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Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.When you updated your iPhone to iOS 26, you were probably expecting to try out a bunch of new features. Maybe you were excited to see the new Liquid Glass design, or interested to see how the new spam prevention tech works. But if you opened Messages to send a text after updating, you might have run into a frustrating problem: All of a sudden, you aren't able to activate iMessage with your phone number. It's not clear how widespread the problem is at this time, but it seems to be a big enough issue for Apple to formally address it. As spotted by MacRumors, Apple now has official troubleshooting steps for anyone experiencing iM...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Credit: René Ramos/Lifehacker/alvaro gonzalez, OsakaWayne Studios, DBenitostock/Moment Kativ/E+, kiyanochka/iStock via Getty Images Table of Contents Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.With this live blog, you can keep up with the best deals the Lifehacker team finds every day, all in one place. Bookmark this page to keep an eye o...

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.Last year, I wrote that we should all be scared of Sora, OpenAI's AI video generator. Sora's initial rollout promised hyper-realistic videos that, while exciting to some, terrified me. While AI fans see a future of AI-generated movies and shows, I see a future where no one can tell what's real or fake. To me, the only destination for this technology is mass disinformation.In the year and a half since, these AI-generated videos haven't only become more realistic; they've also become more accessible, as companies like Google make their tools readily available to anyone willing to pay. That's the situation we find ourselves in wi...

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.On Monday, Meta announced six new features it rolled out to WhatsApp users. The thing is, these features might not be that new. The company somewhat confusingly says these features have been added to the app "over the past few months," despite some clearly rolling out only within the past few days. While it might be tough to say when each of these features officially dropped, the point is they're here now, and you can try them out today. Here are the six new features Meta highlighted, and what you can expect to see the next time you open the app: Support for Live Photos and Motion PhotosPerhaps the biggest news of the bunch is...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Credit: Illustration by Ian Moore and product image courtesy of Amazon. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.Early Prime Day deals have started, and you can find many Amazon devices with record-low prices, including Kindle readers, all leading up to October Prime Day. One of these deals worth highlighting is the Amazon Echo Frames + Echo Spot bundle, currently going for $119.99 (originally $229.99), the lowest price it has bee...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The sun has already begun to set on our exercise routines—at least for those of us who like to run in the evenings. As we get deeper into fall (and prepare for the dreaded time change), evening and morning runners alike will have to deal with darker runs. Here are my best tips for staying safe and making the most of the darkness while you're out pounding the pavement.Bring a flashlight, even if you don't think you need itIf you're an evening runner, be warned that this is the season for darkness sneaking up on you. Check the sunset time before you head out, and bring a light source just in case you make a wrong turn or stop a little longer at a water break. I have these USB-chargeable lights, and I keep one in the same...

Are you old enough to remember talking to your friends on the phone all the time? A phone with a cord? Then welcome to the Out of Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture, a guide to what's going down with all the youths out there. This week, the young 'uns are stealing each other's brainrots, guzzling heavy soda, (not) paying $500 for a rock, and being harassed by a rizzed-out robot. "Steal a Brainrot" If you know anyone under the age of 16, they are probably playing "Steal a Brainrot," and you are probably asking "Steal a what now?" so here's what it's all about: "Steal a Brainrot" is a multiplayer mini-game within maxi-games Roblox and Fortnite. In a game of Brainrot, up to eight players share a server, and each has their own base. The object of the game is to buy brainrots for your base an...

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.It's been a tumultuous year and a half for TikTok in the U.S. In April of 2024, President Biden signed a law forcing the app's parent company, ByteDance, to sell its majority stake to an American company, or face a ban in the U.S. ByteDance never did, and so, in January, the app went dark.It was mostly performative, however. Then President-elect Trump had already assured TikTok that his incoming administration would not enforce the ban, as did the outgoing President Biden. As such, once Trump was sworn in, he signed an executive order kicking the TikTok ban down the road. Trump continued to delay enforcing the ban, which, whil...

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.The next Amazon Prime Day—or at least the Prime Day-like fall event known as "Prime Big Deal Days"—will take place Oct. 7–8. As you're checking out all the best deals, you might be tempted by Amazon's "affordable monthly payment system." Also known as "buy now, pay later" (BNPL), its pitch is alluring: Buy what I need now, and pay later, "on your own timeline." But as convenient as it sounds, you should think twice before using buy now, pay later options for Prime Day.While BNPL plans can allow you to pay for purchases in installments without interest, they come with a cost that can easily outweigh any Prime Day discounts. Let...

Credit: René Ramos/Lifehacker/Dimitri Otis/Stone, Frazao Studio Latino/E+ via Getty Images Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.The nearly universal adoption of smartphones in the late 2000s changed more than how we waste time while waiting in lines. With nearly everyone carrying a high-quality camera and microphone in their pocket—and the ability to instantly broadcast anything to a potential audience of millions—our collective concept of privacy has been permanently altered. If you’re not a little concerned with how what you do in public would play on YouTube, you’re not paying attention. As smart glasses equipped w...