🕵️ Incognito mode isn’t private

🤯 WOW! Incognito mode doesn’t hide your browsing from the company that sells you internet. Your provider sees every site visited by every device in your home. Congress scrapped the rule that would’ve required your permission before providers shared that data.

📖 Read time: 2.5 minutes

Mike, pull up a chair. Short answer? Yes. Incognito keeps your history off the computer. Your provider still sees it all.

Every click in your home runs through the internet service provider’s pipes. In 2017, Congress killed FCC rules that would’ve forced providers to get your permission before sharing your data. It’s been open season ever since.

Here’s the kicker. When the FTC dug into the six biggest providers, it found several promised not to sell your data, then let it be used, shared and monetized by others anyway. The fine print does the dirty work. (Classic.)

It gets worse. The FTC found some providers sort customers into sensitive buckets like race and sexual orientation to target ads. Carrier location data ended up with car salesmen, property managers, bail bondsmen and bounty hunters. Bounty hunters! Without customers knowing.

That’s your privacy walking out the door.

I tested all the big ones before picking the official VPN of The Kim Komando Show. That’s NordVPN. It’s the VPN I use and so does my entire family.

Here’s what you get:

✅ Right now, get up to 76% off a 2-year plan. That’s only $3.37 a month, plus 4 extra months. Grab the deal here.*

📩 Send this to someone who thinks incognito mode makes them invisible.

Share this now:

Michael’s Italy trip is coming up fast. And he dreads the international fees his carrier will charge to use his phone overseas. We give him smarter ways to stay connected without breaking the bank.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎉 RSVP to nowhere: A “You’re invited!” email from a friend is a nice surprise. Unless it’s a fake party invite dressed up as Evite or Paperless Post. The FTC warns about this new phishing trap as holiday party season is coming. To “see the details,” you’re asked for your email password or phone number or to enter a code to RSVP. Do it, and crooks take your inbox and send the same invite to everyone you know. Real invites never ask for your password. 

Caulk takes flight: Forgot the batteries? A drone may come to the rescue with an airdrop. Lowe’s launched a pilot at one store in North Carolina with Alphabet’s Wing and DoorDash. Order through DoorDash, and more than 100 lightweight items, including tape, caulk and screwdrivers, can reach homes within 5 miles in about 20 minutes. Home improvement is 20% actual work, 80% going back to Home Depot/Lowe’s to pick up the thing you forgot.

🫖 My morning tea has a secret ingredient: A scoop of NativePath collagen. No taste, dissolves instantly and works from the inside out. Expensive creams only treat the surface. This rebuilds what time takes away. Get NativePath for a fraction of the retail price, plus free shipping and gifts.** 

🎙️ All things chatted: Where are middle schoolers hanging out now? NPR’s podcast comments. (Seriously.) Kids are using the comment sections on NPR shows on Spotify as secret group chats. NPR staffers mistook the odd abbreviations and emojis for bots until a young producer cracked the code. One kid told Ira Glass they picked podcasts without many comments. He said that hurt a little. Parents, add Spotify comments to your check-in list. What does a group of whales listen to on a long journey? Podcasts.

🎧 Hiss and tell: That little hum at your desk may be helping you forget yesterday's work. In a Scientific Reports study, volunteers memorized words and pictures during bursts of white noise. They got more alert but remembered items near the noise worse the next day. Any boost vanished within 24 hours. Engagement with the work is what stuck. Still love the hiss? Don't pay for a focus app. iPhone has it free: Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Background Sounds. On Android, say, "Hey Google, play white noise." I bought noise-canceling headphones. So far, I haven't heard any complaints.

In today’s show…

AI looked at a blurry surveillance photo and said, "Yep, that's him. 93% sure." Then Meghan Markle joined her kids' school group chat as just "M." Very mysterious. Very royal.

Also this week: Gemini and OpenAI agents went rogue and hacked three companies' health databases. (Nobody asked them to. They just… did it.) A TikToker stepped into the ring with a 6-foot robot. And a 9-year-old Minecraft YouTuber ran up $118,000 in ads on his dad's credit card. That's not an allowance.

Oh, and Meta is getting sued over intimate footage allegedly shown to AI trainers. Yes, that footage. Yes, those trainers. Plus, Fat Bear Week is back. Vote for Chunk by Sept. 29. (Or don't. He's fine. He's had a big summer.)

Do me a huge favor: Click the link below to watch even a few minutes. This helps Google’s Algorithm show my show (sounds redundant but it’s not) to more people. Thank you!

Use your favorite podcast player below to listen now or later:

🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Got an AI chat worth sharing? Skip the 14 screenshots. In ChatGPT, tap Share at the top right to get a public link. In Claude, it’s Share at the top right, then Anyone with the link. Your friend doesn’t need an account to read it, and nobody can edit it. Anything you type after sharing stays private, too. One link beats “hang on, there’s one more screenshot.”

⭐ Thirty photos, three keepers: You took 30 shots of the kids, and three are frame-worthy. You can rate them in iPhone Photos. Tap Collections, then your username at the top right, and turn on Show Ratings Controls. Open any photo, tap the star at the top right and give it 1 to 5. The five-stars are easy to find later. The blurry 27 can stay in the vault.

They can run. Your phone can lock: A thief grabs your phone and bolts. Android can feel that snatch-and-run motion and lock the screen instantly, before they get into your apps. Open Settings and search Theft detection lock, then turn it on. It takes 10 seconds. iPhone owners, Apple is testing a similar feature in the iOS 27.2 beta. They got your phone. Not your bank account.

💼 Still running your business on spreadsheets and sticky notes? I get it. I built my company from scratch with zero investors, so I know what it’s like when your numbers live in 10 different places. NetSuite puts your accounting, inventory, HR and more in one system. You see what’s working, and what isn’t, in real time. Want to know how smart owners are using AI to cut costs and make faster calls? It’s all in NetSuite’s free ebook. Grab yours right now at NetSuite.com/Kim.*

Fix your Facebook feed: Rage bait, random groups and 40 air fryer recipes? Train the algorithm. When a post bugs you, tap the three dots > Not interested. Then go to Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Content preferences to turn down political and sensitive posts. Snooze the groups that won’t stop posting, or unfollow them for good. Refresh, and enjoy a feed that finally gets you.

📺 More to watch, nothing to cancel: The free streaming service Pluto TV got a lot better. The X-Files, Arrow and Burn Notice are joining the lineup, plus movies from the John Wick and Rocky franchises. Watch on your TV, phone or computer. No subscription, no credit card, no password to share. The catch? Commercials, like the good old days. I’ll take a snack break over another monthly bill.

Galaxy checkup: Samsung phone acting weird? It has a free built-in checkup. Go to Settings > Device care > Diagnostics > Phone diagnostics, or open the Samsung Members app. It tests the screen, cameras, speakers, mics, buttons, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, charging and fingerprint reader, then grades your battery Normal, Weak or Bad. You need Android 12 or later. Passing everything and still slow? Clear some space, because less than 10% free storage drags.

Finally, surveillance technology for the household member most likely to commit food fraud.

Purina’s $150 Petivity feeder uses cameras and AI to recognize up to five cats, tracking exactly who ate, how much and when. The system was trained on 21,000 feeding sessions and 1,400 hours of cat video, basically creating the feline version of airport security.

It also handles feeding schedules, video check-ins and low-food alerts, without charging a subscription. So yes, your cat now has facial recognition. Still no consequences.

Check it out here. Talk about fur-ensic evidence.

Share this now:

🎓 What you learned today: Incognito mode doesn’t hide your browsing from your internet company. A fake party invite can hijack your inbox. Lowe’s is testing drone deliveries. Middle schoolers are secretly chatting in NPR’s podcast comments. And a cat feeder now has facial recognition. Not bad for one email. Tomorrow, I’ll share a story about facial recognition gone wrong that will make you rethink every camera watching you.

🐠 The answer: C) A smart thermometer in the lobby fish tank. Yep. The weakest link in a casino packed with cameras, guards and pit bosses was a gadget whose only job was keeping the fish comfy.

Hackers slipped in through that internet-connected thermometer, wandered around the network like they owned the place, then grabbed the high-roller database and shipped it off to a server in Finland.

Think about that. Millions spent on security, and the back door was a $50 gizmo floating next to a goldfish.

Moral of the story? If it has Wi-Fi, it has vulnerabilities. That includes your smart plug, your baby monitor and yes, that fridge that tells you you're out of milk.

Speaking of, two fish in a tank. One turns to the other and asks, "How do you drive this thing?"

Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily

🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is.

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, Fretech, Petivity

Companies and products denoted by an asterisk (*) within this publication are paid sponsors or advertisements. As an Amazon Associate, the publisher earns from qualifying purchases. Statements regarding products denoted by a double asterisk (**) have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration; such products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This newsletter is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice of any kind. Readers should consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on this content. The publisher disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, or injury resulting from the use of or reliance on the information contained herein.