Katy Perry’s Met Gala pics? Totally fake. Photos of her “attending” the fashion event are going viral, but they’re AI-generated. Katy posted them herself, saying she couldn’t make it because of her tour. This is the second year it’s happened to her, and even her mom got tricked last time.
Hidden folders: The secret hoarders of your phone
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You deleted that weird photo of your ex’s mom from your vacation three summers ago … or did you? Hidden folders on your phone are holding your “deleted” pictures and videos hostage, quietly clogging your storage and embarrassing you long past their expiration date.
Time to go folder spelunking and clear out these digital cobwebs.
📷 Android: The archive and trash trap
If you use Google Photos (and most Android users do, plus a lot of iPhone folks, too), you have two sneaky folders: Archive and Trash.
- Archive is where you stash photos you don’t want cluttering your main feed but still want to keep.
- Trash is where deleted photos go to hang out for 30 to 60 days before they’re permanently erased.
How to check them:
- Open Google Photos. Tap Collections at the bottom.
- Tap Archive to see hidden photos. Tap Trash to see what’s waiting to disappear (or secretly stick around).
👉 Pro tip: If you accidentally deleted something important, you can still recover it from Trash, but only if you catch it before the auto-delete timer runs out.
📱 iPhone: Recently deleted isn’t deleted
Think you’ve cleared that shameful live photo of you fake laughing at brunch? Nope. Apple’s got it chilling in the Recently Deleted album, sipping a mimosa while taking up your storage for 30 days before vanishing for good.
How to check it:
- Open your Photos app.
- Scroll down to Utilities and tap Recently Deleted.
Digital self-destruction for fun and paranoia
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How to make any USB drive self-destruct
“Kim, I’m paranoid about losing my USB drive. Is there any way to make it so if someone steals it, they can’t see or open anything?” — Dave in Denver
📸 DIY stickers: Instagram’s Cutouts lets you turn your photos into custom stickers. Start a new Story or Reel, tap Stickers (square smiley face icon) > Cutouts > choose a photo or video with a clear subject. Instagram will create it for you right away or save it for later. FYI, you can only pick one object at a time.
Tech we thought was the future
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It’s Friday, and I’m feeling a little nostalgic. Let’s take a fun walk down memory lane back when our gadgets were clunky, slow and somehow magical.
Remember when flipping your phone shut made you feel like a movie star? Or hearing the sound of a modem? Good times. Take a look at this list and see if there are any you miss.
The $55K FaceTime car scam
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Sarah’s $55,000 lesson: The online car dealership that wasn’t
Even smart shoppers can get taken; here’s how to make sure you don’t.
Sarah from Salt Lake City did everything right, or so she thought. She was looking for a used car online and found what looked like a legitimate dealership.
👥 Walk down memory lane: Just open the Facebook app, go to a friend’s profile, tap the three dots (on the right) then select See friendship. You’ll see all the posts and photos you’re in together plus any networks you share. Try it with your best buddies.
Did your face train AI? Big tech used billions of photos from public websites to train their AI bots. Check if one of your images is in the mix by heading to Have I Been Trained? Click the Check the Registry tab, and upload a photo of yourself. I tried it, and yep, I’m there.
🖨️ Proof in the print: Need to print your text messages? For iPhone, iExplorer lets you access, view and transfer music, messages, photos and files from any iOS device to Mac or PC. On Android, you can use SMS Backup & Restore.
🦉 Don’t be such a dodo: New tech trend. Bird-watchers are trading iPhones for new binoculars that are waterproof and come with a mount. That way, you can snap photos and videos while you watch. No more “I swear it was right there!” moments. Check them out on Amazon ($130).
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💍 Be smitten, not bitten: Couples are losing thousands to photographers they find on social media. It all seems legit with a digital contract. Then, the shady shutterbugs ask for a cash deposit through Venmo or Zelle. But on the big day? They ghost you or show up and never deliver the photos. Folks, do your homework.
🤳 Skip the digital zoom: It makes photos look worse by stretching pixels instead of capturing real detail. Instead, use your phone’s highest megapixel setting, take the shot and then crop in on what actually matters. Bonus: Before you snap the pic, tap to focus so there’s no annoying blur.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On your iPhone, search your photos using emojis. 🍕 pulls up pizza pics. 🐶 finds your dog. Weird but fun. I just typed in 💀 and it pulled up my neighbor’s haircut.
How to spot hidden spyware, and kick it out for good
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Ever get the feeling someone knows too much about what you’re doing online? I’m not talking about the sarcastic “My FBI agent is amused” way, but in the “Why did my phone just text my ex and order dog food at 2 a.m.?” kind of way.
🚓 Play stupid games, win stupid prizes: Devon Bart thought he could outsmart the cops. The 25-year-old was wanted for assault, but instead of hiding, he took to TikTok. He allegedly posted photos daring law enforcement to find him. He’s now in jail after sheriff deputies in Tennessee arrested him. Ouch. Next up on TikTok: “How I accidentally sped up a felony charge with a thirst trap.”
🤳 Blurry photos? If tapping to focus doesn’t help, it might be time to clean your lens. Seriously, your phone spends all day in your pocket picking up dust and fingerprints that can ruin your pics. The fix? Not your T-shirt. Use a gentle microfiber cloth. Here’s a cheap one for $7 with cleaning fluid.
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📍 T-Mobile messed up big-time: The company sells a GPS tracker so parents can see their young kids’ locations if they don’t have a phone yet. But last week, a software glitch showed users the live locations, names and photos of random children instead (paywall link)! Somewhere, a lawyer just whispered: “delicious.” It’s apparently been fixed, but seriously, that kind of info should never be leaked.
💬 Text yourself: Set up a contact called “Me” with your own phone number. Send yourself reminders, photos or anything else important. Just open your Contacts app and tap (+) to create it. That way it’s always at your fingertips. Smart!