IRON BLOG

Earlier this year, Google announced that its line of Nest smart home devices would be folded into its “helpful home” initiative. A side effect of this move is IFTTT fans would no longer be able to build triggers and automations using their Nest devices, starting on August 31, 2019...

The imminent launch of Android 10 (née “Android Q”) will bring a host of new things to do, and several built-in Android apps are also prepping a few fun features that you can try out right now—no Android Q needed. These include Google’s own Digital Wellbeing app, which lets users monitor their device and app usage, set screen timers, and enable special modes to curb distractions. The app’s next big feature, Focus mode, can temporarily “lock” users out of distracting apps to help them maintain their focus elsewhere—for work, school, errands, or even just family dinner...

Despite being associated with some of the biggest technologies and most popular devices currently available, Google also develops products and services for places with limited infrastructure and resources. One of these products, the streamlined search app “Google Go,” is now available worldwide for all Android users to try. Google Go was designed for Android Go devices, which are primarily sold in regions where connection speeds are slow or unreliable. Since the app is now rolling out everywhere, any Android device running Android 5...

Windows has a propensity to accrue digital dust and grime that can bog down the system, and reinstalling the operating system is a nice catch-all cure for anything that ails it. Newer versions of Windows include a handy refresh option that lets you keep your personal files, but removes your apps and reinstalls Windows. This saves you from a lengthier backup and restore, and it cuts down on reconfiguring your device after you’ve reinstalled the OS—it just doesn’t always work. Ironically, many of the issues that force users into trying a Windows refresh can also prevent it from working...

We try our best to keep Lifehacker readers aware of recent data breaches and security vulnerabilities that might have compromised their data. Any good website or service should tell you what’s up, too. Sometimes, though, you get an email out of the blue that your account credentials have been compromised—even though the company sending you that information is just fine. What gives? As internet security reporter Brian Krebs points out in a recent blog post, a company asking you to change your password...

Apple’s Reminders app—an incredibly helpful way to stay organized on iOS and macOS—is once again available via your web browser, thanks to an updated version of Apple’s iCloud website. But you won’t see this, as well as Apple’s other changes, unless you enroll in the iCloud beta test. Along with resurrected Reminders app, the new iCloud portal comes with an all-new interface (as well as the staple iCloud apps: Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Notes, Photos, and the newly updated “Find My” device feature, previously known as “Find my phone...

Does your neighborhood have strange joke listings on Google Maps? Are you living next to a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Fake Google Maps locations are surprisingly common, and these fictional locations and pop-cultural references can even come with highly detailed (false) information, such as descriptions, photos, reviews, and contact info. While Albus Dumbledore might not actually work across the street from you—sorry—you can be a neighborhood grump and ask Google to remove all this fun, especially if it’s actually a listing that’s trying to spam you instead of spark joy...

We’ve covered many file-transfer services previously, but we recently stumbled upon Black Hole, a relatively new service uses the blockchain-based Blockstack network for user logins, file storage, and delivery. (Best of all: It’s free.) All files uploaded to Black Hole are encrypted first, and the data is then split and shared among other Blockstack users. This means your files and personal data are kept entirely private, even from Black Hole. Only your public username is accessible to other users...

A quick heads up for iOS 12 users: This week’s iOS update, version 12.4.1, includes an important fix for a security gaffe discovered in iOS 12.4. We highly recommend you perform the system update if you haven’t already—unless, of course, you’re trying to jailbreak your phone. Specifically, iOS 12.4.1 patches a security vulnerability present on most modern iOS devices—anything from the iPhone 5S on up, the iPad Air on up, or the sixth-generation iPod Touch—that allowed hackers to jailbreak iOS devices using a vulnerability that Apple previously patched up in iOS 12...

After endless complaints from customers, service providers are making moves to reduce—and hopefully eliminate—the modern-day nuisance of robocalls. Verizon customers have been able to download a free spam filter that blocks robocalls on iOS and Android, but some Android users are now automatically enrolled in the service (no extra app downloads required). Only certain Android devices are eligible for the automatic blocking so far, a list you can check here. If you’re on any of Verizon’s unlimited...

If you’ve been on Facebook lately, you might have noticed a new notification in your feed explaining how the company uses its facial recognition technology and manages the accompanying data. As part of this, Facebook has rebranded the setting you’ll need to know to turn off its ability to find your face in photos across the service, if you’re not a fan of the concept. The notification is being sent to users who previously enabled Facebook’s “tag suggestion” feature, as well as to new users. There’s...

Some early adopters have run into a pretty problematic bug with Android 10 on their Pixels. It’s unclear what specifically triggers the bug, but bumping up to Android 10 has, for some users, killed the sensors in their Pixel devices. And as of the time of this publication, there appears to be no way to fix the issue on Android 10. A number of Pixel users have posted about the bug on the Google Issue Tracker, Reddit, XDA Forums, and other message boards. The busted sensors render many features and...