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📬 Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Tomorrow: The scariest thing in your inbox might be an account you forgot you ever made. I’ll show you how zombie logins put you at risk, why hackers love them and how to bury them in minutes.
We made it to Friday, {{first_name | friend}}. Somewhere, Henry Ford is looking down at Amazon warehouses and whispering, “OK, that’s a lot.”
You click “Buy now,” then act shocked when socks arrive faster than your motivation to fold laundry. Behind that porch magic is a robot ballet of shelves, arms, scanners and AI systems bossing everyone around like a warehouse wedding planner with an energy drink problem.
🚧 How many robots work in Amazon’s warehouses? A) 10,000, B) 100,000, C) More than 1 million or D) Three, and they’re all named Alexa? Keep reading, the answer marches in time at the end.
🔒 I switched VPNs, and I’m not looking back: I tested all the big names, and NordVPN won. Faster, cleaner and it covers 10 devices on one account. Airport Wi-Fi, hotel Wi-Fi, coffee shop Wi-Fi, you are locked down. I negotiated the price down to $3.37 a month. Get 78% off plus 4 extra months at NordVPN.com/Kim.* — Kim
TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
Director’s cut out
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
🤯 WOW! Last Christmas, Prime Video viewers pressed play on It’s a Wonderful Life and got a version missing about 22 minutes, including the famous Pottersville scene. Disney+ digitally stretched Daryl Hannah’s hair in Splash. Netflix trimmed a shot from Back to the Future Part II. And sometimes they don’t tell you.
📖 Read time: 2 minutes
It’s Friday movie night. You pick a classic, hit play and settle in, probably like me. Here’s something you may not realize: The movie on your screen might not be the one that hit theaters.
Streaming services swap in edited versions all the time. A scene shortened. A swear word muted. A shot digitally touched up. No pop-up, often no warning label. Usually there’s a reason, like music rights, a rating or it’s simply the copy the studio sent over. You deserve to know what you’re watching.
🎬 Caught on camera
These aren’t rumors. They’re documented.
Splash on Disney+: In the 1984 original, Daryl Hannah’s mermaid showed some backside. When it hit Disney+ in 2020, her hair had been digitally stretched to cover it.
It’s a Wonderful Life on Prime Video: Last Christmas, a free “Abridged Edition” missed about 22 minutes, including the famous Pottersville sequence. The reason involved rights to the original short story. The full version was there, too, behind a subscription.
Back to the Future Part II on Netflix: In 2020, fans noticed a quick shot of Biff’s adult magazine cover had been trimmed.
Pacific Heights on Prime Video: One film writer found about 15 swear words silenced and a scene blurred. The uncut movie was streaming free on Tubi at the same time.
🔍 Check your cut in 2 minutes
Here’s how to make sure you’re getting the whole movie:
Compare the runtime. Look at the length on your streaming app, then check the film’s IMDb page. A minute or two off is normal, thanks to studio logos and credits. Ten minutes off? Something’s missing.
Read the label. Words like “abridged,” “edited,” “TV version” or “broadcast version” are your tip-off. “Theatrical cut” is what played in theaters. “Director’s cut” or “extended” means extra footage.
Turn on captions. If they show “[expletive]” where the dialogue goes quiet, you’re watching a cleaned-up copy.
Look up the differences. IMDb lists known edits under Alternate Versions.
📀 Want the original? Rent or buy the digital movie from a store that names the edition, such as Apple TV or Fandango at Home. A disc never changes after you buy it. Or go old school: Your public library lends DVDs and Blu-rays for free. (Physical media lovers, your moment has arrived.)
Pop the popcorn and pick the right version. My husband says I’m addicted to editing. I’m going to cut back.
🗣️ Text/post this stat: Prime Video’s free “It’s a Wonderful Life” was missing about 22 minutes last Christmas, and most viewers never noticed. GetKim.com
📩 Send this to someone who swears their favorite movie “used to be longer.”
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
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📺 YOUTUBE: THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW
Saved from rogue Flock cameras by a Wendy’s receipt
Amadeus craved a lemonade. What he got was the threat of a vehicle impound and jail time due to a Flock camera’s “proof.” Thank goodness Wendy’s still hands out paper receipts!
Watch now before everyone else is talking about it. 👇
▶️ Watch on YouTube →
WEB WATERCOOLER
💲 Pay-per-you: My assistant Hannah orders groceries for my house and she gets much lower prices than I do. So annoying. The FTC demanded documents from Walmart, Delta and others about using personal data, such as browsing history or device type, to shape prices and worker pay. If you suspect you’re being targeted by personalized pricing, compare prices on another device or in a private window, though neither guarantees a better deal. I miss when keeping up with the neighbors just meant mowing.
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👀 Return to snooper: Digging through my inbox for a flight confirmation code is the bane of my existence, but I’m not sure how I feel about Chrome’s new enhanced autofill. Click into a form, and Gemini pulls stuff like order numbers and flight bookings from your Gmail. Handy, but AI reading my mail deserves an actual settings decision. Open Chrome > click the three-dot menu > Settings > Autofill and passwords > Enhanced autofill. Then flip Find and fill with Gemini on or off. Don’t see it? Rolling out now to people who’ve turned on Gemini’s Personal Intelligence.
🌮 Taco ’bout trending: Your quiet little dinner spot could become a TikTok field trip. TikTok’s Must Eat feature is turning viral food videos and location tags into local dining guides, which could introduce folks to overlooked restaurants and introduce those restaurants to lines around the block. I’m happy for the owner, but before you load everybody into the car, check recent reviews and wait times. Nothing brings a family together like collectively blaming whoever picked the restaurant.
🤖 Bot-ched banking: On Tuesday, I told you AI bots are getting into bank accounts. Now Bank of America is saying it, too. Your AI helper can get your account locked, and you could still be responsible for what it did. The bank’s latest customer email warns against sharing usernames and passwords with outside AI tools. Handing over a login could mean exposed credentials, missing money or a frozen account. Keep the password. Let the robot organize the grocery list instead.
🍬 Sweet map: You shouldn’t have to drag a tired dinosaur costume up three empty porches to find Halloween candy. Nextdoor’s Treat Map is back, with neighbors marking candy stops, decorated homes and events so you can plan the night with fewer guesses. Find it in the Nextdoor app, and add your porch if you’re handing out goodies. (Reese’s sponsors the map, so expect a few peanut butter cups along the way.) Why don’t skeletons ever go trick-or-treating? They have no body to go with.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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There’s no camera, and a privacy button shuts off the mics. Off means off.
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DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Wondering how that puff-sleeve dress or turtleneck would look on you? Google’s Try on lets you upload a selfie (or a full-length photo) and see yourself in different clothes, shoes and styles. On some shopping pages, look for the Try on icon next to the listing. It won’t guarantee the fit, but it might save you a few “why did I order that?” regrets.
🤳🏻 FaceTime’s got another angle: With iOS 27.2, you can use both cameras during group calls. While you’re on FaceTime, tap the Flip button at the bottom-left corner. Your front and rear cameras capture at the same time, so everyone can see your face and whatever you’re pointing the camera at. A small improvement, but your wrist will appreciate it.
🚨 Browser alert: If you’re on Firefox, go to Menu > Help > About Firefox and make sure you’re on version 159. That’s 167 security flaws fixed. Chrome has an update, too, patching 52 flaws. Head to Settings > About Chrome and hit Relaunch once it updates. You should be on 156.0.8078.73/.74. I know, these updates keep coming. Better safe than sorry, right?
🧠 Are you using the right Claude model? Pick the wrong one, and you’ll burn through your tokens. Sonnet 5.5 is your everyday pick for fast answers and decent reasoning. Save Opus 5.5 for long, multistep tasks where it checks its work. And Effort? That controls how much thinking it does. Medium is usually plenty. Save High for tricky coding or analysis.
📚 Even books get updates: Some Kindle books might have fixes for typos or missing material. On Amazon, open Manage Your Content and Devices > Books and find the title. See Update Available? Select it and confirm. Turn on Automatic Book Update under Preferences to handle future fixes. Now, about that character they killed off. 😒
👆 Skip the copy-paste dance: Your iPad lets you drag text straight from Safari into Notes. Highlight some text, press and hold it, then use another finger to swipe up and open Notes. Drop it in, formatting and all. Works with pictures, too. Hold an image in Safari, open Notes with your other finger and drop it right below your text.
KIM’S DAILY DEALS
As an Amazon Associate, some links pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Keeps this newsletter free. Thank you.
🧹 Clean sweep, less effort
Five fixes for life’s messiest moments.
🦈 The upright choice: Shark Navigator (25% off, $150)
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Still hauling a bulky vacuum up the stairs? Pop off the Shark’s pod and carry the light part instead. Swivel steering lets you whip around furniture, and the extra-large dust cup means fewer trips to the trash.
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🧽 A dust must: Dry dusting sends the mess flying. Dampen one of these ridged sponges (15% off, $9, four-pack) to trap it on blinds and baseboards.
Drumroll, please: Your washer gets dirty, too. True Fresh’s cleaner tablets (23% off, $20) tackle funky buildup. Run a hot cycle, and you’re done.
🔥 Fire risk fighter: This dryer vent kit (23% off, $10) hooks to your vacuum and sucks out lint before it’s a hazard. You get two hoses for any size vent.
Glasses armor: These microfiber sleeves (17% off, $10, four-pack) protect your specs and double as cleaners. Your shirt can retire from smudge duty.
🤑 The basics, for less: See what’s on sale before you pay full price on an essential you use again and again.
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
WHAT THE TECH?
👻 Ghosted by AI
Want to see how ChatGPT sees the ghostly you? Careful what you wish for.
There’s a fun new prompt making the rounds. Save this ghost cutout, upload it to ChatGPT and type: “Dress this ghost with what you know about me.” Seconds later, your personality shows up as a cartoon spook. Mine came out with a headset and two golden retrievers. Rude, but accurate.
👻 Here’s mine on Instagram. Now show me yours. Drop it in the comments on IG. I’ll look at every one.
Share this now:
LOGGING OUT …
🎓 What you learned today: Streaming services quietly edit classic movies, stores may use personal data to set different prices, Chrome pulls information from your email to fill out forms, sharing bank logins with AI tools puts your money at risk and ChatGPT can turn your personality into a dressed-up ghost. Not bad for one email. Your old shopping apps, dead email accounts and forgotten logins may still hold some personal stuff. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how to hunt them down and delete them before hackers feast.
🤖 The answer: C) More than 1 million. Amazon deployed its 1 millionth warehouse robot last year, putting the bots almost neck-and-neck with the humans in its facilities.
According to The Wall Street Journal, robots help with roughly 3 out of every 4 Amazon deliveries worldwide. In many warehouses, the robots do the heavy lifting, literally, moving shelves, hauling bins and keeping orders flowing, while humans handle more complicated tasks.
Amazon’s Hercules bot can lift and move up to 1,250 pounds, and Proteus, its first fully autonomous mobile robot, can safely move around employees in open areas. How did the robot vacuum the house? Roomba room.
🔒 Free Wi-Fi costs more than you think: Every time you connect at an airport, hotel or coffee shop, your data is visible to anyone on that network. Two taps on NordVPN, and everything is encrypted. Covers 10 devices on one account. It’s the VPN I run on my own devices. Get 78% off a 2-year plan. That’s just $3.37 a month.*
💛 The director’s cut of your life doesn’t have missing scenes. You were there for all of it. Nobody gets to trim that. — Kim
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, Amazon Echo, Shark
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.