⚠️ Gmail is using your emails to train its AI unless you opt out

Hello there on a spectacular Saturday, {{first_name | friend}}. Do you need some money? Of course! My Christmas Cash Giveaway powered by Incogni is underway. Every day, I pick one subscriber of this newsletter to win a $100, $200 or $500 Amazon gift card. Check at the bottom to see if you’re our lucky winner today!

😴 Talk about a high-pressure purchase that paid off. A scrappy group of founders once maxed out their credit cards buying 1,000 air mattresses. Yep, air mattresses. That wild bet blew up into a billion-dollar empire. Was it: A) Airbnb, B) Wayfair, C) Expedia or D) Zillow? The answer’s slowly deflating at the end. 

Online shopping tip: If you get a shipping notice or tracking link for something you don’t remember ordering, hit the brakes. That’s a classic scam. Don’t click unless you’re 100% sure it’s legit. One wrong tap, and you’ve got malware all over your phone or computer. TotalAV protects you from threats like this. Get it for $19 your first year. More below. — Kim

📬 Was this forwarded to you? Be the first to know, not the last to hear. Sign up now. It’s free!

You’re gonna love this list I put together. 

The holidays are almost here, and if you’re playing host, I’ve got your back. I rounded up 10 smart gadgets, fun games and crowd-pleasing gifts that’ll score points with the whole family. Even better? They’re all on sale for Black Friday. Let’s dive in.

Not in the shopping mood? No problem. Scroll down to the Web Watercooler and see what Google’s up to while you’re not looking.

Give nostalgia a new life. Dig up your old VHS tapes and convert them into digital files. The family will cry, laugh and maybe roast your old hairstyle.

No more “which glass is mine?” These let everyone label their cups, plates or anything ceramic. They wipe right off. Kids love to get creative with them.

Make a memory you can hold. The easy-to-follow instructions and molding mix create a detailed statue of you and a loved one’s clasped hands.

The journal that becomes an heirloom. Guided prompts help your mom record her memories, jokes and wisdom. And don’t worry, there’s one for Dad (39% off), too.

Phone calls without the arm cramps. Use this holder with a built-in speaker. Great for FaceTiming relatives during the holidays, so no one misses out.

Thinking about getting a drone? This one’s perfect for beginners and sends footage from up to 6 miles away. No FAA registration needed, just unbox and fly. It’s so fun.

Old-school prints, new-school tech. Get a retro-style camera that prints modern Polaroid-like photos instantly. Bonus: 68 sheets to start snapping. I pull this one out all the time. Everyone loves it!

Know the words or take the L. Lyric Legend 90’s R&B finish-the-lyrics game tests your music knowledge. Get ready to have flashbacks of prom night.

Glow big or go home. This rechargeable glow-in-the-dark football can change colors. Toss it around after dinner.

Need something for the kids to do? Oreo + Sour Patch = tasty fun. I bought this twice, and it’s so easy to build. Comes with premade cookies, icing and candy pieces for decorating. Keeps ’em busy for at least an hour!

🦃 A couple more helpings?

And want even more handpicked finds? My Amazon storefront has plenty more picks that’ll make the season easier.

📬 Gmail’s sneaky data grab: Google quietly flipped a switch that lets Gmail scan your private emails and attachments to train its AI. Yep, your receipts, your family drama, your terrible drafts are all fair game unless you manually opt out in two different settings menus (because why make it easy?). Sure, it makes features like Smart Compose smarter, but not everyone wants their inbox feeding the machine. Might be worth double-checking those toggles: Gmail > Settings > Smart features and uncheck the box to turn it off, then do the same under Google Workspace smart features. If both toggles are off, you’re out. Phew.

Prime payback: A few weeks ago, I told you Amazon’s shelling out $1.5 billion to customers after the FTC said Prime sign-ups were way too tricky to escape. If you joined between 2019 and 2025 through one of those confusing pages, you could get up to $51 dropped into a PayPal or Venmo associated with the email you use for your Amazon account. Amazon will email you directly if you’re eligible. No steps, no hoops. 

Kickstart my heart: Coffee not doing it for you anymore? There’s a wristband in China going viral that claims to keep you awake by gently electrocuting you. It’s called the eCoffee Energyband, because of course it is, and people are actually buying it. Let’s keep this DIY torture pack on the down-low before corporate America finds out. 

💲 What is your phone bill actually costing you? Be honest with me, it’s on auto-pay and you haven’t looked at the line items since 2019. I was shocked. If you’re paying over a hundred bucks a month, you’re officially overspending. If you’re over 50, you can grab two unlimited lines for just $30 each, plus an extra $25 off when you use my exclusive link. Reader Ralph is already saving $75 a month, that’s $900 back in his pocket every year. Go check your current rate right now and stop giving away money!*

AI with a hot mic: This is wild. An eight-person company is using AI to make 3,000 podcast episodes every week. Biographies, fake news, weather updates. No writers, no editors, no hosts. Just bots. And 12 million downloads later? It’s working. Meanwhile, your friend’s “comedy pod” hasn’t cleared 40 plays. And half of those were his mom. 

✈️ Airline food is so plane: This week’s best kept job secret? Aviation maintenance techs are unicorns. There’s a full-blown worker shortage because most techs are retiring, leaving a global need for 416,000 newbies. All you need is a 21-month training program and an FAA license, and suddenly you’re pulling $79,000 median, with pros hitting $200,000 to $300,000 thanks to overtime. Share this with that sorry relative who hasn’t been able to find a job for 15 years. They could finally buy a house and stop using your Netflix account.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Tell Alexa or Google to “Delete everything I just said.” It instantly purges recent voice commands for privacy. Bummer, this does not work with Siri.

🚨 Outlook alert: Cybercriminals are sending calendar invites with phishing links inside. They want you to click “Accept” or “Join,” which leads to fake sites that steal your info. Folks, never click anything in a random invite. Go to Settings > View all Outlook settings > Calendar > Events from email and turn off Automatically add events.

Gaming PC acting weird? NVIDIA says the Windows 11 October update (KB5066835) has caused performance drops on some graphics cards. If your games have been stuttering or lagging, that’s why. The good news is they’ve released a fix, which you’ll get by installing the latest display driver. Download it from NVIDIA’s website.

💥 Your hard drive is going to crash. It’s not a question of if, but when it decides to die. When that happens, all your crucial documents, your financial history and every photo and video you’ve ever taken are gone forever. Data recovery for a dead drive can cost you anywhere from $300 to over $3,000, if they can even save your files! We need digital insurance, and that’s why I use and trust Carbonite. It runs automatically, backing up every file to the cloud without you lifting a finger. Stop playing Russian roulette with your memories! Get total protection right now and save a massive 50%. Don’t wait for the inevitable, go do this today!*

Check your heart rate: The AirPods Pro 3 have built-in sensors that can track your heart rate in real time. To turn it on, wear your AirPods, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap your AirPods’ name, and switch on Heart Rate. After that, you can ask Siri, “What’s my heart rate?” or see it in the Health app. Want a pair? They’re on sale.

📄 Use Google Docs offline: Keep working even when your internet drops. Offline mode saves files to your device, so you can view and edit them anywhere. When you reconnect, everything syncs automatically. To enable it, open Google Docs, tap the three-line menu (top left), choose Settings and toggle the switch next to Offline. I use this all the time.

💰 Kim’s Christmas Cash Giveaway is officially rolling: This week proved it, as every single caller who came on my award-winning radio show walked away with an Amazon gift card, so you know the prizes are real! Book an appointment to speak with me today, and you could be the next person getting cash on the air!

Quick favor: Love the show? I need you to tell your local station! Hit their “Contact Us” page or send a social media shout-out. Your 30 seconds keeps the tech talk coming to your city. TY!

⛏️ She’s digging a 30-foot tunnel under her house. I ask Kala (aka TikTok’s Tunnel Girl) about her viral project, the homemade elevator and the city permit drama. Listen here. 

📺 Don’t just listen! Catch the show on my YouTube channel. It’s like our own corner of the internet, but you get to see my expression when someone asks a truly crazy question. Click here to watch, subscribe, and learn!

📻 Listen up! My national radio show is airing all weekend across the USA. With over 420 stations strong, find the closest one by using our super-duper station locator map, or listen commercial-free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or in the Komando Community.

There’s splurging, and then there’s “install a giant TV that lives underground like a hibernating, rich dragon.” 

I’m talking about the C SEED HLR, a massive 201-inch MicroLED monolith that rises right out of your patio on command. Hit the remote, and seven giant panels rise up, fold together like a Transformer doing yoga, and suddenly you’ve got a massive, 4,000-nit screen. 

It blasts enough light to look good in full noon sunshine, and when the party’s over, it politely sinks back underground as if nothing happened. The price for this vanishing act? Anywhere from $400,000 to over $600,000, plus another $80,000 for installation. 

I guess that’s one way to keep your neighbor from asking to borrow stuff.

🛌 The answer: A) Airbnb, founded with nothing but a living room, some hustle and 1,000 air mattresses charged to the founders’ credit cards. The OG business plan? Host conference-goers who couldn’t find a hotel. They called it Air Bed & Breakfast, and the rest is inflatable history.

Think about the movie The Shining. The plot is a family’s first Airbnb experience gone very wrong.

Shop smart: Look, scams are getting smarter every day. Always double-check those links and trust your gut. Staying safe online isn’t just about the tech, it’s about making smart choices every time you click. TotalAV helps keep you covered. Grab it for $19 for your first year.

🧑‍🎄 Special thanks to Incogni for supporting our Christmas Cash Giveaway: Keep your personal info private and secure this holiday season with Incogni. Get my spam-busting deal, 60% off now.

Tomorrow, how the Louvre got robbed by missing software updates. Yes, really. This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the U.S. 

Look at you! You’re crushing it in both analog and digital. 💾 — Kim

📣 Don’t keep me a secret: Send your friends to GetKim.com

Photo credit(s): Gemini, C SEED

Companies noted with an asterisk (*) sponsor my national radio show. Also, as an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

This newsletter and its content are intended for informational purposes only. They are provided without warranty of any kind. You shouldn’t construe anything provided here as legal, health, medical, technical, tax, investment, financial or any other kind of advice.

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