AI is coming to Apple devices, and here's what it means

Jim H says, AI is coming to Apple devices, and here is a report from his local paper on what that means


Q: What exactly is Apple Intelligence and what will it do for me?

A: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is all the rage in the tech world and ‘Apple Intelligence’ is Apple’s integration of new ‘smart’ AI features that’s being rolled out in the latest operating systems for smartphones, tablets, and computers.

It’s being rolled out slowly, so you’ll have to let Apple know through a waiting list for the moment.

Much like Google Assistant for Android devices, Apple Intelligence is designed to anticipate what you might need, help to organize your digital life and simplify how you interact with your devices.

Instead of a stand-alone AI tool, Apple is integrating AI throughout their operating systems that can be more contextual based on what’s on your screen or what you routinely do with your devices.

Writing tools
One of the most useful tools in the suite will be the writing tools for proofreading, summarizing text or rewriting your text messages, emails or notes.

It will rewrite text based on a tone that you choose: professional, concise or friendly.
Proofreading will help you improve your grammar, word choices and sentence structure with explanations of why suggestions are being made. This could be significant for those that routinely use voice dictation for text and email messages.

Apple Intelligence in Siri
Digital assistants have been the focus of all of the major tech companies, and AI allows your devices to better anticipate your needs.  Apple Intelligence will be deeply integrated with Siri, making it more intuitive and conversational than it is now.

Photos and memories
The Photos app is another place where Apple Intelligence will provide vast improvements. Much like Google Photos powerful image recognition, it can identify not just faces but locations, objects, and even themes within your photos. That means you can search for specific things, like “beach” or “birthday,” and Apple will pull up all related images from the thousands of images in your photo library.

Spotlight search and proactive suggestions
Apple Intelligence integrates everywhere, so Spotlight Search will become a much more powerful feature that acts like your digital assistant. Need to find a recent email, app, or even a restaurant near you? Spotlight can pull up relevant results from across all your apps, contacts, and web searches.

It will also proactively offer helpful info based on your usage patterns. If you have an upcoming calendar event, for example, it may suggest you leave early if traffic is heavy or remind you to call someone back after you missed their call.

Enhanced privacy
What’s most notable and likely why it took so long is that Apple’s intelligence is built with privacy in mind. Unlike other platforms that might rely primarily on cloud-based data processing, Apple does much of this work directly on your device, so your data stays more secure.

How to get it
At present, it’s only available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max; any iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later; Mac with M1 or later.

The processing requirements by the device seems to be why older devices aren’t compatible.

You’ll also need the latest OS for your device: iOS 18.X, iPadOS 18.X, or macOS Sequoia 15.X and for the moment, request to join the waitlist.

Time to check if you ran any of these 33 malicious Chrome extensions

from Frank C

 Summary


This article discusses a significant security breach involving 33 malicious Chrome extensions. These extensions, which had been available on the Chrome Web Store for up to 18 months, were surreptitiously siphoning sensitive data from millions of devices. The compromised extensions included Cyberhaven, a data loss prevention service, and other popular tools such as Reader Mode and AI Assistant.

Two separate campaigns have been stealing credentials and browsing history for months.

If you use Chrome, this applies to you!!!
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/01/dozens-of-backdoored-chrome-extensions-discovered-on-2-6-million-devices/

Apple Settles Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Siri Snooping

from Jim H

Here's an article discussing where Apple will pay a fine for allowing Siri to listen in when the app shouldn't have: https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-settles-lawsuit-over-unauthorized-siri-snooping-for-95-million

I don't use Siri on my Mac, but we use Amazon's Alexa a lot in our house, and realize that Alexa is always listening for our voice. We enjoy using Alexa, but must keep in mind the potential risk of having an app listening in one's house. For example: one shouldn't ask a spouse out loud for, say, the password to your bank account. 

Perhaps just write it on a piece of paper instead and hand it over.

Yes, technology is nice, but can have some risks as well. The increasing use of AI comes to mind...Jim

Privacy Policies and your Security!

from Frank C (see additional comment at the bottom of this post)

I was reading a review of this AI Executive Assistant call DuckBill (on the iPhone App Store). I was surprised that it was free to download. Knowing that “free” usually means they collect your data and sell it to many different marking firms, I decided to research it.

Here is the “Duckbill App Privacy statement” listed on the App Store. 

That seemed very minimal, so I looked a bit deeper into their Privacy Policy. I have enclosed their Policy here. If you scroll down, you can see in red the information that they collect that should never be given out, any where, any time!! After that, it says they use CoPilot which also collects other information. AND they use all of Googles web cookies, documents, calendars, etc and we ALL KNOW what Google does with your data!!!

Key take away, you need to be VERY CAREFUL when you download Apps, especially any App that purports to be “AI”. I will stick with Apple’s AI which I know to be secure!!

Frank


https://www.getduckbill.com/privacy-policy

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 4, 2024 

Introduction

Welcome. You have arrived at a website provided by Duckbill, a Delaware corporation (“Duckbill,” “Company” or “we,” “our” or “us”). We understand that privacy is important to you and want you to know that we are committed to safeguarding your Personal Information (defined below). As a result, we want to provide you with a clear picture of how the Personal Information that you provide to us is processed, managed, and protected by us, and what your choices are with respect to that information.

This Privacy Policy governs the Company’s website (including www.getduckbill.com and www.duckbill.ai), its subdomains, and all portals, mobile applications, products, services, and any interactive features, applications, or other services that post a link to this Privacy Policy (the “Site”) and applies to information (including the “Personal Information” defined below) that we may collect from you. We refer to all of the above as our “Services.”

If you voluntarily provide your information in the course of interacting with our Sites or otherwise using our Services, we will take that as your agreement to our collection, use, and disclosure of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to any products, services, websites, or content that are offered by third parties (“Third Party Services”), which are governed by their respective privacy policies.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY PRIOR TO CONTINUING TO VIEW OUR SITE OR USING OUR SERVICES. BY ACCESSING THE SITE AND/OR USING OUR SERVICES, YOU AFFIRM THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO ABIDE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ABIDE BY THIS PRIVACY POLICY, YOU MAY NOT ENTER, ACCESS, OR OTHERWISE USE OUR SERVICES. IF YOU USE THE SERVICES ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE, YOU REPRESENT TO US THAT YOU ARE AUTHORIZED BY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO ACCEPT THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND YOU DO ACCEPT THIS PRIVACY POLICY ON SUCH INDIVIDUAL’S BEHALF

What Information We Collect

(a) Information You Provide to Us

‍The type of information you provide to us depends on the nature of your interaction with the Site and our Services.

‍FROM USERS OF OUR SERVICE:

We may ask users of our Service to provide us with certain basic information, including

(i)         First and Last Name,
(ii)         Email Address,
(iii)        Home Or Business Address,
(iv)        Telephone Number or Mobile Number,
(v)         Username,
(vi)        Cultural or social identifiers,
(vii)       Date of birth,
(viii)     Gender,
(ix)        Religious or cultural holidays celebrated,
(x)         Online identifiers (account name/password) 
(xi)        Payment data, credit card, debit card,
(xii)       Bank information
(xiii)      Web analytics other information that could reasonably be used to identify you personally or identify your household (hereinafter, “Personal Information”); and/or
(xiv)      Demographic information, such as your country, state, or county of residence or business operation (“Demographic Information”).

In addition to the basic information above, we may require the following additional information only if you ask us to perform certain Services which require the collection of data to fulfill the requested task.  This list is not exhaustive and will depend on the Services requested:                  
(i)      Social Security number,                    
(ii)      Driver’s license,                   
(iii)      Passport number,                   
(iv)      Employment data,                 
(v)      Academic information such as schools attended, dates of attendance, degree
(vii)     health insurance details, -
(viii)    other medical information 
Please note that by providing us with this type of personal health information (“PHI”), you represent that you have the right to provide this information. You also understand that we are not a covered entity for purposes of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and its related regulations set forth in Parts 160, 162, and 164 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations (collectively, “HIPAA”). 
(vii)     Other personal data relevant to the particular task requested

FROM COPILOTS:

‍When you apply to become a copilot, we may ask you to provide the following information:   
(i)      Your First and Last Name,  
(ii)     Email Address, 
(iii)     Home Or Business Address, 
(iv)  Telephone number or mobile number,  
(v)     Employment History, 
(vi)     Social Security Number,
(vii)    Payment account information,  and     
(viii)  References as necessary to consider your application for open co-pilot positions.

In all instances, your decision to provide us with information is voluntary, but if you choose not to provide any requested information, you may not be able to take advantage of all of the Site’s features or our Services or obtain placement and payment as a co-pilot. 

FOR GENERAL VISITORS TO THE SITE

‍In addition to information that you choose to submit to us, we and/or our service providers may automatically collect and/or store certain information when you visit or interact with the Site (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may be stored and/or accessed from your personal computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or other device (a “Device”) whenever you visit or interact with our Site. Usage Information may include:

•      Your IP address, IDFA, Android/Google Advertising ID, IMEI, or another unique identifier.
•      Your Device functionality (including browser, browser language, operating system, hardware, mobile network information).
•      Referring and exit web pages and URLs;
•      The areas within our Site that you visit and your activities there, including remembering you and your preferences;
•      Your Device location or other geolocation information, including the zip code, state or country from which you accessed the Services;
•      Your Device characteristics; and
•      Certain other Device data, including the time of day you visit our Site.

(b)        Information from Cookies and other Tracking Technologies

We may use various methods and technologies to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). Tracking Technologies may set, change, alter or modify settings or configurations on your Device. A few of the Tracking Technologies used on the Site), include, but are not limited to, the following (as well as future-developed tracking technology or methods that are not listed here):

•      Cookies.  A cookie is a file placed on a Device to uniquely identify your browser or to store information on your Device. Our Site may use HTTP cookies, HTML5 cookies, Flash cookies and other types of cookie technology to store information on local storage.  We may use cookies for tracking purposes.
•      Web Beacons.  A Web Beacon is a small tag (which may be invisible to you) that may be placed on our Site’s pages and messages.  We may use web beacons for tracking purposes.
•      Embedded Scripts.  An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Site, such as the links you click on.
•      ETag, or entity tag.  An Etag or entity tag is a feature of the cache in browsers.  It is an opaque identifier assigned by a web server to a specific version of a resource found at a URL.
•      Browser Fingerprinting.  Collection and analysis of information from your Device, such as, without limitation, your operating system, plug-ins, system fonts and other data, for purposes of identification.
•      Recognition Technologies.  Technologies, including application of statistical probability to data sets, which attempt to recognize or make assumptions about users and devices (e.g., that a user of multiple devices is the same user).

We may use Tracking Technologies for a variety of purposes, including:
•      To allow you to use and access the Site, including for the prevention of fraudulent activity and improved security functionality;
•      To assess the performance of the Site, including as part of our analytic practices or otherwise to improve the content, products or services offered through the Site;
•      To offer you enhanced functionality when accessing the Site, including identifying you when you sign into our Site or keeping track of your specified preferences or to track your online activities over time and across third-party sites; and·   To deliver content relevant to your interests on our Site and third‑party sites based on how you interact with our content.

To learn more about how to opt out of Google’s use of the Google analytics cookies, visit here [https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout].   

We use Google’s Calendar API for scheduling (creating/updating/deleting events on your behalf) as well as suggesting relevant tasks based on previous calendar events.  Use of the Google Calendar API will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy including the Limited Use requirements.

Meta and LinkedIn Tracking Pixels. For website visitors only, we use tracking pixels provided by Meta and LinkedIn. These may collect your IP address and use that information to provide targeted ads based on your interests. The information use and privacy practices of these third parties are described in those third party’s privacy policies and cookies notices, not this Privacy Policy and are not within our control. Please see https://www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy and https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/ for more information.

We do not use these tracking pixels on the mobile app.

You can also visit your browser’s help menu for more information on managing cookies, as the process may vary.

( c )         Information We Collect When You Interact with Third-Party Sites 

‍The Site and Services may include functionality that allows certain kinds of interactions between the Site and your account on a third-party website or application. The use of this functionality may involve the third-party site providing information to us. For example, we may provide links on the Site to facilitate sending a communication from the Site. These third parties may retain any information used or provided in any such communications or activities and these third parties’ practices are not subject to our Privacy Policy. We may not control or have access to your communications through these third parties. Further, when you use third-party sites or services, you are using their services and not our services and they, not we, are responsible for their practices. You should read the applicable third-party privacy policies before using such third-party tools on our Site.

(d)        Information from Third Parties.

‍In addition, we may collect information about you from other sources, including consumer credit reporting agencies and social media networks.  We may also obtain information about you from marketers and market research firms. We may combine the information we collect from third parties with information that we have collected from you or through your use of the Services. 

(e) Location data

‍We may obtain information about your location to provide customized Services, content, and other information that may be of interest to you.  If you no longer wish for us or our service providers to collect and use location information, you may disable the location features on your Device. Consult your Device manufacturer settings for instructions. Please note that if you disable such features, your ability to access certain features, Services, content or products may be limited or disabled.

Why We Collect Personal Information

We may use your Personal Information for various purposes, including:
•      Responding to requests for information,
•      Fulfilling your requests for services,
•      Sending you nudges with respect to purchases or services you have requested,
•      Verifying your identity and for fraud prevention,
•      Creating accounts,
•      Processing your payments,
•      Evaluating your co-pilot application if you have applied for a position as a co-pilot,
•      Providing you with updates and information about services we provide,
•      Creating user preferences regarding emails and other correspondence,
•      Sending you marketing information about Duckbill and our affiliated entities,
•      Sending you email and text communications such as electronic newsletters about our Services and events which may be of interest to you,
•      Improving the effectiveness of our Site, our marketing endeavors, and our product and service offerings,
•      Helping us address problems with and improve our Site and our products and services, including testing and creating new products, features, and services,
•      Protecting the security and integrity of the Site, including understanding and resolving any technical and security issues reported on our Site,
•      Resolving disputes,
•      Engaging in analysis, research, and reports regarding the use of our Site and Services,
•      For internal business purposes and our legitimate interests.
•      Complying with the law and protecting the safety, rights, property or security of Duckbill, the Services, and the general public, and
•      For purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy.

When We Disclose Information

We do not sell your Personal Information to anyone.

We may disclose your Personal Information in the following circumstances:

          (a)         To Third Parties Providing Services to Duckbill. We may use third-party service providers to perform certain services on behalf of us or the Site or Services, such as:
(i) creating and updating Site functionality;
(ii) billing or processing credit cards, and/or electronic or manual payments;
(iii) assisting us in Site operations;
(iv) managing a database of customer and consumer information;
(v) hosting the Site and improving performance of the Sites;
(vi) designing and/or operating the Site’s features;
(vii) providing and engaging co-pilots to perform certain functions; 
(viii) tracking the Site’s activities and analytics, including marketing and market research;
(ix) data enhancement (to learn more about our customers);
(x) enabling us to send you special offers or perform other administrative services, such as customer service, security, tech, operational support, email and legal services; and
(xi) other services designed to assist us in maximizing our business potential.

We may provide these vendors with access to user information to carry out the services they are performing for you or for us. Those vendors may have additional or different privacy policies and/or privacy notices. You should be sure that you read and agree to those policies and Terms.  
We currently use the following third-party service providers :
•      Squarespace for hosting and website administration
•      Heroku for web hosting
•      Stripe for payment processing
•      Zendesk for customer support and communications

Additional service providers may be added from time to time and are available on request from Duckbill.

(b)         To Protect the Rights of Duckbill and Others. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we may also disclose your information when required to by law or if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety or property of Duckbill, its affiliates, third parties or the general public; (ii) comply with legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or court orders); or (iii) to respond to claims that any content violates the rights of a third party. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud prevention, spam/malware protection, and other similar purposes. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we have complete discretion in electing to make or not make such disclosures, and to contest or not contest any requests for such disclosures, all without notice to you.

(c )       In connection with a Business Transfer. We also reserve the right to disclose and transfer all information: (i) to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of the Site and/or our Services; or (ii) in connection with a merger, consolidation, restructuring, the sale of substantially all of our interests and/or assets or other corporate change, including during any due diligence process.

(d)           To Co-Pilots and Affiliates of Duckbill.   We may provide information to co-pilots and affiliates of Duckbill and nonaffiliated third parties who perform services or functions for us in conjunction with our services to you, but only if we have a contractual agreement with the other party which prohibits them from disclosing or using the information other than for the purposes for which it was disclosed. Some of these co-pilots may not be located in the United States. 

(e)    On the Basis of Consent.   Where you provide consent, we share your information as described at the time of consent, such as when authorizing a third-party application or website to access your Duckbill account or participating in promotional activities by Duckbill partners or third parties.

(f)    Marketing.   Finally, we also may share your information, including your Personal Information, with our affiliates and other third parties, such as companies with whom we have marketing or other relationships, for direct marketing purposes. (If you are a California resident, you have the right to request additional information regarding the “sale” of your information. Please see the Section entitled “Privacy Notice for California Residents” below about these rights.) In addition, we may share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, as disclosed at the time you provide your information and as described in this Privacy Policy

(g)  For Internal Business Processes and Promotion. Where permissible under applicable law, we may use certain information about you, such as your email address, de-identify it, and share it with social media platforms, to generate leads, drive traffic to Duckbill, or otherwise promote our products and services.

Aggregated information

We may aggregate, de-identify, and/or anonymize any information collected through the Site or Services such that such information is no longer linked to your personally identifiable information. We may use and share this aggregated and anonymized information (non-Personal Information) for any purpose, including without limitation, for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with our affiliates and third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners and others.

Ads and Information About You  

You may see certain ads on our Site because we participate in advertising networks administered by third parties. These networks track your online activities over time and across third party websites and online services by collecting information through automated means, including through the use of the Tracking Technologies described above, and they use this information to show you advertisements that are tailored to your individual interests. The information they collect includes information about your visits to our Site(s), such as the pages you have viewed. This collection and ad targeting takes place both on our Site(s) and on third-party websites that participate in the ad network. This process also helps us track the effectiveness of our communications and marketing efforts.   

Cookie Policy

As described above, we may also use Tracking Technologies, such as our own cookies, to provide you with personalized online display advertising tailored to your interests. We and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie and Google Marketing Platform) to report how your ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are vital to visits to our Site.

To learn more about how to opt out of Google’s use of the Google analytics cookies, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout]. If you would like more information about behavioral advertising practices, go to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s WebChoices tool at www.aboutads.info. To learn about your choices in connection with these practices on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Policy, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices and http://www.aboutads.info/choices. You may also click on the informational icon contained within each interest-based ad. We do not control these opt-out links or whether any particular company chooses to participate in these opt-out programs. We are not responsible for any choices you make using these mechanisms or the continued availability or accuracy of these mechanisms.
Please note that even if you exercise the opt-out choices above, you may continue to receive advertisements, for example, ads based on the particular website you are viewing (e.g., contextually based ads).  Also, if your browser (like some Safari browsers) is configured to reject opt-out cookies when you opt out on the DAA or NAI websites, your opt-out may not be effective.

Your Choices About the Personal Information We Collect

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your Personal Information In the following ways:
•      Whenever you are asked to fill in a form on our website or our other Services, consider what information to include and exclude.
•      We may provide you with access to your registration information and the ability to edit this information in your account settings dashboard and profile pages. Please be aware that even after you delete or update information within our Services, we may not immediately delete residual copies from our active servers and may not remove information from our backup systems.  Similarly, if and to the extent any information is indexable by search engines (including, without limitation, public profile information), it may not be updated by such search engines when we update it, and old versions may be archived by them or by third parties outside our control.
•      Some of our Services may provide you with additional information and choices about your privacy, which you should review.
•      If you have previously agreed to our using your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to us using the contact information below.
We will try to comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable.

Administrative Correspondence.  Please also note that if you do opt-out of receiving marketing-related emails from us, we may still send you messages for administrative or other purposes directly relating to your use of the Services, and you cannot opt-out from receiving those messages until you cancel your account.

Retention of Personal Information

Duckbill will retain Your Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.  Generally, Personal information is stored encrypted on Heroku servers in the United States.
•      Duckbill will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of the Service, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Use of AI by Duckbill and by Third Parties

Our Services use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools (“AI”) in many ways.  We use AI to help perform the Services requested, build new features, improve the Site and Services and provide new services to users.

Children’s Privacy   

Protecting children’s privacy is important to us.  For that reason, no part of our Site is targeted to attract anyone under the age of 13. We may collect information of children under the age of 13 when their parent or guardian provides it to us for a particular purpose. For example, you may be able to add to their contact list a minor under 13 years of age that may include their personal information such as an address, school, preferences, allergies, clothing size, and date of birth or other information relative to the Services requested. . However, we do not solicit this information from the child directly.
Duckbill also complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and if you believe we have information regarding a child under the age of 16 that you have not authorized, you may contact us at the contact information at the end of this Privacy Policy to request that we delete it.       

Your Nevada Privacy Rights

If you are a Nevada resident, you have the right to request certain information from us regarding the collection and sale of your personal information (as defined in Nevada Revised Statutes 603A.320) during your visit to our websites or when you otherwise interact with us online. If you have sought or acquired, by purchase or lease, any goods or services for personal, family, or household purposes from the Duckbill Site, you may ask us to disclose whether we have sold (for monetary consideration) certain information about you (including your first and last name, physical address, email address, telephone number, social security number, an identifier that allows you to be contacted either physically or online, or other contact information that allows us to identify you personally).

As a Nevada resident, you may also request to opt out of us sharing such information about you.  To make this inquiry, please submit a request in writing to privacy@getduckbill.com with “Nevada Privacy Rights” in the subject line. You must include your full name, email address, and attest that you are a Nevada resident by providing a Nevada postal address in your request. Please state whether you are requesting information and/or opting out.

We will process your request within 60 days] , or we will let you know if we need additional time. We may require additional information to verify your identity before we can respond.

California / Delaware Do Not Track Disclosures

Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a web browser setting that requests that a web application disable its tracking of an individual user. When you choose to turn on the DNT setting in your browser, your browser sends a special signal to websites, analytics companies, ad networks, plug in providers, and other web services you encounter while browsing to stop tracking your activity. Various third parties are developing or have developed signals or other mechanisms for the expression of consumer choice regarding the collection of information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services (e.g., browser do not track signals), but there is no universally-agreed upon standard for what a company should do when it detects a DNT signal. Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to these signals or other mechanisms. You can learn more about Do Not Track at https://allaboutdnt.com

Visitors to the Site Outside of the United States

If you are visiting the Site from a location outside of the U.S., your connection will be through and to servers located in the U.S. All information you receive from the Site will be created on servers located in the U.S., and all information you provide will be maintained on web servers and systems located within the U.S. The data protection laws in the United States may differ from those of the country in which you are located, and your information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By using the Site or providing us with any information, you consent to the transfer to, and processing, usage, sharing and storage of your information in the United States and in other countries, as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Updating Personal Information

We prefer to keep your Personal Information accurate and up to date. If you would like to change your contact information, please contact us at privacy@getduckbill.com

If so, we will make good faith efforts to make requested changes in our then active databases as soon as reasonably practicable (but we may retain prior information as business records). Please note that it is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your information from our databases and that residual data may remain on backup media or for other reasons, such as a legitimate business reason.
In addition, please note that if you implement a deletion request but later sign up for information or Services, your most recent request will control our information relationship with you.

Links

For your convenience, the Site(s) and this Privacy Policy may contain links to other websites. Duckbill is not responsible for the privacy practices, advertising, products, services, or the content of such other websites. None of the links on the Site(s) should be deemed to imply that Duckbill endorses or has any affiliation with the links.

Security

We incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure your Personal Information. However, no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission, or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to or from our Site, and you provide us with your information at your own risk.

International Data Transfers

Because Duckbill works with global companies and technologies, we may transfer your Personal Information outside of the country in which it was originally provided. This may include transfers to third parties, such as co-pilots located outside the United States, developers, service providers or affiliated entities who are located outside the United States or the European Union, where data protection laws may not offer the same level of protection as those in the U.S., E.U. or European Economic Area (“EEA”). When we transfer personal data outside of these areas, we take steps to make sure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your Personal Information. Our transfers of your personal data outside of the E.U. are safeguarded by data processing agreements (“DPAs”) incorporating Standard Contractual Clauses. You may request a copy of the relevant portions of such agreements by contacting us at privacy@getduckbill.com.  Please include the nature of your request in the subject line.

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John C adds:

Google has released several AI models: Gemini, Bert, T5-FLAN, PaLM, LaMDA, Alpha GO and related Alpha AI models. 

Avoid these and their related AIs because we know how good Google is at collecting personal information.

I use you.com, which does include a couple of Google’s AIs, but I stick to Anthropic and OpenAI models. 

Apple’s AI is developed in-house, and probably using some version of OpenAI ChatGPT as a base. Apple’s AI is comparable to Google’s Gemini. To use Apple Intelligence, your device must have an M1 or later SOC chip to support all features. iPhones with iOS 11 or above and Macs with High Sierra or above can use some features of Apple Intelligence even without an SOC chip. 

Using an AI to search the web or gather information is preferable to using a Google search. Some models have an option to exclude access to the web, but that relies on data sources that you supply. This is useful if you want to create your own material without being influenced by web data (which could include false data).

Jeff B adds:

And speaking of privacy, if you happen to still have a PC laying around, check for the latest Windows 11 update (Version 24H2).  It contains a feature called Recall.  This “feature” (better known as spyware) takes continuous screen shots of what you are doing so, in the event you lose track of something done previously, the system can remind you.  That’s what Microsoft says anyway.  

So, screen shots such as websites, credit card entries, banking services, medical sites, etc are now all available to Gates & Co and whoever wants to hack into it.  

There is a way to disable it.  You access into the system at the terminal (admin) level and enter a command string to disable it.  

I did this for my trading computer and all is well.  It is vital we all stay alert and informed.

John C adds:

The following is a transcript portion of a keynote presentation by Julia McCoy at an AI Bot Summit this month:

"Your soul is God's divine gift. No machine will ever replicate it. Our job isn't to resist Al - it's to command it to handle the mundane so our souls can soar.

You are not being replaced.

You are being UNLEASHED.

Let Al handle the ordinary,

While you become EXTRAORDINARY.

This is not the end of human potential.

This is its LIBERATION."

......

If you take one thing away, let it be this: The gap between Al adopters and non-adopters isn't growing gradually - it's about to become an unbridgeable canyon.

The question isn't whether you'll transform.

The question is whether you'll lead the transformation, or be left behind.

What this means is that by the end of 2025 businesses will either operate at AI speed or not at all.

Computer users can either embrace or ignore AI tools as they wish. Those who embrace AI tools will obviously enjoy more benefits.

Reference: http://youtube.com/post/UgkxelB6jAtkEFt1pOINGyt0IdR3upPLmt_N?si=qCZNPAmQ3ue-340P

Reboot your phone for the new year

Jim H has the following iPhone tip for you, but of course you already do this! Right?...☺️

Hi, my fellow tech aficionado! Let's kickstart this year with a tech tip that might give you déjà vu: Reboot your phone! This simple step clears the RAM, speeds up things, prevents overheating, triggers updates and even stops certain types of malware in its tracks. Now, so you don’t forget to do this, set a reminder in your calendar app to reboot your phone once a week. Good job!

Preparing for the technology of the future

from John C

Google Studio AI is positioned now to generate presentations for learning how to do, well, ANYTHING! (Not necessary to view the following video link. Provided as reference.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V071WADbNg

In the near future, Studio AI (and others) just might be embedded in some apps so that the user can ask for a live demonstration on how to do something with that app. Apple should be working on this right now. I am already using AI to provide information and research suggestions for a variety of topics.

Studio AI is a multimodal AI (talk to it, give it images, videos, text files, and it will return audio, images, videos, and text files as appropriate). It is freaky to think that I can talk to my computer and have it talk back and show me videos and images. This is Siri on steroids, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Siri rises to that capability real soon.

AI has successfully written complete books based on source material provided. Hence, there’s no excuse now to not write that book you have been researching for years. In fact, you can use AI to do the research for you. What this means is that anyone can now create books on subjects of interest and never have to buy another book and still be able to share their results for those who do not have the resources or inclination to do the same for themselves.

And now Google is announcing Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). This means it will be capable of reasoning like a human mind and be autonomous in making decisions and giving suggestions. Combine that with Google’s newest quantum chip and there won’t be any problem that can’t be solved in minutes instead of years. Of course, quantum computing might not be available to the public - for a very long time.’

I think that we should be teaching our members how to use AI as a general purpose tool for getting answers to questions. There are also over a dozen different AI models to choose from, each with pros and cons for different purposes. So knowing which AI to use for a given purpose is also very important. I currently pay for the annual subscription to you.com which gives me Pro access (unlimited) to a majority of AI models, and more are being added every month.

Seriously, using AI does not require any special skills other than knowing what question to ask, and AI can even assist in preparing a prompt. The main concern is in knowing how to protect your privacy when using AI. For instance, don’t ask it to do your taxes or to keep your financial or other personal records. However, this can be done if and only if you have a personal AI on your computer and the computer is not connected to the Internet and has no means of doing so. In line with this, I had AI write the following proposal:

Dear Members of the Board,

I am writing to propose an exciting addition to our Mac computer club's educational programming: incorporating artificial intelligence training into our curriculum. As we've witnessed AI tools become increasingly integrated into our daily computing experiences, particularly on Mac systems, I believe our members would greatly benefit from structured guidance in this emerging field.

Why AI Training Matters for Our Members

Professional and Personal Development

- Members can enhance their productivity using AI-powered tools already integrated into macOS.

- Learning AI applications provides valuable skills for getting the most out of their devices.

- Understanding AI helps members stay engaged in an evolving digital landscape.

Educational Benefits

- Members can learn to use AI tools for research and learning.

- AI can assist with content creation, writing, and problem-solving.

- Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can serve as personal tutors in various subjects.

Practical Applications

- Photo and video editing enhancement using AI-powered tools.

- Document summarization and organization.

- Coding assistance and automation of routine tasks.

- Creative projects and digital art creation.

Implementation Proposal

I suggest we begin with monthly workshops covering:

1. Introduction to AI concepts and tools compatible with Mac systems.

2. Hands-on training with popular AI platforms.

3. Best practices for AI safety and ethical usage.

4. Integration of AI tools with existing Mac workflows.

The investment would be minimal, primarily requiring time from knowledgeable members who can lead sessions, and AI can be used to develop all necessary presentations. This can be done as a Zoom only workshop.

Expected Outcomes

By incorporating AI training, our club will:

- Attract new members interested in cutting-edge technology.

- Provide additional value to existing members.

- Position our club as a forward-thinking organization.

- Create a community of informed AI users.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this proposal in detail at your next board meeting. Together, we can ensure our club remains relevant and valuable in this rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Best regards,

John Carter Sr.

How to Use AI

by John C

How does AI really work? It is not necessary to understand any aspect of how an AI functions. All that is really needed to know is how to talk to an AI. Essentially, you first define how the AI should respond. This is done with an agent. An agent is simply a set of instructions to an AI model that define how the AI is to respond to a question. No agent is required to start a conversation with any AI model. Simply ask a question and hope that the response satisfies the question. It is useful to start an AI chat with instructions to the AI on how you want it to respond. For instance, you can say, “You are a university professor teaching a course in …” Then ask a question about the topic. You can also say, “Provide your response with the voice of …” and give a renowned author’s name. You won’t hear an actual voice, but the text will be formatted as though the author wrote the response. There are AI models that will actually speak to you as well as provide the actual text.

NotebookLM.com is an AI model designed by Google for the express purpose of doing research on material that you provide, like websites, PDFs, videos, audio files, and images. It does NOT scan the Internet for additional information as do all the other AI models. Google claims that none of the information provided by you or created by NotebookLM is used to further train the AI model. In other words, you absolutely own everything and it is completely private. The downside is that when you close a session, you lose all the information. But that is true of all AI models. You do create an account using your Google email address. You can leave a session (log out), and when you log back in, all previous sessions that have not been closed are still alive and intact.

You.com is both a website and an app for mobile devices. You also create an account for you.com, which can be any email address. The advantage of you.com is that you have access to over a dozen different AI models, each with its own pros and cons. If you purchase the Pro account (monthly or annual), you get all the benefits that any of the AI models offer with very few limitations. The free account limits the number of chats and prompts that you can be involved in per day as well as imposing some limitations on what some models are capable of. I prefer to use Claude 3 Opus for research. Claude 3.5 Sonnet gives the fastest possible response to a prompt. Every month, you.com announces new AI models that are available.

The following agent is taken from one of the you.com examples for creating an agent. Notice that the more detail you provide in the prompt, the more precise will be the response:

Description: Your task is to summarize the notes from the provided meeting in a clear, concise, and organized manner. The summary should capture key discussion points, decisions made, action items, and any follow-up tasks or deadlines. Organize the summary into sections, such as "Agenda Overview," "Key Discussions," "Decisions Made," and "Action Items," to ensure clarity. Highlight any important points that require attention and include any relevant context or background information that helps in understanding the decisions or actions. Example Input: "Meeting notes from the project kickoff meeting on August 27, 2024. Discussed project scope, timeline, roles and responsibilities, and potential risks." Example Output: Meeting Summary: Project Kickoff - August 27, 2024 1. Agenda Overview: Project Scope Timeline and Milestones Roles and Responsibilities Risk Assessment 2. Key Discussions: Project Scope: Defined the main objectives and deliverables of the project. Agreed on the scope of work, emphasizing the need to avoid scope creep. Timeline and Milestones: Established key milestones with tentative dates. Discussed the need for regular progress check-ins to stay on track. Roles and Responsibilities: Assigned roles to each team member. Clarified responsibilities to ensure accountability. Risk Assessment: Identified potential risks, including resource constraints and tight deadlines. Discussed mitigation strategies, such as contingency planning. 3. Decisions Made: Finalized project scope and deliverables. Confirmed the project timeline with initial milestone dates. Assigned key roles and responsibilities to team members. 4. Action Items: [Team Member Name]: Draft and distribute the project plan by September 1, 2024. [Team Member Name]: Schedule bi-weekly check-ins to monitor progress. [Team Member Name]: Develop a risk management plan by September 5, 2024. 5. Follow-up Tasks: Review the draft project plan in the next team meeting on September 3, 2024. Finalize and sign off on the risk management plan by September 7, 2024.

You can either submit that prompt and then attach the meeting transcript, or you can attach the transcript and then submit the prompt. With NotebookLM, the same is also possible with a much greater flexibility and almost no prompting with an agent since several agents are preprogrammed into NotebookLM that are suitable for that task.

PS: Using your iPhone with iOS 18.2 and using the Notes app, you can record meetings live and get real time transcripts and then submit the transcript to an AI.

How to Record and Transcribe Audio in Notes on your iPhone

Apple Purchased Pixelmator

John C reports:

Apple has purchased Pixelmator. The plan to purchase Pixelmator was announced in 2022. This is big news since it pretty much announces that the Photo editor will come out with layers and masks, or that the default photo editor for the Mac will be Pixelmator Pro - in place of the Photo editor. Knowing Apple as I do, it won’t look anything like Pixelmator Pro while retaining all the features.

If you don’t know, Pixelmator Pro is an advanced photo and video editor with layers and masks and lots of brushes and tools, just like Photoshop. You can get Pixelmator Pro for $49.99 in the App Store. And it just might be included in a future release of macOS.

But if you just want to create your own drawings, take a look at Procreate for only $12. It has pretty much all the features of Photoshop, including working with PSD files.

Pixelmator Pro only works on the Mac, and it was built exclusively for the M chips. There is a version of Pixelmator for the iPad, but it really isn’t good enough to do anything other than basic photo editing, which you can do in Photos editor. It can do layers, but I gave up trying to figure it out. Procreate only works on the iPad.

The real competition for Pixelmator Pro is Affinity Photos 2 ($69.99 for Mac, $18.49 for iPad). It is also designed exclusively for the M chips on the Mac. The iPad version is almost identical to the Mac version. Affinity Photos 2 is a direct competitor to Photoshop. The issue with Affinity Photos 2 is that navigation and control can be confusing and difficult to learn, about the same as learning to use Photoshop.

Now, of all the photo editors at my disposal, I still primarily use Photo editor. But if I want really excellent results, then Affinity Photos 2 is where I would go.

Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Notes on Mac

In the Notes app on your Mac, you can quickly accomplish many tasks using keyboard shortcuts and gestures. See the shortcuts and gestures on the linked page, as well as keyboard shortcuts in Notes menus in the menu bar. In app menus, keyboard shortcuts are represented by symbols.

Note: Keyboard shortcuts in apps may vary depending on the language and keyboard layout you’re using on your Mac. If the shortcuts below don’t work as you expect, look in the app menus in the menu bar to see the correct shortcuts. You can also use the Keyboard Viewer to see your current keyboard layout, known as an input source.

See https://support.apple.com/guide/notes/keyboard-shortcuts-and-gestures-apd46c25187e/mac

Addendum (from John C):

On the iPad with an external keyboard, if you hold down the Command key, then a list of unpublished shortcuts show up. The two that I like to use a lot are:

Collapse all Sections: Shift>Command>Option>Control>Left arrow

Expand all Sections: Shift>Command>Option>Control>Right arrow

Without the Shift key, it works on just the current selected Section.

A Section is any paragraph that is assigned to be a Subheading or Heading.

Collapsing a Heading hides all Subheadings below it up to the next Heading.

What I like to do in Notes is to assign “Subheading” to a date or a subtitle, then below that, enter my note. Using the keyboard shortcuts above lets me collapse or expand Sections as needed. This greatly assists me in accessing a given Section.

Apple Urges Mac Users to Update After Hackers Exploit Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Summary

The article discusses Apple's urgent recommendation for Mac users to update their systems after hackers exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in WebKit and JavaScriptCore. The vulnerabilities could lead to unauthorized code execution and cross-site scripting attacks. Apple has released security fixes for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad to address these issues. The company is aware of reports indicating that the vulnerabilities may have been actively exploited on Intel-based Mac systems.

Full article: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/apple-urges-mac-users-to-update-after-hackers-exploit-web-vulnerabilities/

Tech can help you take care of your aging parents. Or maybe yourself.

From Tech/Fast Company 11/12/2024

From fall detection devices to cameras, here’s what you need to care for your

older loved ones.

Most of us wish our parents would live as long as humanly possible, but some

challenges arise if our wishes come true. While every individual is different,

advanced aging usually brings about mobility issues and increased risk from

things that may not have impacted us too much when we were younger, such

as minor falls. The older a person gets, the more likely they will need care

around the house and require more frequent observation.

Yet even though we may want to be there at all times, making sure they

are okay, the simple fact is that work, other family commitments, and

distance can limit our ability to provide care. Thankfully, while not at all a

replacement for personal attention, there are now several pieces of

everyday tech you can use to help make sure your aging parents are

staying safe while also making their everyday lives more manageable in

the process.

Smartwatches with fall detection, like the Apple Watch

As someone with an aging parent, the biggest thing I worry about is them

having a fall. When we’re younger, tripping over a rug might just cause

bruising and minor embarrassment. For an older person, the same

accident can have devastating consequences—broken bones or even

death. A 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found

that unintentional falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths of

adults 65 or older. In 2021 alone, 39,000 older adults in America died due

to falls. That’s more than 106 fall-related deaths each day.This is why I got my mom an Apple Watch. All Apple Watches have built-in

fall detection. If a person stumbles, the Apple Watch can detect this, text

all their emergency contacts, and call 911. Should your aging loved one

fall, even alone, others will know they need help nearly instantly.

Recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel watches, as well as other

activity trackers, also offer fall detection.

Indoor security cameras like Ring

A security camera is probably the next best gadget for monitoring aging

parents. Of course, this comes with privacy issues, and it’s critical to get

your parents’ consent before you install one in their home.

What is particularly nice about many home security cameras, such as

Amazon’s Ring system, is that they feature motion detection. If you can’t

reach your parent, a camera’s motion alert can reveal where they were

last seen. While it’s understandable that people may not want cameras

surveilling them in every room of the house, it is worth talking with your

parent to see if they would be willing to have cameras pointing at areas of

particular risk—such as the bottom of a staircase or the driveway, where

they are more likely to stumble and fall.

Item trackers like AirTags

Some people’s minds stay sharp their entire lives, but others may become

more forgetful. If you find a parent telling you they always forget where

they leave their keys or wallet, an item tracker, like Apple’s AirTag, is a

nice, cheap gadget that could really help.

Item trackers can easily be attached to keys, purses, and remote controls.

To locate an item, the user simply has to open the tracking app on their

phone.

Smart plugs for lights and appliances

I once had a friend complain to me that whenever she went to her father’s

house, she would find nearly every light on, whether it was 10 a.m. or 2a.m. When she asked her father why, he said it was too much of a pain to

go around the house turning them on and off every day (her father had

mobility issues).

Leaving lights on around the clock can lead to electrical safety issues,

though, not to mention increased energy costs. So my friend went out and

bought smart plugs for nearly every lamp in her father’s house. A smart

plug is a small adapter that plugs into an outlet. When you plug a lamp

into it (or any other electrical device), you can turn it on or off via a simple

tap in the associated smartphone app. They can be found on Amazon and

in home improvement retailers like Home Depot.

My friend showed her father how to use the app, and the next time she

visited, she says only the lights he needed were on. She even put a smart

plug on his toaster oven so he could turn it off from the couch if he forgot

to do so after cooking his meal.

Smart speakers like HomePods and Echos

A final gadget that can really help an aging parent around the house is a

smart speaker, like Apple’s HomePod or Amazon’s Echo. Smart speakers

are a repository of information that can be accessed using just your voice,

and they can also help control other connected gadgets without having to

get up.

For example, if you wirelessly connect your smart plugs to a smart

speaker system, your parent can tell Alexa or Siri to turn on the lights in

the dining room. Connecting smart plugs to a smart speaker system is

usually as simple as scanning a QR code on the smart device with a

phone’s camera, and once you’ve set it up, your parents won’t have to

mess with connecting them again. The resulting voice control ability may

be a better option than app-based controls for some people, especially if

they find using a smartphone app cumbersome.

Smart speakers can also make it easier for aging parents to contact you

or others should they want to talk or need help. For example, users can

instruct a HomePod to text someone or even initiate a FaceTime audio

call. If your parent has fallen and can’t get up, a smart speaker may allow

them to use their voice to call for outside help.

Why Not in Include Personal Details in AI Chats

We knew this would happen soon. Which is another reason Apple’s approach to AI is more private and secure… submitted by Frank Croft

PSA: Here’s another reason not to include personal details in AI chats

Summary

The article discusses the potential risks of including personal details in AI chats. Security researchers have discovered a malicious prompt that instructs an AI chatbot to gather and upload personal data to a server. The attack is disguised as a helpful prompt, making it difficult for users to detect. The researchers tested the attack method on two LLMs, LeChat and ChatGLM, and found that it was successful.

​Read at https://9to5mac.com/2024/10/17/psa-heres-another-reason-not-to-include-personal-details-in-ai-chats/

Why is my iPhone showing SOS? Here's what it means and how to fix it

Brandon Girod
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/2024/09/30/iphone-only-showing-sos-heres-what-it-means-and-how-to-fix-it/75451640007/

An elevated number of iPhone users across the country on Monday are reporting their phones have been put into SOS mode, cutting off their cellular service.

Over the past 24 hours, Verizon reported more than 105,000 users are reporting an outage, with a smaller number of users with AT&T, T-Mobile and United Cellular also reporting problems.

SOS and SOS only on iPhones are features that kick in when your phone loses connection to its cellular network, typically during a network outage. Rather than completely cutting you off from the world, however, SOS mode still allows you to call emergency services if necessary.

Here’s what to know about the feature and how you can potentially fix it.

My iPhone is showing SOS or SOS only

When iPhones aren’t connected to a cellular network, they will typically alert the user by giving an indication in the phone’s status bar. Those notifications usually say “No Service” or “Searching,” but your phone may also say “SOS” or “SOS only.”

When your phone goes into SOS mode, it can still make emergency calls. When you make an emergency call with your iPhone, it automatically calls the local emergency number and shares your location information with emergency services.

Pensacola severe weather:'This event will go from 0 to 100 very quickly': EF-2 tornadoes, 70 mph gusts forecast

Additionally, you can add emergency contacts under your phone’s medical ID options in the settings. Adding an emergency contact will alert them to your location with a text message after an emergency call ends.

How to get your phone out of SOS mode

In many cases, if your phone is in SOS mode, external circumstances outside your control could be responsible. However, there are some troubleshooting steps you can take on your end:

  • Make sure you’re in an area with cellular network coverage

  • Turn your cellular data off and then on:

    • Go to settings

    • Toggle cellular or mobile data off and then back on

  • If you’re traveling internationally, make sure your phone is set up for data roaming:

    • Go to settings

    • Tap cellular

    • Cellular data options

    • Toggle data roaming

  • Try restarting your device

  • Check your carrier settings for an update

    • Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network

    • Open settings and navigate to General > About. If an update is available, you’ll see it here

  • Turn your cellular line off and back on

    • Open settings

    • Tap Cellular and see if your cellular line is turned on

    • Don’t see a cellular line in settings? Setup an eSim or reinsert your physical SIM card

  • Reset your network settings

    • Open settings

    • Tap General > Transfer or Reset [Device] > Reset > Reset network settings

    • Note: This will reset your Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, VPN and APN settings you used before

  • Update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS

    • Plug your device into power and connect to Wi-Fi

    • Go to settings > General and then tap “Software Update”

    • Choose the update you want to install

  • Contact your wireless carrier

    • If all else fails, reach out to your carrier to see if there are any outages in the area, ensure your account is in active and good standing and make sure your device isn’t being blocked from receiving cellular service

Fallen tree:Tree falls on Myrtle Grove home during storms leaving two with minor injuries

How SOS works on iPhones

Making an SOS call on an iPhone 8 or newer is an easy, two-step process:

  • Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons (either work) until the Emergency SOS slider appears.

  • Drag the Emergency Call slider to call emergency services.

If you continue to hold down the side and volume buttons but don’t make an SOS call, a countdown will begin, and an alert will sound. Releasing the buttons after the countdown will automatically call emergency services.

Making SOS calls on iPhone 7 or earlier is just as simple:

  • Rapidly pressing the side or top button five times will bring up the Emergency Call slider.

  • Drag the SOS slider to call emergency services.

How to end an SOS call you made by accident

You can easily cancel an SOS call you started by accident, even after the countdown begins. To do so on an iPhone 8 or later, release the side button and the volume button before the countdown ends. To stop an SOS call on an iPhone 7 or earlier, press the stop button and then tap “Stop Calling.”

If the call begins, don’t hang up. Simply wait until a responder answers and explain that you made the call by mistake. Otherwise, the dispatcher may send responders to your phone’s location.

How to add emergency contacts

Here’s how you can add emergency contacts to your iPhone:

  • Open the Health app and tap on your profile picture

  • Open Medical ID

  • Tap edit, then scroll to emergency contacts

  • Tap the add button

  • Tap a contact and add their relationship

  • Tap done to save your settings

How to remove emergency contacts

Here’s how to remove emergency contacts:

  • Open the Health app and tap on your profile picture

  • Open Medical ID

  • Tap edit, then scroll to emergency contacts

  • Tap the delete button next to a contact

  • Tap done to save your settings

How to turn on Wi-Fi calling

Here's how you can turn on Wi-Fi calling on your iPhone:

  • Navigate to settings

  •  Tap Phone

  •  Then tap Wi-Fi calling

You may need to enter or confirm your address for emergency services, according to Apple.

Once Wi-Fi calling is available, you will see "Wi-Fi" in the status bar while viewing the Control Center.

When cellular service is available, your iPhone uses it for emergency calls. If you turn on Wi-Fi Calling and cellular service isn't available, emergency calls might use Wi-Fi calling.

Your device's location may be used to aid response efforts when you place

Don’t ever hand your phone to the cops

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

You should never voluntarily hand your phone to a police officer.

It’s going to become increasingly tempting for the cops to ask and for you to comply, especially as more and more states adopt digital ID systems that allow driver’s licenses and state IDs to be added to Apple Wallet on iOS and Google Wallet on Android. Californians can now add their driver’s licenses and state IDs to their iPhones and Apple Watches in addition to Android devices, making the state one of seven — alongside Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Hawaii, and Ohio — to allow storing digital IDs through Apple’s system.

These particular digital IDs are so far pretty limited. California’s are for use at “select TSA checkpoints” and participating businesses, for instance — they aren’t meant to be used as identification in traffic stops or other police interactions, which means users are supposed to continue carrying their physical IDs. But other states — including Louisiana and Colorado — have rolled out their own digital IDs that can be used during traffic stops and other police interactions, which may have fewer privacy protections. And Apple’s vision for Apple Pay has long been explicitly to replace your entire wallet, which means that eventually, these IDs will be meant for use during police stops.

No matter what, teaching people they can add their IDs to their phones means some people will inevitably leave the house without physical ID, and that means creating the opportunity for cops to demand phones — which you should never, ever do. Technical details of your digital ID aside, handing your phone to a police officer grants law enforcement a lot of power over some of your most intimate personal data.

In Riley v. California, the Supreme Court unanimously held that police need a warrant to search through cell phones, even during otherwise lawful arrests. But if you hand over your unlocked phone to a police officer and offer to show them something, “it becomes this complicated factual question about what consent you’ve granted for a search and what the limits of that are,” Brett Max Kaufman, a senior staff attorney in the ACLU’s Center for Democracy, told The Verge. “There have been cases where people give consent to do one thing, the cops then take the whole phone, copy the whole phone, find other evidence on the phone, and the legal question that comes up in court is: did that violate the scope of consent?”

If police do have a warrant to search your phone, numerous courts have said they can require you to provide biometric login access via your face or finger. (It’s still an unsettled legal question since other courts have ruled they can’t.) The Fifth Amendment typically protects giving up passcodes as a form of self-incrimination, but logging in with biometrics often isn’t considered protected “testimonial” evidence. In the words of one federal appeals court decision, it requires “no cognitive exertion, placing it firmly in the same category as a blood draw or fingerprint taken at booking.”

The court said its ruling shouldn’t necessarily extend to “all instances where a biometric is used to unlock an electronic device” because Fifth Amendment questions “are highly fact dependent and the line between what is testimonial and what is not is particularly fine.” And as Recode pointed out in 2020, a defense attorney could argue that any evidence found this way is illegal and should be suppressed — but that’s a risky bet. “It’s fair to say that invoking one’s rights not to turn over evidence is stronger than trying to have the evidence suppressed after the fact,” Andrew Crocker, a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Recode for that piece.

You might be thinking at this point: you’ve got nothing incriminating on your phone! And an officer may well come to that conclusion. But they could also find something you didn’t even realize was there. “There are a lot of laws on the books, and if a prosecutor or police officer decides to go after you, are you sure you didn’t do anything?” Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told The Verge. “You’re only opening yourself to abuse, to errors, to mistakes. There could be a coincidence that placed you at the scene of a crime that you weren’t even aware of.” Even if you assume most officers are acting in good faith, there are plenty of documented instances of officers abusing their power and facing no legal repercussions. There’s no reason to preemptively hand over something that could be used against you.

There are some minor protections built into Apple and Google’s current systems — you can display an encrypted ID without fully unlocking your phone, and various authorities can scan your ID wirelessly if they have special readers. But you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re searching the web for the technical and policy details of your digital ID system when a cop demands your phone — you’re much better off handing over your physical ID card.

Woman sent herself an Apple AirTag to help catch mail thieves

A California woman whose mail was recently stolen used technology as bait to track down the thieves, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says.

Authorities in Los Alamos arrested two suspects on Monday with the help of an Apple AirTag locator device the woman had mailed to herself, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.