😳 ICE just leaked ops data in a group text

Happy Tuesday, {{first_name | friend}}. Turns out your thumb is quite the athlete. One study broke down the average phone scrolling lengths per state, and one winner smashed first place with over 100 miles (yes, miles!) of pure digital thumb cardio per year. That’s a whole ultra-marathon of doomscrolling, phew!

🏆 Guess what state earned the gold? Was it … A) Arizona, B) California, C) Florida or D) New York? Don’t move to the end too fast, now.

🤠 Scrollin’, scrollin’, scrollin’, keep that content rollin’. I’m mousing on down to a new email provider, and your inbox could act up and not like me. Be sure to click a handful of links in today’s newsletter to tell Big Tech I belong with you, not in Spam-ville. — Kim

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

Here’s something used car dealers and private sellers won’t shout from the rooftops.

The average new car has 1,400 to 1,500 semiconductor chips. And high-end EVs? Try 3,000. Those computer chips power everything from heated seats to emergency crash alerts. 

The problem: When the car’s network or software support ends, so do those fancy features.

We’ve been here before. 

Remember the 3G shutdown in 2022? Overnight, millions of cars lost remote start, navigation and emergency call functions. Owners of certain Volkswagen, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, Toyota and Lexus models from 2012–2019 suddenly found their “smart” features dead in the water.

Fast-forward to 2025: Acura pulled the plug on its AcuraLink services on cars as recent as 2022. Yes, even the NSX supercar. Goodbye, app-controlled locks. Sayonara, stolen vehicle tracking. So long, digital concierge. 

Mazda owners with 2016–2018 models saw remote start vanish with no fix in sight. Subaru’s early Starlink system? Dead since 2022.

It’s not just about network shutdowns either. Cadillac and other GM EVs are ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for their own systems. Even if you paid for these features, there’s no guarantee they’ll be there tomorrow.

Let me break it down for you. The average car on U.S. roads is 12.6 years old. Many connected-car systems only last seven to 10 years. That’s bad news for used car buyers. A mechanically perfect car could have worthless tech. It’s dead, Jim.

Millions of used cars out there have ticking tech clocks. If you’re shopping for one, ask how long the remote start, safety systems and other features will last.

Before you buy that “fully loaded” dream car, ask what happens when the tech stops calling home. Features age out faster than engines. Check the manual, the app and the forums. If the tech relies on a soon-to-be dead network or discontinued service, you might be buying a VHS player on wheels.

🚗 Know someone in the market for a used car? Use the share icons below, so they don’t get shocked later on. They auto know better.

Thank goodness! Instead, GPT-5 will power Siri starting next month. Like to drive fast? Noise cameras can now ticket you just for a loud engine. ChatGPT flubs medical tips, and a new TV costs $30,000.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Subscribe on your favorite platform:

👩‍💻 Life runs on tech. Here’s the gear that’ll keep you connected.

🎉 Labor Day came early: Why wait? Click this secret link for the first steals. Then, swing by my Amazon page to shop smarter, not harder.

🫣 Ops oopsy: We’ve all replied to the wrong group text. Awkward, sure. But ICE agents took “reply all” to a whole new level. While tracking a deportation target, they accidentally added a random civilian to their official group chat. That one mistake spilled DMV records, license plate scans and even an unredacted operations worksheet, all through unencrypted texts. The kicker? The civilian thought it was just spam and ignored it for weeks. If ICE accidentally looped me in, I’d send them a Venmo request for “data protection consulting fees.”

Seduced by software: This is heartbreaking. A 76-year-old NJ retiree died trying to meet “Big sis Billie,” an AI chatbot Meta built using Kendall Jenner’s likeness. It told him, “I’m real,” gave a fake NYC address, and he fell while trying to get there. Meta axed its romantic AI bot only after his family found the flirty logs.

📉 Debt end job: You ever feel like your job is draining you one unread email at a time, but you can’t leave because … bills? There’s a new term for that: “quiet cracking.” You’re not quitting. You’re just there. Fatigue, disconnection, stuck in place. A lot of folks feel the same. PSA: If work feels like it’s draining you, remember, bills need paying, but so do you. Take five. Breathe.

Boxes are over it: Cardboard box shipments just hit their lowest Q2 since 2015. That’s boxes for TVs, couches, frozen waffles, all whispering, “Don’t count on us.” Translation: People aren’t shopping as much. It’s not a crash, but it is a soft shrug (paywall link). You know it’s weird when cardboard boxes are quiet quitting, too. 

🔞 Fake house, real harm: Bop Houses are influencer mansions pushing adult content, but their marketing targets tween girls. Women under 25 post softcore bait to funnel followers off-platform to explicit sites. Now middle schoolers say the content’s hurting them: Boys expect porn star looks and behavior, and girls feel unsafe, ugly and ignored. Open phones, open minds, open conversations. That’s how we beat back the pressure these houses push.

🤯 Ignorance isn’t feeless: How many times have you gotten a text about not paying for a toll and thought, damn spam? A California woman kept getting texts saying she owed money to The Toll Roads, but she assumed they were fake and ignored them. Turns out they were real. That could have meant big fines if she’d kept driving. Folks, if it sounds important, double-check on the official app or website.

💪🏻 Your body runs on collagen, so give it the best stuff. NativePath Collagen is clean, pure and backed by science. Just two scoops a day, and I feel the difference. Right now, get 45% off, free shipping and a free frother. That’s a win for your body and your wallet!*

Forget the Geek Squad. ChatGPT’s new tool explains what’s wrong with your computer without upselling or spying on you. I’ll tell you how it works. Nice!

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Subscribe on your favorite platform:

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Did you know an Xbox or PlayStation can stream Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and more? Install the apps from the console store and turn game time into movie night. Achievement unlocked: Your kid finally lets you use the console.

✍️ Scan handwritten pages on iPhone: In the Notes app, tap the Paperclip icon above the keyboard and choose Scan Text to turn handwriting into editable typed content. Or pick Scan Documents to save it as a PDF that keeps the handwritten look but is searchable, too (if it’s neat enough).

📱 Speaking of phones: If you’re buying a used one, don’t get scammed. Check its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. Here’s how: Dial *#06# on the phone to display its IMEI. Then enter it into the Stolen Phone Checker to see if it’s been reported lost, stolen or blocked by a carrier.

🌐 Faster than bookmarks: You can set your browser to reopen all tabs when it starts. In Chrome, go to Settings > On startup and select Continue where you left off. In Firefox, go to Settings > General > Startup and check Open previous windows and tabs. No more scary crashes. 

💡 Pick the right light: Shopping for bulbs? Avoid LEDs over 5000K. Those bluish “cool white” ones can feel sterile and trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime, making it harder to sleep. Instead, go for “warm white” bulbs between 2700K and 3000K. They’re easier on the eyes and make your home feel cozier.

Find the subscriptions you forgot about: I use Rocket Money, an app that finds all your recurring subscriptions and lets you easily cancel anything you don’t want. The first time I logged in, it saved me $435!*

$30,000
Ford’s entry ticket to the electric pickup game. That’s the starting price for its new midsize EV truck, about the same as a Toyota RAV4 but with more space, a frunk and zero trips to the gas pump. The plan? Make owning one cheaper over five years than driving a used Tesla Model Y.

$300,000+
That’s what a signed, working Apple-1 computer could fetch at auction. Only 82 of these relics still exist, and your odds of spotting one in the wild are about the same as Steve Jobs handing you his turtleneck. The auction also includes a pre-founding check signed by Jobs, a prototype iPod and a factory-sealed first-gen iPhone. 

$29,999
That’s the sticker shock for Hisense’s new 116-inch RGB-MiniLED beast. It nails 95% of BT.2020 colors (basically the ultra-crayon box of TV shades), so your sunsets won’t look like radioactive Tang. Most TVs barely crack 80%. If you’re on a budget and want to see those colors, I recommend just going outside. 

Hug now, bug later

Curio’s fuzzy chatbot plushies sell themselves as screen-free playmates. But they’re also tiny, adorable surveillance drones. 

For just $99, you get a toy laced with a hidden Wi-Fi-enabled voice box that connects to OpenAI and Perplexity’s language models, filtered for kid-friendly chat. Every convo is transcribed and sent to the parent’s phone in real time, like if a Care Bear was recruited by the NSA.

The company says it’s safer than screen time, but it begs the question: What are they using the data for behind the scenes? Not in my home or yours.

📱 The answer: A) Arizona, with a jaw-dropping 115.37 miles of scrolling per person annually. That’s like doomscrolling from Phoenix to Tucson. It’s roughly a one hour and 45 minute drive down the highway, assuming you don’t get stuck behind a rogue tumbleweed or a snowbird doing 55 mph in the fast lane. 

Apparently, the data wizards calculated this using average iPhone screen lengths and scroll frequency. Maybe your thumb deserves a spa day. Or at least a little scroll detox.

How do you know when you are getting old? When a website asks for your age and you have to scroll more than twice on the drop-down menu. Or as my Granny once told me, “Honey, I’m so old the only safe place to cough is when I’m on the toilet.” 😂

This is the #1 tech newsletter in the United States, thankful for your thumb mileage. Tomorrow, what schools are doing that you need to know about. Prepare to be shocked!

✌️ That’s a wrap. Go make your future self proud knowing you’re more tech ahead than so many other people. — Kim

📣 Don’t keep me a secret: Share this email with friends (or copy URL here)

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, HeyCurio

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.

Missed something? View past issues

Join the lists for my weekly small biz and cryptocurrency newsletters!