There's a lot to look at, watch, and listen to on the web. Fully utilizing the bookmarks feature in Google Chrome can be a real help in staying on top of everything.

Chrome is the browser I use most often, and I've got a huge number of bookmarked sites inside it: long reads I want to get back to once work is done, news updates to write up for work, gift ideas, apps I'd like to check out, important Slack channels, and content systems for my job… the list goes on. All synced between devices and available everywhere.

If you haven't done a deep dive into Chrome's bookmarks feature then you might not be aware of everything you can do with it, how it can save you time, and how you can bring some kind of order to your web browsing.

Saving bookmarks

The star icon to the right of the address bar in Chrome on the desktop is for saving new bookmarks. Click it and the current page gets saved to the most recently used bookmarks folder. You can also press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Cmd+D (macOS), which is even easier. On mobile, tap the three dots at the top then the star icon (Android), or the three dots at the bottom then Add to bookmarks (iOS) to save the current page as a new bookmark.

As soo …

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Your browser can suck up a lot of battery life if you’re not careful. Tweak those settings to surf on your laptop longer.

Apple’s mapping platform is no longer exclusively for Apple devices. A pared-down version runs in your browser; here’s how to use it.

Apple is known for prioritizing privacy and security, but there are additional measures you can turn to if you feel you need them. iPhones, iPads, and Macs have what's known as a Lockdown Mode that takes protecting your data to a whole new level.

It's clear that this isn't for everyone: Apple describes it as being for those who feel they might be attacked by "the most sophisticated threats." Think journalists working in dangerous regions, activists under threat from surveillance or censorship, or politicians with access to top secret information.

Anyone can turn it on and off as needed - you don't need any special status or any particular kind of Apple account. It only takes a few taps or clicks, and you'll have the highest level of security protection that Apple offers.

How Lockdown Mode protects you

It's worth bearing in mind that there are some tradeoffs when using Lockdown Mode. The software you use will be limited in some of its functionality to give would-be hackers fewer ways to get at you and your data.

You'll find most attachments in Messages blocked, while FaceTime calls are only permitted with people you've had contact with in the last month. In Photos, you can't c …

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An official sharing feature built into the mobile app lets you send a specific scene to your friends. Here’s how to use it.

Keep your favorite clips stored locally for offline access.

Delete old accounts, protect your privacy, and cancel subscriptions.

The end-to-end encryption (E2EE) available on the WhatsApp messaging app gets you off to a good start when it comes to privacy and security. It means no one else - hackers, law enforcement, or Meta staff - can see your chats. Your stuff stays just between you and the person or persons you're chatting with.

On top of that, the app comes with a variety of other features for locking down your data as tightly as possible. Get all of these precautions in place, and you're as well protected as you can be when it comes to keeping your conversations private.

Stop others from exporting your chats

If you want to export your chat, it's easy to have it served up in a plain text file, complete with media attached, if requested.

• On Android, tap the three dots (top right) in a chat, then More > Export chat.
• On an iPhone, tap the header at the top of the chat, then Export chat.

The problem is that anyone you're chatting to can export that chat somewhere else, just like you can. If you'd rather your contacts weren't exporting your shared conversations, you can disable this for everyone in the chat. (This feature has only just been introduced, so you might not see it yet.)

• Get to the …

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Looking for the CliffsNotes of a lengthy YouTube video? This Gemini feature could be worth a try.

One of the Apple Intelligence features that hasn't been delayed is Visual Intelligence, which uses your iPhone's camera to identify and answer questions on whatever's around you in the world.

It lets you snap a pizza restaurant storefront and find out its opening hours, for example, or point your camera at a plant and find out what it's called and how to care for it. If you've used Google Lens, you'll get the idea.

This isn't available to everyone, though. You have to be using iOS 18.2 on the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, or iPhone 16 Pro Max; iOS 18.3 on the iPhone 16E; or iOS 18.4 on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. You'll also need to have Apple Intelligence turned on, via Apple Intelligence & Siri in Settings.

How to launch Visual Intelligence

If you have an iPhone 16 with a Camera Control button on the right-hand side, you can tap and hold this button to bring up the camera and Visual Intelligence.

If you've got an iPhone 16E, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max, you've got a few different options to choose from:

• You can customize the Action Button to launch Visual Intelligence: Go to Settings, tap Action Button, then swipe left or right to find Vis …

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The humble QR (or Quick Response) code has become ubiquitous. Invented back in the 1990s to scan car parts, the barcodes got a popularity boost during the pandemic when touchless tech became prioritized, and they’re now a regular part of daily life.

You’ll find them deployed to help you order food, connect to Wi-Fi, shop online, access tickets, prove your identity, and much more besides. They can either store information (about 3KB’s worth), or redirect you somewhere (like a website or an app page).

If you come across a QR code you want to read, you’ve got everything you need right on your phone.

How QR codes work

QR codes contain a small amount of data, typically under a hundred alphanumeric characters for the codes you’ll most often see day to day — although QR codes can get larger and more complex if more information needs to be stored. They can also have error correction built in, which adds to the size but means they’ll still work if part of the code is obscured or damaged.

A phone camera or other scanning device can read the information in a QR code, with the help of the three finder patterns at the corners: They tell the scanner where the QR code is, how big it is, …

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In recent years, Do Not Disturb has evolved on both iPhones and Android phones: it’s no longer just a simple block on notifications and distractions, but rather a selection of modes you can customize to suit all the different scenarios in your life (like driving, sleeping, working, or exercising at the gym).

This means you have more control over which apps and contacts can interrupt you and when. If you want Slack to be able to send you alerts during office hours but not family time, for example, you can set this up with just a few taps.

It’s worth spending a few minutes getting these various modes configured to suit you and your schedule, as it’ll make your phone less distracting without causing you to miss anything important.

Android being Android, the exact details for Do Not Disturb vary by manufacturer, but you’ll find instructions below for a Pixel 9 running Android 15 and a Galaxy S25 running One UI 7 — if you’re using anything else, the process should be similar. If you’re on an iPhone, you can try Focus modes.

Do Not Disturb on Pixel phones

In previous versions of Android, Do Not Disturb had its own category in Settings. However, starting from Android 15, you can f …

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AI tools have arrived in two of the most basic and long-serving Windows utilities. Here’s what they do and how you can turn them off if you prefer.

If you’re taking your laptop away from the safe environs of your home or office desk and still want to stay online, you’ve got a couple of choices (assuming it doesn’t have cellular connectivity built in): hunt around for a Wi-Fi network you can connect to or run a Wi-Fi hotspot from your phone.

Running a hotspot from your phone comes with advantages and disadvantages. It’s more secure than a public Wi-Fi network, as you’re in charge, and you may well get better upload and download speeds, too — though this will, of course, depend on the 4G and 5G coverage in your part of the world. On the downside, you may be limited in terms of your data allowance, and battery life on your phone will take a hit.

If you want to take the mobile hotspot route, here’s how to do it.

Set up a hotspot on a Pixel

With Android devices, as always, the exact steps vary depending on the manufacturer. These are the steps for using a Pixel device with Android 15:

• Open Settings on Android.
• Choose Network & Internet > Hotspot & tethering.
• You can toggle Wi-Fi hotspot from here to enable it, but if you’ve never used the hotspot before, tap on it to set your options.
• You’ll see options to set …

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Stay well on the web with Opera Air, a browser that plays soothing ambient music and encourages you to take breaks.

How’s that 5G rollout going in your area? Even in 2025, there’s no guarantee you’re going to be able to get reliable cell service everywhere you go, especially if you happen to live somewhere that’s especially crowded or remote — or if you work in your company’s basement.

That’s where Wi-Fi calling comes in, which routes your phone’s calls and texts over Wi-Fi rather than the connection to your local cell tower. Obviously, it won’t work when you’re in the middle of nowhere, but there are going to be times when you find reliable Wi-Fi is more readily available than cellular coverage.

How Wi-Fi calling works

Phones are configured to use Wi-Fi first to get online, if it’s available. It’s usually faster and offers more capacity than a cellular network (or, at least, that was the case before LTE and 5G became widely available). It also means you’re not using up your data plan on web browsing and streaming.

However, calls and texts continue to be treated separately and are going to be routed through a cell network even if you’re hooked up to a fast Wi-Fi network by default. This is partly because telephone calls have been around a lot longer than the internet and actually use a d …

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Subscribers can now organize their conversations with the AI assistant into neat little folders.

Create pictures from text prompts with iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

There are probably a lot of simple tasks you do repeatedly on your phone, like muting it in a meeting, reducing the screen brightness late at night, or turning on the battery saver when you leave for work. If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, then you have access to a Routines tool that can automate a lot of these for you.

Each Routine comes with a trigger and an action to carry out in response. Triggers cover times, locations, and phone states (like Do Not Disturb and low battery), while the actions cover most of the phone settings (including notifications, display settings, and Bluetooth) and can also launch apps or specific functions (like making your phone vibrate or turning on the flashlight).

There are lots of possibilities here. You can disable notifications while you’re using Samsung Health to exercise, mute your phone when you have a meeting, or bring up the weather forecast when you dismiss your morning alarm. You can also combine multiple triggers and actions, making the feature even more versatile. Routines can be launched manually, as well.

If you want inspiration, Samsung has provided some Routines you can use to get yourself started. From Settings, select Modes an …

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The Galaxy S25 flagships come with several clever new software tricks. Two of them—the Now Bar and the Now Brief—can be highly personalized.