The Fitbit app is no more. Along with the launch of the new Fitbit Air (which you can expect a full review of once we’ve spent more time with it), Google has officially replaced it with Google Health, as previously announced, and many of the responses we’ve seen so far are full of confusion, frustration, and requests to get the old app back.
Technology
Did the Pope use AI to write about the dangers of AI?
It’s possible that AI was used to write parts of Pope Leo XIV’s latest encyclical about AI’s impact on humanity. An analysis by Linch Zhang posted on the forum LessWrong found certain paragraphs of Magnifica Humanitas to be between 40 percent and 100 percent written by AI, according to the popular AI detector Pangram.
The document includes known traits that appear in AI-generated writing, such as a higher use of the word “genuinely” — which crops up in writing by Anthropic’s Claude — than previous encyclicals, Zhang says. Another person ran the text of the document section by section through Pangram, finding that 62 percent of its first chapter was flagged as AI generated. When The Verge ran roughly 2,000 words of the document through Pangram, it estimated that 46 percent was AI-written.
AI detection isn’t foolproof
Still, other portions register as being written by humans. Zhang notes that Pangram flagged some sections as “essentially 0% AI.” The first 20 paragraphs of the last four encyclicals, when run through Pangram, had a 100 percent confidence of being human written. And a transcript of Pope Leo’s speech, run through Pangram, was also rated as 100 percent human.
AI detection isn’t foolproof. Different AI detectors can display different results, and even when there’s consensus there’s no guarantee they’re correct. But Pangram is generally respected among AI researchers. In March 2025, Pangram said it estimated its false positive rate of reporting human-written work as AI-generated “to be approximately 1 in 10,000.”
Encyclicals are lengthy letters published by the pope, meant to impart teachings that address important moral and social challenges of the time, according to The New York Times. This encyclical is the pope’s first, with the most recent one written by Pope Francis in October 2024. It’s also the first to focus on AI and its wide-ranging influences, with Pope Leo notably presenting it alongside Christopher Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic.
The Vatican didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
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Your phone lights up. The number looks local. You answer because maybe it is the doctor, the school, a delivery driver or someone you actually need to hear from. Then comes the pause.
That tiny silence before a recorded voice kicks in has become one of the most annoying sounds. Spam calls have turned the phone in your pocket into a daily guessing game. Is this real? Is this urgent? Or is someone trying to trick me?
In its latest report, the Federal Trade Commission says consumers filed more than 2.6 million Do Not Call complaints. Robocalls made up most of the complaints tied to Do Not Call violations.
So, where are these calls hitting hardest, what kinds of calls are people reporting most and what can you do before the next unknown number shows up on your screen?
FBI WARNS OF DANGEROUS NEW ‘SMISHING’ SCAM TARGETING YOUR PHONE
Spam calls often look local or familiar, which can make people more likely to answer before realizing something feels off. (Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images)
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What the FTC spam call data shows
The FTC’s 2025 National Do Not Call Registry Data Book tracks complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls. It also breaks down whether those calls came from live callers or robocalls. The most reported topics included debt reduction, imposter scams and medical and prescription calls. That mix says a lot. Scammers and aggressive telemarketers often reach people when money, health, bills or personal information are involved. Those are the moments when people feel rushed or unsure. They are also the moments when one bad call can do real damage.
RECEIVING UNEXPECTED INTERNATIONAL CALLS? WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Where spam calls hit hardest
Arizona had the highest complaint rate in the country in the FTC’s latest 2025 report, with 1,028 Do Not Call complaints per 100,000 people. Tennessee followed with 1,017 complaints per 100,000 people.
Nevada, Illinois and Florida rounded out the top five states for complaints per 100,000 people.
That ranking shows where unwanted calls hit hardest once population is factored in. Still, spam calls can hit anyone with a phone.
HOW SCAMMERS TARGET YOU EVEN WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA
Why robocalls keep reaching your phone
A robocall uses a recorded or automated voice message. Some robocalls are legal. A school alert, pharmacy reminder or flight update may use automated calling without trying to sell you anything. Sales robocalls are different.
The FTC says a robocall trying to sell you something is illegal unless the company got written permission from you first. The company also has to be clear that it is asking to call you with robocalls. It cannot force you to accept those calls just to buy a product or use a service.
Yet illegal robocalls keep coming because the math works for scammers. Calling technology is cheap. Scammers can send huge numbers of calls quickly. They can also spoof caller ID, which makes a call look like it came from a local number or a familiar organization.
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That is why a nearby area code can be so misleading. The call may look local, but the person behind it could be anywhere.
Why the Do Not Call Registry cannot block every spam call
The National Do Not Call Registry can reduce unwanted sales calls from legitimate companies that follow the law. It lets consumers add their phone numbers and opt out of most legal telemarketing calls. But scammers are not worried about following the rules.
That does not make the Registry useless. It can help you spot suspicious calls faster. If you are on the Registry and still get a sales call that violates the rules, treat that call with extra caution. The FTC says the Registry had about 258.5 million active registrations as of Sept. 30, 2025.
SSA IMPERSONATION SCAMS ARE GETTING MORE PERSONAL
Spam call red flags to watch for
Spam calls often rely on pressure. The caller wants you to act before you think.
Be careful if a caller says you owe money and must pay right away. Watch out for anyone who asks for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or payment apps.
Also, be skeptical of callers who claim to be from Medicare, Social Security, your bank, a utility company or law enforcement. Scammers use familiar names because they know people pay attention.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION PHISHING SCAM TARGETS RETIREES
If someone calls unexpectedly and asks for personal information, hang up. Then contact the company or agency using a number from its official website, your statement or the back of your card.
Ways to stay safe from spam calls
Spam calls are easier to handle when you slow everything down. These steps can help you avoid the trap before a scammer gets you talking.
1) Let unknown spam calls go to voicemail
If the call matters, the person can leave a message. Scammers often hang up when they hit voicemail. This simple habit can keep you out of fake emergencies, fake debt offers and fake account warnings.
2) Do not press a number to opt out
A robocall may say, “Press 2 to be removed.” That sounds helpful, but it can backfire. The FTC says pressing a number to speak to someone or remove yourself from a list will probably lead to more robocalls. Hang up instead.
3) Turn on spam call blocking from your carrier
Most major wireless carriers offer spam detection or call blocking tools. Check your carrier’s app or account settings. These tools will not catch every call. Still, they can reduce the number of obvious junk calls that reach your phone.
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4) Use your phone’s built-in spam call controls
On iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers. From there, you can choose Never, Ask Reason for Calling or Silence. Choose Silence if you want unknown callers sent to voicemail. You can also go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Filtering and turn on available spam filtering options if your carrier supports them.
On Samsung, open the Phone app > three dots > Settings > Caller ID and spam protection. Turn it on, then enable Block spam and scam calls. You can choose the level of blocking that works best for you. You can also go to Phone app > three dots > Settings > Block numbers and turn on Block calls from unknown numbers. Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer
5) Use a data removal service
Your phone number, home address, relatives, age and other personal details may already be listed on data broker and people-search sites. Scammers can use that information to make a call sound more personal.
HOW SCAMMERS BUILD A PROFILE ON YOU USING DATA BROKERS
A data removal service can help remove your information from many of these sites and keep checking when it comes back. You can also do this manually, but it takes time because each site has its own opt-out process.
This will not stop every spam call. However, it can reduce how much personal information scammers can find about you online.
The FTC’s latest 2025 data shows Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, Illinois and Florida had the highest complaint rates once population was factored in. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com
6) Register your number with the Do Not Call Registry
Add your personal phone number to DoNotCall.gov. It is free, and it can help reduce legal telemarketing calls from companies that follow the rules.
The Registry will not stop every scam call. However, it can make illegal or suspicious calls easier to recognize.
7) Report and block illegal spam calls
Report unwanted telemarketing calls at DoNotCall.gov. The FTC asks consumers to report the number that received the call, the number shown on caller ID and the date and time, if possible.
Even if the number looks fake, report it. The FTC analyzes complaint data and calling patterns to help identify illegal callers. It also shares reported numbers with partners working on call blocking and labeling tools.
After you report the call, block the number on your phone. Scammers may spoof new numbers, but blocking still helps cut down on repeat calls from the same source.
8) Never give personal details to an unexpected caller
Do not confirm your Social Security number, Medicare number, bank details, password, one-time code or home address during an unexpected call. If the caller claims to represent a real company, hang up. Then contact that company using a verified number.
Join CyberGuy Live: Lock Down Your Phone in 30 Minutes (Saturday, June 13, 10 am ET)
Your phone holds your email, passwords, photos, banking apps and personal data. In this free, live online class, Kurt the CyberGuy will walk you step by step through simple phone security fixes you can do in real time. You’ll learn how to improve your privacy settings, spot the latest phone scams, use trusted security tools and walk away with a simple checklist to stay protected. Register here: CyberGuyLive.com
Kurt’s key takeaways
Spam calls have become one of those everyday annoyances that can turn serious fast. One minute, you think you are answering a local call. The next, someone may be trying to scare you into paying a fake bill, sharing personal information or pressing a button that leads to even more calls. The FTC’s latest data shows complaints are rising again, and robocalls remain a major part of the problem. Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, Illinois and Florida saw the highest complaint rates once population was factored in. The best move is to slow everything down. Let unknown numbers go to voicemail. Do not press buttons during robocalls. Turn on your carrier’s spam tools and use your phone’s built-in call protections. If an illegal call gets through, report it. The big takeaway: caller ID no longer deserves blind trust. A number can look local, familiar or official and still be fake.
Let unknown calls go to voicemail, turn on spam call protections and never share personal details with an unexpected caller. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
How many times have you answered a call because the number looked familiar, only to realize you may have just helped a scammer know your line is active? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
One post on Reddit calls out a common issue, saying, “I can’t even completely fill up my home screen. They only have 2 large tiles available and I can’t just scroll down to see everything.” The landing page has a small section up top showing steps and some other basic stats, but part of the app’s main page is now reserved for recent activity updates and chatty notes from Google’s AI health coach.
The AI didn’t have much to say to me, but for my senior editor, Richard Lawler, it started a conversation about today’s plans that he wasn’t quite ready to have with a chatbot.
Screenshot: Richard Lawler / Google
Not everyone is annoyed by the AI bot however, with one person commenting, “When I ask it to design a moderate workout using my office gym equipment, circuit style, I usually end up feeling great afterwards.” Another person called it “quite a helpful feature,” showing how they were able to update their sleep log with a missed session by chatting with the AI bot.
Another user said, “This graphic UI looks like something an 8 year old would make,” while someone else complained, “Why must I now scroll through paragraphs of AI slop on every tab before I can actually see my activities and data? I don’t want or need to read platitudes about my 15 minute walk to the grocery store. I want to see my stats from my morning run.”
One post on Google’s help center sums things up, saying, “This app is a huge disappointment and a total time drain to get minimal results. How can I get back to using what worked?!” Many others were in agreement, with one reply saying, “it’s no longer a genuine fitness app.”
On Google’s blog post, its sample image shows a version of the Today screen with all of the information and an AI chat that we couldn’t get to show up, but did appear for some users. There doesn’t seem to be any way to remove the Ask Coach / activity window that takes up so much of the screen, but the bot can be disabled from within the new app’s Feature Privacy Controls.
1/3
Even though I knew the switch to Google Health was coming, I was still disoriented for the first several minutes after opening the app this morning.
If you want to see more of your stats and health tracking data, you have to either swipe left in the small top box on the “Today” page or tab over to the “Health” page. To find logs for my rowing workouts that I had stored in the old Fitbit app, I had to go into “Health,” then down to the “Fitness” section in “Focus areas”, where my logs were viewable under “Exercise days.” In the old Fitbit app, I could see the “Exercise days” block by just scrolling down on the app’s main “Today” page.
According to a support page, if you have a supported wearable connected, Google Health shows two additional tabs for Fitness and Sleep that would make things easier, but before the redesign I didn’t need those. While Google’s Rishi Chandra told The Verge earlier this month that Google Health will eventually support third-party wearables, my Nothing Watch Pro 3 currently isn’t enough to unlock those two extra tabs.
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It starts with a small moment that feels a little too coincidental. You say something out loud, then an ad shows up that feels way too specific.
Bill recently reached out to us asking if the Apple devices in his home are actually spying on him.
It is a fair concern. The short answer is no, your Apple devices are not secretly recording everything you say. But they are listening in specific ways and collecting some data. Once you understand how it works, you can decide what to change. If you have an Android, here are the privacy settings you should review.
The iPhone actually collects some data based on your settings but does not secretly record your conversations. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
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What is actually happening behind the scenes
To understand what is really going on, it helps to break down how your devices listen, what data gets collected and where the bigger risks live.
Voice assistants are always on standby
If you use Siri on your iPhone or other Apple devices, your device is always listening locally for the wake phrase. It isn’t recording full conversations. When it hears the trigger, it starts processing your request.
MUST-DO PRIVACY SETTINGS ON YOUR IPHONE IN IOS 18.1
Siri may send that request to Apple’s servers when needed, although much of the processing now happens directly on your device. Even so, accidental activations happen. That can lead to short snippets of audio being processed when you did not intend it.
Apple still collects some data
Apple markets itself as privacy-focused, especially compared to Google and Meta Platforms. That is generally true, but Apple still gathers certain types of data, depending on your settings, including:
- Device usage patterns
- Location data if enabled
- Siri interactions
- App analytics if you allow it
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Apple says much of this is anonymized; simply put, that means it isn’t directly tied to your name or identity, but it still exists.
Apps are often the bigger privacy risk
Here is where things get more important.
Most privacy exposure does not come from Apple itself. It comes from the apps you install.
Many apps request access to:
- Your microphone
- Your camera
- Your contacts
- Your location
If you approve those permissions, apps can collect more data than you expect. Some of that data can be shared with advertisers or third parties.
IS THAT IPHONE APP SPYING? APPLE’S APP PRIVACY REPORT REVEALS ALL
Why it feels like your phone is listening to you
You have probably had this experience. You mention something out loud, then an ad appears later. That usually has nothing to do with your microphone.
Instead, it is driven by:
- Your browsing activity and search history
- Tracking data from websites
- Location patterns
- Data brokers connecting activity across devices
All of that creates a detailed profile of your interests. The ads feel personal because they are based on your behavior, not your conversations.
How to take control of your iPhone privacy settings
If you want more control over your privacy, a few simple changes can make a big difference.
1) Turn off “Hey Siri” if you do not use it
- Go to Settings
- Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri
- Tap “Talk & Type to Siri”
- Disable “Listen for ‘Hey Siri’” by tapping Off
2) Review which apps can use your microphone
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Microphone
- Turn off access for apps that do not need it
3) Limit app tracking
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Tracking
- Turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track”
4) Disable analytics sharing
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Scroll down and tap Analytics & Improvements
- Turn everything off
5) Check location access
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Location Services
- Set most apps to “While Using” or “Never”
IS YOUR PHONE LISTENING TO EVERYTHING YOU SAY? IT’S COMPLICATED
Start in Settings to review the privacy controls that determine what data your iPhone can access and share. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
6) Review camera access
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Camera
- Turn off access for any app that does not truly need it
7) Turn off Bluetooth tracking for apps
Some apps use Bluetooth to track nearby devices or location patterns.
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Bluetooth
- Turn off access for apps that do not need it
8) Check Photos access (often overlooked)
Apps can access your entire photo library, including metadata like location.
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Photos
- Set apps to “Selected Photos” or “None” where possible
9) Use Apple’s App Privacy Report
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Scroll down and tap App Privacy Report
Turn it on to see which apps access your data and when
10 Audit location system services (advanced but valuable)
- Go to Settings
- Tap Privacy & Security
- Tap Location Services
- Click System Services
Some of these run quietly in the background. You can turn several off without affecting how your iPhone works day to day.
Turn these OFF (for more privacy, minimal impact)
- Alerts & Shortcuts Automations (only needed if you use location-based automations)
- Apple Pay Merchant Identification (used to verify store location during payments)
- Cell Network Search (helps Apple improve carrier data)
- Device Management (mainly for work or enterprise devices)
- Home (only needed if you use Apple Home automations tied to location)
- In-App Web Browsing (not essential for most users)
- Suggestions & Search (location-based Siri suggestions)
- System Customization (personalized system behavior)
- iPhone Analytics (shares location data with Apple)
- Improve Maps (sends location data to improve Apple Maps)
Optional depending on your usage:
- Routing & Traffic (turn off if you don’t use Apple Maps for navigation)
Leave these ON (core features & accuracy)
- Emergency Calls & SOS (critical for emergency response)
- Find My iPhone (needed to locate a lost device)
- Networking & Wireless (improves GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth accuracy)
- Compass Calibration (keeps directions accurate)
- Motion Calibration & Distance (used for fitness and movement tracking)
- Setting Time Zone (automatically updates time when traveling)
- Satellite Connection (important for emergency connectivity on newer iPhones)
- Wi-Fi Calling (helps with calls in weak signal areas)
Leave ON (unless you have a specific reason)
- Share My Location (turn off only if you don’t use Find My sharing)
- Significant Locations & Routes → TURN OFF if you want maximum privacy (This tracks places you visit frequently.)
What those arrows mean (from your screen)
- Purple arrow = recently used your location
- Gray arrow = used your location in the last 24 hours
You don’t need to flip everything off. Focus on ads, analytics, suggestions and tracking features. Those give you the biggest privacy win without breaking anything.
11) Add an extra layer of protection
Even with strong settings, your data can still circulate through data brokers or exposed databases. Using an identity protection service can help monitor your personal data, alert you to suspicious activity and add financial safeguards if something goes wrong. See my tips and best picks on best identity theft protection at CyberGuy.com.
Turning off analytics sharing limits how much usage and location data your device sends back to Apple. (Portra/Getty Images)
Kurt’s key takeaways
Apple devices are not secretly recording your conversations all day. Still, they do listen for Siri and collect certain types of data. The bigger concern comes from the apps you install and the broader tracking ecosystem that follows you across the internet. The good news is you have more control than you might think. A few minutes in your settings can significantly reduce what your devices share.
If your devices already know so much based on your behavior alone, how much privacy are you willing to trade for convenience going forward? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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- Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide free when you join.
Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
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