How-To

Instagram account holders have been hit with a wave of spam lately, and from a different source than many have previously experienced. I'm talking about the auto-like or auto-follow phenomenon, where Instagrammers suddenly notice they're following unfamiliar accounts. How does this happen? Insta-following seems to happen when Instagram apps are granted more access to our accounts than they should have. Let's learn how to revoke permissions from spammy apps so we can reclaim our iPhone's Instagram feeds.

Usually, you’re looking for directions from your current location. But what if you need to change your starting point or ad multiple destinations to your route? We’ve got you covered. While you can't currently plan a multi-stop trip in Apple's Maps app, you can create a complex route using Google Maps. You can change your starting Location using Apple or Google Maps. Here’s how to get directions from a starting point that is not your current location in Apple and Google Maps and how to plan a multi-stop trip using Google Maps.

The Apple News app on iPhone allows you to keep up to date on all the topics and publications that interest you. You can also sign up for breaking news alerts on your iPhone, which appear as notifications. You can choose which news sources are allowed to send you breaking news alerts. You can see news alerts for publications you follow or other large, well-known channels that often cover breaking news. If you don’t have a favorite source of news, you can turn on News Top Stories as a means of getting breaking news notifications from a wide range of media outlets. Here’s how to turn on breaking news alerts in Apple News on iPhone.

Facebook recently announced a new facial recognition feature that informs account holders when their image appears in other people's photos and videos, then allows them to tag themselves. In addition, the feature warns Facebook users when their picture is used to open another account. While some Facebook users find the facial recognition feature innocuous, or even helpful, others prefer to steer clear of what they perceive as an invasion of privacy. For those of you who would like to turn off facial recognition on Facebook, read on to learn how to do so on your iPhone.  

There are a lot of different apps you could use to learn a language, but not all language apps give you the tools to truly become fluent in a language. Babbel offers language learning at a classroom level from the comfort of your smart devices. The app offers fourteen different languages and more than 8500 hours of learning content across them. I chose this app to feature because of the way it engages the learner; it immediately felt different to me than the numerous other language apps I’ve tried. We’ll go over more on what it does and why we love it below.

Animoji is a new iMessage feature that currently is only available on the iPhone X. Animojis are animated emojis, and the technology required to create them is really incredible, with far-reaching potential applications. The Animojis feature allows iPhone X owners to animate various characters in ten-second videos and send them to friends. When you move your face, the Animoji automatically moves with you. With Animojis, you are essentially animating your own face, as though you were in a cartoon right from the comfort of your iPhone. The first iteration of Animojis allowed you to be a unicorn, the poop emoji, a panda, a chicken, and more. With iOS 11.3, Apple has added a bear, a dragon, a lion, and a skull.  Here’s how to use Animojis on your iPhone X.

Apple announced the Apple Business Chat platform at WWDC 2017 and iOS 11.3 has finally introduced us to the program. The Business Chat platform allows iPhone users to connect with companies through iMessages, or from the businesses' app or website, rather than talking on the phone. Apple is rolling out Business Chat slowly; it's only available as a beta version right now, with a limited number of partner companies. Let's stay ahead of the curve and learn how to use Business Chat on our iPhones. 

I don't know about you, but before I purchase an app in the App Store, I like to read a few reviews to see how other customers have liked (or disliked) their purchase. Now iOS 11.3 makes it easier than ever before to sort app reviews so customers can find the information they want about individual apps. Let's get started learning how to find and sort user-submitted reviews in the App Store on our iPhones, so we have more information before purchasing apps. 

You rely on your iPhone for everything, so why not for dinner tonight? If you've been in a recipe rut, or just want help to become the best home chef you can be, download these free cooking and step-by-step recipe apps to get you started. Some of these cooking apps require a trip to the grocery store, while others help you find recipes to work with ingredients you already have in the fridge. As a bonus, if you lack motivation, check out our top foodie Instagram account choices to get all the culinary inspiration you need.

Creating playlists is the best way to curate songs for different events, outings, and moods. I like to create playlists with all of the albums I’ve recently downloaded, so I can see which songs I like and which songs I want to remove. You can create a workout playlist for the gym, a beach playlist for vacation, or any number of other possibilities. And with iOS 11, your friends can easily check out your public playlists too. Here’s how to create and edit Apple Music playlists on iPhone.

The numbers in the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal just keep climbing, from an original 55 million to a new estimate of nearly 87 million account holders who have had their data breached. This is because the quiz, "This Is Your Digital Life," collected data not only from Facebook users who completed it, but from all their Facebook friends as well. Facebook has barred the personality quiz from the platform and sent a message to all account holders who took the quiz, but if you'd like to make sure your data wasn't also breached, there's a way to find out. Let's check and see if our Facebook accounts have been compromised by Cambridge Analytica; it's easy to do right from your iPhone. 

Facebook Privacy: How to Delete Facebook Apps

  1. Tap on the x to the right of the app you want to delete.
  2. Choose Delete App or Delete App & Activity from the pop-up menu. I recommend Delete App & Activity.
  3. After deleting your chosen app, you'll receive a notification telling you the app may still keep data you've previously shared.
  4. After you tap Close, you'll see a screen like this:

The next time your Facebook app refreshes, the apps you deleted will completely disappear. 

The Apple News app is great for keeping up to date on the day's top developments and stories. The more users interact with the News app, the more customized it becomes, and now, with iOS 11.3, Apple has made the News app even more individualized. The For You section of the News app now allows you to tailor the For You video selection to your preference. Let's get started learning how to personalize the For You section of Apple's News app on your iPhone, so you can get all the content you're really looking for by keeping or eliminating the Today's Videos and Must-See Videos section. 

When it came to light that Apple was throttling processor speed for older iPhone models, the fallout was ugly. Apple explained that the throttling was meant to prevent iPhone models 6 through 7 Plus from shutting down when their batteries couldn't keep up with the demands of their processors. Apple also lowered replacement battery prices to $29 to assist customers in getting their iPhones back up to speed. Now, with iOS 11.3, Apple is letting go of the automatic throttling plan and allowing iPhone users the ability to decide for themselves whether they'd like to slow processor speeds when their iPhone's batteries aren't able to keep up. Let's learn more about the throttle setting on your iPhone, actually called the applied performance management feature, and where to disable this setting if you choose.

Some of iPhone Life's most popular articles have been about saving battery life on the iPhone, which just goes to show how much room Apple still has to improve when it comes to battery life. Luckily, you have a new source of information for saving battery life that’s directly from Apple: Battery Life Suggestions. Now, when you view Battery in your Settings app, Apple will present some suggestions for ways you can improve your battery life. Here’s how to use those Battery Life Suggestions for better battery life with iOS 11 on iPhone.

One of the coolest features of Apple's new HomePod is its ability to team up with your Apple Music subscription and act as a personal DJ, playing custom playlists based on your listening habits for you enjoy whenever you ask. Your HomePod's mixology skills can get thrown off kilter, though, if family members or visitors are also asking Siri to play their favorite tunes. And this will also influence what Apple Music thinks you like and plays for you on your other Apple Devices as well. Fortunately, there's a HomePod setting you can change to ensure that you won't end up listening to a mish-mosh of all your friends' and family members' musical tastes. Let's get started learning how to keep other HomePod users from influencing your "For You" Apple Music recommendations on your HomePod.

You've probably had the experience of listening to the radio and wondering the name of the song that's playing—maybe it's new to you and you're wondering who the artist is, or maybe it's familiar but you can't remember the name. Now with iOS 8, Siri can help. In the past, you could ask Siri to identify music playing on your device, but with iOS 8 you can ask Siri to identify any ambient music. And, conveniently, Siri also makes it easy to purchase the song or album.

It's like the Interrupting Cow joke that delights school-age kids everywhere; you activate Siri and start speaking your request, only to be interrupted by, "Here's what I found on the web." At which point you probably say something like "If you'd just let me #$@%ing finish, Siri, you'd know I'm trying to call my wife, not do a web search!" 

I can't help you with your anger issues, but I do have a very simple solution to your problems with Interrupting Siri. Here's how to get Siri to stop interrupting you and listen to your entire question. 

I love gaming on my iPhone, and I am happy to pay for an app. But too often, I’ll get into a ‘free’ game only to end up spending more on in-app purchases than I ever would have on a single game for any regular gaming console. Which is why Riptide GP: Renegade is such a refreshing surprise. I spent $2.99 for the initial game, which is a great price considering the developers don’t upsell you within the app at all. The graphics are beautiful, the racing controls are the smoothest I’ve ever tried, and it feels like a normal game because once I buy it, it’s fully-featured and ready to play. All of this combined makes Riptide GP: Renegade the best racing game on the iPhone. We’ll cover more on what this game offers and why I love it below.

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