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The iPhone privacy setting you need to turn off

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The iPhone privacy setting you need to turn off

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Your iPhone is a powerful device that can store and share your personal information, photos, videos, and more. 

It can also help you organize memories and thoughts by using an app like the Journal app. Apple’s new Journal app, helps you reflect on your everyday moments and special events, using on-device machine learning to create personalized suggestions for your journal entries.

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What are Journaling Suggestions? 

“Journaling Suggestions” can help you remember moments you may wish to write about in your Journal app.  Suggestions can include photos and videos from your library, including the date they were captured, completed workout details, an interaction you have with someone via the phone, including their name and contact photo, a place you visited, including its name and surrounding city, and more. Apple says this information is aggregated on your device and is not shared with Apple or any other users.

While this may be helpful for remembering moments in life, I am not convinced that a function of my iPhone to replay moments for me to write about is beneficial. In fact, I wonder if, instead, it could steer my own independent thought toward mundane details while missing the essence of memories that come from interactions and emotional experiences I would never want my phone to be able to measure and repeat back to me. If you are like me you can always turn off Journaling Suggestions in Settings and create journal entries from scratch and add your thoughts, memories, photos, and more. 

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The Journal app on an iPhone. (Apple)

Why should you care?

Imagine this: every photo you take, song you play, person you interact with over the phone, or place you visit is recorded and rehashed to you at a later time to refresh your memory so that you can log it down in the Journal.  

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For some, they may truly benefit from the prompting of your life’s personal interactions. For me, I’d like less influence from a machine steering my memories. However, it’s a feature intended to enhance user experience by suggesting content based on location, an interaction with a contact, photos taken, and activity data, which Apple’s developer site says falls within their “SuggestionPicker” guidelines.  Apple says this information is stored on your device and is not shared with Apple or any other users. 

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, IPHONE SHORTCUT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

The Journal app (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: BEST PORTABLE PHONE CHARGERS OF 2024

What does enabling “Discoverable by Others” do? 

“Discoverable by Others” is a setting within Journaling Suggestions that has raised concerns online about private data being shared. The reality is that the app may use contextual information to determine which suggestions may be more meaningful or relevant to you based on whether there are others around you, without knowing who they are or sharing any information with or about them. 

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Apple says this information is used to improve and prioritize your suggestions. It is stored on your device and is not shared with Apple or any other users. If you choose to turn the setting off, you can follow the steps below.

Turn off Discoverable by Others on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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How to turn off ‘Discoverable by Others’ feature

  • First, swipe down at the top of your phone and type Settings.
  • Tap Settings and then scroll down until you find Privacy and Security and tap it.
  • Scroll down again until you get to Journaling Suggestions and click on it.
  • Then switch off Discoverable by others.

Steps to safeguard your privacy on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: BEST ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR PHONE

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Apple’s Journal app uses machine learning to suggest journal entries people can make. The biggest concern I have is that it interrupts independent thought, letting an app make ‘suggestions’ about logging the interactions of my life. This makes me uncomfortable despite no private data being shared. I’m not convinced that allowing a machine to suggest what I should remember about personal moments in my life is good for me. I don’t want the history of my moments curated back to me by my phone. You can still benefit from recording and reflecting on life’s moments in the Journal app when you choose to disable personalized suggestions. 

How do you feel about the Journal app’s feature: would you enable your Journaling Suggestions or turn them off? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

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Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The article has been updated to reflect Apple’s assertion that its “Discoverable by Others” Journal feature does not share personal data with Apple or other iPhone users.

Technology

Use this map to find the data centers in your backyard

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Use this map to find the data centers in your backyard

When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was gobbling up public land to fuel its data centers in her home state, she didn’t initially know what to believe. “There’s a lot of misinformation about data centers,” she said. “Google has denied taking that land.”

Technically, she explains, The Dalles, a city near the Washington state border, sought to reclaim that land, “and Google is just a big, unnamed power user.” The city had in fact asked for ownership of a 150-acre portion of Mount Hood National Forest, claiming it needs access to Mount Hood’s watershed to meet municipal needs as its population — 16,010 as of the 2020 census — grows. But critics, including environmentalists, say the city is trying to secure more water for Google, which has a sprawling data center campus in The Dalles that already consumes about one-third of the city’s water supply.

This controversy made Reksopuro curious about the backlash to data centers being built in other communities. So Reksopuro, a student at the University of Washington who studies the connections between tech and public policy, decided to map it out. Using information collected by Epoch AI and data scraped from legislation on data centers, she built an interactive map tracking AI policy around the world. She designed it to be simple enough for anyone to use. “I wanted it to be something that my younger sisters could play through and explore to understand what are the data centers in the area and what’s actually being done about it,” Reksopuro said. She hoped to shift their opinions that way, “instead of like, through TikTok.”

Four times a day, the map searches for new sources and checks them against the existing database Reksopuro built out. “Once it does that, it will write a new summary, add it to the news feed, and populate it on the sidebar,” she said. “I wanted it to be self-updating, since I’m also a student.”

Reksopuro isn’t against data centers, but she thinks tech giants benefit from a lack of transparency around data center policies. “Right now, it’s this really opaque thing — and all of a sudden, there’s a facility,” she said. “I think that if people knew about data centers beforehand, it would give them leverage. They would be able to negotiate: ask for job training programs, tax revenue, environmental monitoring, things to improve their community.”

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Fox News AI Newsletter: Graduation speaker praises AI, gets instantly booed

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Fox News AI Newsletter: Graduation speaker praises AI, gets instantly booed

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

 

Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:

– UCF graduates clobber commencement speaker with boos after she says AI is the ‘next Industrial Revolution’

– OPINION: DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: We brought the FBI out of the past and into the AI age

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– OpenAI backs creation of global AI governance body led by the U.S. that would include China as a member

TOUGH CROWD: During a recent commencement ceremony at the University of Central Florida, a speaker was met with loud boos from the graduating class after declaring that artificial intelligence represents the next industrial revolution. Fox News Digital reporting captures this tense cultural moment, illustrating the mixed public sentiment and skepticism surrounding AI’s growing footprint in daily life.

A statue on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. (iStock)

BADGE MEETS BYTE: Reflecting on the modernization of national security in a Fox News op-ed, FBI Director Kash Patel explores how the bureau must adapt its strategies to address modern threats and advance beyond the artificial intelligence age.

TECH DIPLOMACY: OpenAI is throwing its support behind the establishment of a new global artificial intelligence governance organization that would be led by the United States while notably including China as a member. Fox News Digital reporting examines the geopolitical dynamics and regulatory implications of this proposed framework as global powers race to set the standards for AI development.

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EQUITY ELEVATION: The massive wave of wealth generated by the explosive growth of ChatGPT and the broader AI industry is driving a sudden surge in the San Francisco Bay Area’s luxury real estate market. Fox News Digital reporting breaks down how the influx of new tech capital is reshaping local housing dynamics and fueling a high-end property frenzy.

FBI Director Kash Patel listened as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference at the Department of Justice on April 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

STRATEGY RESET: Tech giant Cisco is planning to eliminate thousands of jobs as the company shifts its primary focus to accelerate its artificial intelligence initiatives, a move that comes despite the company beating earnings expectations. Fox News Digital reporting details the corporate restructuring and broader economic trends pushing legacy tech firms to aggressively pivot toward AI.

ROAD HAZARD: Waymo is issuing a sweeping recall of its autonomous vehicle fleet following a concerning incident that highlighted significant safety issues with the self-driving technology. Fox News Digital reporting outlines the specifics of the recall, the nature of the safety flaw, and what this setback means for the future of fully autonomous transportation on public roads.

BOTS IN THE BAY: A newly developed, artificial intelligence-powered robot has been engineered to seamlessly change and balance vehicle tires without human intervention. Fox News Digital reporting showcases this latest innovation, exploring how automation and AI mechanics could soon revolutionize the automotive service and repair industry.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

 

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Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs

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Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs

Microsoft Edge is adding a new feature that will allow its Copilot AI chatbot to gather information from all of your open tabs. When you start a conversation with Copilot, you can ask the chatbot questions about what’s in your tabs, compare the products you’re looking at, summarize your open articles, and more.

In its announcement, Microsoft says you can “select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don’t.” The company is retiring Copilot Mode as well, which could similarly draw information from your tabs but offered some agentic features, like the ability to book a reservation on your behalf. Microsoft has since folded these agentic capabilities into its “Browse with Copilot” tool.

Several other AI features are coming to Edge, including an AI-powered “Study and Learn” mode that can turn the article you’re looking at into a study session or interactive quiz. There’s a new tool that turns your tabs into AI-powered podcasts as well, similar to what you’d find on NotebookLM, and an AI writing assistant that will pop up when you start entering text on a webpage.

You can also give Copilot permission to access your browsing history to provide more “relevant, high-quality answers,” according to Microsoft. Copilot in Edge on desktop and mobile will come with “long-term memory” as well, which can tailor its responses based on your previous conversations. And, when you open up a new tab, you’ll see a redesigned page that combines chat, search, and web navigation, along with the Journeys feature, which uses AI to organize your browsing history into categories that you can revisit.

Meanwhile, an update to Edge’s mobile app will allow you to share your screen with Copilot and talk through the questions about what you’re seeing. Microsoft says you’ll see “clear visual cues” when Copilot is active, “so you know when it’s taking an action, helping, listening, or viewing.”

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