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Marketed as a new way to pay, a step into an exciting future, or a way of taking back control against governments and financial institutions - cryptocurrency has become a rapid growth market for societies across the world.

But how have we got here? In this Which? Investigation we discover how despite social media being awash with celebrities endorsing these new digital currencies, they’re anything but a safe and stable investment.

Read our cryptocurrency explained article to find out more or report suspected fraud activity to Action Fraud.

With warnings about climate change and the recent heatwave fresh in our memory, we take a deep dive into the science behind sunscreen and debunk some of the claims made by some products available on shelves up and down the country.

In this Which? Investigation as we take a look at our own tests which show not all products provide the protection you’d expect, while we also hear about early research which could prove how our fragile ecosystem could be harmed by some of the chemicals meant to help protect our skin.

Read more about our mineral sunscreen tests or check out our sunscreen reviews (subscription required).

We’re facing an unprecedented energy crisis. Over the last year numerous firms have gone bust, while bills are rising significantly. And that’s not all… in October prices are set to rise again.

In this Which? Investigation we take a deep dive into the energy market. We’ll hear stories of those struggling to heat their homes, cook their food, and ask if there’s anything we can do to help lessen the impact of these soaring prices? Along the way Grace Forell also takes a look into the future to learn when the situation might improve, and what needs to happen in order to see our bills reduce.

Read more about the ways we can reduce our bills and find out whether now is the time to fix your tariff?

Are you excluded from the chance to make greener travel choices simply because of where you live? It's something that came up with our experts when we were discussing the issue of travel chaos for last week episode.

In this bitesize bonus, we ask whether it’s possible for a trip abroad to be both cheap and somewhat eco-friendly? And, to help answer that question, we’ll carry out our own real world experiment, stay tuned to hear our findings.

After two years of lockdowns, stay and home orders and border closures, the travel industry is open again and we can finally get back to enjoying trips abroad. Why then are we facing chaotic scenes at airports, mass cancellations, and customers being denied compensation that’s rightfully theirs?

In this Which? Investigation we’ll go to the heart of the issues currently impacting the sector. We’ll hear customers, industry experts, as well as getting the view from those representing some of the UK’s largest tour operators. With summer holidays on the horizon, host Grace Forell ask is now time to panic? What needs to be done to solve the problem? Or are things nowhere near as bad as they seem?

Find out more about flight refunds and sign our petition calling for changes to the Travel sector.

A chance for you to hear our brand new podcast, Which? shorts.

This week we’re hearing about the metaverse, and how virtual reality goggles and holograms that travel effortlessly are just part of the digital universe Facebook, and others, are planning to build…

This article was written by Chris Stokel-Walker, with narration from Harry Kind and Grace Forell.

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See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Technology offers us convenience, freedom, and a way to improve not just our health, but also the planet’s. But it can also collect our personal data and share it without our permission. We’re told it can harm our health. And that by buying & using it we’re damaging the environment. So how much is too much tech?

In this final investigation of our tech & security season, Greg Foot turns his attention to our own digital lives. He asks whether we are indeed ‘addicted’ to smart tech, and what - or who - can do something about it? He discusses concerns about surveillance in future digital cities and learns of a novel way we could handle our personal data. And he asks whether the tech giants would ever allow us to start a ‘digital detox’ in the first place?

Show notes and references are available here.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Scam texts asking you to pay a fake delivery fee. Emails claiming to contain links to book vaccines or covid passports. The list goes on. Frustratingly, more and more of us are being scammed, in more and more ingenious ways, and it looks like advances in tech are enabling it.

In this Which? Investigation Greg Foot speaks to experts in fraud, fake news and consumer rights to find out some of the latest, most popular scams, and asks if technology could not only be the cause of the problem, but also potentially it’s solution.

Show notes and references are available here.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As we explore the internet we leave digital footprints… but who is able to see them, follow them, and why do they want to? 

In this Which? Investigation Greg Foot asks the experts if we should indeed ‘Accept all cookies?’, he hears the importance of our choice of browser, learns of ‘Surveillance Capitalism’, and asks if we weren’t being tracked, would we be missing out on something?

Show notes and references are available here.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alexa, do you record our chats? Siri, what do you know about me? Hey Google, how come I’m being shown an advert for something I’ve never searched for... but talked about in the kitchen yesterday?

In this Which? Investigation Greg Foot tackles one of your biggest tech and security concerns: we appreciate smart assistants are always listening, but are they always recording? And what are the privacy and data implications of having them in our homes?

Show notes and references are available here.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.