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I'm going to skip the tips everyone already knows, like turning off Siri and Notification Center on the Lock screen. I'm also going to remind you that privacy comes at the cost of convenience, so these aren't things most people should do most of the time. Just when you're dealing with data that's particularly sensitive or you think you're being specifically targeted

Cool? Cool.

1. Stop Send as SMS

iMessage is end-to-end encrypted. Text messages are not. So, if you want to prevent a private iMessage from unintentionally going out as an insecure text message channel, where your carriers and anyone who exploits them can read it, go to Settings - Messages - and turn off Send as SMS.

2. Break iCloud Backup

For most people, losing their precious message and photo memories is a bigger risk and worse outcome than someone hacking them or having them subject to government seizure. That's why iCloud backup is fail safe, not fail secure. But, if you absolute can't risk anyone else ever seeing their contents, go to Settings - Apple ID - iCloud, and turn off messages, photos, and any other backups you want to prevent. If that content is important to you, though, make sure you back it up manually, locally to your computer instead.

3. Lock Down Local

Getting things off the cloud prevents your information being taken from a second, remote location. To prevent it being taken from your device, any time you think you're at risk, squeeze the power and either volume button to put your phone in lock down, and make sure you've gone into Settings - Passcode - and turn on Erase Data after 10 failed passcode attempts. Again, just make sure you have a backup of anything truly important to you.

4. Duck Duck Go

Google pays Firefox and Apple to be the default search engine and it's legit the best search engine. But if you want a privacy-centric search engine, go to Settings - Safari - Search Engine and switch it to Duck Duck Go.

5. Limit Ad Tracking

This won't stop you seeing ads online but it will stop those ads targeting you specifically. If you value privacy over relevancy, go to Settings - Privacy - Advertising and toggle Limit Ad Tracking

6. Reset Ad Identifier

A while back, Apple banned advertisers from using your device ID to track you and gave them a non-device bound, non-permeant Ad Identifier instead. You can't turn it off, but while you're in Settings - Privacy - Advertising, you can reset it as often as you like.

7. Kill Significant Locations

When your iPhone tells you to leave now for home or work or wherever to make it in time, it's because it's learned where and when you typically over time. It's end-to-end encrypted and Apple can't read it, but if you hate even the idea of it and are willing to give up the convenience, go to Settings - Privacy - Location Services - System Services - Significant Location and shut it down.

8. Slow Your Snaps

Live Photos actually record a few seconds of video and audio. iPhone 11's Capture outside of frame can reveal what's just outside your photo. Using your photos as a screen saver on Apple TV can slide show your private snaps to your family and friends in a very public way. If you have any concerns can turn off Live Photos with the tap of an icon, Capture outside of Frame with a toggle, and just leave your screen savers on default.

9. Get rid of Google and Facebook

Yeah, this one is hard, but there's no point locking down your privacy only to turn around and let Google and Facebook suck up all your data. Uninstalling the apps, logging out on the web, using something like 1Blocker to prevent social widget trackers from loading or Guardian VPN to prevent social SDKs from firing within other apps, and, yeah, avoiding location-based gaming are all options to consider.

10. Set a Reminder

Apple's offering more and more privacy-centric options, like giving apps location permission once, or allowing photo access once, but it's still easy to set and forget permissions. So, tell Siri to remind you to check permissions once a month, once a week even, and then go through your iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, Google — all permissions, and turn off anything you no longer want or need.

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I'm still working on my MacBook Pro review. I'll get that to you all just as fast as possible. Because Apple got so much right with this 16-inch model though, I think, it's worth going back to see what went wrong with the previous generation of 15-inch. What realities and decisions went into getting us to where we are now.

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LINKS:

• 16-inch MacBook Pro — 24-Hour Review - YouTube

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• Buy 16-inch MacBook Pro - Apple

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Last year, the MacBook lineup was far more complicated, the differences far more nuanced, and the choice… far more difficult.

Now, Apple has updated, cleaned up, and improved almost everything and the result is the cleanest lineup in half a decade. Maybe more. So…

• If you just want a Mac you can take pretty much anywhere and do pretty much anything with, and portability and price are your priorities, then you've got the new baseline, the new MacBook Air.

• If you want a good mix of portability and power, and you're willing to pay a little more for it, then you have the entry-level and higher-end 13-inch MacBook Pro.

• If you need power more than portability, and you're willing to pay a lot more — maybe even a lot more, depending on how much power you need — then you've got the brand new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Now, simple as that is, there are some important things, and a bunch of options, you should know about each of those systems before you decide to make any of them your own.

So, let's break them all down.

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LINKS:

• MacBook Air (2018) Review - YouTube
• Why Apple Killed the 12-inch MacBook — Air and Pro Updated - YouTube
• 16-inch MacBook Pro — 24-Hour Review - YouTube

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• Buy 13-inch MacBook Air - Apple
• Buy 13-inch MacBook Pro - Apple
• Buy 16-inch MacBook Pro - Apple

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It's here. The new 16-inch MacBook Pro. No, I'm not messing with you. It's not a dream. You didn't wake up in an alternate reality. It's really here. Bigger screen. All-new keyboard. 8 TB storage and 64 GB memory options. Here. Here. Here. Really. I swear. And I jumped on a plane, got it, and am about to go all hands on with it for you. Right. Now.

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Go to the Future Tech Awards to vote for your favorites: https://www.theftas.com

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The power of the Apple ecosystem. You hear so much about it. How, once you get in, it makes it oh just so easy to stay in. Once you get one product, like an iPhone, it makes it oh just so easy to get more, like an Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac.

But what does it really mean and how does it really work? I mean, not just in nebulous terms, but specifically?

If I were to boil it down to one set of technologies it would be this...

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The original version of this #Pixel4 vs. #iPhone11 video camera showdown had a couple small errors and was missing some visual explanations I really wanted to include. It was also totally buried by the YouTube algorithm. Maybe it was and is a bad video. Maybe the algorithm was having problems at the time. Who knows? Either way, I've updated the video, included some new b-roll that better explains and shows off the differences, and in the grand tradition of George Lucas, I'm re-uploading it as a Special Edition and an experiment.

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• CuriosityStream Watch thousands of documentaries for free for 31 days AND get a free Nebula account by signing up at curiositystream.com/vector and using the promo code 'vector'!

LINKS:

• (1) Pixel 4 Face Unlock vs. iPhone 11 Face ID — FIGHT! - YouTube
• Pixel 4 vs. iPhone 11 — FIGHT! - YouTube
• (1) Google Pixel 4 + 4 XL review: This fun won't last - YouTube
• iPhone 11 Review - YouTube
• (1) iPhone 11 Pro Review - YouTube

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• Buy iPhone 11 - Apple
• Amazon.com: Google Pixel 4 - Just Black - 64GB - Unlocked

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I've been using Apple's new AirPods Pro for about a week now. I've gotten to talk with the product team, worn them on a plane, in coffee shops, out walking about. I've got a pretty good idea about the 10 audio cores in each ear, fit and feel, the comfort and controls, the isolation and the transparency.

But, to help me out with the sound, I've once again gotten Lory Gil, managing editor of iMore and a literal rock star on the line.

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LINKS:

• AirPods Pro review: Apple's best audio invention since AirPods | iMore

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• Buy AirPods Pro - Apple

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Apple started the year in privacy off with a colossal flex — Giant billboards across from January's CES show in Vegas saying what happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone. It was privacy by design. Privacy as a civil right.

That was quickly followed by a bug that could allow eavesdropping through FaceTime calls, an impressive array of new privacy protections including Sign in with Apple, HomeKit secure video and routers, increased tracking protection, private federated learning, and an anonymized new Find My network.

Then, a scandal involving Siri and letting humans, contractors even, listen to and grade customer voice recordings for quality assurance. An industry-wide practice-become-scandal, yes, but one unexpected and unacceptable given Apple's position on privacy, both moral and marketing.

Up, down, up, down. What was left was to make it right. And, Apple's doing that in two ways: A) With the release a week ago of new, fully disclosed opt-in grading process for Siri last week as part of iOS 13.2 and, B) the unveiling of a new, detailed privacy website including four new privacy-centric white papers.

So, let's break it all down.

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• Privacy - Apple

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Google is buying Fitbit, which previously bought Pebble, and if my Twitter feed is any indication, not everyone is happy about it.

Small, beloved hardware companies that are struggling to survive on their own being gobbled up by the big tech titans is almost becoming a cliche. But it's also affecting a lot of customers. Namely, us. So, let's break it down.

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