Year: 2016

Tip: find tons of messages you didn’t know existed inside Messenger’s secret folder

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 18, 2020

What if I told you that you most likely have tons of messages you didn't even know existed, stowed away in a little-known folder on Facebook?

While messages from your Facebook friends and Messenger contacts are delivered straight to your inbox, the system filters out those it deems spam and tucks them away into a hidden vault.

Some of those filtered messages could be from a distant family member trying to re-connect with you. Others might be vitally important. If you suspect Facebook is hiding messages you should've been aware of, this tutorial will teach you how to access a treasure trove of messages that you never knew you had.

Spotlight Suggestions hit Denmark, Norway and Sweden, new Flyover and Transit data on Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 29, 2016

Another day, another content expansion for Apple Maps. Less than 24 hours after bringing TrainLink and bus routes to commuters in New South Wales, Australia, Apple's mapping service has expanded its footprint with new three-dimensional Flyover content for Akron, Ohio and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Apple's also brought Spotlight Suggestions to the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac customers in Europe's Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Last but not least, traffic information on Maps has gone live in Thailand, bringing the total number of markets where this feature is available to 34 countries, as per Apple's iOS 9 Feature Availability webpage.

Changing your router’s DNS settings to increase speed and security

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 29, 2016

At times, you may experience slow hiccups while trying to use the internet from your home. Sometimes, these problems can be attributed to your router's DNS settings because your ISP may not always have the best DNS server speeds.

Your DNS server settings can also affect your security as you use the internet because some DNS servers come with built-in firewalls and security measures to prevent you from opening malicious or phishing websites, while others don't do anything at all to protect you.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can edit the DNS settings on your wireless router if you're experiencing slower internet speeds than you should be.

How to add a new email address to iMessage and FaceTime

Ankur Thakur ∙ Updated May 19, 2025

Learn how to add an email address to your Apple account for iMessage and FaceTime on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac instead of your phone number.

Phil Schiller gives fans a grammar lesson: never pluralize Apple product names

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 29, 2016

You use your iPhone every day, but how many iPhones do you actually own? That simple question would never pass a grammar check by Apple's boss of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller.

Responding to a debate on pluralizing the iPad Pro name, which ensued between Andreessen Horowitz partner Benedict Evans and analyst Michael Gartenberg, Schiller tweeted that “One need never pluralize Apple product names”. But what then does he propose as the correct way of saying that Evans used two iPad Pros?

Apple updates iMovie for Mac with various visual and speed improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple on Thursday pushed out a solid update for iMovie for Mac, bringing the popular video-editing software to version 10.1.2. The release brings about several improvements, including faster project creation, easier clip selection and more.

The focus of the update seems to be visual cues and speed. Apple added a New Project button in the Projects Browser and Larger project thumbnails on the visual side, and the ability to begin editing a project with a single click on the speed side.

Get Instagram’s new flat UI redesign now with this jailbreak tweak

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 28, 2016

Earlier this week, we had shared with you what appears to be a redesign for the Instagram app for iPhone that may soon be rolled out to all users.

The new interface utilizes an iOS 9-esque flatter design with white UI elements and black button highlights.

However, if you're jailbroken, then you don't have to wait to unlock this new interface for yourself right now. There's a new jailbreak tweak in Cydia called IGExperiments that will let you do this, and more.

How to stop iPhone from tracking your location

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2016

Location Services and Privacy settings on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad certainly provide a very detailed breakdown of the apps and system services that have requested access to your location, or are motoring your location in the background.

Options in Location Services are incredibly complex so average users may be tempted to not bother and simply leave everything on. Others may disable Location Services altogether, which isn't a very good idea either (from a usability standpoint).

Suppose you want to stop an iOS device from tracking your whereabouts, but without disrupting essential features or sacrificing much of the device's functionality.

But how precisely does one accomplish that?

There's no master switch in iOS that'd tell the device to stop monitoring your location. Plus, things get more complex if you don't know exactly which switches in Settings need flipping and which ones must be left intact.

This easy to follow step-by-step tutorial will lay out exactly the features on your device that you must disable in order to limit or prevent unwanted location tracking.

Dragon Hills goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ April 28, 2016

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion in iTunes with Dragon Hills. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the action-packed adventurer for free—a solid savings of $2.

In Dragon Hills, players take control of a dangerous dragon to help the furious princess on her revenge mission. You'll slide down the hills jumping into and out of the ground, crashing and destroying everything on your way.

Apple promotes Apple Music API for developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2016

Apple's Affiliate Program Newsletter has started promoting a new Apple Music API, which the Cupertino company introduced alongside iOS 9.3. With it, third-party developers can implement in their apps interesting functionality for Apple Music subscribers, including playing tracks, adding songs to a user's library and queuing up tracks for playback.

Supported apps can also see if a user is currently a member, in which country the users account is based and provide other features for members of Apple Music.

How to prevent changes to email accounts on iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 5, 2023

I'm nervous every time a curious friend picks up my iPhone and ventures into Settings—not because they could see something they shouldn't, but out of fear they might mess up my multiple email accounts.

While removing email accounts from an iOS device won't wipe the server, re-adding them is a tedious process: you need to remember your access credentials and, if an account is protected with two-factor authentication, provide a verification code, too.

iOS lets you disallow changes to some device settings, including restricting all email, calendar and contact accounts so that no one can add or remove them, here's how.

A look at the brand new Philips Hue app

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

For decades it was a thing of science fiction. Books and movies have long depicted their protagonists speaking commands to inanimate objects and having orders carried out instantly. I think it's safe to say that most everyone, including myself, used to daydream of being able to control lights simply by giving a voice command from anywhere in the room, no longer having to get up and walk over to flip a light switch on or off.

Then Philips introduced their Hue lightbulbs and companion API, moving traditional light switches a step closer to obsoleteness by introducing the ability to turn lights on and off with a smartphone app, bringing us one step closer to making voice controlled lights a reality. When the second generation Hue bridge was introduced with HomeKit support, Siri gained the ability to control Hue peripherals, creating the ultimate ease-of-use scenario.

There's almost a magical property surrounding Philips Hue lights. A room can be lit or darkened by a spoken word, its walls repainted in an instant, or the atmosphere changed to anything from a tropical sunset to an Arctic aurora. There's really no limit to what one can do with a few Hue lights and some creative inspiration.