Heather Kelly and Geoffrey A. Fowler

The Help Desk Team

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

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

Uber will order your hot dogs at games now. Getting a ride is harder.

By Tatum Hunter

Teens are flocking to new photo-sharing apps. Are they safe?

By Tatum Hunter

We the users want technology to work for us. Here are our demands.

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

I gave Instagram photos of my baby. Instagram returned fear.

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

Your Data and PRIVACY

Ask Help Desk: How to set up legacy contacts for your online accounts

By Heather Kelly

How to track your period without compromising your privacy

By Tatum Hunter and Heather Kelly

What your Android phone’s new “data safety” labels mean

By Chris Velazco

Your phone could reveal if you’ve had an abortion

By Geoffrey A. Fowler and Tatum Hunter

Future of Work: ‘The office as we know it is over,’ Airbnb CEO says

By Danielle Abril

Ask Help Desk: If I take a remote job, can I be forced into an office?

By Danielle Abril

Google tweaks its products for new reality: Hybrid work

By Danielle Abril

How to create a pet-friendly office that everyone can tolerate

By Danielle Abril

Internet Access

Ask Help Desk: The WiFi upgrade that will fix your dead zones

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

A government benefit helped Americans save on Internet costs last year. Here’s how the sequel works.

By Chris Velazco

Internet service plans will soon come with ‘nutrition’ labels. Here’s what you need to know.

By Chris Velazco

5G service just got faster for some people. Here’s why.

By Chris Velazco

Coming soon to a phone near you: A new wave of accessibility tools

By Chris Velazco

Google will take on Apple with a tablet and smartwatch of its own

By Chris Velazco

Snap’s new Pixy drone is a $230 selfie machine

By Heather Kelly and Chris Velazco

iPad Air review: A great tablet, but still not a full laptop replacement

By Chris Velazco

What you need to know about Apple’s new DIY iPhone repair program

By Chris Velazco

Rechargeable batteries cause fires. Here’s how to properly dispose of them.

By Chris Velazco

How to leave a bad online review without being a jerk

By Tatum Hunter

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

By Chris Velazco

The Price of BigSeries on how tech monopolies impact you

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

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

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

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

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

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

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

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

(Jonathan Baran/The Washington Post)

We the Users: How 'runaway' algorithms lead us into dark places

(Jonathan Baran/The Washington Post)

We the Users: Instagram preys on our closest fears to keep us coming back

(Jonathan Baran/The Washington Post)

Virtual workout, real sweat: VR fitness apps, scientifically tested

(Casey Silvestri/The Washington Post)

We tested anti-stalking tech on AirTags, Tiles and SmartTags

(Jonathan Baran/The Washington Post)

Help Desk: How to backup your Android phone