A clever Google Maps trick you’ll be very glad to know about if you travel
As I was prepping for our family vacation to Iceland, I found myself searching for information about cellular signals — not so I can check my email while I’m gone, but so I can use Google Maps. While I found several posts that assured me my service...
iPhone trick: How to lock and password-protect notes in your Notes app.
Raise your hand if you know how to lock your notes on the Notes app on your iPhone. And now…here’s me not raising my hands.Honestly, I never even realized you could do it at all! So leave it to my 11-year-old daughter to show me a cool iPhone tip I...
5 free parental controls for cable TV that you may not know about
One of parents’ biggest concerns about kids today, is the access they have to inappropriate content. Parents are often asking us for parental control devices, services and apps to help them moderate what kids’ can see and keep them safe. And there are...
Blue light filtering glasses: The one back-to-school item you probably haven’t thought to buy. Yet.
If you’re like us, you’re deep into back-to-school shopping, but there’s probably one purchase you might not have thought of yet: children’s blue-light filtering glasses. Blue light from our computers, iPads, and every other device we have...
Burst mode is the iPhone camera feature every parent should be using.
With some of us still in summer vacation mode, and others of us heading back to school, the one thing we all have in common is that we’re taking a crapload of photos of our kids. I realize we do this every day out of the year, but vacation and school time seem...
The one battery-saving iPhone feature you might not be using.
There is a chance that you’ve seen your iPhone ask you to turn on Low Power Mode when it gets to 20% battery life, but what you might not have known is that you can toggle it on and off manually when you’re out and about to help you save battery. This way,...
How to post photos from your Instagram Feed to your Instagram Story
If you spend any time on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen feed photos popping up in Instagram Stories. And no, I’m not talking about screenshots! Finally, you can post clickable photos from public feeds (either yours or someone else’s if you want...
Did you know your screen time could be causing skin damage? Ack!
I’ve become extremely diligent about using a moisturizer with an SPF that I slather all over my face and hands on a daily basis, but I had absolutely no idea that staring into my phone and computer could be causing skin damage. Well, that’s what...
Did you know you can request what movies and TV shows you want on Netflix?
Thanks to comedian Chelsea Peretti, Netflix is about to get a whole lot of movie and TV requests. She recently discovered a link on the Netflix site that allows you to submit your suggestions for what you’d like to see offered. Related: These secret Netflix...
Yes, it’s true. Amazon’s Alexa has been recording your conversations.
So, we were all a little freaked out about the story that an Amazon Echo had recorded a private conversation in a user’s home, then sent that conversation to someone else. Because, oof. Beyond embarrassing, this is a major privacy breakdown on Alexa’s...
The best way to sign-off on your emails. Hint: It’s not “best.”
Back a couple of years ago, Liz and I addressed our email pet peeves in one of our first Spawned podcast episodes. It was actually Episode 4, to be exact. Aw. Sniffle! Well, apparently, the debate about how to sign-off on your emails is back, except now, with actual...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz
We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.
We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.
We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.
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