🕵️ Is your ‘shadow score’ ruining your life?

Welcome to your Friday, {{first_name | friend}}. You’re back at your desk, staring at a blinking cursor. Love it or hate it, there’s a 75% chance the software you’re using right now came from a company that officially got its name on this very day back in 1975.

🧑🏼 Two clever college dropouts were writing a letter to a calculator company to buy their software. One of them had huge help from his mom. Before they put it in an envelope, they had to decide what to call the company. Which of these was the original, hyphenated name of their business? A) Soft-Ware, B) Micro-Soft, C) Macro-Logic or D) Altair-Bits? Stick around, answer’s waiting at the end! 

👊 Look at you! You’re taking charge of your digital life by opening this email, and that’s a win. To celebrate, here’s a little something for you. Why did the smartphone need glasses? Because it lost all its contacts! OK, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the stuff Big Tech hopes you never find out about. — Kim

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Ever wonder why you’re on hold for 45 minutes while your friend gets a rep in two? Or why that rental suddenly shows no longer available the second you try to book it? It could be your shadow score.

Here’s the deal. While we obsess over credit scores, a hidden digital profile is being built about you. Every time you return a pair of shoes, complain to customer service or browse for a flight, a secret algorithm is ranking you as either a VIP or problem child.

This is how you can find yours and fight back.

While the California Consumer Privacy Act is the gold standard, these massive firms process requests for all U.S. residents to avoid a legal headache.

I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about Incogni. They’ve been a radio sponsor for years. Trying to manually scrub your data from hundreds of individual brokers is a full-time job. Incogni automates the entire process, identifying the data brokers that have your information and sending formal, legally backed removal requests on your behalf.

This is crucial because shadow score firms rely on a constant stream of fresh data from brokers, who often re-list your info as soon as it’s deleted. Incogni continuously monitors these sites and resends requests regularly. This directly starves the shadow score algorithms of the data they need to profile you in the first place.

✅ Ready to hit the reset button on your privacy? I negotiated an exclusive deal for you. Get 60% off now using coupon code KIM60.

As if dating wasn’t rough enough, one man is juggling 30 AI girlfriends at once. I get into the psychology (and the stress) behind it. Plus, why Circle K’s a hub for crypto scams and how to get the best plane seat.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

🫣 Zuck’s devious plan for making bucks: You know those fake celebrity ads and crypto schemes clogging Facebook? Turns out Meta knew, and instead of fixing it, they made them harder for regulators to find. It’s like sweeping scams under the world’s biggest rug. Reuters found internal docs showing Meta feared governments might force tougher ad rules that could cut into profits, so they cleaned only enough to look good. Scam ads might be worth billions to them annually. Way to go, Zuck, and you wonder why no one trusts you.

O(pen)AI: Word on the street is OpenAI will launch a ChatGPT gadget that’s literally a smart pen. Tipsters say the project (code name Gumdrop) is real, with always‑on AI that turns your scribbles and voice notes into instant answers, and it’s built by the ex-Apple guy who made the iPhone pretty. Other tech (wearables, smart speakers) may be coming, too. Sam Altman wants it to have a “cabin by a lake” vibe. Rustic surveillance might be a better fit. 

👀 Face off: Turns out, we’re flunking the facial Turing test. A new study found that AI-generated faces fool people, who can’t tell them from real ones unless they’ve had five minutes of “how to spot a robot” training. Yes, that exists, and it covers things like looking for the middle tooth and a distrust of perfect symmetry. Even super recognizers failed 59% of the time. PSA: Deepfakes are on the rise. Watch out.

RIP, two-step: Dance like nobody’s watching doesn’t hit the same when everyone has a camera. Gen Z is standing still at clubs and concerts, not because they don’t want to move but because they’re afraid they’ll end up as a meme (paywall link). Artists complain that their audiences look like a Best Buy demo. It only took three generations to go from the Summer of Love to the Seconds of Viral Can Ruin Your Life. 

🌿 My secret weapon for curbing cravings: If you feel like you’re constantly fighting the urge to snack or dragging through the afternoon, you aren’t alone. I use ImproveLife’s GLP-1 Support to silence the noise. It supports a healthy metabolism and gives you steady energy without the crash, because there is zero caffeine or stimulants. I take it daily to stay on track. Grab yours for up to 30% off with free shipping.**

The No Phone Zone: Have you tried taking a phone from a teenager? California did it statewide. All public schools have to restrict or ban phones during the school day. Eye contact’s back. Group chats? On hold till the bell rings. TBD on whether they’ll need the National Guard to enforce this policy against the inevitable disgruntled teenager resistance. 

🏔️ Peak drama: Ever climbed a really tall mountain and thought, There’s no way this is 14,000 feet? Me neither, but the Gilbertson brothers are built differently. These twin engineers scale mountains with GPS gear to prove we’ve been measuring them wrong (paywall link). Eric climbed 100 of Colorado’s tallest, then realized one might not be the tallest after all. Now, the duo is remeasuring mountains worldwide. I like mountains. But volcanoes are ash holes.

If you’re writing a five-year plan for 2026, do yourself a favor: Stop. Find out why in this short podcast.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Start 2026 by making sure your vehicle is safe. About 1 in 5 cars on the road has an open recall that was never fixed. Check yours on the NHTSA website by entering the license plate number or VIN. You can also look up recalls for car seats and tires. It could literally save a life.

Send a website to your phone: Looking at something on your computer and want it on your phone? In Google Chrome, click the three-dot menu in the top right, select Cast, save and share, then Create QR Code. Open the phone’s Camera app or QR scanner, and the page will open in your mobile browser. No more emailing yourself.

📧 One inbox, fewer logins: You can link your Gmail account to Microsoft Outlook. In Outlook, open Settings (top right) > Accounts > Your accounts > Add account. Type in your email address and select Continue. Now sign into the Gmail pop-up, give access, then hit Open Outlook. Your Gmail inbox will be in the left panel.

📘 Is AI moving too fast for you? It feels like a new update drops every single day. Instead of getting overwhelmed, get the facts. Download NetSuite’s free guide “Demystifying AI.” It cuts through the noise to give you a clear, powerful breakdown of how to actually use this tech to your advantage. Stop guessing and start understanding. Download it for free now.*

Smart TV acting weird? Black screens, random glitches or freezing usually mean it needs a quick power reset. Turn the TV off and unplug it from the wall. Hold down the TV’s physical power button (located on the front, side or back) for 60 seconds. Plug it back in, turn it on, and things should be back to normal.

🎧 Play audiobooks on Kindle: All you need is a pair of headphones. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi & Bluetooth and turn on Bluetooth. Tap Bluetooth devices, make sure your headphones are in pairing mode, and select them from the list. Not showing up? Tap Rescan. FYI, Raycon is still running a 20% off deal on noise-canceling earbuds. Next-level story immersion, just sayin’. 😏

Food delivery used to fail with honor. You know, the frazzled teen showing up with a few cold pizzas 30 minutes late with a “Sorry, ma’am, there was traffic.” 

Now it fails creatively. A DoorDash driver allegedly accepted an order, instantly marked it delivered, then uploaded an AI-generated photo of a package at a door that looked vaguely legit. 

Food never showed up, and the scammer probably used Google Street View or something. DoorDash corrected it quickly, and the guy got his poke. 

I’ve got a great Deep Dive for you tomorrow. Your smartwatch might be happily giving you wrong data. Yes, you. I’m breaking down the worst smartwatch offenders, and the 2026 upgrades that finally get it right.

💾 The answer: B) Micro-Soft. On Jan. 2, 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen officially used the name Micro-Soft in a letter to the makers of the Altair 8800. It was a mash-up of microcomputer and software.

Fun fact: A well-placed mom changed the course of tech history. Bill’s mother, Mary Gates, served on the board of United Way with IBM’s chairman. She’s the one who made the warm intro that helped Microsoft, a tiny unknown startup, score a deal with the biggest tech giant on Earth. Microsoft is now worth over $3 trillion. If you had invested $1,000 at their IPO in 1986, your shares would be worth roughly $5 million today. Don’t feel bad. I didn’t either.

🚘 Microsoft is working on self-driving vehicles. I can’t wait until my car suddenly stops in the middle of the highway and reboots to install updates.

🧠 Look at you. Smarter every scroll. Proud of you. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, Zarimi, @ByrneHobart via X

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