Instagram continues to provide new updates to the application and the latest brings a new function to the search system. Where the app used to require the use of keyword with hashtags in front of them—#nofilter for example—the new system will let users search without keywords. This change, experts believe, should make searching Instagram much easier for users. “The ability to search for keywords without the system requiring hashtags is a copy of what Twitter and Youtube implemented a while ago,” social media expert Bianca Polizzi said in an email....

Shortcuts is iOS’s built-in system to automate your iPhone or iPad. It’s intuitive, powerful, easy and fun to use, and is connected deep into the inner workings of iOS. On the Mac, there’s nothing as easy, or as well-supported. AppleScript and Automator are on life support, shell-scripting is too hard for normal people, and even third-party automation apps are confusing. What’s going on? “I think scale—iOS is likely the priority for Apple given the size of the relevant markets,” veteran iOS and Mac developer James Thomson told Lifewire via direct message....

Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok take some of the top spots as the go-to social networks. They may have billions of users, but they’re not without their issues. Between data breaches, privacy being compromised and sold, algorithms that control what we do and don’t see, and targeted ads that can sometimes be downright creepy, people are understandably looking for other options. Experts say that, while there’s a ton of new platforms out there to discover, it’s all about standing out from the crowd to get our collective attention....

That’s a smart move, because its digital cameras have become an absurd brand of nerd jewelry, and have been replaced, in both function and spirit, by the iPhone in your pocket. The iPhone camera today is everything the Leica I was back in 1925. “No one buys Leica to take pictures,” writes photographer and critic Ken Rockwell. “Leica is a lifestyle, not a brand. Our iPhones, Canons and Nikons take much better pictures than any Leica does....

Know When You’re Roaming Be aware that data roaming fees can apply even if you’re traveling domestically. If you’re not leaving the country, you may think you’re in the clear regarding roaming charges. However, you can still be charged roaming fees in some instances; for example, U.S. providers may charge roaming fees if you go to Alaska and there are no cell towers. Another example: cruise ships use their own cellular antennas, so you may be charged by your cell provider as much as $5 per minute for any voice/data usage while onboard....

This was originally a huge problem for the cell phone industry, such that it was common for people to have drawers full of outdated wall warts and 12V car adapters. That all changed when manufacturers adopted 12V USB adapters as the de facto standard. While there are still limitations, most mobile devices today can be charged with a 12V USB adapter. 12V USB Adapters, 12V Sockets, and Accessory Sockets USB is nearly universal, but 12V USB adapters rely on another ubiquitous technology to work: the 12V accessory socket....

HDMI: The Advantages and Disadvantages A great thing about HDMI is that you can pass both audio and video from a source (such as a Blu-ray Disc player) to a destination (such as a home theater receiver or TV) using a single cable. However, HDMI has issues, such as occasional problems arising from its handshake requirements (both the source and TV or video projector need to recognize each other for the connection to take)....

How to Add the Apple TV Remote to Control Center To control your Apple TV from Control Center on your iPhone or iPad, add the Remote feature to Control Center. How to Set Up Your Apple TV To Be Controlled By Your iPhone or iPad With the Remote feature added to Control Center, connect the iPhone or iPad and Apple TV. That connection allows the phone to act as a remote for the TV....

How to Change Your Snapchat Best Friends List Snapchat does not currently give users an option to delete contacts from their best friends list. If you want them to disappear from your best friends, one method is to decrease your level of interaction with them. Alternatively, you can keep your level of interaction the same as your current best friends, but increase the level of interaction with other people you want to take their place....

If you have an older iPad with meager storage or if you’re looking for ways to increase your iPad’s storage capacity, here are some tips for creating more storage on your iPad. Use Cloud Storage You can’t expand the storage on your iPad for apps, but you can for almost everything else, which should leave plenty of room for apps. Cloud storage is a great way to store documents, photos, and videos....

Find YouTube Analytics for Your Channel To find the analytics for all the videos in your channel: Types of Analytic Data Information about your audience can be viewed through several analytic filters, including: Watch TimeAudience RetentionDemographicsLocationDate or Time FrameContentDevicesTraffic sourcesLikes and DislikesCommentsSharing How to View Data in YouTube Analytics Depending on the type of data you’re reviewing, you can generate line charts to see how that data has changed over time....

Hulu error codes like this can have a number of causes, but they typically indicate that some sort of problem has prevented your device from being able to access data from Hulu’s servers. Your Hulu app may need to be updated, you may have a network or connection problem, or there may be an underlying issue on Hulu’s end. How Hulu Error Code PLAREQ17 Appears When this error occurs, you will usually see a message that looks like this:...

How to Create a Bootable Hackintosh Installation USB Drive The first step in installing macOS on a PC and creating your own Hackintosh is to create a bootable USB with macOS on it. This requires a working Mac that has access to the Mac App Store, a USB thumb drive, and some time. It isn’t difficult, but it is a little time consuming, and it’s important to make sure that you get each step exactly right....

Since each number must be assigned to a person or a company, you should technically be able to retrace the number to that entity, but you don’t always get satisfactory results. Actually, there is no sure and reliable system to look up a number. It does not work like the phone directory where everything is systematic, endorsed and complete. Most people want to keep their numbers private, and it is incumbent upon the phone service provider to make sure it stays this way....

Find the Privacy Settings in iOS In the past, several high-profile apps were caught uploading information from users’ phones to their servers without permission. Apple added features that control which apps have access to the data on the iPhone (and the iPod touch, iPad, and Apple Watch). Most of these features are available in the iPhone Privacy settings. To keep current with the privacy settings on your iPhone, check the Privacy area each time you install a new app to see whether it wants access to your personal information....

Save Your Snapchat Videos If all you want to do is save your own videos, then the solution is easy. You do it the same way you save a photo before posting it. Record your video by holding the big clear button for as long as you want. It will show up as one long video divided into several snaps. Then, tap the down arrow button that appears in the lower-left corner of the screen....

How to Set Up a New Android Phone From an Old One You can set up a new Android phone from scratch and start fresh if you want, but the Android setup process also allows you to copy data from your old phone. If your old phone is also an Android, you can restore your apps, settings, and other data directly from that phone or through a cloud backup. If you’re coming from an iPhone, you can install an app to transfer your data from the iPhone to the new Android phone....

Create an Apple ID for Your Kids The iPhone and iPod Touch require an Apple ID for setup and to allow downloads from the iTunes Store and App Store. An Apple ID is also used for features such as iMessage, FaceTime, and Find My iPhone. Your child can use your Apple ID, but it’s a better long-term plan to set up a separate Apple ID for them (especially if you’re using Family Sharing)....

How Do You Unlock a Google Pixel If You Forgot Your Password? If you’ve forgotten the password to your Google Pixel, there are a few ways to unlock it. These options are only available if you set them up before forgetting your password. Here are the different ways you can unlock a Google Pixel without the password: Fingerprint sensor: Every Pixel phone has a fingerprint sensor, aside from the Pixel 4....

What to Do Before You Update Apple Watch Software Before you update your Apple Watch OS, do the following: Connect Your iPhone to Wi-Fi. Updates to Apple Watch apps and OS are synced to it from your iPhone. Make sure your iPhone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the Watch. Update Your iPhone OS. Make sure your iPhone is running the latest version of the iOS before updating the Apple Watch....