How to Opt out of Apple’s “Find My” Network on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - How-To Geek

---

• How to Opt out of Apple’s “Find My” Network on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - How-To Geek
• Android phones lack iPhone's app tracking transparency - what can you do instead? - TechRadar
• Old iPhones, PCs and printers: How to recycle or dump e-waste - USA TODAY

How to Opt out of Apple’s “Find My” Network on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - How-To Geek Posted: 02 May 2021 05:00 AM PDT Apple's "Find My" network allows Apple device owners to locate AirTags and other lost devices thanks to hundreds of millions of Apple devices already out in the world. While the network is anonymous and encrypted, you can still opt out on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac. Here's how. But First: Why You Probably Shouldn't Opt out Apple's Find My network is a crowdsourced system of hundreds of millions of Apple devices linked through the internet that helps people find AirTags as well as other lost or stolen Apple devices. It uses the combined power of every Apple device's Bluetooth sensors to detect nearby iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, AirTags, AirPods, Apple Watches, and Macs. When a local Apple device on the network detects a lost Apple device nearby, it reports its approximate location back to the device's owner. Thanks to end-to-end encryption and techniques to anonymize the data, no personally identifying information is shared with anyone if you use the Find My network, so it's not a privacy issue according to Apple. In fact, neither Apple nor third parties can access the location of your devices—only the person who is seeking the lost device can see their lost item's location. That being said, you are still in control of your own device, and if you'd like to opt out of the Find My network, here's how to do it. Warning: If you opt out of the Find My network on a device, you're also giving up the ability to use the network to locate your device if it gets lost. You can, however, still use the traditional "Find My" service, which relies on Wi-Fi and cellular signals to work. How to Turn off Find My Network on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch To disable Find My network on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, first, open Settings. In Settings, tap your Apple ID name. In Apple ID settings, tap "Find My." After that, you'll see the "Find My" settings screen. Tap "Find My iPad," "Find My iPod Touch," or "Find My iPhone" depending on your device. Next, tap the switch beside "Find My network" to turn it off. When you flip the switch, you'll see a warning pop up. Tap "Disable." And that's it. Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch is no longer participating in the Find My network. If you ever lose it and need to find it, you'll have to rely on the regular Find My service. RELATED: How to Track, Disable, and Wipe a Lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac How to Turn off Find My Network on Mac If you'd like to disable Find My network on your Mac, first, open System Preferences by clicking the Apple icon in your menu bar and selecting "System Preferences." In System Preferences, click "Apple ID." In Apple ID preferences, click "iCloud" in the sidebar, and then scroll down the "Apps on this Mac using iCloud" and locate "Find My Mac." If it's enabled, click the "Options" button beside it. (If "Find My Mac" is not enabled, then the Find My network is already disabled on your Mac.) In the pop-up menu that appears, click the "Turn Off" button beside "Find My Network: On." (If the "Find My Network" option says "Off," then it's already disabled.) When a warning pop-up appears, click "Disable." Then click "Done" and close System Preferences. After that, you're finished. Your Mac is no longer on the Find My network. If you need to find it in the future, you'll have to rely on a Wi-Fi connection through the traditional "Find My Mac" service. Stay safe out there! RELATED: What To Do If Your Mac Gets Stolen

Android phones lack iPhone's app tracking transparency - what can you do instead? - TechRadar Posted: 02 May 2021 12:00 AM PDT Apple's latest iOS 14.5 update has dominated tech news recently, and it's partly down to the arrival of app tracking transparency. The service gives iPhone users more control over how they are tracked by apps and websites while not using their services, and the question on many people's mind is when will similar options come to Android phones? Google might soon be releasing its Android 12 update, but it doesn't look like a version of app tracking transparency will be included when it does. When asked about bringing a similar feature to its platform Google told The Verge, "We're always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy." So while something similar may arrive on Android handsets in the future, we might have to wait some time. That doesn't seem like Google has an alternative ready to go just yet. Until then, what can you do to improve your privacy on your Android phone? Here's what you need to know about privacy on Android and the tools you can use to keep your data secure. What privacy features are on Android?  Android might not yet have an app tracking transparency feature, but what does it offer?  The next best thing is being able to see what permissions you've given to different apps. If you're running Android 11 you can find the Permissions manager page in your Settings > Apps and notifications > Permissions manager. From here you can not only see what apps are allowed to do, but you can also alter when they can access these features (choosing either all the time, only while the app is in use or not at all). Play Protect is another useful, albeit not 100% guaranteed safety feature. You can find it in Settings > Privacy and then it should be at the top of that screen. Play Protect should be turned on automatically and allows you to scan for apps from the Play Store that might be a security risk. It doesn't work all the time, though it can give you some peace of mind and any apps that do slip by are often only minor threats. Right now, neither of these features stops normal apps from tracking your usage of other programs and websites. (Image credit: Shutterstock) How private is private browsing?  This feature is baked into most modern browsers, including the versions you see on phones. Private browsing, or Incognito Mode as Google Chrome calls it, is where the browser won't log your search history, website history or any local data (such as cookies).While all this is great, how private is it really?  If you're trying to keep your activity a secret from people using the same device, it's an effective tool, though for everything else it does very little. The private browsing mode only stops local information being stored; it doesn't disguise your IP address or encrypt any data. This means your internet service provider (ISP) and any third-party apps on the phone you're using can still get a pretty good idea of what you're up to. If you're looking for full-privacy, you'll need to try something else. (Image credit: Bhubeth Bhajanavorakul / Shutterstock.com) VPNs: private is in the name  VPNs (short for virtual private network) are a much better way to keep yourself secure online and guard your privacy while using an Android phone. When you do something online it requires you to send and receive data constantly. Normally this data travels directly between your phone and the internet, so it's easy for your ISP and others to intercept it and take a peek.  If you use a VPN, it'll connect you to a private server elsewhere in the world. This creates an encrypted tunnel for your data to take a detour through, and it therefore hides key information. When anyone tries to intercept that data it'll be harder for them to understand what's being done and the data won't look like it's coming from you. Instead, it'll look like it's coming from the VPN's server location. Watch out though, not all VPNs are created equally and some can give you anonymity elsewhere at the expense of the VPN itself tracking what you do. In our best VPN guide we explain which services offer you the best protection and which ones will truly give you the privacy you want. Compared with Apple's tracking transparency it's still not ideal, though. Unlike that feature, the best VPNs come at a price and certain applications might not work properly if they detect you're using one. Hopefully Android will bring something similar to its platform eventually. Our #1 top rated VPN is ExpressVPN Of the 200+ VPNs that we've tested, it's ExpressVPN that tops the lot - it's speedy, secure, simple to use, and superb for streaming! And if you're still not sure whether VPNs are for you, you can try ExpressVPN 100% risk free by taking advantage of its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Old iPhones, PCs and printers: How to recycle or dump e-waste - USA TODAY Posted: 02 May 2021 05:30 AM PDT This content is only available to USA TODAY subscribers. Subscribe for as low as $4.99 per month. Subscribe Now Your subscription includes access to: Exclusive, subscriber-only content and weekly email newsletter Our most popular newsletter, Daily Briefing, to keep you updated on the day's top stories Full access on your desktop, tablet and mobile device The eNewspaper, a digital replica of the print edition Original reporting that provides diverse perspectives on news and issues of today We know you have many choices and appreciate you investing in us and the future of journalism.

You are subscribed to email updates from "buy encrypted cell phone,encrypt my data,should i encrypt my iphone" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States