Tips and Tricks

If we're all perfectly honest with ourselves, then we know that Facebook has presented many privacy issues for a long time now. We've been writing about Facebook privacy issues since we started Cool Mom Tech in 2010. That's nine years. N…

If you're a frequent Facetime user, you might want to turn it off until Apple fixes a recent glitch that actually allows callers to listen and see the people they're calling, even if they don't answer. Creepy much? Related: Watch out for…

We've been talking a lot about screen addiction and overuse here over the last few weeks (and well, years), including our Curb Your Screen Addiction series . Well, we recently chatted with author Jake Knapp on our Spawned podcast, who ha…

I tend to be the one who schools my husband on cool iPhone tips and tricks , but this time, he's the one who schooled me when he showed me how to set a live photo as my iPhone's wallpaper. I admit, I take a bunch of live photos, but don'…

This week in our Curb Your Screen Addiction series, we're talking about how screen time monitoring apps can help you rein in your phone use. If you're like me, then you found yourself quite surprised by your screen time stats when Apple …

Next up in our Alexa Organization Series, we're sharing some of our favorite Alexa finance skills to help you keep your family budget it check. Whether you want to track your investments or keep up with your spending, even pay you bills,…

Next up in our Curb Your Screen Addiction series, we're featuring our easiest tip yet. This one comes from Kristen and Liz's interview with The Art of Screen Time author and NPR commentator Anya Kamenetz, who offers some excellent, non-a…

Next up in our series on how to curb your screen addiction, we're tackling the issue of notifications. Back when I first got a smartphone, those little red numbers next to my apps filled me with excitement. Someone had messaged me! Or li…

As we continue our New Year's series on how to curb your screen addiction, I'm excited to share our next tip since it's been one that's been so helpful in managing my own tech habits. Plus, it's a change you can make in literally 5 minut…

Who else here is planning to curb your screen addiction in 2019? As parents, we often spend so much time worrying about our kids' screen time (and how to preserve my sanity during a 700th viewing of Cars 3), but everything I've heard and…

From questionable Snapchat stories to gadgets that make our lives easier, we rounded up our top 10 most popular Cool Mom Tech posts of 2018. Happy New Year! Related: Our 10 most popular posts of 2017 10. How to figure out which categorie…

We've been longtime friends with Jill Krause, founder of the popular BabyRabies.com parenting website, and recently Happy Loud Life , where she chronicles her RV-living adventures with her family of 6, and longtime admirers of her amazin…

tThis morning I was scrolling through Facebook and found several friends had shared this iPhone keyboard trick that I had never seen before. And well, of course I had to give it a try. Guess what? It totally works, and it's a gamechanger…

I've tried many different approaches to organizing my iPhone apps , but the same thing always happens: I can't find the ones I need when I need them. Logic says you leave your most-used apps on the main page, then put the others in files…

A few weeks ago, my youngest was angry with me about losing her iPad privileges, and in her fit of rage yelled "I bet you couldn't be without your phone for 12 hours." We all know that the truth hurts, but to hear it out of the mouth of …

We always get kind of excited for each new iOS update (yeah, we're geeky that way) and the new iOS 12 update is no exception. We've been looking forward to it since we heard about all the new iOS parental controls in particular that Appl…

We often get asked the best way for parents to manage their kid's screen time, and while we have our own opinions about screen time management, we never miss an opportunity to get another expert's opinion. That's exactly what Kristen did…

Lately I discovered how to mute text threads on my iPhone, and let me tell you, it's been a productivity game changer. Because as much as I love a raucous group chat once in a while, I don't accomplish much when I have notifications popp…

We've been fans of the YouTube Kids app , but admittedly when so many questionable videos were making it onto their little eyeballs, we were waiting for them to make some updates to give parents more control over what their kids were see…

Keeping our kids safe and healthy is our number one job as parents. And with so many of them using smartphones and other electronic devices, their online safety has become a huge part of that. At Cool Mom Tech, we have always provided pa…

If you plan on hitting up the Labor Day sales this weekend -- or sales any day, honestly -- our best advice: Do it online! While there are always some great deals in store, if you'd rather chill with the family, or do basically anything …

As I was prepping for our family vacation to Iceland, I found myself searching for information about cellular signals -- not so I can check my email while I'm gone, but so I can use Google Maps . While I found several posts that assured …

Raise your hand if you know how to lock your notes on the Notes app on your iPhone. And now...here's me not raising my hands.Honestly, I never even realized you could do it at all! So leave it to my 11-year-old daughter to show me a cool…

One of parents' biggest concerns about kids today, is the access they have to inappropriate content. Parents are often asking us for parental control devices, services and apps to help them moderate what kids' can see and keep them safe.…