This week's Washington Post article about the teenage boy sextortion scam by Chris Moody is all I've been thinking about. In part because I know a kid who was targeted in this way, and it was a terrible situation. But to learn that this …
Wow, I sound like a TV law firm ad saying, "you may qualify for a payout from the multi-million dollar Facebook settlement!" But honestly, that's the fact. I've popped my name into a couple of class action settlements recently -- general…
We're all talking about "that" Wall Street Journal article about Instagram: Facebook Knows It's Toxic for Teen Girls . You're probably talking about it. Or your kids are. I know it's all we've been seeing in our social feeds this week ar…
This week in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook group , we were asked how to prevent a Facebook hack, and specifically, if were any security measures to take that might help. And yes, yes there are! Here, a few really simple tips to help pr…
Every year, we share our top 10 most popular posts on Cool Mom Tech. From the best podcasts for kids to customizing your iPhone 14 home screen, here are the posts we wrote this year that resonated the most with our readers in 2020. Also …
If you're like me, then your Facebook feed has been filled with everyone's new Facebook avatar. It's also been filled with people saying how they look nothing like them. And I have to be honest, I totally agree. So of course, I had to gi…
It's ironic that I chose the word "connect" as my 2020 word, just to find myself practicing "social distancing" three months into the year. Suddenly, instead of looking forward to coffee shop meetups, long chummy walks, and dinners with …
If you're like me, you've had a few instances where you know you didn't search for a particular product or service on your phone or your computer, but suddenly you're getting ads for it in your Facebook feed. Is Facebook listening into y…
Since Messenger Kids launched back in 2017, we were pretty skeptical about the messaging app that purported to offer kids a safer way to chat with friends, all without having to actually be a Facebook user. Not surprisingly, the Messenge…
With lots of tweens and teens using Facebook's WhatsApp as a way to communicate, not to mention parents, especially those of us who travel a fair amount, we were very concerned about the cybersecurity breach on Monday. Users were left vu…
We couldn't create an Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting without including tips about how to keep your kids safe on social media. After all, for our tweens and teens, the Internet is social media, and they could sooner give up the games…
In what seems to be a never ending issue with Facebook and privacy, the latest news is that Facebook has been receiving data from apps from users who do not even have a Facebook account. And one of the 11 apps that has been discovered so…
Since reading Anya Kamenetz's interview with Jordan Shapiro on NPR , I've made some heavy shifts in how I'm approaching screen time with my kids. For the years that they've been on video games, tablets and most recently, their own phones…
If you're still using Facebook and Facebook Messenger, then you might have missed some big news that makes life a little bit better: you can now unsend messages on Facebook Messenger. Hey, it only took 10 months, and wasn't even a thing …
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…
According to an article in the New York Times that just came out today, Mark Zuckerberg is planning to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. That's right, over the course of 2019 and into 2020, these apps will be reconfigured in …
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…
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 …
If you're needing a little break from your Facebook feed, but still would like to be able to post, check your messages, and see your groups, then you should get Kill News Feed , a Chrome extension that will block out just your feed. Rela…
You've probably seen the letter "F" in the comments of a Facebook post. Or perhaps you've typed the word "Following" yourself, because when you comment, you'll get notifications of other comments and get to follow along. However, there's…
Our friends over at Common Sense Media recently conducted a survey study of teens 13-17 years old, and we have to admit that the results are fascinating, and well, reassuring. If you have a tween or teen, it's worth taking the few minute…
If you suddenly see someone trying to call you from Instagram, don't freak out. It's the new Instagram video chat feature that just launched. Related: How to post photos from your Instagram Feed to your Instagram Story To make a call, yo…
With the popularity of the Musical.ly app , it's no surprise that Facebook has jumped on the bandwagon with the launch of their new Lip Sync Live feature. Related: 12 risky apps parents should watch out for Similar to what folks share on…
We declutter our closets, and rotate our kids' toys, but what about all those apps on your phone right now? Or the notifications pinging you every few minutes? Do I even need to bring up how many photos you have on your phone? Related: 6…