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How to Transfer Your WhatsApp Chat History from Android to iPhone
How to Transfer Your WhatsApp Chat History from Android to iPhone
WhatsApp has over 2 billion users, sending hundreds of billions of messages every single day. That's a lot of conversations, and if you're a WhatsApp user who is switching from an Android over to an iPhone, you don't want to lose all of those precious texts in an instant.
For a while now, there hasn't been an official or even easy way to transfer existing WhatsApp conversations from Android to iOS. That may not seem like a major issue, because you could always start new conversations, but if you have photos and videos of important memories in those messages, you definitely want to transfer them over.
Read more: WhatsApp Now Lets You Move Chats, Photos From Android to iPhone
That's why Tuesday Apple and WhatsApp announced an updated process for transferring their Move to iOS app to include your WhatsApp history when transferring data from your old Android to a new iPhone. Here's what you need to know and how to do it.
Thinking about making the move to iOS? Check out which iPhone model might be best for you, as well as this review of the latest iPhone 13. If you're already an iPhone owner, read more about Apple's forthcoming mobile operating system, iOS 16. Here are some new features you can expect from iOS 16 and how to download the iOS 16 developer beta right now.
Before you start...
You must meet a few software requirements on both devices. For this to work, you need to be running:
Android 5 (Lollipop) or later
iOS 15.5 or later
Also, you need to download the latest version of Move to iOS and WhatsApp Messenger on your Android. The WhatsApp version with the transfer feature is currently in beta, and will take about a week to get to all users.
Connect your Android and iOS devices
Grab your Android and iPhone and do two things: Make sure both devices are fully charged (or plugged in to a power source) and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Now, with your Android and iPhone side by side, do the following:
1. On your new iPhone, begin the process of setting up a new phone. Make sure to connect to the same Wi-Fi network as the Android, or else this won't work.
Once you get to the Apps & Data section, tap Move Data fromAndroid. Next, hit Continue until you see a one-time six-digit code, which you'll need to enter on your Android later.
2. On your Android, open the Move to iOS app, hit Continue and agree to the terms and conditions. You'll also want to grant the app access to your Android's location, calendar, text messages and other info. This will allow you to transfer your data over to the iPhone.
Enter the six-digit code from your iPhone into your Android and connect to the Wi-Fi network created.
Transfer your WhatsApp message history
If the connection is successful, you'll then be able to choose which data to transfer over, such as apps, photos and videos and contacts. You should also the option to transfer over your WhatsApp history. Check the WhatsApp option, as well as anything else you want to port over, and continue on with the transfer process.
Note: This service uses end-to-end encryption, so your data, including your WhatsApp messages, is not shared with or seen by Android, Apple or any third parties.
Once the transfer is complete, you should see a WhatsApp icon on your home screen or in your app library on your iPhone. Open WhatsApp and then authenticate your account to view your existing conversations.
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'The Internet's Best Friend': TikTok Comedian Gets Laughs While Raising Mental Health Awareness
'The Internet's Best Friend': TikTok Comedian Gets Laughs While Raising Mental Health Awareness
The negative effects of social media can be substantial. But then again, so can the positive ones. A 2019 study found that routine social media use is associated with improved social wellbeing, positive mental health and self-rated health. This suggests that social media can be a good thing if you're an intentional and mindful user.
Social media can be a powerful tool for expressing yourself, bringing awareness to social issues and sharing compelling stories that resonate with your audience. Enter Elyse Myers, a comedian who uses platforms like TikTok and Instagram to share stories (like her infamous date where she bought 100 tacos), to make people laugh and to talk about her mental health. In a world of filters that give you bunny ears, there is Myers. She has become a staple of authenticity and honesty that people look to; she's even lending her expertise to events like a mental health panel at VidCon next month.
I had the chance to sit down and talk to Myers about how she uses access to 5.3 million followers across platforms to normalize things like anxiety, depression and self-care.
Social media can be used to talk about important topics
In the last few years, especially with the rising popularity of TikTok, social media has become a prominent tool for discussing important topics -- including mental health. If you've scrolled through Instagram or TikTok, you've probably come across Myers and her trademark "Great question, I would love to tell you." Her approachability and passion for bringing attention to topics like anxiety and depression with her storytelling have earned her the title of "The internet's best friend."
Elyse Myers TikTok
For Myers, using her platforms to cover these topics came about naturally, she said. "I never really like woke up one day and thought, you know what, today I'm going to talk about my depression. It just naturally kind of happened because it's something that I'm so passionate about," Myers said.
"The more we can casually drop it into our conversations and not apologize for it, I think that that's a really powerful thing, and I think that more people need to do that," she added.
She described a journey of being more open and intentional with her platform over time. Besides making people laugh, she wanted to destigmatize normal (yet sensitive) things many people live with. And it turned out that people connected to her and what she had to say.
"Early on, I was talking about my anxiety and social anxiety. I think I was more pointed with my conversations when I realized that not a lot of people are doing it online and people really resonated with it. I just was so encouraged that people were encouraged by my videos talking about mental health."
You can create and engage in a meaningful community
Social media isn't just a place to bring awareness to things; it's also a place to build and engage in a community. Myers took the time to cultivate connections with her viewers. "I have made a huge point of being very active in my comments and creating community. It's really important for me to not just create content dumping on people that are consuming it and walking away. I don't do that in real life, and I don't want to do that online," she said.
Many have latched onto the positivity Myers offers, which has led to a remarkable community that celebrates mental health and healthy boundaries. The comment sections of her videos, which she described as "overwhelmingly positive," have become a place to connect, share stories and encourage others. And make real change in their lives.
Elyse Myers TikTok
"I've had people share with me that because I have been so open to talking about my mental health, they've found a therapist for the first time in their life. Or that they have told their families that they've been struggling with certain mental illnesses or addictions," Myers said.
Communities can be a really powerful thing, both on and off social media. Myers shared an anecdote about a group of Patreon subscribers who "fell in love with being friends" and threw one woman a virtual baby shower. They met through Myers' Patreon, and their friendship developed past casual commenters and into clicking "I'll be there" on an e-invite.
But you'll have to manage the negativity
With the good comes the bad -- and there's plenty of negativity on social media. Even with the success stories and actual friendships she has helped grow, nasty comments have been a part of the process. Myers described her experience of becoming "less of a person" to some as her platforms grew.
"I think that people originally, when my content started coming out, still saw me as a whole person and that it was a person behind the videos," Myers shared. "As my followers have grown, as my influence has grown a little bit and my presence online has grown, people have gotten more comfortable with the fact that maybe I won't see all of the comments." And so they may feel more free to say negative things.
Myers is a comedian with millions of people viewing her content. So, yes, she may get more negativity than most, but those experiences are not limited to influencers on the internet. Not seeing each other as people on social media is a mindset that can be damaging. Comparing yourself with others can lower your self-esteem and damage how you view yourself.
With filters and social media algorithms, it's easy to forget that the person on your screen is a real person. Managing the uncertainty others bring to social media or how it can potentially negatively affect you is difficult. However, we can all start by viewing each other as people, not products or things or images we'll never live up to.
Tips to make sure social media doesn't bring you down
It's essential to know your limits with social media. For Myers, who uses social media as part of her job, it's sometimes hard to separate it. Myers shared that the negativity she receives is sometimes hard to ignore. "It's been pretty difficult. It really has weighed on my mental health, the last couple of months, but I'm trying really hard to not engage with it."
Use these tips to help recognize when social media is becoming a negative influence on your mental health.
Don't just post because you feel like you need to
No matter how you use social media -- for your job or recreationally -- sometimes there is pressure to post. How else will your followers know what's going on with you?
"A lot of the time you'll see somebody have initial success, and people are amped and then they feel like they have to repeat that same success over and over and over and over again, or they will become irrelevant," Myers said.
Myers suggests that you shouldn't create or post out of desperation just to get something out there. When you use social media a lot and become emotionally dependent on the feedback you get, it can worsen symptoms of anxiety or depression. Don't treat yourself like a content mill that has to post to get likes. Social media is at its best when it's a supplement to your lifestyle, not everything.
"When I feel that pressure, that's when I feel the most burnt out, the most tired, the most resentful [toward] my audience, [toward] my job. And that's not healthy for my content, but it definitely isn't healthy for me, as a person, as a mom, as a wife, as a friend," Myers said.
Define your red flags and take a step back when you need to
This one seems obvious, but it can be one of the hardest to nail down. Being able to identify red flags for your mental health can help you take a step back from social media. Whether it is worsening feelings of anxiety or depression or feeling disconnected from those around you, there will be signs that you need to take a break. Check in on yourself and be intentional about noticing patterns in your mood, how you feel and the quality of sleep you're getting. This will help determine when you need to step away or take a digital detox.
Don't forget what social media can do
Social media doesn't have to be a place where you only display your best self. And it doesn't have to be a place where you engage with negative comments. When used intentionally, social media can be a really good thing.
Myers uses it to make people laugh and talk about mental health, but you can keep up with old friends, connect with others or even find new ways to decorate your living room. Social media can be a powerful way to bring awareness about issues and connect with others, but using it should never be at the expense of your mental wellbeing.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
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This 43-Inch Amazon Fire TV Is Down to Its Lowest Price Yet at 41% Off
This 43-Inch Amazon Fire TV Is Down to Its Lowest Price Yet at 41% Off
Gone are the days of TV antennas and cables, now we're all about flat screens with Wi-Fi. Amazon Fire TVs take it to another level with built-in Alexa. This hands-free TV doesn't even require a remote, allowing you to dive into entertainment using just your voice. There are five different sizes to choose from, but right now, the 43-inch TV is 41% off.
Upgrade your entertainment experience with this Omni series TV that has brilliant 4K Ultra HD. You can access more than 1 million movies and TV episodes while pairing your Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Prime Video subscriptions. Even though the TV is ultrathin, it's still equipped with cable, satellite and HDMI ports.
This TV is at its lowest price yet for a limited time, so grab one while you can. The 50-inch model is also on sale for $370 (save $140) and the 55-inch model is on sale for $450 (save $110). Grab more savings with the 65-inch TV which is just $500 (save $330), and save the most when you buy the 75-inch version for $750 (save $350). Be sure to check out other great 4K TV deals now as well.
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Need to Take a Screenshot on Windows 11? Here's How
Need to Take a Screenshot on Windows 11? Here's How
Screenshots are used for a variety of reasons. Maybe you're sending someone a photo of your screen over Slack to diagnose a problem, or you just need to take a quick snippet of an important document to save for later. Regardless of the reason, there are multiple ways to take a screenshot using a Windows 11 computer.
Whether you want to take a full-screen grab, you only want to capture part of the screen or you'd prefer to use a keyboard shortcut or application, the process is simple. Here are all the ways to take a screenshot on Windows 11.
Don't have Windows 11 yet? Check out these two important things you need to do before you can download Windows 11. And if you're unsure about updating, read more about the major differences between Windows 11 and Windows 10.
1. Take a screenshot of the entire screen
The easiest way to take a screenshot of your entire desktop is with the PrtSc key at the top of your keyboard. After tapping on the PrtSc key, the screenshot will be saved to your clipboard, although you won't receive any indication the screenshot has successfully been taken. To view the full-screen screenshot, use Ctrl-V to paste it into an application like Paint or Microsoft Word, or even into the body of an email.
2. Take a screenshot of the entire screen and save it to your computer
Similar to the first option, hitting the Windows-PrtSc keys will take a screenshot of your entire desktop, but it'll also save the screenshot to a folder on your computer. If you hit the keys correctly, your whole screen will flash, indicating the screenshot has been taken and saved. You can find all of your full-screen screenshots in Pictures > Screenshots.
You can take four types of screenshots: rectangular, freeform, window and full-screen.
CNET
3. Take a screenshot of only part of the screen
Not everyone wants a screenshot of their entire screen, which is why Windows 11 gives you the option to take only a partial screenshot. If you tap on Win + Shift +S, your screen will flash and a small Snipping Tool menu will appear at the top of the screen, allowing you to do the following (from left to right):
Rectangular Snip: Draw a box around what you want to capture
Freeform Snip: Draw any shape around what you want to capture.
Window Snip: Choose a window to capture.
Full-screen Snip: Capture your entire screen (same thing as PrtScr).
Once the screenshot's taken, it'll be saved to your clipboard, as with the PrtScr key option. You can then paste it elsewhere to look at it. However, if you click the Snipping Tool preview that appears at the bottom of the screen, you'll find options to edit the screenshot (crop, rotate and more) and save it to your desktop.
You can delay your screenshot by 3, 5 or 10 seconds.
CNET
4. Use the Snipping Tool to take delayed screenshots
The Snipping Tool comes built into Windows 11, and is the same tool used in the previous section, except with a few tiny additions. To use it, type in Snipping Tool in the Search feature and open the application to take a screenshot.
In Snipping Tool, if you click on New you'll open the mini Snipping Tool menu (like in the section before), where you can then choose between several different snips. However, with this full version of the Snipping Tool, you can choose any of the four snipping options (rectangular, freeform, window and fullscreen) and then choose a delay option. You can choose between a 3-, 5- and 10-second delay. This will give you a bit of time to set up whatever it is you're attempting to screenshot and might make it easier than taking the shot manually.
To take the delayed screenshot, simply hit Win-Shift-S, which will then be copied to your clipboard. You can also click on the screenshot preview that appears to make any edits or save it to your computer as a JPEG, PNG or other.
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Rolls-Royce Spectre EV Will Have Trick New Suspension Tech
Rolls-Royce Spectre EV Will Have Trick New Suspension Tech
Rolls-Royce's first fully electric car, the Spectre coupe, is still working through its 2.5-million-kilometer testing process ahead of the first customer deliveries in late 2023. On Thursday it released a new set of images showing the Spectre on the lush roads of Southern France, and it confirmed a few new details about the electric coupe -- some of which are pretty rad.
For starters, the Spectre will have a new take on electronic roll stabilization. Lots of cars have active anti-roll tech, but what sets the Spectre's apart is the ability for the system to automatically turn itself on and off depending on the road condition.
Using the satellite navigation and Rolls-Royce's road-scanning cameras, when the Spectre detects a turn, the car's steering, braking, power delivery and dampers adjust so the coupe remains stable. When the road straightens out again, the system decouples the anti-roll bars. Rolls-Royce says this lets all four wheels act independently for a more solid straight-road ride.
Looks good.
Rolls-Royce
Beyond that, Rolls-Royce says the Spectre is the stiffest car in the company's history, largely thanks to integrating the battery structure into the car's platform. The company also says that while it originally quoted a drag coefficient of 0.26, the latest testing actually results in a slipperier 0.25, making this Rolls-Royce's most aerodynamic car ever.
The Spectre's shape is reminiscent of the now-departed Wraith, though Rolls-Royce insists this new car does isn't a replacement for the old one. We're still loving the weird camouflage wrap that features quotes from company founder Charles Rolls, and the Spectre will have Rolls-Royce's updated Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, too.
It's unclear exactly when Rolls-Royce will show the production Spectre, with the automaker only confirming deliveries will start by the end of next year.
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Paving stones: DIY a paver patio in 6 easy steps
Paving stones: DIY a paver patio in 6 easy steps
Paving stones are a powerful tool you can use to create unique and beautiful areas in your home's outdoor spaces. Available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and materials, they're a relatively simple way to add extra style to your front or back yard.
For instance, paving stones are great for sprucing up patios, walkways and firepit areas. They offer a good range of design aesthetics, too. Are you partial to natural stones? Perhaps you prefer uniform patio stones? Maybe traditional cobblestones or shaped concrete blocks are more your speed. Whatever direction you go, there are pavers available for creating pathways, patios, borders and even driveways.
If you're considering a paving-stone project like that, then you've come to the right place. This guide lays out what you need to know to use pavers well. We'll also provide guidance about how to select the right ones and we'll give pointers on how to install your paving stones properly, too. Do it right and your designs will last for years to come.
Some types of paving stones can be used to create striking driveways.
Belgard
Paving stone materials
The first phase of your project is to decide the look and feel of the stone you'd like to use. Paving stones come in three main material types: natural stone, concrete and brick. Keep in mind that the thickness of the stone and its material composition contribute to its overall strength. This variation means that some types of paving stones are better suited than others for certain purposes.
For instance, most pavers are strong enough for basic use, say in a garden or for a patio with regular foot traffic. However, pavers that are used to build a driveway must be able to withstand the weight of vehicles -- you'll need to make sure to select stones that are specifically designed and graded accordingly. Most home improvement stores such as Lowe's and Home Depot specifically list whether a type of paving stone they sell is up to this task.
No matter how simple or elaborate your paving-stone project is, having a plan always helps.
Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images
Step 1: Make your project map
Creating a clear depiction of the scale of your plan is a must. Start by marking the edges of your project with string, a paint line or another outlining method. Next measure the length and width of these edges. Multiplying these measurements will give you the total area you'll need to cover. From that you can determine the number of paving stones your project calls for, depending on their size.
Step 2: Create a solid base
You might get away with dropping patio stones down into an existing landscape without digging up any soil. Your best bet, though, is to excavate the target area first, then fill it with a base material. Commonly used items include crushed concrete, crushed shell or limestone. These substances will ensure that the stones sit level.
You don't need to dig too deep. Digging and removing a few inches of earth is often all that's required. The goal is to unearth roots or other items that would have otherwise made your pavers settle unevenly over time.
If you do plan on a deeper excavation, it's a good idea to check with your local utilities first. The last thing you want is to hit a buried gas or electrical line by accident.
Once excavation is complete, you can start laying down a thin layer of your base material.
Step 3: Even out your surface
To avoid any stones sitting or settling higher than others, you'll need to even out your base layer. A tamper tool comes in handy for small areas. Larger projects such as driveways may require you to use a plate compactor.
Also, consider that in some cases you might want to add a gentle slope to your patio to provide drainage away from your home and avoid the pooling of rain water.
Step 4: Put down your pavers
After you've covered your project area with base material, it's time to deploy your paving stones. Drop them as close together as possible. Keep in mind that you may need to trim a few stones if they don't fit exactly to your plan.
If you just need to trim a few oddly fitting stones, you can use a hammer and chisel. Any more than that and you'll have to rely on a specialized saw or other power tool.
Step 5: Consider restraining edges
For patios and larger installations, a concrete restraining edge, aka an edge restraint, might be necessary. It acts as a barrier and prevents the pavers from moving as the earth settles over time. There are also special pavers that serve as edging stones. As an alternative, you can buy hard plastic edging pieces that can hold your patio stones in place. Those will also help to keep out weeds and grass.
Step 6: Seal to preserve
As a final step, think about adding a sealer to your paving stones. Doing so will create a weather barrier and help preserve the finish of your patio, walkway or driveway. A sealer can also help to guard against color loss from exposure to the sun.
Acrylic- and water-based sealers are available in a variety of gloss levels. Be sure to follow the directions on your sealer packaging carefully to ensure that it adheres properly.
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Fortnite Developer Epic Games Acquires Bandcamp
Fortnite Developer Epic Games Acquires Bandcamp
Epic Games, creator of the popular online battle royale game Fornite and the Unreal Engine software, has announced it's acquired online music company Bandcamp. The move shows that Epic has a stronger focus on attaining music content, with Bandcamp offering a large audience and market for independent music artists.
Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond will continue to work at the company, which will operate as normal but will now move toward a more international focus, Diamond said in a statement.
"Behind the scenes we're working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services," Diamond said.
In late 2021, Epic Games acquired music gaming developer Harmonix, the creators of both the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises. Harmonix is currently working with Epic Games on music experiences for Fortnite, much like the popular Travis Scott concert and the Soundwave series event. These music focused concerts and experiences will play a greater part in the developer setting the stage for its metaverse plans in the future.
It remains to be seen, though, whether this latest acquisition is another play for music content to fuel metaverse ambitions, or how the move will change Bandcamp down the road. But with previous additions to the Epic Games portfolio, and live events with popular artists happening in Fortnite more often, it's fair to say that the creators of the world's most popular online game see music content as a key area for the future of the company.
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Upgrade to Apple's Latest 10.2-Inch iPad and Save $50 Right Now
Upgrade to Apple's Latest 10.2-Inch iPad and Save $50 Right Now
The latest ninth-gen iPad is a solid iPad options out there if you're looking for a portable tablet that can help you be productive on the go (or from your comfortable couch). Whether you want to work, play, stay connected, create, explore or stream entertainment online, it will be easy to do with the iPad's upgraded CPU and Neural Engine, which offer a faster and more powerful performance compared to previous models.
Right now you can save $50 on 2021 iPad (64GB) with Wi-Fi on Amazon, bringing the price to just $280. Note you only save that much on the space gray model, not the silver one.
Apple's 10.2-inch tablet comes with an A13 Bionic chip, an 8-megapixel wide-angle rear camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide front camera with Center Stage technology and more. The Retina display has been upgraded from previous models and now has True Tone technology, which adjusts the screen for comfortable viewing in any light.
It also features a Lightning connector and gets up to 10 hours of battery life per charge. Plus, the 2021 iPad supports the first-gen Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, which are sold separately, but can help you create and work with ease and may be worth the investment.
And if you are worried that 64GB of storage may not be enough for your pictures, videos or other projects or media, remember that Apple offers plenty of ways to increase your storage if you are willing to use cloud services like the company's own iCloud option or apps like Dropbox and Google Drive, so that storage size shouldn't limit what you can do on your iPad. And springing for the smaller size will save you a lot of money down when compared to the larger 256GB model, which starts at $479 at the Apple Store.
CNET's Scott Stein wrapped up his review of this iPad by saying, "I think the basic unexciting iPad wins out. Especially for the price." He awarded it an Editors' Choice.
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ExpressVPN Is a Case Study in Why VPN Reviews Require More Legwork
ExpressVPN Is a Case Study in Why VPN Reviews Require More Legwork
Two members of Congress have called on the Federal Trade Commission to tackle a digital threat that privacy watchdogs have been concerned about for years: Virtual private network companies continue to profit from rising surveillance fears by advertising largely unverifiable promises not to log users' online activity.
In their July letter, Democrats Rep. Anna Eshoo, of California, and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden address what may finally be a tipping point in the fight for VPN transparency -- more abortion-seekers are now turning to VPNs for protection while risking imprisonment in pursuit of life-saving health care. The letter's concerns about VPNs include the following, some of which are also issues ExpressVPN has publicly dealt with, and all of which are issues affecting how VPNs are reviewed.
First, ethically dubious VPN companies armed with outsized advertising budgets often fund glowing faux-reviews disguised as unbiased consumer advice. Even among editorially independent reviewers, though, properly testing a VPN already means grappling with the complexities of not just encryption tech but the industry's overall resistance to investigation. This muddies the waters for consumers and may potentially conflict with US advertising regulations.
Second, VPN tech and the VPN industry are both opaque. VPN companies serve customers in countries with anti-VPN laws, so sometimes they have servers discreetly placed in those countries. VPN owners often hide their true identities with legal sleight-of-hand in off-shore company shell games. These are two common industry practices. In the best cases, these practices may protect a good VPN from a government takedown. In the worst cases, these practices can allow a VPN to become a business front for government surveillance (a honeypot). Either way, these practices are profitable and make it impossible to fully vet a VPN independently.
These issues are important because a low-quality VPN review from a popular website could land a trusting reader in jail or worse.
Read more: With Roe v. Wade Overturned, Your Abortion Searches Could Be Used to Prosecute You
Since my last review, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden issued a tweet telling users to abandon ExpressVPN because ExpressVPN CIO Daniel Gericke was cooperating with the FBI in an unrelated DOJ investigation. Immediately following the DOJ news, a London-based parent company that used to sell ad tech (and is backed by a billionaire previously jailed for insider trading) bought ExpressVPN for $936 million. Many reviewers warned users away from ExpressVPN. I almost did too. But instead, I spent several months methodically investigating the service and its parent company. I still recommend it to privacy-critical users. But that isn't the point of this commentary.
The point of this commentary is that Congress is calling for investigation into the VPN industry and -- given the above paragraphs' content -- I am also calling for VPN reviewers to do better at investigating the VPNs they review. ExpressVPN's story is a case study on how reviewers like me can do this better.
Read more: How We Test VPNs
Kape's evolving business model
When ExpressVPN first announced that it was being bought by London-based Kape, our biggest concern was that the VPN would be forced to share customer registration data with Kape -- outside of the VPN's privacy-protective British Virgin Islands jurisdiction -- as other Kape subsidiaries' policies allow. I've repeatedly reached out to Kape for comment without response, but there are still a few ways we can define the relative range of risk Kape poses to ExpressVPN's privacy integrity.
First, ExpressVPN's own repeated public assertions of continued operational independence from Kape are somewhat self-affirming; they indicate Kape isn't making moves to silence its new VPN. ExpressVPN's statements also gain more weight as it raises the stakes for its own -- and Kape's -- public image by being a loud voice in the i2Coalition's continued calls for transparency in the VPN industry.
Kape's revenue incentives have shifted as well -- from ad-tech dollars based on its previous CrossRider product, to a booming privacy market that Kape expects to grow 17% a year. That shift has paid off for Kape with an 89% revenue spike from $122 million in 2020 to $231 million in 2021. Within that increase, privacy product revenue jumped 30% and accounted for $117 million -- about half of overall revenue. Security-related revenue rose by 18% when Kape-owned Intego antivirus revenues surged 20%. And Kape's digital content profits -- which came entirely from the acquisition of Webselenese in March 2021 -- reached $88 million by year's end, representing 53% year-over-year growth for Webselenese.
Read more: What is Kape Technologies? What you need to know about the parent company of CyberGhost VPN
"100% of Kape's revenue comes from subscription services or online content publishing; 0% of revenue comes from ad serving. Digital privacy and security accounted for 73.5% and 26.5% of its FY2020 revenue respectively. Since 2016, Kape has not earned a single dollar of revenue from ad-tech or any other aspect of the former Crossrider platform," Kape said in a September 2021 release.
While the release isn't enough to hang a hat on, its sentiment was echoed in March when Kape CEO Ido Erlichman filed the company's 2021 wrap-up, touting 20% organic customer growth and a VPN-driven 260% increase in paying subscribers, for a total of 6.5 million subscribers.
Kape, Erlichman said, is "one of the sole players wholly focused on digital privacy, and without any monetisation from any customer data."
Kape projects revenues will hit $610 million to $624 million at the end of 2022 -- more than double last year's revenue.
Kape's year-end investor presentation from March 2022 details the company's revenue sources, including areas of anticipated growth in the privacy and security sectors.
Kape Technologies
There aren't any former Crossrider execs left in Kape's C-suite to hear the good news but there are still some familiar faces, including Teddy Sagi. The billionaire, who was convicted of insider trading in 1994, held a 54.3% controlling share in Kape as of its January holdings statement, a slight uptick from December -- when he put $60 million worth of loans on the table for Kape. That's down from his 60.5% holding before ExpressVPN was bought. That $60 million might hold a lot of sway, but it's not enough to keep Kape on Sagi's leash now that Kape's got a boosted debt facility of $290 million from the Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Citibank and others.
ExpressVPN co-founders Peter Burchhardt and Dan Pomerantz got $237 million worth of shares in the $936 million purchase, landing them a collective 13.6% share of Kape. Both are staying on with Kape, managing ExpressVPN's operations. Burchhardt also got the right to appoint a non-voting board member for the foreseeable future -- or so long as ExpressVPN accounts for at least 5% of Kape's earnings.
With an average growth rate of 35.1% over the past four years, ExpressVPN is unlikely to fall short. In 2020, it pulled down $279.4 million in revenue -- a 37% jump from 2019. Along with a slate of hardware partnerships, the company brought 290 staffers into the Kape fold, 48% of whom are the R&D engineers Kape said it needs. About $30 million worth of "synergy" cuts are coming as backroom ExpressVPN staff get folded into Kape's. Most crucially, though, are the 3 million subscribers Kape got with the ExpressVPN purchase, bringing Kape's retention rate to 81%.
That 81% is the key number here. Kape says 92% of its revenue is recurrent. With Kape no longer relying on ad tech dollars, the tent-post revenue strategy is cross-product subscriptions targeting current users, 30% of which are already in their third year of using a Kape product.
Good press is hard to find, but easy to buy
How is Kape going to target those customers for retention? Through a journalistic conflict of interest.
As noted above, Kape also now owns Webselenese, a platform for two no-longer-independent VPN review sites, vpnMentor.com and Wizcase.com. Kape bought the platform for $155.1 million per its full-year filing in March 2021. Webselenese's "integration" grew Kape's audience size by 62% with 105 million readers.
"Webselenese's mission is to provide honest and unbiased information via its well-regarded websites," Kape said in its March buying statement. "Its team of researchers extensively research and test every product before reviewing and recommending it, in doing this, Webselenese only recommends products and services that its writers would use themselves."
Sudden changes to VPN rankings on vpnMentor.com and Wizcase.com suggest otherwise. As noted by more reviewers that I can link to, both sites dropped NordVPN and Surfshark from their top-three picks following the Kape buyout, replacing them with Kape-owned Cyberghost and Private Internet Access.
Read more: Why you should be skeptical about a VPN's no-logs claims
To that end, it certainly appears that Kape is following in the footsteps of other digital giants by self-dealing -- guiding otherwise unaware readers to its own in-house products and services. And it's paying off: In a July 2021 trading update, Kape said buying Webselenese led to "reduction in average customer acquisition cost." By March 2022, Webselenese's revenue was up 53%. And Kape's digital content profits accounted for the largest chunk of Kape revenue.
That's the irony of Kape's evolving business model: Unlike the CrossRider days, the monetization of data now appears to be more of a liability than an asset. If you look at the transparency in ExpressVPN's audited tech, it's easy to see the most obvious incentive Kape would have to preserve the integrity of its flagship VPN: Any per-person data set the VPN would be able to gather on Kape's behalf would be embarrassingly incomplete compared with the finely polished and hypertargeted per-person data sets offered in a bullish market of invasive data brokers. Likewise, selling that customer data would expose Kape's highest-performing new VPN (its entire portfolio, really) to dangerous market competition, destabilizing Kape's overall subscriber retention rate while the company still carries a truckload of debt.
After all, why risk the reputation of your crown jewel privacy product when it's far more profitable to own an advertising machine that poses as an independent consumer technology review site?
Read more: VPN FAQ: What you need to know about the basics of virtual private networks
Who reviews the reviewers?
While prudent reviewers who waved readers off ExpressVPN in the past few months no doubt intended to offer "better safe than sorry" counsel, there's a risk of creating the opposite effect if you issue uncritical calls to abandon ship based on uncertain new ownership or yet-unseen US government VPN interference. Just as dangerous are uncritical calls to stay the course, even as red flags begin appearing. Whether panning or praising ExpressVPN, neither of those uncritical calls take seriously the privacy needs of a growing number of vulnerable people who are new to privacy tools.
VPN users who need safety from local-level law enforcement and ISP data collection aren't limited to exiled ex-spies, international criminals or UAE-surveilled human rights activists. They're everyday users who walk among us, and we have to stop dismissing their privacy needs as though they are the demands of paranoid outliers. Period.
Read more: Casual vs. Critical: When Your VPN Is a Matter of Life or Death, Here's How to Pick One
Not every surveillance state shares intelligence with the US, nor is there evidence that the US' surveillance apparatus -- vast though it may be -- is omniscient. ExpressVPN's hard-tested security, sprawling global infrastructure and flexible protocols allow its 3 million users to get potentially lifesaving information past law enforcement in countries where other VPNs falter. You can't account for every countries' broadband infrastructure quality, political restrictions, and local intelligence gathering capabilities -- but if any VPN is up and running in one of the world's tight spots, you can almost bet it's going to be ExpressVPN.
Shooing these users away from what may be their only locally reliable VPN doesn't help privacy-critical VPN users whose own political concerns don't include being targeted by the US federal government -- such as everyday users in China and Russia.
Nor does it help users in US states (where half of ExpressVPN users register) who lack federal protection while trying to survive dangerous state restrictions -- like abortion seekers in my own state of Kentucky. Add to that list all the gay kids on conservative college campus networks, abuse victims seeking escape, workers organizing labor unions and people working in one state's legal cannabis industry while living in another, anti-cannabis state. The list goes on. All of them are privacy-critical users, and I recommend they use ExpressVPN.
As always, that recommendation could change in an instant, in the event of a security breach, a privacy violation, an unexpected change in corporate policy or a savvy rival that ends up outgunning Express in terms of value or technology. But until it does, I'm offering my recommendation to use it, right along with a maxim that once hung on the wall of the City News Bureau of Chicago:
If your mother says she loves you, go check it out.
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Your MacBook Trackpad Has an Annoying Setting You Need to Change
Your MacBook Trackpad Has an Annoying Setting You Need to Change
Having unboxed and set up many MacBooks over the past 15 years, there's one settings choice that drives me absolutely crazy. So if you're buying a new MacBook or want to make your current one a little more useful, you should try clicking a few boxes in the System Preferences menu that always make these machines much more useful.
This trick will work in everything from the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro to the new M2 13-inch MacBook Pro to the upcoming M2 MacBook Air, as well as older MacBooks.
One of the best things about MacBooks has always been the huge glass trackpad, which always felt more responsive and offered more surface area than the touchpad on most Windows laptops. The difference has narrowed over the years, but it's still hard to beat a Mac trackpad. However, it makes me nuts to see (and hear) people clicking down on their touchpads to do anything. Guess what? These touchpads haven't physically depressed when clicked on for years. Instead a clever bit of haptic feedback makes it feel like you've clicked down.
Turn this on, even if you're not going to use it all the time.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
Windows laptops have long been set up for tap-to-click, which means a simple tap of your finger works the same way as a left mouse button (or ancient touchpad button) click would. A two-finger tap is the equivalent of a right mouse button click.
Read more: Make the Most of iOS 15's Hidden Tricks
But every time I set up a new Mac, I spend several minutes vainly tapping on things with no effect, because MacOS has tap-to-click turned off by default. Why? I'm assuming it's just to make my life more difficult. Fortunately, it's easy to fix. And if you're a determined clicker and have no intention of becoming a tapper, that's OK -- change these settings and you can still click away, but now the tapping will work, too.
The super secret hidden tap-and-drag settings menu.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
As a bonus, while we're doing this we're going to turn on both Exposé, which is a very useful multifinger gesture, and tap-and-drag, which is a much easier way to move things like folders around on the screen.
Fix Apple's dumb default touchpad settings:
System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Check the checkbox for Tap to click (which is unchecked by default).
System Preferences > Trackpad > More Gestures > Check the checkbox for App Exposé (fifth checkbox from the top).
System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options > Check the checkbox for Enable dragging (without drag lock).
That's it, your MacBook is now set up in a logical way.
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2020 Kia Forte GT: Good-looking affordable fun
2020 Kia Forte GT: Good-looking affordable fun
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A 1.6-liter turbocharged I4 engine with 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque gets the GT moving. That's a pretty significant increase over the 147 hp and 132 lb-ft available in other Forte models,
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The GT gets a new multilink rear suspension, replacing the standard Forte's torsion-beam setup and making the GT a much more competent performer than any other Forte.
7 of 39 Emme Hall/Roadshow
Forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning and a driver attention monitor are standard, but blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control are all pay-to-play options.
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The Kia Forte GT with the dual-clutch transmission gets an EPA fuel rating of 27 miles per gallon in the city, 35 mpg highway and 30 mpg combined.
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The cabin isn't full of plush leather or anything like that, but there are a few interesting design elements like red accents, a soft texture pattern on the doors and some brushed aluminum along the dash.
