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Google Maps’ Street View lets you enter nearly any address, like that of a restaurant or concert venue, and check out a recent image of that location, captured by one of the Google Street View cars you’ll occasionally see roaming about. The feature is useful for knowing what building or landmark to look for when you arrive, in case the entrance is hard to find or you want to know where the best place to park is, but Street View also makes it easier for stalkers or criminals to plan their way inside your home.

Street View gives anyone a free ticket to examine your home over the internet — maybe they want to look for any cameras or find a side window to pry open. And sure, anyone can walk or drive by your home and do this in person, but Google Maps makes this process much simpler. Anyone with a phone or computer can do it.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to blur your home on Google Maps and help prevent others from seeing too many details of where you live. Here’s how to do it.

For more, here’s how to discover the past with Google Maps and how Google Maps can help you figure out dinner.

How to blur your home on Google Maps

You’ll need to do this on your computer, as the blurring feature isn’t available in the Google Maps application on iOS or Android, and while it is accessible through the web browser on your mobile device, it’s rather difficult to use, so use a trusted web browser on your Mac or PC instead.

At maps.google.com, enter your home address in the search bar at the top-right, hit return, then click the photo of your home that appears.

Next, you’ll see the Street View of your location. Click Report a Problem at the bottom-right. The text is super tiny, but it’s there.

Now, it’s up to you to choose what you want Google to blur. Using your mouse, adjust the view of the image so that your home and anything else you want to blur is all contained within the red and black box. Use your cursor to move around and the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out, respectively.

Once you’re finished adjusting the image, choose what you’re requesting to blur underneath:

• A face.
• Your home.
• Your car/license plate.
• A different object.

You’ll be asked to give a bit more detail as to what exactly you want blurred, in case the image is busy with several cars, people and other objects.

Also, be completely sure that what you select is exactly what you want blurred. Google mentions that once you blur something on Street View, it’s blurred permanently.

Finally, enter your email (this is required), verify the captcha (if needed) and click Submit.

You should then receive an email from Google that says it’ll review your report and get back to you once the request is either denied or approved. You may receive more emails from Google asking for more information regarding your request. Google doesn’t offer any information on how long your request will take to process, so just keep an eye out for any further emails.

For more, here’s how Google Maps can help you avoid crowded public transit.

Though Apple announced iOS 17 at its Worldwide Developers Conference, you should still download the latest iOS update now. The tech giant released iOS 16.5 on May 18, and the update gives your device a lot of security patches and fixes, including for three security issues that might be actively exploited.

To download iOS 16.5, go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the onscreen prompts.

The latest iPhone update patches almost 40 issues and bugs, Apple said in its patch notes, including three security issues that might be actively exploited. These three security issues relate to WebKit, the internet browser engine used in Safari and developed by Apple.

One of these issues could disclose sensitive information to a third party, and another could allow a third party to execute commands on your device without your knowledge. Fixes for these issues are in 16.5 for anyone who missed the release of the first iPhone Rapid Security Response, iOS 16.4.1 (a). The third issue could allow a third party access to more information across your device than is allowed.

The iOS update also patches an issue where someone could access your contacts from your lock screen. While Apple has provided ways to customize your lock screen, some people have run into issues where the lock screen can allow others to access some iPhone features, like replying to messages and even your Wallet.

Other patches in the update include stopping some apps from bypassing privacy preferences, blocking some apps from reading sensitive location information and preventing app termination when opening a PDF file.

For more, you can check out what iOS 17 features I’m excited about. You can also take a look at the new features iOS 16.5 brings to your iPhone and what could be coming to your iPhone with iOS 16.6.

Watch this: WWDC 2023: Here Are All the Major iOS 17 Features

06:31

Updates are coming to Apple’s Messages, but you’re gonna have to wait to get your hands on them (unless you’re in the company’s developer program). Apple revealed its iOS 17 software update on June 5, but it won’t arrive until the fall. The iOS 17 update makes some major changes to Messages, adding abilities like turning pictures into stickers, transcribing voice memos, keeping your friends and family notified on your way home and more.

News about the iOS 17 Messages update came during the keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple traditionally uses the annual event to give developers a preview of updates to its desktop and mobile software, and sometimes it introduces new hardware too. At the conference the company unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro.

Live Stickers coming to iOS 17

With the update to Messages in iOS 17, people will be able to take their photos and turn them into stickers they use in text conversations, alongside standard emoji, which can also be used as stickers. People can customize their stickers with effects — like shiny, puffy, comic and outline — and keep them in a new drawer in the keyboard for streamlined access, Apple said in a press release. Stickers will be available systemwide, including in third-party apps.

To make a photo into a sticker, you’ll touch and hold an object in a photo. Then you can style your object with various effects, outline it or create animated Live Stickers with Live Photos. To use the sticker in Messages, you’ll add them in the bubble from the Tapback menu.

Watch this: Apple Reveals iOS 17

16:43

Search in Messages, Check In and more

Also coming is a refined search feature. People will be able to apply additional filters to their Messages search to more quickly find the exact conversation they’re looking for. Plus, when you’ve received lots of texts in a group chat, you’ll be able to use the catch-up arrow to locate where the conversation left off last.

iOS 17 Messages will also transcribe voice memos you receive, if you don’t have the time to listen to them. Apple also announced a new feature that will let you keep track of your friends by viewing their location in your text conversation.

Another new location sharing feature is Check In. If you want to keep a friend or family member updated on your journey home, for example, you’ll be able to use Check In, which notifies the person of your whereabouts and lets them know if you’re having trouble getting home. “If they are not making progress toward their destination, useful information will be temporarily shared with the selected contact, such as the device’s location, battery level, and cell service status,” Apple said in the press release. Check In will be end-to-end encrypted, so only you and the person you’re sharing this information with is privy to your location.

Developers can try out iOS 17 today, and everyone can try out the public beta in a month. These iPhones will be able to run the update.

Other iOS 17 updates

The iOS 17 updates don’t stop at Messages. Apple also introduced Live Voicemail, which will give people the ability to see the message a person is leaving you as it is being recorded. This could help with deciphering between important calls that unknown numbers leave and spam.

The iOS 17 update for FaceTime includes audio and video messages, so people can leave their friends and families a FaceTime voicemail of sorts.

Also, if people want to share a contact with one another, they can use the new feature NameDrop. By bringing two iPhones or one iPhone and one Apple Watch close together, contact information can be transferred from one device to the next.

Apple kicked off WWDC by unveiling a 15-inch MacBook Air and offering details on its latest desktop software, MacOS 14 Sonoma. Also at WWDC, Apple revealed its brainiest Mac chip yet and upgraded its Mac Pro to M2 Ultra Silicon. There are new features coming in Watch OS 10 too.

A new update for Google Pixel Phones, like the recently released Pixel 7A, is dropping today and brings new safety and emergency sharing features, as well as more ways to customize your device, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The Google Assistant can now share your status in emergency situations, all while using your voice. This gives people in your emergency contacts list a notification of your safety. Car Crash Detection will also get a feature-expansion, sharing your real-time location and call status.

Google is bringing more than just safety features to this update. The search giant is giving people more options when taking video, like the Macro Focus mode. This will allow you to capture highly detailed close-up video with the Pixel 7 Pro’s Macro lens.

On the personalization front, Google’s Pixel devices will get both emoji wallpapers, allowing you to mix and match over 4,000 emojis with different patters and colors to create unique live wallpapers. Cinematic Wallpapers will use AI to transform 2D wallpapers into “dynamic 3D scenes.” Both of these features were announced at Google I/O last month.

Google’s Pixel-line of devices have grown in popularity ever since the launch of the Pixel 6 in 2021. The Pixel 6 sold more than the Pixels 4 and 5 combined, according to Google. Since the Pixel 7 has only been on the market for eight months, Google has yet to give current sales numbers. But CEO Sundar Pichai did say the Pixel 7 had the highest selling week for a Pixel smartphone to date, with Google reportedly asking suppliers to manufacture 8 million units for its launch back in October of last year. Google also released the Pixel Watch to give Android owners more smartwatch options and will be entering the foldable phone race later this month with the Pixel Fold.

Still, Android has fallen into second place against iPhone in the US for the first time in over a decade. It’ll be up to Google and its hardware partners to make Android a compelling platform to get younger audiences to start looking past iPhones.

Other Pixel phone features are coming to more territories, include multi-device control for smart home devices and Adaptive Charging, which aims to increase your Pixel’s battery life. Magic Compose, which uses AI to suggest responses for text messages, will also be coming to more users around the world.

The Pixel Watch also gets some new features as well, including Auto-pause, which automatically pauses your workouts when you stop running, walking or biking and nighttime blood oxygen tracking. It’ll also now notify you if your heart rate goes too high or too low.

Google’s Pixel Watch is getting three health and fitness updates that could help bring it up to speed with the Apple Watch and other smartwatch rivals. Those additions include blood oxygen saturation measurements that take advantage of the Pixel Watch’s SpO2 sensor, high and low heart rate notifications, and the ability to automatically pause certain workouts.

When the update arrives, the Pixel Watch will be able to issue an alert if your heart rate falls outside of your normal thresholds. It’ll also be capable of checking nighttime blood oxygen saturation, a feature that was mentioned at launch but will now be activated. Both features are available on other wearables in Google’s product lineup like the Fitbit Sense 2 and Fitbit Charge 5, but have been absent from the Pixel Watch until this update.

The Pixel Watch is also getting the ability to automatically pause and resume running, walking and biking workouts. That should make it easier to accurately track these types of workouts, since it provides a more convenient way to account for breaks. However, it’s unclear whether this update will enable the Pixel Watch to automatically start a workout on the wrist, which is another capability Google’s watch has been missing.

The Pixel Watch, which launched in October, is Google’s first consumer smartwatch. It relies heavily on Fitbit’s health tracking features but stands out among other Android watches for its sleek design. When I reviewed the Pixel Watch in 2022, I praised the watch for its attractive curved display and premium feel.

However, the watch has some notable shortcomings, namely its lack of high and low heart rate notifications and inability to automatically launch workouts on the wrist. With the Pixel Watch’s forthcoming update, Google is addressing at least some of those setbacks.

In addition to adding these features to the Pixel Watch, Google is also announcing a few Fitbit and Pixel phone updates. Fitbit users will be able to see their daily readiness score, manage menstrual health settings and choose new clock faces from the wrist, although support may vary depending on which device you have. On Pixel devices, Google is introducing more emergency and safety tools, emoji wallpapers and a new macro focus video mode for the Pixel 7 Pro among other features.

Watch this: Pixel Watch Review: Google’s Answer to the Apple Watch

08:25

It isn’t alway easy to type on your iPhone. Autocorrect can sometimes be a pain (though it’s improving with iOS 17), or maybe you just make grammatical mistakes every once in a while. If you then need to make a quick fix, it can also be difficult to move your cursor to where the mistake is, especially if it’s farther back in the sentence.

The conventional method of tapping and holding your finger down on the screen to bring up a magnifying bubble can be frustrating when you can’t get the cursor to go exactly where you want. Luckily, there’s another way to move the cursor when typing in iOS, and it works even if you’re running an older software version, like iOS 15.

Read on to learn how to unlock and use your iPhone’s hidden trackpad.

For more, check out the coolest hidden features in iOS 16 and how to fix the most annoying features and settings on your iPhone.

How to bring up the secret trackpad on an iPhone or iPad

Here’s how to discover the hidden trackpad on an iOS device.

1.Anywhere you’ve written a block of text, bring up your keyboard and press and hold your finger down on the space key until the keyboard goes blank. You should feel a bit of haptic feedback and see the cursor enlarge for a second, which means you can now use the keyboard as a trackpad.

2.With your finger still pressed down, move it around the entire keyboard to move your cursor, just like you would on your Mac’s trackpad.

3. To place the cursor, simply lift your finger off the screen. You can then use any of the other keys, like Delete, to make any edits in the text. If you want to move the cursor once again, press your finger down on the space key to bring up the hidden trackpad.

Check out the video below to see the hidden feature in action.

If you’re interested in more tips and tricks for the iPhone, check out how to unlock this hidden iPhone feature to quickly ID songs and how to have a secret conversation in the Notes app. And if you’ve got an Apple computer, here are seven of the best hidden features on your Mac.

Apple MacBook Air (15-inch)

$1,299 at Best Buy

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Like

• Big 15.3-inch screen size
• M2 processor still feels fast
• Costs far less than the Pro laptops

Don’t like

• Very few ports for its size
• No performance boost from the 2022 13-inch Air

Hello, big screen. When I opened the new MacBook Air 15-inch for the first time, it felt weirdly large. I recently bought the MacBook Air 13-inch M2 model, CNET’s pick for the best laptop overall, and I love it. It’s my do-everything computer, and it has the speed and battery life to handle whatever I take on.

No, I don’t need a MacBook Pro, and you probably don’t either. Apple’s M2 processor in the Air already exceeds the requirements of all but the most serious creative pros. And for the first time it’s now available in a roomy 15-inch laptop.

Watch this: 15-Inch MacBook Air Review: Way Cheaper Than a Pro

06:34

Putting a larger screen on the thinner, lighter and more affordable Air line is a no-brainer. Apple does this with iPhones, iPads and even to some extent the Apple Watch. It’s the same proposition here: pay a little more, get a bigger screen.

What the 15-inch Air doesn’t do is push the envelope further. A year after the M2 13-inch model, this is basically the same computer with a few tweaks. There’s a default 10-core GPU on the M2, which is an upgrade on the 13-inch version. There are better speakers (or at least more of them). And of course, more screen space and pixels.

But the screen tech is the same (good, but not mini-LED like the Pro models), configurations are largely similar, and most notably, there are no extra ports on the Air’s larger body. That’s the biggest bummer here: two Thunderbolt USB-C type ports, a MagSafe charger and a headphone jack feels even more minimal on this long-edged machine. Why not one more port on the other side, at least? Or two?

The 15-inch Air starts at $1,299 compared with $1,099 for the 13-inch; a $200 uptick is exactly the price bump I’d expect. This whole package is way, way less expensive than the MacBook Pro equivalents. If I were buying a larger-screened Mac laptop, I’d start here first every time. But serious 4K video editors and graphics pros will likely find the Pro worth it if they can afford it.

I wrote this review on the 15-inch Air. I appreciate the extra screen space, and it’s great to have on my desk. But I don’t regret getting the 13-inch version, either.

Design: Thin and big

This 15-inch Air feels notably thin as you use it, just because it’s a normal MacBook Air thinness over a larger footprint. But it almost makes that display seem more surprising. It’s a big thing when it sits on my lap, and I’m not used to an Air having this width.

Owners of a 16-inch MacBook Pro will just shrug, but using it on my lap does give me a “I’m on a big laptop” vibe. Except, of course, for it being silent because of its fanless design, and basically heat-free. It’s been as quiet as my 13-inch version, and I love that I don’t have to panic about venting airflows or a hot lap.

Apple kept a camera notch on the display, just like the 13-inch M2 Air. I’m used to it. It’s fine. Apple puts its top menu bar around the notch and it kind of makes the display feel normal. I wish the notch weren’t quite so big as it is, especially since, unlike the iPhone Pros, there’s no Face ID camera, but so be it.

Speakers are hidden, as opposed to lining the sides of the keyboard. That leaves a lot of extra room around the keyboard area, and below Apple has put a positively gigantic trackpad that’s as good as all the other models.

Touch ID is on the keyboard, and all the ports (MagSafe, and two Thunderbolt ports) line the left edge. The right edge has a headphone jack. But why not more ports? I’d expect at least one more on a 15-inch laptop, and it feels awfully ridiculous to have so few. At least offer a port upgrade option.

Screen and audio? More than good enough

The 15.3-inch display isn’t mini-LED like the Pro models, but really, I’m fine with how good it is. Apple’s Liquid Retina screens are still colorful and crisp and bright (and have ambient light color adjustment with True Tone), but they probably won’t blow you away. The new speaker upgrade on the 15-inch model is a punchier bass boost experience than the 13-inch model and delivers better audio overall, if you care about that.

A few years ago I’d have called this whole thing a Pro experience, so to me this is a pretty nice Air package overall.

Price equation: Worth getting the 15 if you’re spending up for extras

It turns out that the step-up 8GB RAM/512GB storage version of the 15-inch Air is $1,499, while the 13-inch Air’s equivalent is $1,399. Only spending an extra $100 for the larger screen seems like a logical bet for anyone wanting more room to work or something easier on the eyes.

The price gap is $200 for the base model, which also isn’t huge, but I do prefer the 13-inch Air for its portability. I love its compact lap feel and good-enough screen size for my needs. But, putting it next to the 15-inch Air, it’s clear that you can put apps side-by-side more easily on the 15-inch model. My wife looked at both on a table and said she’d prefer the 15 if she were at a desk a lot doing work.

But either way, these laptops are over $1,000 less than the 16-inch-screen MacBook Pro. These are the easiest way to get a great larger-screened MacBook now, and they’re worth it. One note: the 15 now has a year-old M2 processor. Apple’s M2 was only a moderate increase in performance over the breakthrough advance of the M1 before it when it arrived last summer. Will a future M3 take another leap? Maybe you shouldn’t worry. Apple’s speed gains on the M-series chips over the Intel models have been so good that they still feel fantastic.

MacBook Air 15 or 13? Take your pick, either’s fine. At this point in 2023, these MacBook Airs feel like the safest bet in Apple’s laptop lineup.

Final Fantasy 16, the latest entry in the long-running RPG franchise, is coming out later this month. The game makes some big changes to the popular series’ formula, creating a game that’s unlike any others that carry the Final Fantasy name.

Whether these adjustments will win over fans of the series will be the big question when the game comes out.

Here’s everything you need to know about the next Final Fantasy.

When does Final Fantasy 16 come out?

Final Fantasy 16 comes out on June 22 and will cost $70 for the standard edition and $100 for the deluxe edition.

Pre-order Final Fantasy XVI

What platforms will get Final Fantasy 16?

Final Fantasy 16 is a PlayStation 5 timed exclusive. Naoki Yoshida, Final Fantasy 16 producer, told ASCII last month that there are plans for a PC version of the game.

Will there be any DLC for Final Fantasy 16?

Yoshida told Game Informer last month that there are currently no plans for downloadable content for the game.

Is there a Final Fantasy 16 demo?

Yes, it’s currently available for download in the PSN Store.

What’s the story of Final Fantasy 16?

Final Fantasy 16 takes place in the world of Vallsthea where nations battle each other over magical Mothercrystals, which provide magic energy to the people of the nation. A powerful force in the nations are magical creatures called Eikons who are controlled by human hosts called Dominants.

Players control Clive, the son of the Archduke of Rosaria and the First Shield of Rosaria. His role is to protect his younger brother Joshua, who is the Dominant of Phoenix. The game explores the turmoil Clive goes through following an attack on his home nation.

What’s different in this Final Fantasy?

Each mainline Final Fantasy game is unique in its own way, and Final Fantasy 16 makes some big changes to the series formula by making the combat more of an action RPG rather than a turn-based party game. This means players will only control Clive, and they’ll be able to dodge and parry attacks if timed right. They’ll also have physical and magic attacks at their disposal to take down enemies. Other characters will join Clive in the fight, but they’ll act on their own. The exception to this is Torgal, Clive’s four-legged companion that can attack and heal via quick commands.

Another big change in Final Fantasy 16 is the mature rating. The Entertainment Software Rating Board gave the game an M-rating due to its depictions of violence, partial nudity, blood and strong language, which is the first time a game in the franchise received this adult rating.

The adult themes and medieval setting led to comparisons to HBO series Game of Thrones, which members of the development team confirmed they were fans of and noted some similarities.

One of the hassles of using Lightroom, Adobe’s software for editing and cataloging your photos, is getting them into the app’s catalog. On Tuesday, Adobe made that process a step easier, and more steps are coming.

Previously, to edit photos in Lightroom, you first had to import them from your phone’s camera roll. It’s not exactly hard, but it’s a barrier that stands in the way of trying out the software. Now the Lightroom app for Android and iOS has a “device” tab on the lower left that shows your familiar camera roll. Tap an image, and Lightroom will let you start editing it even as it’s imported into its catalog.

“This is the beginning of our journey to make the mobile app more friendly for folks that aren’t power users,” Maria Yap, Adobe’s vice president of digital imaging, said in an exclusive interview ahead of the launch.

Another change, still in the works, will elevate editing presets that you can apply to your photos, she said. Presets previously made it easier to apply styles to photos, like warm color tones or an artsy black-and-white look, but they’re getting more powerful with artificial intelligence technology Adobe has begun building into Photoshop, Lightroom and other apps.

Phones come with built-in tools like Apple Photos and Google Photos to manage your shots, but Lightroom is a top contender for those who want to venture further. It’s got powerful editing tools, including new AI-powered abilities to select faces, skies and other specific parts of an image. It’s free, though paying $10 per month unlocks premium features and gets you the ability to synchronize photos across multiple devices, including personal computers whose big screens and computing horsepower are good for photo editing.

Another feature arriving in Lightroom on Tuesday, edit replay, lets you create a quick video that animates the steps from original photo to finished version, letting you share how you edited a shot.

Adobe gears Lightroom toward anybody who wants to take even one step beyond the original photo, like cropping to frame the subject better. The company isn’t neglecting the enthusiasts, pros and power users, though Yap said.

“For us, it’s always been about people that genuinely have a passion and interest for photography,” Yap said. “We also understand that we’re bringing in a lot of more casual users, and so we want to make sure that they get the benefit of the product really quickly and easily.”

And phones are no longer a photography joke.

Companies like Apple, Samsung and Google now spotlight camera upgrades as the top new feature on the latest flagship phone. Better low-light performance, higher resolution sensors and ever-wider zoom range means smartphones are ever more capable.

“We really want to empower every photographer, whether you shoot on mobile to big cameras with long telephoto lenses,” Yap said. Even if you have serious equipment, your smartphone might be the only device you have at some moment. “So that becomes your best camera,” Yap said.

If you store all of your important documents, photos and other files on your computer’s storage drive, you could end up losing everything in the event of a crash. For true security and peace of mind, you’ll want backup all of your most important files on a cloud storage service. And right now, you can get a whopping 10TB of storage with a lifetime Degoo Premium subscription for just $80 at StackSocial, which saves you hundreds compared to the usual price. This offer is only available through June 18, so be sure to get signed up before then if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.

Clearing space on your drive after every big project can be a hassle, and getting to the office only to find you’ve left your external storage or USB drive at home can be a nightmare if you have an important meeting or presentation. That’s why investing in a cloud storage service is so convenient. Degoo lets you upload everything from images, videos and music to software, files and other data, keeping your information safe and secure with 256-bit AES encryption.

With Degoo, you can access your data via your phone, tablet or web browser. And secure file sharing with friends or colleagues is easy, too. Now, one thing to note is that this base plan does have a 1GB file size limit, but there are additional features available through in-app purchases, including a 50GB file size limit upgrade — which might be worth it if you have large files to keep up. Just keep in mind that those add-ons are at additional cost. Still, whether you’re working from home, the office or on the go, you won’t have to worry about losing files just because your hardware fails, and that peace of mind is well worth the investment.

Read more: The Best Home Office Essentials for 2023