Here's what to look out for, and some tips on what you should do: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/text-scam-unpaid-tolls-ftc-smishing_l_67af5d2ce4b0b48674492196
From Jim From Jim H
The following article on AI isn't gonna make you any smarter or be particularly helpful, but it is just an interesting read on a lady trying out ChatGPT. She ends up preferring Siri, and she explains why. Just passing this on for a possible perusal when you have the inclination and a few moments. And ChatGPT is available on an iPad, as well as Siri.
https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/use-chatgpt-with-apple-intelligence-ipad5d72435c/ipados
Lots of news articles and blogs about how AI is weaving its way into our lives. So far, I haven't found the need to use AI yet, but perhaps one of these days.....Jim
I tried ChatGPT Tasks and I'm sticking with Siri for now — here's why. By Amanda Caswell
published January 20, 2025 onTom's Guide
Every time ChatGPT drops a new feature, I am eager to try it. So, it goes without saying that ChatGPT Tasks, just released in beta last week, was something I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. Unfortunately, this time I was underwhelmed. Unlike previous releases such as ChatGPT Canvas and Projects, Tasks left me second-guessing if I would ever need it or frankly, if it was even reliable.
I get it, it’s still in beta, so I know I shouldn’t be too hard on the bot, but c’mon. I’ve asked it to do a few minor things such as reviewing a screenplay or reminding me to drink more water and it has responded with “come back later.” Honestly, it’s giving the Magic 8 Ball a run for its money.
Not one to give up, I tried a variety of other tasks that were not important enough if ChatGPT Tasks decided not to do it. For example, while taking my lunch break, I told it to “remind me to start working in 10 minutes.” I was going to do that anyway (my editor is reading this!), so I figured it was worth a shot. To my delight, I got an email from ChatGPT ten minutes later telling me to get to work. Huzzah!
The pros of ChatGPT Tasks
ChatGPT Tasks actually doing what I asked, gave me hope. I like how I can type a prompt or use Advanced Voice Mode to ask it to do something. The conversational interface is similar to Siri or Alexa, which I like. I have also noticed that it does well with recurring reminders. I tried this with something I almost always forget – whenever my son has to bring his trumpet to school.
I asked ChatGPT to schedule a recurring reminder, “Remind me to put my son’s trumpet by the front door every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” ChatGPT scheduled this recurring reminder effortlessly. This natural language processing capability eliminates the friction often associated with task management.
Another standout feature is ChatGPT’s ability to suggest tasks based on our interactions. It’s wild, actually. For example, I used the chatbot to help pick out a gift for my daughter’s music teacher for an upcoming chorus concert.
ChatGPT proactively offered to set a reminder about the Thursday night event, ensuring I didn’t miss it. This level of attentiveness mirrors having a personal assistant who understands and anticipates my needs.
Cross-platform accessibility
Managing tasks across devices has always been a challenge, but ChatGPT Tasks addresses this seamlessly. Whether I'm on my desktop, tablet, or smartphone, my tasks are synchronized, and I receive timely notifications regardless of the platform.
This ensures that I stay on top of my commitments, no matter where I am. For every reminder I set up, I’m sure it won’t be missed whether I’m at my desktop or on mobile – this is something that I can’t get from Siri or Alexa.
I asked ChatGPT Tasks to send me a list of weeknight dinner options every Sunday at 8am and instead, it told me the importance of planning dinners ahead. Right, that’s what I was trying to do.
Besides not doing what I asked (literally the purpose of the feature), ChatGPT Tasks hallucinates in other ways. For example, I tried editing a task (i.e. dinner is at 6:30pm on Tuesday, not 6pm) and it still reminded me of the 6pm time. It also will randomly pause a task. I’ve noticed that my email notifications sometimes redirect to the app itself without any further information. Meaning, I may get a reminder, but what on earth is it for?
When this happens, I have to open ChatGPT and take extra steps to access the full content for the reminder — that is, if I haven’t remembered by then anyway. I can only hope that these minor inconveniences will be ironed out as the feature evolves. It's still in beta, it’s not perfect.
Final thoughts
The idea of ChatGPT Tasks is a good one and when it is fully reliable it will transform my productivity. I look forward to it offering enhanced daily routines with personalized, actionable insights, making my life more manageable and productive.
Its intuitive design, proactive assistance, and cross-platform accessibility have real potential. But until OpenAI has fully refined this feature, I’m going to stick to Siri. With one command Apple's Siri does everything from set a timer to setting an appointment and after years of using this assistant, I'm going to stick with it for now to avoid missing any reminders.
One enthusiastic teacher recently released a video explaining why we should now create short video content (clips) that serve as the toolbox (resource) from which AI draws to create tutorials for specific purposes or simply answer questions. Essentially, this is how AI is trained in the initial stages. Instead of being trained on data found on the Internet, you can train the AI with content you create.
For instance, if you want to study from a textbook, scan it into a PDF, feed it to AI, and voila! You now have what you would consider reliable information—provided the AI can perform accurate pattern matching to provide accurate responses.
I personally enjoy loading PDF files of scientific papers into AI. The results I obtain are relevant to the content of the paper.
However, there’s a downside to loading source documents into AI: there’s a limit to how much you can load. One AI model claims to be able to handle up to 200 source documents, but it doesn’t specify the volume limit for each document, which is crucial. Almost any AI can process a 2-hour video, transcribe the spoken text, and provide a summary of the content. Additionally, they can answer questions that may require Internet access to acquire additional material to explain or elaborate on points made in the original video.
The above is an AI rewrite of what I originally wrote. Here’s an AI summary of the above:
AI can be trained on user-created content, such as short video clips or scanned documents, to generate tutorials or answer questions. While this method offers control over the training data, there are limitations on the volume of documents that can be processed.
John Carter Sr.
From the iPhone Life Security newsletter, sent in by Jim R
How secure is your messaging? In a previous edition, I told you that Chinese state hackers had comprehensively compromised the US telecommunications system. The US Cyber Safety Review Board is the body responsible for investigating the hack, but now that entire board has been laid off by the new administration. For the moment and for the foreseeable future, it would be worth paying a little extra attention to making sure that your sensitive information is only shared in encrypted channels. Read more about how to do that below!
https://click.iphonelife.com/ga/webviews/4-2241950-10-13183-16804-178158-as937ce2c2
From Jim H
When on a public wifi network, I think it is advisable, for security reasons, to use a VPN. Nowadays, the
only time I'm on a public wifi network is at a doctor or dentist office, where free wifi is usually available.
Then I use a VPN. I recommend using a paid one, and not a free VPN.
It appears that the ban of TikTok, which I've not used, might be a reason some people are now trying a VPN.
The following article has a good discussion of some VPNs, including a free one (Proton), which the article says
is OK: https://account.protonvpn.com/signup
A good article and discussion, I thought....Jim
VPNs, or virtual private networks, are standard technology for many people in authoritarian countries to shield their online activity and sidestep government censorship online. Now, more Americans are getting a crash course in VPNs — because of TikTok, an app from an authoritarian country.
After the Supreme Court on Friday declined to stop the law forcing a sale or ban of TikTok, the United States is on the precipice of a nationwide ban of the app as soon as Sunday. Ahead of that deadline, TikTok’s American fans have been trading tips on using VPNs to keep using the app if it goes dark.
If you are going to use a VPN, you need to make sure it’s one you can trust. And that ain’t easy. A search of mobile app stores and Google shows zillions of VPNs. It’s almost impossible to figure out which ones might be sketchy or snake oil.
Keep reading for advice on four VPNs that deserve your trust — and why they might be frustrating and imperfect.
Note: If you’re trying to protect yourself from surveillance by an intimate partner, law enforcement or government eavesdroppers, this VPN guide is not tailored for you. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a security and privacy advocacy group, has useful surveillance defense resources.
Stick with these 4 VPNs you can trust — but know they might not be foolproof.
A VPN, which you can typically download as a smartphone app or use on a computer, bounces your web traffic through an encrypted route to computer networks around the world. As a result, it might look like your device is going online from Amsterdam when you’re really in Atlanta.
From our reporting, we believe that using a VPN will let people in the United States keep using the TikTok app that’s downloaded on your phone if a ban goes into effect as of this weekend. We’re not positive that VPNs will be effective workarounds, though, and we’ll test this option if TikTok flickers off.
I consulted digital security and privacy experts, and past reporting from my colleague Geoffrey A. Fowler, to assemble this short list of four VPNs that you can trust.
I also put these VPNs through a test on an iPhone to judge how easy it was to sign up. And to simulate the experience we might have soon with a TikTok ban, I used each VPN to try to watch sports videos from the BBC website, which typically blocks streaming from users in the United States.
(In my test, I set each VPN to make it look like I was in the United Kingdom.)
• Mullvad Cost: About $5.15 for one month.
Pros: Mullvad has a reputation among security pros as a gold standard. It was also the most pleasant to use of the four VPNs I tested.
Mullvad stresses that it collects very little information about users. It doesn’t even require an email address to sign up, and you can pay in cryptocurrency, if that’s your jam. (I used a credit card.) It was adorable that Mullvad assigned my iPhone a unique device name: “Cuddly Otter.”
• IVPN. Cost: The least expensive option was listed at $2.99 a week or $7.99 a month in the iPhone app.
Pros: IVPN also has a great reputation for security and privacy and offers anonymous options to sign up.
Hiccups: When I changed the IVPN settings to route my iPhone activity through computers in Britain, the BBC website still blocked me from streaming.
Some streaming services seek to identify people who are using VPNs to block them. Viktor Vecsei with IVPN said it can be a game of cat and mouse among websites (or authoritarian governments) to sleuth out the shifting computers used by VPN providers.
In other words: VPNs are not foolproof technology to access websites you otherwise can’t.
• Proton VPN. Cost: The paid options start at $9.99 a month, if you buy on the website. (Some companies charge less to make a digital purchase from their website versus their apps, but this information is usually a secret.)
Pros: While you should be wary of most free VPNs, Proton has a free option (with fewer features) and was recommended by digital security experts we consulted. Proton also says it has many thousands of computers globally, and that increases your chances of a good streaming experience.
Hiccups: The pricing tiers are a bit confusing.
• Mozilla VPN. Cost: $9.99 a month.
Pros: The VPN from Mozilla, which operates the privacy-focused Firefox web browser, uses the same computer network as Mullvad, which means it’s a secure choice.
Hiccups: The sign-up process offers lots of options for privacy, which is good, but that also made it cumbersome. I also still couldn’t watch BBC videos. Mozilla didn’t immediately comment.
If you have a Mac and the occasional need for a VPN for security purposes, you might take a read
on the following article....Jim
https://www.macworld.com/article/331856/malwareybtes-privacy-vpn.html
From Jim H
If you have an iPhone, here is a tip you'll want to use. Using the app "Find My",
you can locate your phone if it should go missing while you're out and about. So far,
I haven't misplaced my iPhone when I'm out and about, but use it often to see how
close Zee or our daughter is, if we're meeting somewhere. I use it often when Zee
has left to pick up groceries. Using the app, I know how close she is when returning
home, so I can meet her and carry the groceries in to our house.
If we should misplace our iPhone while at home, either Zee or I call the misplaced
phone, hear it ring, then go and pick it up.....Jim
https://www.shefinds.com/collections/how-to-find-your-lost-iphone-turned-off/
Editor’s note: if you’ve lost your phone at home and have an Apple Watch, your can use it to “tickle” your phone and make it ring. See https://www.imore.com/how-find-your-iphone-your-apple-watch
From Jim From Jim H
If you have an Apple iPhone, here's some tips that might be useful...Jim
https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/01/14/how-to-download-ios-app-without-apple-id-password/
A blog I subscribe to on Windows OS had some tips on how to speed up a PC, by eliminating/reducing certain functions, and also mentioned some similar tips that might be useful on an iPhone as well. I haven't tried any of these tips yet on my iPhone, but thought I'd pass them on FYI and possible interest....Jim
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/reduce-onscreen-motion-iph0b691d3ed/ios
From Frank C
This article is talking about an App called Watch Duty that I mentioned in a presentation a month or two ago. Everyone who lives in a fire area (like we do) should have this App!!
If you live in Los Angeles, you are probably already intimately familiar with Watch Duty, the free app that shows active fires, mandatory evacuation zones, air quality indexes, wind direction, and a wealth of other information that everyone, from firefighters to regular people, have come to rely on during this week’s historic and devastating wildfires.
Watch Duty is unique in the tech world in that it doesn’t care about user engagement, time spent, or ad sales. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit behind it only cares about the accuracy of the information it provides and the speed with which the service can deliver that information. The app itself has taken off, rocketing to the top of Apple’s and Google’s app stores. Over 1 million people have downloaded it over the last few days alone.
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/11/24340913/watch-duty-wildfire-tracking-app-los-angeles-nonprofit
From Frank
So free expression of all the nut cases at both extremes, and no ability to filter them out. My concept of free speech is filter out the extremes!!
From Jim H
If you have an Apple watch, the following might be of interest...Jim
Use an Apple Watch? Make sure Fall Detection is set up. It works with the Apple Watch SE, Series 4 and later, and the Apple Watch Ultra. If Apple knows you’re 55 or older, it’s enabled automatically. To check:
Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
Tap My Watch > Emergency SOS.
Turn on Fall Detection. You can select Always on or Only on during workouts.
Now, if your watch detects a fall, you’ll get a pop-up asking if you need emergency help. If not, you can signal you’re OK. No response? Emergency help is on the way!
from Jim H
If you might be looking for a 'cloud' subscription to store your photos and files, you might take a look at the following:
https://deals.newatlas.com/sales/folderfort-2tb-storage-pro-plan-lifetime-subscription
I've included a couple of reviews...Jim
https://www.reddit.com/r/cloudstorage/comments/1gxsxf2/honest_review_of_folder_fort/
Jim H says, AI is coming to Apple devices, and here is a report from his local paper on what that means
Q: What exactly is Apple Intelligence and what will it do for me?
A: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is all the rage in the tech world and ‘Apple Intelligence’ is Apple’s integration of new ‘smart’ AI features that’s being rolled out in the latest operating systems for smartphones, tablets, and computers.
It’s being rolled out slowly, so you’ll have to let Apple know through a waiting list for the moment.
Much like Google Assistant for Android devices, Apple Intelligence is designed to anticipate what you might need, help to organize your digital life and simplify how you interact with your devices.
Instead of a stand-alone AI tool, Apple is integrating AI throughout their operating systems that can be more contextual based on what’s on your screen or what you routinely do with your devices.
Writing tools
One of the most useful tools in the suite will be the writing tools for proofreading, summarizing text or rewriting your text messages, emails or notes.
It will rewrite text based on a tone that you choose: professional, concise or friendly.
Proofreading will help you improve your grammar, word choices and sentence structure with explanations of why suggestions are being made. This could be significant for those that routinely use voice dictation for text and email messages.
Apple Intelligence in Siri
Digital assistants have been the focus of all of the major tech companies, and AI allows your devices to better anticipate your needs. Apple Intelligence will be deeply integrated with Siri, making it more intuitive and conversational than it is now.
Photos and memories
The Photos app is another place where Apple Intelligence will provide vast improvements. Much like Google Photos powerful image recognition, it can identify not just faces but locations, objects, and even themes within your photos. That means you can search for specific things, like “beach” or “birthday,” and Apple will pull up all related images from the thousands of images in your photo library.
Spotlight search and proactive suggestions
Apple Intelligence integrates everywhere, so Spotlight Search will become a much more powerful feature that acts like your digital assistant. Need to find a recent email, app, or even a restaurant near you? Spotlight can pull up relevant results from across all your apps, contacts, and web searches.
It will also proactively offer helpful info based on your usage patterns. If you have an upcoming calendar event, for example, it may suggest you leave early if traffic is heavy or remind you to call someone back after you missed their call.
Enhanced privacy
What’s most notable and likely why it took so long is that Apple’s intelligence is built with privacy in mind. Unlike other platforms that might rely primarily on cloud-based data processing, Apple does much of this work directly on your device, so your data stays more secure.
How to get it
At present, it’s only available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max; any iPad with A17 Pro or M1 and later; Mac with M1 or later.
The processing requirements by the device seems to be why older devices aren’t compatible.
You’ll also need the latest OS for your device: iOS 18.X, iPadOS 18.X, or macOS Sequoia 15.X and for the moment, request to join the waitlist.
from Frank C
Summary
This article discusses a significant security breach involving 33 malicious Chrome extensions. These extensions, which had been available on the Chrome Web Store for up to 18 months, were surreptitiously siphoning sensitive data from millions of devices. The compromised extensions included Cyberhaven, a data loss prevention service, and other popular tools such as Reader Mode and AI Assistant.
Two separate campaigns have been stealing credentials and browsing history for months.
If you use Chrome, this applies to you!!!
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/01/dozens-of-backdoored-chrome-extensions-discovered-on-2-6-million-devices/
from Jim H
Here's an article discussing where Apple will pay a fine for allowing Siri to listen in when the app shouldn't have: https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-settles-lawsuit-over-unauthorized-siri-snooping-for-95-million
I don't use Siri on my Mac, but we use Amazon's Alexa a lot in our house, and realize that Alexa is always listening for our voice. We enjoy using Alexa, but must keep in mind the potential risk of having an app listening in one's house. For example: one shouldn't ask a spouse out loud for, say, the password to your bank account.
Perhaps just write it on a piece of paper instead and hand it over.
Yes, technology is nice, but can have some risks as well. The increasing use of AI comes to mind...Jim
from John C
If you want to get a pretty good summary of a YouTube video, then copy the video link and paste it in summarize.tech. You get an instant summary. This is another useful tool that is AI powered.
from Frank C (see additional comment at the bottom of this post)
I was reading a review of this AI Executive Assistant call DuckBill (on the iPhone App Store). I was surprised that it was free to download. Knowing that “free” usually means they collect your data and sell it to many different marking firms, I decided to research it.
Here is the “Duckbill App Privacy statement” listed on the App Store.
That seemed very minimal, so I looked a bit deeper into their Privacy Policy. I have enclosed their Policy here. If you scroll down, you can see in red the information that they collect that should never be given out, any where, any time!! After that, it says they use CoPilot which also collects other information. AND they use all of Googles web cookies, documents, calendars, etc and we ALL KNOW what Google does with your data!!!
Key take away, you need to be VERY CAREFUL when you download Apps, especially any App that purports to be “AI”. I will stick with Apple’s AI which I know to be secure!!
Frank
https://www.getduckbill.com/privacy-policy
Last Updated: December 4, 2024
Introduction
Welcome. You have arrived at a website provided by Duckbill, a Delaware corporation (“Duckbill,” “Company” or “we,” “our” or “us”). We understand that privacy is important to you and want you to know that we are committed to safeguarding your Personal Information (defined below). As a result, we want to provide you with a clear picture of how the Personal Information that you provide to us is processed, managed, and protected by us, and what your choices are with respect to that information.
This Privacy Policy governs the Company’s website (including www.getduckbill.com and www.duckbill.ai), its subdomains, and all portals, mobile applications, products, services, and any interactive features, applications, or other services that post a link to this Privacy Policy (the “Site”) and applies to information (including the “Personal Information” defined below) that we may collect from you. We refer to all of the above as our “Services.”
If you voluntarily provide your information in the course of interacting with our Sites or otherwise using our Services, we will take that as your agreement to our collection, use, and disclosure of your information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to any products, services, websites, or content that are offered by third parties (“Third Party Services”), which are governed by their respective privacy policies.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY PRIOR TO CONTINUING TO VIEW OUR SITE OR USING OUR SERVICES. BY ACCESSING THE SITE AND/OR USING OUR SERVICES, YOU AFFIRM THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO ABIDE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ABIDE BY THIS PRIVACY POLICY, YOU MAY NOT ENTER, ACCESS, OR OTHERWISE USE OUR SERVICES. IF YOU USE THE SERVICES ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE, YOU REPRESENT TO US THAT YOU ARE AUTHORIZED BY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO ACCEPT THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND YOU DO ACCEPT THIS PRIVACY POLICY ON SUCH INDIVIDUAL’S BEHALF
(a) Information You Provide to Us
The type of information you provide to us depends on the nature of your interaction with the Site and our Services.
We may ask users of our Service to provide us with certain basic information, including
(i) First and Last Name,
(ii) Email Address,
(iii) Home Or Business Address,
(iv) Telephone Number or Mobile Number,
(v) Username,
(vi) Cultural or social identifiers,
(vii) Date of birth,
(viii) Gender,
(ix) Religious or cultural holidays celebrated,
(x) Online identifiers (account name/password)
(xi) Payment data, credit card, debit card,
(xii) Bank information
(xiii) Web analytics other information that could reasonably be used to identify you personally or identify your household (hereinafter, “Personal Information”); and/or
(xiv) Demographic information, such as your country, state, or county of residence or business operation (“Demographic Information”).
In addition to the basic information above, we may require the following additional information only if you ask us to perform certain Services which require the collection of data to fulfill the requested task. This list is not exhaustive and will depend on the Services requested:
(i) Social Security number,
(ii) Driver’s license,
(iii) Passport number,
(iv) Employment data,
(v) Academic information such as schools attended, dates of attendance, degree
(vii) health insurance details, -
(viii) other medical information
Please note that by providing us with this type of personal health information (“PHI”), you represent that you have the right to provide this information. You also understand that we are not a covered entity for purposes of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and its related regulations set forth in Parts 160, 162, and 164 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations (collectively, “HIPAA”).
(vii) Other personal data relevant to the particular task requested
When you apply to become a copilot, we may ask you to provide the following information:
(i) Your First and Last Name,
(ii) Email Address,
(iii) Home Or Business Address,
(iv) Telephone number or mobile number,
(v) Employment History,
(vi) Social Security Number,
(vii) Payment account information, and
(viii) References as necessary to consider your application for open co-pilot positions.
In all instances, your decision to provide us with information is voluntary, but if you choose not to provide any requested information, you may not be able to take advantage of all of the Site’s features or our Services or obtain placement and payment as a co-pilot.
In addition to information that you choose to submit to us, we and/or our service providers may automatically collect and/or store certain information when you visit or interact with the Site (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may be stored and/or accessed from your personal computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or other device (a “Device”) whenever you visit or interact with our Site. Usage Information may include:
• Your IP address, IDFA, Android/Google Advertising ID, IMEI, or another unique identifier.
• Your Device functionality (including browser, browser language, operating system, hardware, mobile network information).
• Referring and exit web pages and URLs;
• The areas within our Site that you visit and your activities there, including remembering you and your preferences;
• Your Device location or other geolocation information, including the zip code, state or country from which you accessed the Services;
• Your Device characteristics; and
• Certain other Device data, including the time of day you visit our Site.
We may use various methods and technologies to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). Tracking Technologies may set, change, alter or modify settings or configurations on your Device. A few of the Tracking Technologies used on the Site), include, but are not limited to, the following (as well as future-developed tracking technology or methods that are not listed here):
• Cookies. A cookie is a file placed on a Device to uniquely identify your browser or to store information on your Device. Our Site may use HTTP cookies, HTML5 cookies, Flash cookies and other types of cookie technology to store information on local storage. We may use cookies for tracking purposes.
• Web Beacons. A Web Beacon is a small tag (which may be invisible to you) that may be placed on our Site’s pages and messages. We may use web beacons for tracking purposes.
• Embedded Scripts. An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Site, such as the links you click on.
• ETag, or entity tag. An Etag or entity tag is a feature of the cache in browsers. It is an opaque identifier assigned by a web server to a specific version of a resource found at a URL.
• Browser Fingerprinting. Collection and analysis of information from your Device, such as, without limitation, your operating system, plug-ins, system fonts and other data, for purposes of identification.
• Recognition Technologies. Technologies, including application of statistical probability to data sets, which attempt to recognize or make assumptions about users and devices (e.g., that a user of multiple devices is the same user).
We may use Tracking Technologies for a variety of purposes, including:
• To allow you to use and access the Site, including for the prevention of fraudulent activity and improved security functionality;
• To assess the performance of the Site, including as part of our analytic practices or otherwise to improve the content, products or services offered through the Site;
• To offer you enhanced functionality when accessing the Site, including identifying you when you sign into our Site or keeping track of your specified preferences or to track your online activities over time and across third-party sites; and· To deliver content relevant to your interests on our Site and third‑party sites based on how you interact with our content.
To learn more about how to opt out of Google’s use of the Google analytics cookies, visit here [https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout].
We use Google’s Calendar API for scheduling (creating/updating/deleting events on your behalf) as well as suggesting relevant tasks based on previous calendar events. Use of the Google Calendar API will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy including the Limited Use requirements.
Meta and LinkedIn Tracking Pixels. For website visitors only, we use tracking pixels provided by Meta and LinkedIn. These may collect your IP address and use that information to provide targeted ads based on your interests. The information use and privacy practices of these third parties are described in those third party’s privacy policies and cookies notices, not this Privacy Policy and are not within our control. Please see https://www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy and https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/ for more information.
We do not use these tracking pixels on the mobile app.
You can also visit your browser’s help menu for more information on managing cookies, as the process may vary.
The Site and Services may include functionality that allows certain kinds of interactions between the Site and your account on a third-party website or application. The use of this functionality may involve the third-party site providing information to us. For example, we may provide links on the Site to facilitate sending a communication from the Site. These third parties may retain any information used or provided in any such communications or activities and these third parties’ practices are not subject to our Privacy Policy. We may not control or have access to your communications through these third parties. Further, when you use third-party sites or services, you are using their services and not our services and they, not we, are responsible for their practices. You should read the applicable third-party privacy policies before using such third-party tools on our Site.
In addition, we may collect information about you from other sources, including consumer credit reporting agencies and social media networks. We may also obtain information about you from marketers and market research firms. We may combine the information we collect from third parties with information that we have collected from you or through your use of the Services.
We may obtain information about your location to provide customized Services, content, and other information that may be of interest to you. If you no longer wish for us or our service providers to collect and use location information, you may disable the location features on your Device. Consult your Device manufacturer settings for instructions. Please note that if you disable such features, your ability to access certain features, Services, content or products may be limited or disabled.
We may use your Personal Information for various purposes, including:
• Responding to requests for information,
• Fulfilling your requests for services,
• Sending you nudges with respect to purchases or services you have requested,
• Verifying your identity and for fraud prevention,
• Creating accounts,
• Processing your payments,
• Evaluating your co-pilot application if you have applied for a position as a co-pilot,
• Providing you with updates and information about services we provide,
• Creating user preferences regarding emails and other correspondence,
• Sending you marketing information about Duckbill and our affiliated entities,
• Sending you email and text communications such as electronic newsletters about our Services and events which may be of interest to you,
• Improving the effectiveness of our Site, our marketing endeavors, and our product and service offerings,
• Helping us address problems with and improve our Site and our products and services, including testing and creating new products, features, and services,
• Protecting the security and integrity of the Site, including understanding and resolving any technical and security issues reported on our Site,
• Resolving disputes,
• Engaging in analysis, research, and reports regarding the use of our Site and Services,
• For internal business purposes and our legitimate interests.
• Complying with the law and protecting the safety, rights, property or security of Duckbill, the Services, and the general public, and
• For purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy.
We may disclose your Personal Information in the following circumstances:
(a) To Third Parties Providing Services to Duckbill. We may use third-party service providers to perform certain services on behalf of us or the Site or Services, such as:
(i) creating and updating Site functionality;
(ii) billing or processing credit cards, and/or electronic or manual payments;
(iii) assisting us in Site operations;
(iv) managing a database of customer and consumer information;
(v) hosting the Site and improving performance of the Sites;
(vi) designing and/or operating the Site’s features;
(vii) providing and engaging co-pilots to perform certain functions;
(viii) tracking the Site’s activities and analytics, including marketing and market research;
(ix) data enhancement (to learn more about our customers);
(x) enabling us to send you special offers or perform other administrative services, such as customer service, security, tech, operational support, email and legal services; and
(xi) other services designed to assist us in maximizing our business potential.
We may provide these vendors with access to user information to carry out the services they are performing for you or for us. Those vendors may have additional or different privacy policies and/or privacy notices. You should be sure that you read and agree to those policies and Terms.
We currently use the following third-party service providers :
• Squarespace for hosting and website administration
• Heroku for web hosting
• Stripe for payment processing
• Zendesk for customer support and communications
Additional service providers may be added from time to time and are available on request from Duckbill.
(b) To Protect the Rights of Duckbill and Others. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we may also disclose your information when required to by law or if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety or property of Duckbill, its affiliates, third parties or the general public; (ii) comply with legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or court orders); or (iii) to respond to claims that any content violates the rights of a third party. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud prevention, spam/malware protection, and other similar purposes. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we have complete discretion in electing to make or not make such disclosures, and to contest or not contest any requests for such disclosures, all without notice to you.
(c ) In connection with a Business Transfer. We also reserve the right to disclose and transfer all information: (i) to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of the Site and/or our Services; or (ii) in connection with a merger, consolidation, restructuring, the sale of substantially all of our interests and/or assets or other corporate change, including during any due diligence process.
(d) To Co-Pilots and Affiliates of Duckbill. We may provide information to co-pilots and affiliates of Duckbill and nonaffiliated third parties who perform services or functions for us in conjunction with our services to you, but only if we have a contractual agreement with the other party which prohibits them from disclosing or using the information other than for the purposes for which it was disclosed. Some of these co-pilots may not be located in the United States.
(e) On the Basis of Consent. Where you provide consent, we share your information as described at the time of consent, such as when authorizing a third-party application or website to access your Duckbill account or participating in promotional activities by Duckbill partners or third parties.
(f) Marketing. Finally, we also may share your information, including your Personal Information, with our affiliates and other third parties, such as companies with whom we have marketing or other relationships, for direct marketing purposes. (If you are a California resident, you have the right to request additional information regarding the “sale” of your information. Please see the Section entitled “Privacy Notice for California Residents” below about these rights.) In addition, we may share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, as disclosed at the time you provide your information and as described in this Privacy Policy
(g) For Internal Business Processes and Promotion. Where permissible under applicable law, we may use certain information about you, such as your email address, de-identify it, and share it with social media platforms, to generate leads, drive traffic to Duckbill, or otherwise promote our products and services.
We may aggregate, de-identify, and/or anonymize any information collected through the Site or Services such that such information is no longer linked to your personally identifiable information. We may use and share this aggregated and anonymized information (non-Personal Information) for any purpose, including without limitation, for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with our affiliates and third parties, including advertisers, promotional partners and others.
You may see certain ads on our Site because we participate in advertising networks administered by third parties. These networks track your online activities over time and across third party websites and online services by collecting information through automated means, including through the use of the Tracking Technologies described above, and they use this information to show you advertisements that are tailored to your individual interests. The information they collect includes information about your visits to our Site(s), such as the pages you have viewed. This collection and ad targeting takes place both on our Site(s) and on third-party websites that participate in the ad network. This process also helps us track the effectiveness of our communications and marketing efforts.
As described above, we may also use Tracking Technologies, such as our own cookies, to provide you with personalized online display advertising tailored to your interests. We and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie and Google Marketing Platform) to report how your ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are vital to visits to our Site.
To learn more about how to opt out of Google’s use of the Google analytics cookies, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout]. If you would like more information about behavioral advertising practices, go to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s WebChoices tool at www.aboutads.info. To learn about your choices in connection with these practices on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Policy, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices and http://www.aboutads.info/choices. You may also click on the informational icon contained within each interest-based ad. We do not control these opt-out links or whether any particular company chooses to participate in these opt-out programs. We are not responsible for any choices you make using these mechanisms or the continued availability or accuracy of these mechanisms.
Please note that even if you exercise the opt-out choices above, you may continue to receive advertisements, for example, ads based on the particular website you are viewing (e.g., contextually based ads). Also, if your browser (like some Safari browsers) is configured to reject opt-out cookies when you opt out on the DAA or NAI websites, your opt-out may not be effective.
You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your Personal Information In the following ways:
• Whenever you are asked to fill in a form on our website or our other Services, consider what information to include and exclude.
• We may provide you with access to your registration information and the ability to edit this information in your account settings dashboard and profile pages. Please be aware that even after you delete or update information within our Services, we may not immediately delete residual copies from our active servers and may not remove information from our backup systems. Similarly, if and to the extent any information is indexable by search engines (including, without limitation, public profile information), it may not be updated by such search engines when we update it, and old versions may be archived by them or by third parties outside our control.
• Some of our Services may provide you with additional information and choices about your privacy, which you should review.
• If you have previously agreed to our using your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to us using the contact information below.
We will try to comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable.
Administrative Correspondence. Please also note that if you do opt-out of receiving marketing-related emails from us, we may still send you messages for administrative or other purposes directly relating to your use of the Services, and you cannot opt-out from receiving those messages until you cancel your account.
Duckbill will retain Your Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies. Generally, Personal information is stored encrypted on Heroku servers in the United States.
• Duckbill will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of the Service, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.
Our Services use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools (“AI”) in many ways. We use AI to help perform the Services requested, build new features, improve the Site and Services and provide new services to users.
Protecting children’s privacy is important to us. For that reason, no part of our Site is targeted to attract anyone under the age of 13. We may collect information of children under the age of 13 when their parent or guardian provides it to us for a particular purpose. For example, you may be able to add to their contact list a minor under 13 years of age that may include their personal information such as an address, school, preferences, allergies, clothing size, and date of birth or other information relative to the Services requested. . However, we do not solicit this information from the child directly.
Duckbill also complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and if you believe we have information regarding a child under the age of 16 that you have not authorized, you may contact us at the contact information at the end of this Privacy Policy to request that we delete it.
If you are a Nevada resident, you have the right to request certain information from us regarding the collection and sale of your personal information (as defined in Nevada Revised Statutes 603A.320) during your visit to our websites or when you otherwise interact with us online. If you have sought or acquired, by purchase or lease, any goods or services for personal, family, or household purposes from the Duckbill Site, you may ask us to disclose whether we have sold (for monetary consideration) certain information about you (including your first and last name, physical address, email address, telephone number, social security number, an identifier that allows you to be contacted either physically or online, or other contact information that allows us to identify you personally).
As a Nevada resident, you may also request to opt out of us sharing such information about you. To make this inquiry, please submit a request in writing to privacy@getduckbill.com with “Nevada Privacy Rights” in the subject line. You must include your full name, email address, and attest that you are a Nevada resident by providing a Nevada postal address in your request. Please state whether you are requesting information and/or opting out.
We will process your request within 60 days] , or we will let you know if we need additional time. We may require additional information to verify your identity before we can respond.
Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a web browser setting that requests that a web application disable its tracking of an individual user. When you choose to turn on the DNT setting in your browser, your browser sends a special signal to websites, analytics companies, ad networks, plug in providers, and other web services you encounter while browsing to stop tracking your activity. Various third parties are developing or have developed signals or other mechanisms for the expression of consumer choice regarding the collection of information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services (e.g., browser do not track signals), but there is no universally-agreed upon standard for what a company should do when it detects a DNT signal. Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to these signals or other mechanisms. You can learn more about Do Not Track at https://allaboutdnt.com]
If you are visiting the Site from a location outside of the U.S., your connection will be through and to servers located in the U.S. All information you receive from the Site will be created on servers located in the U.S., and all information you provide will be maintained on web servers and systems located within the U.S. The data protection laws in the United States may differ from those of the country in which you are located, and your information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By using the Site or providing us with any information, you consent to the transfer to, and processing, usage, sharing and storage of your information in the United States and in other countries, as set forth in this Privacy Policy.
We prefer to keep your Personal Information accurate and up to date. If you would like to change your contact information, please contact us at privacy@getduckbill.com
If so, we will make good faith efforts to make requested changes in our then active databases as soon as reasonably practicable (but we may retain prior information as business records). Please note that it is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your information from our databases and that residual data may remain on backup media or for other reasons, such as a legitimate business reason.
In addition, please note that if you implement a deletion request but later sign up for information or Services, your most recent request will control our information relationship with you.
For your convenience, the Site(s) and this Privacy Policy may contain links to other websites. Duckbill is not responsible for the privacy practices, advertising, products, services, or the content of such other websites. None of the links on the Site(s) should be deemed to imply that Duckbill endorses or has any affiliation with the links.
We incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure your Personal Information. However, no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission, or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to or from our Site, and you provide us with your information at your own risk.
Because Duckbill works with global companies and technologies, we may transfer your Personal Information outside of the country in which it was originally provided. This may include transfers to third parties, such as co-pilots located outside the United States, developers, service providers or affiliated entities who are located outside the United States or the European Union, where data protection laws may not offer the same level of protection as those in the U.S., E.U. or European Economic Area (“EEA”). When we transfer personal data outside of these areas, we take steps to make sure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your Personal Information. Our transfers of your personal data outside of the E.U. are safeguarded by data processing agreements (“DPAs”) incorporating Standard Contractual Clauses. You may request a copy of the relevant portions of such agreements by contacting us at privacy@getduckbill.com. Please include the nature of your request in the subject line.
Duckbill will send text messages to anticipate and educate on different tasks that are timely and relevant that include reminders for upcoming holidays, travel, shopping, scheduling and event planning as well as send updates related to submitted task requests. Message frequency varies.
You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text "STOP" to the short code. After You send the SMS message "STOP" to Duckbill, we will send You an SMS message to confirm that You have been unsubscribed. After this, You will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If You want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time and Duckbill will start sending SMS messages to You again.
If You are experiencing issues with the messaging program You can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or You can get help directly at support@getduckbill.com.
Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to You from Duckbill and to Duckbill from You. You will receive Variable number of messages sent at unpredictable intervals. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.
If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our privacy policy: https://www.getduckbill.com/privacy
If you have questions or concerns with respect to our Privacy Policy, you may contact us at privacy@getduckbill.com. We may elect to change or amend our Privacy Policy; in such event, we will post the policy changes in our Privacy Policy on the Site and send you an email indicating that the terms have changed. Changes will be effective on the date posted. If you are concerned about how your Personal Information is used, please visit our Site often for this and other important announcements and updates.
Contact Us
You may contact us in any of the following manners:
EMAIL: privacy@getduckbill.com
John C adds:
Google has released several AI models: Gemini, Bert, T5-FLAN, PaLM, LaMDA, Alpha GO and related Alpha AI models.
Avoid these and their related AIs because we know how good Google is at collecting personal information.
I use you.com, which does include a couple of Google’s AIs, but I stick to Anthropic and OpenAI models.
Apple’s AI is developed in-house, and probably using some version of OpenAI ChatGPT as a base. Apple’s AI is comparable to Google’s Gemini. To use Apple Intelligence, your device must have an M1 or later SOC chip to support all features. iPhones with iOS 11 or above and Macs with High Sierra or above can use some features of Apple Intelligence even without an SOC chip.
Using an AI to search the web or gather information is preferable to using a Google search. Some models have an option to exclude access to the web, but that relies on data sources that you supply. This is useful if you want to create your own material without being influenced by web data (which could include false data).
Jeff B adds:
And speaking of privacy, if you happen to still have a PC laying around, check for the latest Windows 11 update (Version 24H2). It contains a feature called Recall. This “feature” (better known as spyware) takes continuous screen shots of what you are doing so, in the event you lose track of something done previously, the system can remind you. That’s what Microsoft says anyway.
So, screen shots such as websites, credit card entries, banking services, medical sites, etc are now all available to Gates & Co and whoever wants to hack into it.
There is a way to disable it. You access into the system at the terminal (admin) level and enter a command string to disable it.
I did this for my trading computer and all is well. It is vital we all stay alert and informed.
John C adds:
The following is a transcript portion of a keynote presentation by Julia McCoy at an AI Bot Summit this month:
"Your soul is God's divine gift. No machine will ever replicate it. Our job isn't to resist Al - it's to command it to handle the mundane so our souls can soar.
You are not being replaced.
You are being UNLEASHED.
Let Al handle the ordinary,
While you become EXTRAORDINARY.
This is not the end of human potential.
This is its LIBERATION."
......
If you take one thing away, let it be this: The gap between Al adopters and non-adopters isn't growing gradually - it's about to become an unbridgeable canyon.
The question isn't whether you'll transform.
The question is whether you'll lead the transformation, or be left behind.
What this means is that by the end of 2025 businesses will either operate at AI speed or not at all.
Computer users can either embrace or ignore AI tools as they wish. Those who embrace AI tools will obviously enjoy more benefits.
Reference: http://youtube.com/post/UgkxelB6jAtkEFt1pOINGyt0IdR3upPLmt_N?si=qCZNPAmQ3ue-340P
From Make Use of by way of Jim H
After years of using Windows 11, I never imagined I'd make the switch. However, macOS offers several thoughtful features that have made a noticeable difference in my day-to-day use. Here's a look at the macOS features that convinced me to ditch my Windows laptop for good.
Read: https://www.makeuseof.com/macos-features-made-me-ditch-windows-11/
Jim H has the following iPhone tip for you, but of course you already do this! Right?...☺️
Hi, my fellow tech aficionado! Let's kickstart this year with a tech tip that might give you déjà vu: Reboot your phone! This simple step clears the RAM, speeds up things, prevents overheating, triggers updates and even stops certain types of malware in its tracks. Now, so you don’t forget to do this, set a reminder in your calendar app to reboot your phone once a week. Good job!
From Jim H
Think you know Apple's iOS inside out? There's plenty more to uncover with our huge collection of expert tricks and tweaks to help unlock your iPhone's full potential.
Check out https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/iphone-tips-tricks-ios-secret-expert for tips and tricks.
from John C
Google Studio AI is positioned now to generate presentations for learning how to do, well, ANYTHING! (Not necessary to view the following video link. Provided as reference.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V071WADbNg
In the near future, Studio AI (and others) just might be embedded in some apps so that the user can ask for a live demonstration on how to do something with that app. Apple should be working on this right now. I am already using AI to provide information and research suggestions for a variety of topics.
Studio AI is a multimodal AI (talk to it, give it images, videos, text files, and it will return audio, images, videos, and text files as appropriate). It is freaky to think that I can talk to my computer and have it talk back and show me videos and images. This is Siri on steroids, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Siri rises to that capability real soon.
AI has successfully written complete books based on source material provided. Hence, there’s no excuse now to not write that book you have been researching for years. In fact, you can use AI to do the research for you. What this means is that anyone can now create books on subjects of interest and never have to buy another book and still be able to share their results for those who do not have the resources or inclination to do the same for themselves.
And now Google is announcing Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). This means it will be capable of reasoning like a human mind and be autonomous in making decisions and giving suggestions. Combine that with Google’s newest quantum chip and there won’t be any problem that can’t be solved in minutes instead of years. Of course, quantum computing might not be available to the public - for a very long time.’
I think that we should be teaching our members how to use AI as a general purpose tool for getting answers to questions. There are also over a dozen different AI models to choose from, each with pros and cons for different purposes. So knowing which AI to use for a given purpose is also very important. I currently pay for the annual subscription to you.com which gives me Pro access (unlimited) to a majority of AI models, and more are being added every month.
Seriously, using AI does not require any special skills other than knowing what question to ask, and AI can even assist in preparing a prompt. The main concern is in knowing how to protect your privacy when using AI. For instance, don’t ask it to do your taxes or to keep your financial or other personal records. However, this can be done if and only if you have a personal AI on your computer and the computer is not connected to the Internet and has no means of doing so. In line with this, I had AI write the following proposal:
Dear Members of the Board,
I am writing to propose an exciting addition to our Mac computer club's educational programming: incorporating artificial intelligence training into our curriculum. As we've witnessed AI tools become increasingly integrated into our daily computing experiences, particularly on Mac systems, I believe our members would greatly benefit from structured guidance in this emerging field.
Why AI Training Matters for Our Members
Professional and Personal Development
- Members can enhance their productivity using AI-powered tools already integrated into macOS.
- Learning AI applications provides valuable skills for getting the most out of their devices.
- Understanding AI helps members stay engaged in an evolving digital landscape.
Educational Benefits
- Members can learn to use AI tools for research and learning.
- AI can assist with content creation, writing, and problem-solving.
- Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can serve as personal tutors in various subjects.
Practical Applications
- Photo and video editing enhancement using AI-powered tools.
- Document summarization and organization.
- Coding assistance and automation of routine tasks.
- Creative projects and digital art creation.
Implementation Proposal
I suggest we begin with monthly workshops covering:
1. Introduction to AI concepts and tools compatible with Mac systems.
2. Hands-on training with popular AI platforms.
3. Best practices for AI safety and ethical usage.
4. Integration of AI tools with existing Mac workflows.
The investment would be minimal, primarily requiring time from knowledgeable members who can lead sessions, and AI can be used to develop all necessary presentations. This can be done as a Zoom only workshop.
Expected Outcomes
By incorporating AI training, our club will:
- Attract new members interested in cutting-edge technology.
- Provide additional value to existing members.
- Position our club as a forward-thinking organization.
- Create a community of informed AI users.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this proposal in detail at your next board meeting. Together, we can ensure our club remains relevant and valuable in this rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Best regards,
John Carter Sr.