How to

Five neat tricks Spotlight search can do for you on iPhone

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Bearing in mind the numerous ways to invoke Spotlight search on your iPhone today, the feature has clearly become a centerpiece of iOS 10th iteration.

That is because for one, it's the fastest way to rifle through your device for any type of information, however it is also incrementally adopting Siri-level intelligence. You might know about using Spotlight for swift currency and measurement conversions by now, but the list does not end here. Largely undiscussed on the web, here are five more cool uses for Spotlight.

How to fix: This is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated October 20, 2022

One of the security features in macOS is a prompt that appears when opening a program for the first time: This is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?

While this can be helpful to the average Joe, preventing him from opening programs he may have downloaded accidentally (such as malware), power users may wish to circumnavigate the prompt. If you already practice good housekeeping with what you download and open, this dialog can be a time waster. There are various ways to deal with it, and this guide will talk you through their pros and cons.

Does your Mac support Night Shift?

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 3, 2017

macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brought Night Shift to Mac. As you know, Night Shift debuted on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with the release of iOS 9 nearly two years ago.

Like with iOS devices, macOS's implementation of the feature automatically shifts your display's colors to the warmer end of the color spectrum after dark, based on your computer's clock and geolocation. This helps cut down on exposure to blue light, which is said to cause sleeping problems.

Your computer must meet certain hardware requirements in order to benefit from Night Shift. Here are the full Mac system requirements for Night Shift and how to find out whether or not your particular Mac model is compatible with this feature.

How to download music you purchased on iTunes to a new computer

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2024

In this tutorial, we will show you how to redownload all or specific songs that you had previously purchased from Apple's iTunes Store on to a new Mac or Windows PC. Of course, you won't have to pay for them again.

Don’t want internet providers to sell your browsing data? Use a VPN

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 26, 2018

While the FCC fought hard to keep your internet browsing data safe from third parties, it appears the United States government has other interests in mind. That said, your internet service provider (ISP) may soon begin selling your personal internet browsing data to third parties, putting your privacy at risk of exploitation.

On the other hand, there's still a way you can protect yourself and your data. Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) will keep your internet browsing data hidden from your ISP, which in turn keeps it from being sold to third parties.

How to stop sharing your iCloud analytics data with Apple

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated December 10, 2025

As much as you may trust Apple, this tutorial shows you a simple way to stop sharing your iCloud analytics data with the company from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

How to add custom text to a Mac login screen

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated February 10, 2023

With a simple modification, you can display a custom message on your Mac's lock screen or login window. This tutorial shows you how to do that.

How to delete multiple contacts at once on Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 4, 2025

Ever wanted to go through your Contacts app and remove all those that you no longer associate with? In this guide, we’ll show you how to delete multiple contacts at once on your Mac, which will also remove them from your iPhone and iPad.

How to change Finder’s default search scope on Mac

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated December 25, 2025

In this brief tutorial, we’ll show you how to adjust the search scope for Finder on your Mac. You can set it to search the entire drive (which is the default), search the current folder you are in, or use the search scope you last specified.

How to add Continuity features to older Macs

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Most of our readers will be familiar by now with Apple's Continuity suite, a slew of features which were introduced with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. These features include Instant Hotspot, a new AirDrop, SMS/Phone calls from Mac, and Handoff. With macOS Sierra and iOS 10, they added Auto Unlock and Universal Clipboard to the group.

The catch is of course that making use of these features requires certain hardware. Therefore, Macs from before about 2010/11 appear not to support some or all of the new functionality. However, it turns out there is a way to enable Continuity on your older hardware. In this guide we'll go through how to do it.

How to show basic system information on your Mac login screen

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated February 14, 2023

If you're one of those who love to tweak every little facet of their Mac experience, then this guide is for you. It brings some system information items, such as your computer name, your current IP address, and your macOS version, right to your login screen where they can be easily referenced. For this modification, all you need is the Terminal application and a few minutes.

How to turn off notifications for specific shows on Apple Podcasts

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated December 11, 2025

Getting too many podcast notifications on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac? Learn how to turn off alerts for specific podcast shows without unfollowing or unsubscribing from them. We’ll also explain how to turn off all notifications for the entire Podcasts app and share what to do if you rely on third-party apps.