👉 You just got played by AI (and didn’t even know it)

Welcome to your Thursday, {{first_name | friend}}. My Christmas Cash Giveaway powered by Incogni is underway. Every day, I pick one awesomesubscriber of this newsletter to win a $100, $200 or $500 Amazon gift card. Check the bottom to see if you’re our lucky winner today. I hope so!

🚔 Let’s get this tech party started You know who was living the smart home dream long before the rest of us? The cops. Yep, while we were trying to get Alexa to understand “turn on the kitchen lights,” law enforcement already had the gadgets dialed in.

💛 Grateful as a mom: I always hoped my son would say, “Mom, let’s build something together!” This year we did, working with a team of experts to create ImproveLife GLP-1 Support. It helps manage cravings, support metabolism and keep energy steady without caffeine or stimulants. I take it every day. Hit this link for Black Friday savings up to 50% off plus free shipping. Thank you.** — Kim

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You’re shopping for a 4K TV. You’re not 100% sold, maybe you’ll sleep on it. Then bam, a little red banner pops up, “Only 2 left at this price!”

Your stomach tightens. You panic-click. Congratulations, you just got played by artificial intelligence. Retailers are using AI to do what pushy salespeople used to: nudge, nag and manipulate you into buying before you’re ready.

But this isn’t your average “prices may vary” trick. This is high-tech emotional pressure designed to make you buy now. 

It’s called “next-gen sentiment analysis.” Fancy wording for retailer bots watching how long you hover, how many times you scroll past that fancy blender, even how fast you move your mouse. If you seem interested but hesitant, AI flips the switch:

Are these real? Not usually. They’re custom-crafted scare tactics, not facts. The bots know how to manipulate your FOMO, fear of missing out, right to your credit card.

Take a breath, clear your tracks, check the price, and then click buy. You’ve got this and now, the bots don’t.

🛍️ Share these smarts using the icons below with your shopping buddies, your deal-hunter sister, your dad who thinks every Amazon timer is real. The more people who know how these bots work, the fewer will get played by digital FOMO.

Why can’t Meta stop the fraud? Easy. It probably doesn’t want to. Hear how it made billions off scam ads last year. Plus, the Musk-Altman feud and a big Google Maps update. Then I talk to caller Byron, who says scammers drugged him and used facial recognition to unlock his phone. Scary!

Listen on Komando.com →

🍌 You have to try this: Google dropped Nano Banana Pro, which sounds like a snack pack but is actually their best image model yet. It writes clean text (allegedly) in images, switches day to night, rearranges group photos and blends up to 14 shots like it’s directing a Pixar short. Restage that messy room into a magazine scene, design that logo or finally make that infographic for your business. It’s inside the Gemini app. Here’s a picture of me, as you always suspected.

Thieves with taste: London is wild right now. Thieves are mugging people, grabbing their phones, then when they realize it’s a Samsung, they give it back. One guy literally heard, “Don’t want no Samsung.” Another had his Galaxy tossed back gently like a pity refund. Why? iPhones hold better resale value, period. Criminals are basically running their own refurbished marketplace. So yeah, your Samsung may not impress the robbers, but at least you get to keep it.

Night light nonsense: That little glow from your TV or phone could be messing with your heart. A huge study found that people exposed to more nighttime light had way higher risks of heart failure, heart attack and stroke, like up to 56% higher. It’s all tied to your circadian rhythm getting confused.

Rotten Apple: There’s a new scam going around that’s freakier than usual because it uses real Apple alerts to make the fake ones look legit. A guy named Eric got flooded with genuine two-factor codes, then a “support call,” then an official Apple email, all timed perfectly so he trusted the next text, which was the trap. He almost handed over everything. If Apple calls you out of nowhere, hang up and call them yourself.

✈️ Proof of humanity: Heads up, if you show up at TSA without a REAL ID or passport, you might get hit with an $18 “identity check” fee. Think of it like paying a cover charge for a really bad club. Officers run your face through a new biometric kiosk, so they can confirm you’re you. The $18 pass lasts 10 days, so forget your ID two weeks later and, boom, you’re paying again. Just don’t say boom at the airport.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On a Chromebook, you can pin your favorite apps to the taskbar for quicker access. Open the Launcher (bottom left), find the app, right-click it (or two-finger tap) and choose Pin to shelf. 

Copy text from any image: Windows 11’s Snipping Tool has a cool feature called “Optical Character Recognition” that lets you turn text inside a screenshot into editable info. Open Snipping Tool, snip the part you need, then on the image toolbar choose Text actions and tap Copy all text. Now paste it wherever you want.

Set Gmail to reply for you: When you’re out for a few days, let Gmail send responses automatically so people know you’re away. Go to See all settings > General > Vacation responder, turn it on, and choose your start and end dates. Add a subject and message, then hit Save Changes at the bottom.

🔔 Mount your video doorbell properly: The ideal height is about 48 inches from the ground. Most lenses have a wide field of view, so mounting it higher can trigger false alerts as the sun moves across your porch. PSA: Before the Black Friday deliveries roll in, consider a lockable drop box to keep packages safe.  

Save on gas: ICYMI, until Dec. 26, Amazon Prime members get 25¢ off per gallon on Fridays. Download the Earnify app (iOS and Android), link your Amazon account and look for a bp, Amoco or ampm station in the app. At the pump, enter your phone number or use the app to apply the discount. After the promo, you’ll still get 10¢ off per gallon.

Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year, when Google Maps gently whispers, “good luck” every time you try to leave the house.

The app dropped its 2025 holiday traffic report, kicking off with Thanksgiving week. The worst time to drive next week is Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. Aim for Tuesday after 5 p.m. 

Plan on getting groceries? Avoid making the trip to the store at noontime Thanksgiving, unless you’re prepared for a multiplayer combat zone. 

Lewis and Clark used physical maps to guide them through the great unknown. Today, we use Google Maps data to make going through the great known faster.

The answer: A) Smart doorbell cameras! Before they were capturing porch pirates and raccoons in suburbia, they were quietly helping the police track suspects during sting operations. In one case, law enforcement used disguised doorbell cams to monitor suspects right from neighboring houses, basically turning homes into real-life HQs from a spy movie.

One for the road: How did the hacker get away from the police? He ransomware. (lol)

✨ Feeling low on energy or fighting cravings? ImproveLife GLP-1 Support helps you feel full longer, supports metabolism and keeps energy steady without caffeine or stimulants. I take it daily and truly see the difference. You can save up to 50% off, with free shipping. Trust me, your future self will thank you.

🧑‍🎄 Special thanks to Incogni for supporting our Christmas Cash Giveaway: Keep your personal info private and secure this holiday season with Incogni. Get my spam-busting deal, 60% off now. 

Tomorrow, gadgets, gifts and games for Thanksgiving gatherings. This is the #1 tech newsletter in the U.S. 

Until next time, keep shining brighter than your screen! I believe in you! — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Gemini, Blink, Google

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**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary.

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.