Happy Wednesday, friend.Think deleting that awkward selfie or spicy text means it's gone for good? Think again. Your phone remembers everything, and law enforcement might be able to recover what you thought you erased.
🗑️ Pop quiz: How long does deleted data actually stick around on your phone? A) 10 hours, B) 30 days, C) Until you manually overwrite it or D) Forever, even after a factory reset. Take your best guess. The answer's waiting at the end, and it might surprise you.
🛑 Real talk: Email algorithms are brutal. They'll hide my content unless you show them you care. The fix is stupid simple. Reply with "Hi" (or anything, really). If you can do it a couple days in a row, even better. It signals engagement and keeps us connected. Thanks for taking 5 seconds to help me beat the robots. 🤖 — Kim
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TODAY'S DEEP DIVE
VPN lies we fall for
Image: Gemini
Greg in Washington, DC, writes:
"Hi, Kim, Love your show and newsletter. You talk about ExpressVPN, I know they're a sponsor. I'm a boring average corporate guy, married with three kids. What exactly does a VPN protect me from? Can I use a VPN to avoid paying for subscriptions?"
Greg, this is one of the most common questions I get. In 2026, a VPN isn't about going underground. It's about protecting your digital life.
Myth #1: 'I have nothing to hide.'
You might not be hiding anything, but you definitely have value. Right now, you're giving it away for free. In the United States, it's 100% legal for your internet provider to track every single website you visit and sell that data to advertisers and data brokers. They know where you bank, what medical symptoms you put into AI or Google and how late you stay up watching YouTube or hanging out at a porn site doing research.
Think of a VPN like closing the blinds.
You're not doing anything illegal inside your house, but you don't want a stranger pressing their face against your window, taking notes. A VPN encrypts your connection, so your internet provider can't see (therefore can't sell) your habits.
Public Wi-Fi? You're swimming naked. Without a VPN, anyone at Starbucks with a cheap antenna can intercept your passwords, banking info and emails. A VPN turns readable data into gibberish for snoops and criminals.
Myth #2: 'A VPN makes me completely anonymous.'
Nope. A VPN hides your IP address from websites and your internet provider, but Google, Facebook and Amazon still know exactly who you are because you're logged in.
Many VPNs can also see your traffic, which is why choosing a reputable one matters.
I chose ExpressVPN because they aren't able to see your data. Free VPNs are worse than no VPN because they sell all of your info to pay the bills.
Myth #3: 'I can use a VPN to avoid paying for subscriptions.'
A VPN doesn't make paid things free. It makes paid things better. You can't use it to bypass paywalls because that's theft. But you can unlock the full value of services you pay for.
Here's an example. Netflix and Disney+ have different libraries in different countries. If you're paying for Netflix US, you can't see movies available only on Netflix UK. A VPN lets you virtually move to London and watch what you're missing. Spoiler: It's a lot of content.
Another one. I've saved hundreds on airline tickets and car rentals by switching to a different city or country using ExpressVPN before booking. You're not stealing. You're outsmarting the algorithm.
Ready to close those digital blinds?
Yes, ExpressVPN is a longtime advertiser on my show. Every year, I evaluate what products are best in class. The sales team doesn't like it, but my reputation is at stake.
ExpressVPN is still tops. It's legitimately fast, no buffering, no lag, just seamless browsing like you're not even using a VPN. It doesn't log your activity, period. Your data stays private. The kill switch is clutch, too. If your VPN connection drops for even a second, it automatically cuts your internet, so nothing leaks.
Btw, if you have a question for me, drop it right here. I read every single note.
THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW
Make $80K/year renting your yard
One guy earns a full salary renting his yard on the Neighbor app. I break down the strategy, so you can copy it. I also cover the first foldable iPhone and whether Google is dying. Plus, the smiley face text that saves relationships.
🎧 Or search "Komando" wherever you get your podcasts. I'm everywhere.
WEB WATERCOOLER
👙 Bikini button: At first, this feels like dumb internet nonsense. Grok on X is happily slapping bikinis on everyone. Politicians, celebrities, even a monkey. Elon laughed along. Then regular women started getting targeted. Reuters found Grok generating near-nude images (paywall link) of real women without consent, and in some cases, children. That's not a joke anymore. That's a very obvious line being crossed with the simplicity of a prompt. It needs to stop.
Air-typing your way to the future: Meta's $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses have a teleprompter that floats notes in your lens while presenting. Handy. The real sci-fi? The included Neural Band uses EMG sensors to detect muscle signals in your wrist, letting you send messages by finger-writing on any surface, your desk, leg, wherever. Finally, a way to make strangers think I'm casting spells in public.
🚀 Brick by brick: You know those classic 2x4 Lego bricks you played around with as a kid and with your kids? Now, each brick is secretly a computer. At CES 2026, Lego announced Smart Bricks, wirelessly charged, packed with sensors, lights, sound and Bluetooth brains. Starting March 1, Lego Star Wars sets will hum, light up, react to movement and know which ship won the race. No camera. No AI. The only downside? When you step on one barefoot at 2 a.m., it'll light up and play a victory sound while you hop around crying.
Oops, I did it again: Can you guess why TransUnion is back in the headlines? Yep, another data breach. A new class action says a July 2025 hack exposed names, birthdays and Social Security numbers of 4.4 million people, because of a sloppy third-party app. Remember, this is one of the big four companies deciding whether you get a loan, and they lost the keys. Make sure you have ID theft protection. I use and recommend NordProtect.*
AI takes the wheel: Your remote control filed for unemployment. Google's Gemini is turning Google TV into that designated remote holder friend. Mumble screen's too dim or I can't hear dialogue, and it fixes it. Ask for beach photos, it finds them. The crazy hidden feature? It can build deep dives with videos and narration. That's right, custom mini-documentaries on whatever you want. No release date, but TCL TVs get it first.
🍯 Cozy warehouse chic: So here's the tea, literally. Meghan Markle's brand, As Ever, sells lifestyle stuff that she promotes as "small-batch spreads, honey and pantry favorites." That's marketing speak to justify high prices. Buy two jars of honey for $62, a $48 candle and three small jars of jam for $32. How does one define small anyway? Hackers delved into her shopping website and exposed real inventory numbers: 220,000 jars of jam, 110,000 jars of tea, 90,000 candles, 77,000 bottles of wine, 80,000 jars of edible flower sprinkles. If it all sells, it's about $21M. That's small batch the way Walmart is a family business.
DIGITAL LIFE HACK
AI is watching you shop
Online stores track your every move. These pro tips can stop them from playing you.
Meet Amazon's #1 new release. You get built-in LED lights and a solid 20 hours of battery. Oh, and it handles being underwater for about 3 feet deep for 30 minutes.
Image: dotn
🛜 Bye, buffering: Whoa, the Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro(50% off, $100) is a steal right now! It's a mesh system, so you'll have fast coverage from upstairs to out back.
Video calls all day? Same. Clip a 5-inch ring light(5% off, $19) to your computer to look sharp. Gentle on your eyes but powerful enough to evenly light your face.
📱 Your desk's throne: This portable tablet holder(45% off, $10) holds iPads, Kindles and even doubles as a monitor stand. No more propping it against the wall.
Screen-time armor: Grab these blue-light-blocking glasses(33% off, $22) that help reduce eyestrain. They're comfy and don't scream "computer glasses."
👩💻 Tech worth clicking: I handpicked 25 more of today's best tech deals, so you don't have to hunt for them. All on sale!
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Here's a hidden Google feature. Next time you're feeling overwhelmed, type "breathing exercise" into Google. You'll see an animation that tells you when to inhale and exhale. No extras to install, just a quick reset you can use anytime your stress starts creeping up.
⬇️ Chrome downloads stuff without asking: Super annoying for PDFs, potentially dangerous for anything else. Make it ask permission first: Settings > Downloads > Ask where to save each file before downloading. While you're at it, peek at your Downloads folder. Bet you $5 it's a digital junk drawer that hasn't been cleaned since 2019.
🔊 Fine-tune volume on a Mac:macOS splits volume in 16 "steps," which isn't great with external speakers. For more control, hold Option + Shift while pressing the Volume keys. Each tap moves the level in smaller increments. FYI: This trick also works for display brightness. Hold Option + Shift, then press F1 or F2 to dial it in.
🏡 A Houston family's home was stolen and bulldozed. Scammers forged a deed, sold the property, and the new owner demolished it with every heirloom inside. It is terrifyingly easy to do. Do not wait until it's too late. I use Home Title Lock to monitor my title 24/7 and catch criminals before they file. Get 20% off plus a free Title History Report right now.*
💸 Budget nerds, rejoice: GnuCash is free, open-source money tracking with zero upsells. Double-entry bookkeeping, customizable reports and a checkbook register that actually makes sense. Perfect for answering "Where did $500 go last month?" without giving a fintech company your data. Works on Windows and Mac.
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: Displace
📺 Literal Wall Street
Installing a video wall usually requires contractors, cables and a guy named Mark who keeps saying, "That's not up to code."
Displace said screw it. They made four 55- or 65-inch OLED TVs that snap together into a single screen and stick to your wall with industrial suction. No drilling. No mounts. No cable nightmare. The whole thing goes up wirelessly in under 30 minutes.
Each panel runs on a built-in battery, has its own controller and delivers 4K OLED brightness. Wave your hand, and it expands like you're in Minority Report.
The kicker? It costs $40K, which sounds insane until you realize traditional video walls start at six figures. And zero Mark.
Last night, Barry asked me, "What's streaming on the TV?" I said, "Dust." He wasn't amused.
LOGGING OUT …
💰 Tomorrow, we're hunting down every subscription you're paying for. Yes, even the ones you forgot existed three iPhones ago. I'll show you exactly where to look and how to cancel without getting trapped in customer service hell.
Did you win Christmas cash and not know it? Before you go, take 10 seconds to check WinFromKim.com. We still have unclaimed Amazon gift cards worth up to $500, and I'd hate for yours to expire. A lot of you have asked when I'm announcing the $1,000 grand prize results. We actually selected the winner on Dec. 29, but they haven't claimed the prize yet. As soon as they make it official, I'll share the news.
🗑️ The answer: C) Until you manually overwrite it. Think of Delete less like a shredder and more like cramming your secrets under the rug and hoping no one lifts it. When you delete something, your phone doesn't erase it. It makes room for new data until something else takes its place. Even factory resets aren't a guarantee. A recent study showed 40% of wiped phones still had recoverable personal info.
Fun fact: Forensic investigators use special tools to scan the unmarked storage space and pull back everything you thought was gone. (Cue Law & Order chime.)
Speaking of, someone had the audacity to delete Microsoft Office from my computer. Now, I have no words. (lol)
🧠 You're smarter than your phone. And way better company. — Kim
Companies and products denoted by an asterisk (*) within this publication are paid sponsors or advertisements. As an Amazon Associate, the publisher earns from qualifying purchases. Statements regarding products denoted by a double asterisk (**) have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration; such products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This newsletter is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice of any kind. Readers should consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on this content. The publisher disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from the use of or reliance on the information contained herein.
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Keep a civil tongue.