👀 The cereal aisle knows what you did

Happy Tuesday, {{first_name | friend}}. Let’s talk about that button we’re all supposed to turn off before takeoff: airplane mode. The FAA imagined complete mania in the skies, cell phones turning into signal-scrambling saboteurs, but does it actually matter?

✈️ How many crashes came close because someone forgot the setting? A) Three confirmed, B) 12 suspected, C) Over 50 reported or D) Zero? The answer’s at the end, and it might make your next in-flight lecture hit a little differently.

🛑 Stop wasting money on expensive ineffective creams. They only treat the surface. The real reason your skin wrinkles, your hair thins and your knees ache is that your body stopped making enough collagen. I fix it from the inside with NativePath. I put a scoop in my tea every morning to restore what time takes away. Get up to 44% off plus free shipping right now.** — Kim

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⚡ TL;DR (THE SHORT VERSION)

📖 Read time: 3 minutes

You grab a cart, head to the cereal aisle, spend 10 seconds debating between the healthy bark-tasting granola and the Lucky Charms. You put the granola back.

The store watched and recorded you doing that.

Kroger rolled out EDGE in 500 stores (expanding to 2,600 this year). EDGE is short for Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment, which means AI tech and cameras on shelves. Walmart’s doing the same thing. Devices are in 60 stores now, ramping up to 2,300.

Built with Microsoft, cameras detect your age and gender. Woman in her 30s? Here’s a baby formula coupon. College-age guy? Energy drinks on sale. Older male? Sensitive toothpaste is buy one/get one free.

Digital tags can change prices on the spot. Snowstorm coming? Bread and milk jumped $2. Store’s dead early in the morning? Here’s a deal. Lunchtime rush? Sandwiches cost more.

Kroger and Walmart both say they’d never use this for surge pricing. Right.

Cameras, Wi-Fi and sensors track which aisles you walk down, products you pick up, how long you hesitate and when you walk away empty-handed.

They know you stood in front of the pasta sauce for 23 seconds. They know you picked up the organic brand, looked at the price and grabbed the store brand instead.

Kroger sells your shopping data. Your name, address, phone number, purchase history, location data, health information (hello, hemorrhoid cream), along with your age, marital status, gender and race.

Americans are spending more of their income on food than at any time in the last 30 years. Grocery stores saw that and thought, “How can we squeeze more?”

Regulators are looking into how grocery stores use AI and electronic shelf labels (ESLs) to update prices between the time a customer picks up an item and when they reach the checkout.

Here’s how to spot the cameras:

🛒 Know someone who shops at Kroger or Walmart? Share this before the shelf decides they look like they can afford the name brand. Use the handy icons below.

Phew, after all that, you need a smile. I made a mistake at the grocery store the other day. I went to get a six-pack of Sprite. Accidentally, I picked 7 Up. 😊

Listen on Komando.com →

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

TV on the internet: ChatGPT is about to start slipping sponsored ads under answers if you’re on the free or cheap tier. The ads won’t be super creepy-targeted yet. OpenAI’s giving advertisers mostly basic TV-style stats (paywall link) like views and clicks, not the full Google/Meta stalker spreadsheet. But this is still your questions turning into ad space. And OpenAI’s charging premium rates like big TV events, about $60 per 1,000 views. 

🧗🏼‍♂️ Stress streaming: Netflix’s new genre of “please don’t die on a livestream” put climber Alex Honnold scaling Taipei 101, about 1,667 feet up, without ropes. That’s about 5.5 Statues of Liberty stacked. They shelled out about $500,000 for the deathbait content, and you could feel the business model. Free Solo had a cutting room. This had a prayer.

Siri’s little secret: Apple’s paying people because Siri allegedly recorded conversations even when nobody said, “Hey, Siri.” Your moola comes automatically if you filed a claim by the July 2025 deadline. The payout is capped at $20 per device with a max of five, so no one’s getting more than $100. The lawsuit claims folks talked about stuff like Olive Garden or Air Jordans, then magically got ads for them. Classic. Apple’s forking over about $95M, only about nine hours of profit. Feels like the equivalent of a speeding ticket.

📍 Upgraded lost-and-found: Ever tear up your couch looking for keys like it’s an escape room? Apple dropped a new AirTag (aka AirTag 2) you can order now, ships this week. It tracks from up to 50% farther, the speaker’s 50% louder (heard 2x farther) and you can use your Apple Watch to Precision Find. Still $29 or $99/four-pack with free engraving. Finally, your missing stuff can scream back at you. Psst, the first-gen models are on sale to make room for the new ones, and these are still darn good.

Hustle highlight reel: Remember when LinkedIn was mostly résumés, recruiters and motivational slop? It’s becoming a new influencer hot spot, with athletes. Sportico says pro athletes on LinkedIn are up 31% since 2021. Take Nuggets forward Spencer Jones, who’s building his post-basketball plan in real time. The 24-year-old Stanford grad posts a couple times a week about games and takeaways, then uses travel days to meet founders and investors before clocking in for tip-off.

👀 Family feud fan fiction: So Brooklyn Beckham popped off on Instagram Stories, accusing parents David and Victoria of sabotaging his relationship with wife Nicola Peltz. And before anyone found proof, the internet did what it does: made some (paywall link). People cranked out realistic AI clips of Victoria dancing inappropriately with Brooklyn at their 2022 wedding despite zero authentic footage. We gave AI the sum of all human knowledge, and it chose Beckham wedding drama. Great.

A widespread underground market for rented and shared profiles is reshaping app-based work and raising safety and accountability concerns.

Listen on Komando.com →

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

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Who needs a magnifying glass? If you want to see something up close, like tiny print or a skin blemish, use your phone’s macro lens. On iPhone, open Camera, switch to Photo and move closer until macro turns on automatically. On Android, open Camera, tap Modes > Macro. Now you can really see those little hairs in the mirror.

Your apps could be listening: Most apps don’t need access to your microphone. On iPhone, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and toggle off anything that doesn’t need it. While you’re there, check camera, location and contacts, too. On Android, go to Settings > Security and privacy > Permissions manager and do the same.

🎧 I did a blind audio test: I compared Raycon Everyday Earbuds against the big $200 brands. The result? You usually can’t tell the difference. Raycon delivers the same crisp audio and deep bass for half the price. Why pay extra for a logo? Be smart with your money. Use my link to get 20% off sitewide.*

Make an emergency call fast: This is a set-it-once feature you’ll hopefully never need. On your phone, pressing the side button five times can call the police or ambulance. On iPhone, go to Settings > Emergency SOS. On Android, open Settings > Safety and emergency > Emergency SOS. You can also choose to share your location and alert other contacts.

💸 Tax season is here: Some guided tax software services you can use for free. But there’s a catch: Most are only for people with an adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less. Use this IRS tool to see if you qualify. If not, TurboTax is 44% off right now.

Stop those “helpful” temperature changes: When your heating keeps adjusting itself, it’s usually a smart feature doing too much. In the Apple Home app, open Thermostat > Settings > Adaptive Temperature and turn it off. In the Google Home app, go to Thermostat > Settings > Adaptive Eco > Off. In the Alexa app, open Devices > Thermostat and disable Alexa automatic control.

What’s through the looking glass? Lower utility bills, apparently. 

Meet LuxWall, the maker of vacuum-sealed windows with an R-value of 18. That’s insulation-speak for “heat stays inside,” compared to the sad R-3 where most windows max out. 

It’s basically thermos technology for buildings that can slash HVAC energy use by nearly half. Utility companies like this because unused electricity is the cleanest electricity. 

But still, I feel like we’re turning houses into Yeti coolers so ChatGPT can keep trying to count the number of Rs in strawberry.  

Tomorrow, I’m saving you nearly $2,000. That’s some serious moola. I’ll show you how to stop paying for expensive gear and subscriptions and use the apps already in your pocket instead. Also, there’s a town that completely bans Wi-Fi and cell signals. Can you guess why? I’ll have the answer for you. And if you think you’ve seen everything, just wait. I’ll introduce you to a flying umbrella. Really. Hello Mary Poppins!

👌 The answer: D) Zero. Yep, despite what flight attendant mean mugs suggest, there’s never been a confirmed case of a passenger’s cell phone causing navigational mayhem. The FAA eventually relaxed rules in 2013, but habits (and safety demos) die hard. 

So why the airplane mode charade? So you’ll actually listen during the safety spiel when they tell you your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device.  

⛈️ The sky was looking ominous, so I asked Siri, “Surely, it’s not going to rain today?” She replied, “Yes it is, and don’t call me Shirley.” That was when I realized I’d left my phone on Airplane mode. (Get it, from the movie Airplane? Tough crowd. I’ll do better tomorrow.)

💪 One last health check: You don’t have to accept stiff knees or thinning hair as you age. NativePath Collagen replenishes the proteins you lose over time. It’s odorless, tasteless and dissolves instantly in any drink. I use it daily, and I can feel and see the difference. Grab my exclusive deal for 44% off and free gifts.**

🤖 AI can write, search and create. But it can’t dream. That’s still your job. — Kim

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

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, ChangBERT, Scott Park/LuxWall

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