| Plus: Smartwatch band warning, VR in court, custom ringtone DIY  In partnership with NordPass | | Hey, hi, it's the last Friday of 2024, friend! Here's some early 2025 goal-setting motivation: You miss 100% of the chances you don't take. In 1978, now-billionaire Richard Branson wanted to impress his girlfriend by buying a $6 million private island. He offered $100,000 as a joke … and the owner agreed to $180,000. Yeah, he bought it. The island's now worth $100,000,000. As for the girl, they got married on the island. They have two children, both of whom also held their weddings on Necker Island. Brb, I'm headed to the Porsche dealership! 🔐 Manage, store and create secure passwords. Keep your logins locked down with my tested and recommended password management app for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone and web browsers. Save a username, password, billing address or credit card once, and this great program will autofill it for you. You'll love it as much as I do! — Kim 📬 Was this email forwarded? Sign up here for free | TODAY'S TOP STORY Tech how-to: Clean up your pics  If your photo library feels out of control after the holidays, you're not alone. Between taking multiple shots to get the perfect one and sharing images with friends and family, duplicate photos pile up quickly. Here's a simple guide to declutter your digital photo collection. 1. Start with built-in tools Try the free tools already available on your device. These can help you quickly locate and remove duplicate photos. iPhone or iPad: The Photos app makes this easy‑peasy. - Open your Photos app and select Albums.
- Scroll down and choose Duplicates. (I just looked at mine and had 2,933 duplicate photos and 49 videos!)
- Hit Select > Select all, then tap the Trash icon to delete them. You can also select Merge to combine your dupes into one great shot.
For Android: Don't delete your duplicates manually; open the Files by Google app, select Clean, then: - Tap Confirm and free up > See junk files and select what you want to clear.
- When you're ready, tap Clear > Clear. That's all it takes to remove screenshots, memes, duplicates and other junk mixed in with your important photos.
For Google Photos: Sorry, there's no built-in duplicate-cleaning tool here, so it's up to you. - Log into Google Photos, and click Photos in the left panel.
- Select any photos you no longer need (or want), and click Delete.
2. Get an app made for the job If you have thousands of duplicates, deleting them manually takes forever. A third-party app like Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro is a quicker solution. None of these apps are perfect, but take any help you can get! 3. Go beyond duplicates Most of us have a lot of crappy photos, making it hard to find the ones we actually want to see. Blurry shots, similar pics and other junk won't make it into your duplicate purge — you'll have to do that manually. Here are a couple of methods to deal with the madness: - Make it a habit: Pick a time that works for you, like when you're watching TV, stuck in a waiting room or, yes, on the throne. Instead of scrolling social media, use those spare minutes to delete photos you don't need. A little effort here and there adds up quickly.
- Get strategic with same-day sweeps: If you're more of a planner, try cleaning up photos taken on today's date across all years in your library. For example, on Jan. 2, tackle photos taken on Jan. 2 from years past. It's a bigger upfront effort, but, over time, your library will be totally decluttered.
Pro tip: Once you're caught up, set a calendar reminder to spend 15 minutes a month reviewing and deleting photos. Pick the same date, and it might even become a ritual you look forward to. 4. Revisit your special memories Decluttering is such a good opportunity to remember cherished moments. Don't just look at the pic again and forget about it. Try one of these ideas: - Print your favorites to create physical photo albums.
- Make a digital slideshow to share with family.
- Set a rotation of your best photos as your phone's wallpaper or screensaver.
"Kim, this sounds like work." It is! As someone who has taken on this task, I can tell you it's absolutely worth it. Don't rush, have fun and trust the process. 😂 I once got in a photo with REM. Look! That's me in the corner. | KIM KOMANDO TODAY How I avoided a $40K scam Scammers come after me, too. Unfortunately for them, I'm always one step ahead. Tap or click below to play this podcast now. Use this link to listen on Komando.com → | WEB WATERCOOLER 💔 She wasn't dating Keanu Reeves: Katherine Goodson, a 67-year-old in Vista, California, fell for a romance scam. She thought she was enjoying the real thing with actor Keanu Reeves. She sent "Keanu" tens of thousands of dollars for "emergency expenses," only to get ghosted when her money ran out. Now, she's living in her car. So sad. Seriously, where's John Wick to hunt these criminals down? Forget cash: Today's teens are paying off debts to each other using Starbucks items. Almost 31% would rather settle for a cold brew or cake pop over cash. The chain is the go-to spot for teens, and a whopping 89% know their bestie's drink order by heart. That's friendship goals in the 2020s for ya. Judge, jury and Oculus: A Florida judge strapped on an Oculus Quest 2 to take a virtual journey through the eyes of a man accused of pulling out a gun at a wedding. His attorney wanted the judge to feel the chaotic scene. Back in the '90s, the same lawyer submitted a computer-animated recreation of a crime. Future jurors, buckle up (literally) for more of this. ☢️ Toxic wrist: This is bad. Your smartwatch band may be loaded with forever chemicals linked to cancer, infertility and high blood pressure. Researchers found a particularly nasty chemical in 22 smartwatch brands, including Apple and Google. The highest concentrations were in the more expensive bands; all the under-$15 ones were clear. Here are options for Apple Watches and Fitbit. 🧑🎄 Sleigh what? Elon Musk posted an Ozempic Santa pic on X, with Saint Nick looking festive and slim in a suit and beard. He's technically using Mounjaro, but it has the same GLP‑1 hormone that regulates your blood sugar. Musk says he isn't a big fan of the gym and uses drugs to drop weight instead. Hear, there, everywhere: Leaks for Apple's AirPods Pro 3 hint at nifty, new features, like heart rate monitoring, temperature tracking and other cool health metrics. No release date yet, but, based on Apple's usual timeline, we should see them next fall. About to see way mo' Waymos: Google's Waymo took the lead in the self-driving robotaxi race, with over 3 million driverless rides across three cities this year. In 2025, we could see autonomous Teslas, and Amazon's Zoox plans to open up to customers early next year, too. OK, this made me laugh: A confused cop tried to pull over a car with no one in the driver's seat. | DEALS OF THE DAY I love a deal ❄️ Amazon's Winter Sale is here, with discounts of up to 40%. Gift yourself the thing you really wanted this year. - There's nothing better than sitting in front of the fireplace with a blanket, hot cocoa and a nice pair of fuzzy socks (23% off).
- Time to tear down the Christmas tree … and throw away that old box you used to store it. A tree storage bag (40% off) is so worth it.
- Somehow, no one got you new slippers for Christmas. Get 'em yourself: Women's and men's picks that are comfy and affordable.
- A pair of Beats Studio Pro headphones ($170) is 50% off right now. Go, go, go! 🏃💨
- Upgrade your upcoming travels with nice, new luggage (41% off) in a fun color. This way, it's so much easier to find your bags at the airport!
- OK, this is as cheap as Apple AirTags get — 29% off!
| DAILY TECH UPDATE Is this travel hack clever or crossing the line? Social media's hottest travel tip helps you snag better seats without paying extra … but it's definitely sneaky. I wouldn't do it. Tap or click below to play this podcast now. Use this link to listen on Komando.com → | TECH LIFE UPGRADES 💝 My gift to you: Daniel in Phoenix wrote in, asking how to join the Komando Community. It's my members-only club where you can get reliable answers to your tech questions. Hit this link for a free 30-day trial. After that, it's just a couple of bucks a month to support our work. Cash in on your old cellphone: Don't let your old phone collect dust. Turn it into cash! Clark.com shows you how to get the most money out of your outdated phone by selling it to reputable companies like Swappa, ItsWorthMore, Gazelle, BuyBackWorld and Decluttr. Plus, learn extra tips to prep your phone for sale and maximize your return. Subscribe to Clark's free newsletter* to receive more must-have money tips every day. The 60-60 rule: Docs say these two steps will keep your ears safe while wearing earbuds or headphones. First, keep your volume no higher than 60%. Second, take a short break after 60 minutes of listening. Impress your boss in 2025: Download NetSuite's free knowledge drop, "The CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning."* No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It's not going anywhere. 🖌️ Formatting tip: A neat shortcut in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and pretty much every major word-processing and other office software is the paintbrush icon. Find a place in your document that has the formatting you want — think font, sizing, spacing and color — then click the paintbrush. Highlight that area, then click and drag it over the part of your doc you want to change to match the source. A fresh inbox for the new year: Ready to ditch your Big Tech email? My privacy-first pick is StartMail. Switch over your contacts and emails with just a couple of clicks, or treat it as a fresh inbox for only your VIPs. Save 60% now with my special link.* Know who's calling: Set a custom ringtone for a contact so you don't even have to pick up the phone to know who it is. Makes a good prank, too … just sayin'. - iPhone: Head to Contacts, select your contact, then tap Edit > Ringtone. Choose your custom sound and tap Done.
- Android: This varies based on your phone model. Under Contacts, select your contact, and look for something like Change ringtone/vibration or Contact ringtone. Select your sound and tap Save.
| BY THE NUMBERS 60% reduced risk Of Alzheimer's disease for regular caffeine drinkers. The sweet spot for most is no more than four cups a day (around 400mg of caffeine), but cut that to two cups if you have high blood pressure. Fascinating read here. $1.3 million Prince Harry's salary at BetterUp. The U.S. company is the app equivalent of a life coach, yet ex-employees describe it as "a toxic trainwreck" where "everyone is living in fear." Didn't he use those words to describe the royal family? 20 years ago Yelp launched. Over 300 million reviews later, it's still one of the first places most of us go to check out a restaurant or bar. They just rolled out an AI assistant that gives recommendations and weeds out phony reviews. A restaurant owner offered me a free calamari appetizer if I gave him a good review on Yelp. It was squid pro quo. (I saw you smile!) | WHAT THE TECH?  Crafty scam, right? Before you click a link, look for any letters that feel "off." | UNTIL NEXT TIME ... I love a good fun fact: Google was originally called BackRub. Imagine saying, "Just BackRub it!" every time you had a question. Quiz your family on this one. They won't believe you because it totally sounds fake. ⚔️ I Googled "Lost medieval servant boy." The result was "This page cannot be found." (Yes, I made myself laugh with that one.) ✅ Hit this page for 58% off my password manager pick. You'll be glad you took a smart online security step. Bonus (I get asked this a lot): This password manager makes it easy to share your passwords with a trusted contact when you pass away. 🤗 I'm honored you let me in your inbox every day. If you want to see something specific here, leave me a comment when you rate this newsletter below. I appreciate you, and I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with the best newsletter in the USA! — Kim | Help us spread the word! SHARE → Or copy and share your personalized link: https://referrer.komando.com/69cb7d0c/3 | How'd we do? What did you think of today's issue? | | |
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