Guide

How to turn off Netflix’s autoplay feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

Not everyone is a fan of bing watching. I, for one, rarely watch a dozen episodes of Friends in a row. If you're anything like me, Netflix's autoplay feature is probably something of an annoyance to you.

It's especially worrisome if Netflix uses cellular data: forgetting to stop the playback after you've just finished watching an episode won't stop Netflix from playing the next one automatically, resulting in unwanted data charges.

iDownloadBlog's tutorial series is here to help you with that: in this quick how-to, we'll show you how to turn off the video autoplay feature across all your Netflix devices—they're calling it Post-Play—with just a few clicks.

How to use one-handed zoom on Google Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2016

Yesterday, iDownloadBlog detailed a cool new one-handed zoom gesture during video capture which Snapchat's latest update has implemented.

This incredibly convenient shortcut permits you to zoom in and out as you're shooting video with Snapchat's camera, in real time. As one of our commenters pointed out, Google Maps has long had a similar shortcut on its native iOS app.

With it, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users can zoom in and pan around in one-handed mode, without needing to use a two-fingered pinch-zoom gesture. Here's how one-handed zoom mode works on Google Maps for iOS.

Pop-ups in Safari on your Mac? Here’s what to do

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 10, 2019

I hate pop-ups, and chances are, you probably do too. They're not only a nuisance, but most of the time they're also designed to get in your way to purposely try and scam you and get you to click on malicious material.

Safari in macOS comes with anti-pop-up measures, but those with malicious intent are always coming up with ways to get around those measures.

In this post, we'll talk about what you can do in a scenario when you get these annoying pop-up messages on your Mac and why you might be getting them.

How to use Snapchat’s new one-handed zoom

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 19, 2019

We don't hang out on Snapchat on a regular basis, but I myself use the app from time to time to check out new features. Earlier today, my boss Sébastien shared an amazing collection of handy Snapchat tips and trick, created by fifteen-year-old Victoria Samson.

Some of the tricks she demonstrates are quite brilliant, but her video how-tos don't cover Snapchat's latest feature addition—the ability to zoom while recording a video in one-handed mode using a simple gesture. That's precisely what this quick tutorial will discuss: using Snapchat's handy one-handed zoom mode during video capture.

Tip: stop YouTube’s annoying video autoplay ‘Up Next’ feature within iOS app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

My colleague Anthony recently vented his frustration with YouTube's default handling of the 'Up Next' feature on the web. Autoplay in YouTube is one of the banes of my existence, too, but as Anthony states in his write-up, YouTube for iOS lacks a switch to disable auto-play videos.

Not anymore, though: the latest version of Google's native YouTube client for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad includes an easily overlooked switch that lets you stop an endless stream of recommended videos from being spoon-fed down your throat with a single tap.

If you watch a lot of YouTube through your iPhone's cellular connection, you're wholeheartedly recommended to disable 'Up Next' on the iOS app, here's how.

Can’t sync your iPhone or iPad with iTunes? Try resetting your Lockdown folder

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 30, 2018

Those who use iTunes on a regular basis to keep their iOS devices in sync with one another are probably familiar with the problems that can arise from using the software, whether it's on a Mac or a PC.

If you're having problems while trying to sync or back up your iOS devices, the problem could very much be with your computer's Lockdown folder, and resetting it could resolve the problem.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to reset your iTunes Lockdown folder.

What to do if you can’t make or receive FaceTime calls iPhone or iPad

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 9, 2019

Have you ever received one of those annoying messages that basically tells you FaceTime is having problems on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? They can be incredibly annoying, but usually they're easy problems to fix.

In this piece, we'll talk about why you might be getting FaceTime errors on your iOS device and walk you through some ways to correct the problem.

Fun with iPhone: how to swap two faces in a photo with FacePlant

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 29, 2019

Sometimes there's no greater humor than that of which you can dish out by way of photo editing.

If you've ever wanted to swap two faces in a photograph for the giggles you know it's going to bring to the table between yourself and other people, then you've come to the right place.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can use a simple and free iPhone app to quickly swap two faces in a photograph right from your device.

Finding your Mac model number

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 5, 2019

Not too long ago, we shared how you can find out what version and build of macOS you're running on your Mac, but another important piece of information you should know is the model number of the Mac you're using.

This is an important piece of information that is used by Apple to identify exactly when your computer was launched and what hardware it has inside of it.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can find the model number of your Mac.

What to do if music, videos, and other content disappear after an iTunes update

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated October 25, 2022

It's not that uncommon for the music, videos, and other content in your iTunes folder to disappear after updating iTunes. It doesn't seem to happen to everyone, but as many internet stories will tell you, it does occur to a number of users on some occasions.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to get your iTunes music, videos, and more back when you notice it has gone missing after installing an iTunes app update.

Changing your Apple ID payment method on Mac or PC

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated January 7, 2021

Not too long ago, we showed you how you can edit your Apple ID payment information from your iOS device, but the same task can also be accomplished from your Mac or PC in a similar number of steps.

Whether you've received a new credit card that you want to use, or you wish to change the credit card you have on file for your Apple ID, changing your payment information allows future purchases made through Apple's online stores, such as the App Store, Books Store, or iTunes Store, to be billed to the new credit card you're adding.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can change your Apple ID payment information from your Mac or PC.

How to view recent Safari history on iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2023

On any given day, I browse the web a lot—be it catching up on the news, doing research on future stories or skimming through my favorites to learn what's the latest. And more often than not do I find myself struggling to make my way back to an article I stumbled upon a few hours ago.

Locating a specific item in browsing history can feel like finding a needle in the haystack, especially if you're on the go.

Yes, I could just tap Safari's back button multiple times or swipe to go back a single webpage at a time until I found the webpage I was looking for, but that's a time-consuming process which unnecessarily wastes my iPhone's cellular data.

As you'll discover in this tutorial, Safari provides a very handy, though not immediately obvious shortcut which allows you to quickly jump to any previously visited webpage.