Tricks

Installing themes on your iPhone without a jailbreak

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 26, 2021

Theming your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad has been a long time primary reason of jailbreaking. Unfortunately, as the wait for a new jailbreak becomes ever so longer in between iOS releases, the jailbreak scene is becoming less reliable for getting the features you want on the latest version of iOS.

For those who are tired of waiting, iSkin is a new platform that can be used directly from your Safari web browser to install themes on your iOS device without a jailbreak, and we'll show you how it's used in this tutorial.

How to disable Safari Suggestions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 3, 2025

Learn how to turn off Safari suggestions on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac that appear as content previews when typing search terms in the address bar.

Be a virtual tourist: take scripted 3D tours of world’s major metropolises on Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 11, 2019

You knew about three-dimensional buildings and landmarks on Apple Maps—a feature they're calling Flyover mode. But did you know that Apple's mapping service includes virtual tours of more than a hundred major metropolises worldwide? If not, that's because Apple hasn't exactly gone to great lengths to advertise it front and center in the Maps interface.

These virtual tours are basically auto-playing animations in Flyover mode, complete with three-dimensional buildings, terrain and landmarks. They're quite useful if you're visiting a city for the first time, though virtual tourists who want a quick overview of a major city will also find them fun and entertaining.

Here's how you can explore and enjoy 3D Flyover Tours on Apple Maps for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac.

How and why to report spammy iMessages to Apple

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 16, 2016

Sometimes your contact information ends up where you don't want it, and you end up with annoying spam iMessages from people, companies, or bots that try to scam you or steal personal information.

Fortunately, Apple's iMessage service comes with an abuse report feature that you can use to report senders who are misusing the iMessage platform and making it a less enjoyable thing to use.

In this piece, we'll talk about how and why you should be reporting iMessages that seem spammy.

Using your iPhone as a remote for your Mac or PC

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 4, 2018

You're probably familiar with Apple's Remote app for iOS devices, which allows you to control your iTunes playback on your Mac from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad so long as you're on the same network.

On the other hand, when I think of the word "remote," I think of much more than just controlling music.

It would seem that the makers of the popular Mobile Mouse Remote app for iOS thought the same, and in this piece, we'll talk about how the app works to make your iOS device a superior remote for your Mac.

About XPS files and how to open them on a Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 11, 2019

XPS files are essentially like Microsoft's version of a PDF file. They're easy to create and open on a Windows PC, but when it comes to macOS users, XPS files are anything but plug and play.

In this piece, we'll talk about XPS files and what they're used for, and then we'll touch on how to open XPS files on a Mac easily and for free without having to download any software.

How to delete recent Apple Music searches from your iPhone

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 15, 2022

Apple Music, which is Apple's own answer to the music-streaming industry, is a great place to easily search for a song you want to listen to and then play it on demand.

The only problem is, Apple Music keeps a running history of the songs you search for.

So now when you have your co-pilot in the passenger seat of your car choose a new song for you (because we know you don't use your iPhone and drive at the same time!) he's going to laugh at you because of the last time you felt like jamming out to some really embarrassing music.

Well fret not; in this tutorial, we'll show you how you can delete recent searches from the Apple Music app on your iOS device.

How to stop your iPhone from vibrating when your alarm rings

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated November 30, 2017

By default, any time you set an alarm on your iPhone, it'll vibrate when the alarm goes off. For some people, this is a good way to help get woken up, but for others it's a waste of battery and can be completely annoying to hear that loud vibration on the night stand.

In this tutorial, intended for iPhone users only, we'll be showing you how you can set up an alarm so that your iPhone doesn't vibrate when it goes off.

How to take a timed screenshot on Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 19, 2018

Chances are, you're probably so accustomed to taking screenshots on your Mac with the stroke of a few keyboard keys that you didn't even know you could take a timed screenshot. In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can set your Mac up to take a timed screenshot, which depending on the situation, can be very useful.

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.

A handy collection of Snapchat hacks (from a pro user)

Sébastien Page ∙ May 9, 2016

Snapchat has helped me realize I'm getting really old, really fast. While I understand the appeal of the platform, I just can't get into it, yet it fascinates me to see how popular it is to younger users, some of them spending hours and hours in there each day.

This video popped up in my YouTube feed over the weekend, and not only did I find the content very interesting, but what struck me even more was how Victoria Samson delivered the message. To me, she perfectly illustrates the Snapchat generation.

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.