🧞‍♀️ Stop typing questions into Google

Well hello, it’s Tuesday, {{first_name | friend}}. Let’s go back in time. In December 1965, two astronauts circling Earth aboard Gemini 6 decided to spread some surprise holiday cheer. Mission Control was expecting calm space chatter. What they got instead was the first-ever musical broadcast from orbit, courtesy of a smuggled harmonica and tiny sleigh bells.

🎄 Can you guess the song? The options: A) “Silent Night,” B) “Jingle Bells,” C) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or D) “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” The answer is humming along at the end! 

Here’s a not-so fun holiday fact: As you shop, someone’s shopping for you and your data. Data brokers love this season. They’re collecting more data about you and selling it all to scammers, spammers, stalkers and who know who else. Incogni steps in and removes your info from those creepy sites, and it’s 60% off with my exclusive deal. Definitely worth a look below.

Know someone who lives for weird tech history and late-night Wikipedia spirals? Forward them this email. They’re gonna love it. — Kim

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Here’s something you never thought of. Your phone’s camera is a real genie. I want you to start using it that way, especially this week.

Whether you’re carrying the brand-new iPhone or an older Android you refuse to part with, your phone’s camera got a serious upgrade. You’ve probably seen ads for things like Visual Intelligence or Circle to Search, but here’s the secret. You don’t need a thousand-dollar phone. 

If you have the Google, Gemini or ChatGPT app installed, your camera can now see problems and help solve them in real time. It’s amazing, really.

Use your phone’s camera and ask away.

🍎 iPhone: Apple calls this Visual Intelligence, and it’s built in. Press and hold the Camera Control or the Action button. Point your camera at the object or problem. Then tap Ask and start talking about what your phone sees. 

Btw, I got a message about needing to be over 13 to use it. I was like, right. Head to Settings > [Your Name] > Personal Information to verify your birth date, then tap iCloud within that same menu to set Age Group for Apps to Always.

🤖 Android: Use Circle to Search. Long-press the Home button or navigation bar. Circle or tap what you want help with, then add your question like “How do I fix this?”

If Google blocks you, head to your Google Account settings > Personal Info and verify your birthday. If you’re using a Workspace/Education account, your admin might have AI features toggled off for “minors” by default.

Tip in a tip: If your phone is older, you’re not left out. Open the Google app, tap the camera icon and use Google Lens. You can also scan handwritten notes. Point your camera at a messy grocery list or a kid’s letter to Santa, and AI can turn it into text and even help you find items nearby.

Use live video. Open the ChatGPT or Gemini app, tap the voice or live icon, switch to the camera and move your phone while you talk. No photos needed. It’s real-time help.

Try this. Point at your Christmas tree and ask why the lights went out. Scan your living room and ask how to decorate it better. Aim at your TV cables and ask which one goes where. Even ask if that tie really works with that shirt or if those jeans make you look fat. (They don’t.)

Remember, these tools send images to the cloud. Don’t scan bank statements, medical info or anything sensitive. Save the magic for gifts and gadgets, not your private life.

🤩 One last favor. If this helped you or made you say “wow,” use the share icons below and pass it along. Everyone knows someone who’s still typing questions into Google when their camera could do the work faster. This is one of those tips that makes life easier immediately, and those are always worth sharing.

He thinks he’s dating Jennifer Aniston. Holly’s bro lost a fortune to a celeb romance scammer and won’t listen to reason. Plus, deepfake kidnapping, Time magazine’s Person of the Year and an Amazon email you need to delete.

Listen on Komando.com →

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

🔗 Linked device lurkers: If you get “I found a photo of you 👀” on WhatsApp, don’t click. Scammers fake a Facebook page, steal your WhatsApp linking code and silently attach their device to your account. Then they can read your chats, watch new messages roll in and text your friends as you to spread the scam. It’s called GhostPairing. Check Settings > Linked Devices and remove anything unfamiliar.

Stocking stuffer bomb: If someone hands you a DNA kit this Christmas, know it’s not always fun facts. One guy took 23andMe to help his sister, then realized his own dad wasn’t his dad, thanks to unexpected matches and missing ancestry. Research on 23,000 users says it happens: 3% get a parent surprise, 5% discover siblings. That’s right, there’s a small chance you end up with Maury Povich in your stocking. 

Uber’s safety asterisk: This is far from happy Christmas news but it’s not really getting attention. Uber keeps telling us “our drivers pass violent-crime screenings.” But the NYT found in 22 states, Uber can approve people with records for assault, stalking, even child abuse as long as the convictions are older than seven years (paywall link). I get the philosophy, people change, but second chance hits different when the job is being alone in a car with strangers who might be drunk, asleep or merely trying to get home. I know a woman who was raped by an Uber driver. This happens, you have to be aware.

🎨 Need stunning photos? I’ve used Dreamstime for years, and for good reason. Whether you’re building a website, designing a presentation or just need the perfect pic for social media, Dreamstime has millions of royalty-free images that won’t break the bank.*

Your AI wrapped: OpenAI launched "Your Year with ChatGPT," a personalized recap similar to Spotify Wrapped. It tallies your total messages, images generated, and your "chattiest day." It even assigns you a specific "persona" archetype and writes a "Year in Poetry" based on your interactions. To see yours, look for the banner in the mobile app or simply ask the bot, “Show me my year.” It told me, “Your year wasn’t flashy. It was solid. Built on faith, family, work ethic, and trust.” I’ll take that.

👣 Holiday miracle: You know how a baby’s first steps wow you in the best way? This one’s extra. KJ Muldoon was born with CPS1 deficiency, a rare, potentially deadly disorder (about 1 in 1.3 million babies). When KJ was 6 months old, doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia started a personalized CRISPR gene-editing treatment, basically fixing a specific typo in his DNA with three infusions. After 10 months in the hospital, he went home in June, and now he’s walking into Christmas with his family. So wonderful, right?

No one likes the middle. Make sure that doesn’t happen with this pro tip.

Listen on Komando.com →

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

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Some smart TVs let you watch two things at once. Open Settings, click Display or Picture, and look for Picture-in-Picture or Multi View. Turn it on and split the screen. Now you can keep the news on while watching the game, without switching back and forth.

iPhone camera trick: You probably know that long-pressing the shutter in the Camera app starts recording a video. Here’s the part you might not know. While you’re still holding the shutter, slide your finger up or down the screen to zoom in or out. Perfect if you’re filming one-handed and want to frame the shot properly.

📶 Test your Wi-Fi: Speedtest by Ookla on iOS or Android can check your download speed, upload speed and latency. Since it’s on your phone, you can walk around and test different rooms to see where your signal drops and whether you’re getting the speeds you’re paying for. Bonus: It has an outage tracker to see if apps or websites are having issues.

Google Docs shortcut: No need to type the same phrases over and over. You can set up custom abbreviations that expand while you write. Go to Tools > Preferences > Substitutions and toggle Automatic substitution. Add something like “irt” under Replace and “in regards to” under With. Next time you type “irt,” it’ll fill in automatically.

🖥️ Windows Snap Layouts: If your screen gets messy fast, this one’s for you. Snap Layouts lets you quickly organize open apps into neat layouts. Open any app and hover over the maximize button to see options for halves, thirds or quarters. Click where you want it to go, then choose the rest. FYI, you can use Windows key + Z, too.

Most see the highlight reel of being the Elf on the Shelf, but few know the sacrifices these brave men and women make every holiday season. 

This week, the Elf met Bella, our 10-month-old chew first, ask questions never golden retriever. This angel has two settings: “sweet angel” and “eats décor.” 

You know how the Elf is supposed to “report back” to Santa? Bella filed a complaint about the North Pole surveillance state, with her mouth. 

Santa, if you’re reading this, look at those puppy dog eyes.

📵 Tomorrow, the secret game I play to get people off their phones when it’s family time. You’re gonna want to use it, too! This is the #1 tech newsletter in the United States, wishing you a great week. 

🔔 The answer: B) “Jingle Bells.” Yep, in 1965, astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford pranked Mission Control by playing “Jingle Bells” on a smuggled harmonica and set of sleigh bells while orbiting the Earth, making it the first song ever broadcast from space.

They even radioed in first, claiming they'd spotted a “sleigh-like” craft piloted by “a man in a red suit.” Those instruments are now chilling in the Smithsonian, where all great space pranks go to retire.

One for the road: Knock knock. Who's there? Mary. Mary who? Mary Christmas! Knock knock. Who's there? Anna. Anna who? Anna happy new year! (You’re totally going to use that, I know it!)

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🧵 The thread to your future self is strong. Keep weaving. — Kim

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

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, Furbo, Kim Komando

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