'Mewing,' 'Sigma,' and Other Gen Z and Gen Alpha Slang You Might Need Help Decoding

It’s been a minute since Lifehacker looked at the slang of Generation Z—long enough that Generation Alpha has had time to develop and spread some of its own special buzzwords and jargon. Below is an alphabetized collection of slang taken from both Gen Z and Gen A, in case someone younger than you says something you don't understand. As with all slang, if you need an online list to know what a word means, you are too old to say it aloud.

304: Hoe. (Type "304" on a calculator and turn it upside down.)

4+4: Ate. Four plus four is eight, or "ate." (See "ate")

Alpha male: Taken from animal ethology, an alpha male is the dominant member of a group of males, or just a male who is in charge. (See "beta male" and "sigma male.")

Ate/eat: Done very well, often regarding clothing. e.g.: "You ate that outfit." See also: "serving."

Aura: Someone who is mysterious and cool is said to "have aura."

Baddie: A bad/wild girl. Meant as a compliment.

Baka: Japanese word meaning “crazy" or “foolish.” Used mainly in the anime community.

Based: Independent in a cool way.

Bed-rotting: Staying in bed all day. You may know it as “lazing around.” See also: "Hurkle-durkle."

Beta male: A beta male, or just "beta," is a weaker, subservient male. (See "alpha male" and "sigma male")

Bop: A girl who sleeps around. Also: a great song.

Boysober: Someone who has sworn off sex, relationships, and/or dating.

Brain-rot: A description of the overuse of stupid slang. See also: “Skibidi.” Also used to describe the effects of being overly online.

Brat: The contemporary meaning of "brat" is an adjective describing a person who is edgy, imperfect, and confident. It was coined by pop star Charli XCX who defined it as "that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown."

Bruzz: Bros. Part of the -uzz family of slang words. See "Huzz" and "-uzz"

Bubba truck: A lifted or otherwise modified pick-up truck.

Bussin': Very good or excellent.

Cap: A lie. Often used to say "no cap."

Cake: Butt, especially a nice butt.

Chad: An attractive man; an “alpha male.” See "Giga-Chad."

Chat: A reference to streamers addressing their chat windows aloud. Saying “chat” in real life is an ironic joke. 

Chud: A physically unappealing person. Sometimes used for a man who holds right wing views.

Coomer: A man who masturbates too often.

Corn: “Corn” is algo-speak that means “porn.” Used in online spaces where the word might cause your account to be flagged or banned. 

Coworker-core: A catch-all description for things that are unfunny or uninteresting in a way that appeals to older people.

Dead: Past tense of having died laughing. If someone responds to a joke with "dead" or a skull emoji, they find it funny.

Deadass: Seriously. Used like, "I am deadass not lying."

Delulu: Delusional.

Doomer: A person who is overly negative and/or cynical.

Drip: A fashionable or stylish look.

Edgar: A variation of the Caesar haircut worn especially among Hispanic males. Also refers to the kind of person who wears the haircut. 

Fanum tax: The theft of food between friends. Named for streamer Fanum, known for “taxing” his friends by taking bites of their meals or stealing fries. 

Fax, no printer: Telling the truth, since "fax and "facts" are pronounced the same. It's a colorful way of saying "facts, no cap."

Fent-fold: A description of the bent-over posture of people nodding on heavy drugs.

Fit: Short for "outfit."

Fuhuhluhtoogan: Supposedly from Baltimore slang, this is a nonsense word used so people will ask what it means but never receive an answer. Often paired with "Jittleyang."

Gamer dent: The temporary indentation left on someone’s hair or skin after wearing headphones for too long.

Geeker: Someone who uses a lot of drugs.

Giga-Chad: A Chad among Chads.

Glaze: To overly praise someone, often insincerely, or with the hope of getting something in return.

Gleek: An older slang term that is gaining prominence lately, gleeking describes squirting saliva from under the tongue.

Glizzy: Hot dog. "Glizzy" was originally slang for Glock or gun, but came to mean hot dog based on the hot dog shape of a Glock's magazine.

Green fn: An interjection one might used when someone does something cool or impressive. Often used ironically. 

Gooning: Extended masturbation without orgasm done for the purpose of entering an altered state of consciousness.

Gyatt or Gyat: Once an interjection used when seeing someone sexy, like “god-DAMN,” “gyatt” has come to mean “attractive booty.”

Hewwo: An overly cute way of saying "hello." Usually used online, and often ironically.

HGS: Abbreviation for "home girls" used in comment sections.

Hurkle-durkle: Based on an archaic Scottish word, “hurkle-durkle” means to lounge in bed after it is time to get up. See also: “bed-rotting."

Huzz: -uzz slang for "hoes." See "bruzz" and "-uzz."

"It's giving": Used to convey that something has a specific vibe. Example: "That dude texts you every 10 minutes; it's giving desperate."

"It's so over": The situation is hopeless. The opposite of "we're so back." See also: "Doomer."

Jelqing: The use of stretching or weights in an attempt to increase penis size.

Jit: A kid. Used ironically online.

Jittleyang: Supposedly from Baltimore slang, this is a nonsense word used so people will ask what it means but never receive an answer. See also: "Fuhuhluhtoogan."

JOMO: A play on FOMO (fear of missing out) JOMO is an acronym that stands for “joy of missing out.”

"Learn Chinese": Sports slang directed at failing players. They are in danger of being sent to play in China, so they should "learn Chinese."

Looksmaxxing: Maximizing one’s physical attractiveness through personal grooming, working out, and dressing stylishly. See also: “-maxxing.”

-maxxing: A suffix used with any word to indicate trying to improve. Seeing your friends could be called "friendmaxxing," working out could be called "gymmaxxing," making jokes could be called "jestermaxxing," etc.

Mid: Average, bland, expected.

Mewing: A facial exercise meant to strengthen the jawline.

Mirror sex: Using a mirror to watch yourself have sex.

Mog: To be more attractive than someone, usually in an intentional or aggressive way. Example: "I was rizzing up this girl, but he walked in and totally mogged me."

Neurospicy: A different way of saying “neuro-divergent.”

NPC: Non-player character. Originally describing video game characters, NPC is now used on the internet to mean people who don't think for themselves.

Opp: Short for "opposition." Someone who is out to get you. An enemy.

Pink cocaine: Also known as "pink snow," pink cocaine is slang for a powdered drug mixture that usually contains some combination of ketamine, MDMA, meth, opioids, and other substances.

Pole: A gun. See "up pole."

"Press F for respect:" In 2014 video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfighter, the player attends a funeral and a prompt is given that reads "Press F to pay respects." Now, a singular "F" in a chat window indicates respect. It's usually ironic.

Regarded: “Regarded” is algo-speak for “retarded."

Rizz: As a noun, "rizz" means charisma. As a verb, "rizz" or "rizz up" means attracting someone with your charisma.

Serve: Wearing a particularly stylish outfit. See also: "ate."

Serve cunt: To act in a powerfully and unapologetically feminine way; to slay.

Sigma male: An internet-created male classification, a "sigma male" is as dominant as an alpha male, but is outside the male hierarchy, i.e.: a lone wolf. Originally used seriously, the concept was so widely derided it's now almost always used ironically. (See "Alpha male" and "Beta male.")

Skibidi: Named after “Skibidi Toilet,” a popular series of YouTube videos, “skibidi” itself has no specific meaning, beyond ridiculing the overuse of slang itself. See “brain-rot.”

Skrt: Onomatopoetic word for the sound of tires squealing upon acceleration.

Sweat: A person who tries too hard, usually used in reference to video games. The adjective form is "sweaty."

Spawn point: Mother. Based on the spot you start in a video game.

Spoopy: Spooky.

Striker: Stolen/no-title car.

Tradwife: Believer in traditional married gender roles.

Treatler (and Treatlerite): "Treatler" and "Treatlerite" are online insults that combine "treat" and "Hitler" to refer to entitled users of services like Doordash or Uber Eats who regard luxury delivery services as a human right, and don't consider the hardships of the people who do the work that makes "private taxis for burritos" possible.

TS: TS originally was AAVE shorthand for "this shit," but it is often used to just mean "this."

Turnt: Excited or intoxicated, or excitedly intoxicated.

Unc: Short for "uncle," used to describe slightly older people. Example: "The class of 2024 are unc-status to the class of 2028." See "yunc."

-uzz: -uzz slang words use "uzz" at the end of any word, so "bros" becomes "bruzz," "hoes" becomes "huzz," "granny" becomes "gruzz," etc.

Up pole: To raise a gun.

Twelve: Police.

Twin: Best friend.

"We're so back": Opposite of "it's so over."

Wojack: The name of a style of internet drawings used to quickly stereotype someone. See this post for a full explanation of the Wojak universe.

Yapping: Describes a presentational style often seen on online streams of talking a lot and/or quickly while not saying anything worthwhile.

Yeet: To quickly and/or forcibly eject.

Yunc: Yunc is a variation of "unc." In AAVE, a "yn" is a "young n-word." So "yunc" means something like "young uncle," or a person who may be young but has uncle vibes or unc status.

Zoomer Perm: A curly on top, short on the sides haircut popular among young people. 

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This Experimental Google Feature Lets You Send Robocalls to Local Businesses

Usually, it’s the businesses that are behind robocalls, but if you work at a nail salon or an auto repair shop, get ready for customers to start sending hordes of AI Karens your way.

Google’s latest experimental AI feature, available to those who sign up for “Ask for me” on Google Search Labs, is aiming to be a sort of personal AI secretary for you. Once enabled, it’ll pop up an “Ask for me” button under certain searches, promising to call local shops for you to help you figure out availability, service costs, and the like.

Clicking the “Ask for me” button will take you to a form, where you’ll fill out, for example, the make and model of your car, what services you need, and when you can come in. Google will then canvass local shops (there doesn’t seem to be an option to send a call only to a specific shop) and then email or text you back with results.

On their end, business owners will hear a message at the start of every call indicating that it’s an automated system calling on behalf of a potential customer, Google spokesperson Craig Ewer told The Verge.

If that sounds annoying, business owners can opt out, either within their Google Business Profile settings or by simply telling the AI not to call them back. For those that decide to humor the robocalls, Ewer told The Verge that Google is doing its best to ensure businesses don’t get overloaded with calls, and will use information collected from prior calls to help answer future ones without bothering an employee.

Over on X, Google product lead Rose Yao said Ask for me is powered by Duplex, an existing Google feature that (mostly) uses AI to make reservations on your behalf, but it’s more geared towards research than actually booking anything. As it’s still experimental, it’s limited to nail salons and auto shops for now, though it could presumably expand in the future.

As someone with social anxiety, I can see the surface level appeal here, although I’m not sure I’d ever want to commit the sin of making someone else talk to a robot.

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Watch Out for This 'Chrome Update' Scam

Software updates are important and inevitable. To expand features and patch existing security issues, you need to update your apps and machines. If you avoid updating, you might find certain programs, functions, or even websites stop working as they should.

However, if you visit a website, and you see a prompt to update Chrome in order to proceed, run away. In all likelihood, you just encountered a scam. Don't fall for it.

WordPress sites are getting hacked

The scam in question is targeting WordPress websites—10,000 of them, in fact. That's according to c/side, a web security company, whose research uncovered the current attacks.

Here's what's going on: Hackers are hijacking sites that are running outdated versions of WordPress and plugins. (c/side hypothesizes attackers are exploiting a vulnerability in a particular WordPress plugin to execute their schemes.) Attackers are using two types of "popular" malware variants: AMOS (Atomic macOS Stealer), which goes after Apple devices, and SocGholish, which is designed for Windows devices.

When you visit one of these affected websites, hackers override the actual content of the site with a new, fake page. This manipulated content purports to be an alert that you need to update your browser in order to visit this site, as the page uses "the new chromium engine." The hackers sprinkle in a few different elements on this page to sell the scam, including two different update options, a check box to sign up or automatic usage stats and crash reports, and links to Google's, Chrome's, and ChromeOS' Terms of Service. You'll also see a Chrome logo, different menu options, and a rendering of a Chrome window.

Credit: c/side

These hackers are more clever than most. To an untrained eye, this alert page might look quite real. There are some red flags, of course: The hackers don't have the best grip on grammar, and haven't capitalized "Chromium," or the first word in "by downloading Chrome." You also wouldn't expect to see Google use a comma between "The site uses the new chromium engine, to continue it needs to be updated."

But if you're trying to access a site and you see this message pop up, a quick glance might not be enough to distinguish this from a typical Google Chrome update alert. However, if you click one of the update options, that's where the trouble starts. The hackers' goal is to get you to download a malicious file onto your machine. Whether you have a Mac or a PC, this malware is designed to steal your password and other important information. AMOS malware, for example, steals data from Macs like usernames, passwords, cookies, and crypto wallets.

Obviously, this type of hacking is dangerous. Imagine you inadvertently download this "update" onto your computer, and the malware gets to work scraping your usernames and passwords. It can then report back to the hackers, who take that information and break into your accounts—particularly your financial accounts.

c/side hasn't disclosed a full list of the affected websites, but says that some of the internet's most popular websites are affected.

Where to go from here

If you run a WordPress site, c/side recommends updating your WordPress installation and plugins and remove any you no longer use. You should also look for any of the scripts the researchers identified and look for any signs of malicious activity.

For the rest of us, if you believe you downloaded any malicious files from these websites, you should clear out your machine as soon as possible. You could try to identify the compromised files and remove them, but you may want to try a program that can scan your machine for you, such as Malwarebytes or Bitdefender. (c/side offers a similar service as well, which it promotes in its findings.)

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How to Cast Your Phone to a Hotel TV

It’s hard to imagine a time when hotels TVs didn't feel vestigial. Not all that long ago, some made their TVs a selling point, plastering “free HBO” all over their roadside signs. These days, guests are more likely to stick to their phones, sacrificing their room’s beautiful 48-inch flatscreen on the altar of TikTok and YouTube. But with just a little extra work, you can get the best of both worlds and cast whatever is on your phone to your hotel room's smart TV.

How to cast your iPhone to a hotel TV

There are official and unofficial options to send what's on your iPhone to a TV. Let’s start with the most legit. 

Use AirPlay (provided your hotel supports it)

iPhones can now use AirPlay to stream content from their phone directly to a TV at select hotels. The feature is available at “more than 60” IHG Hotels & Resorts locations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, so give it a try the next time you’re staying at a Holiday Inn or Candlewood Suites.

The process is pretty painless: Upon turning your TV on, you should notice a QR code on the welcome screen. Simply scan it with a compatible Apple device to both connect to your room's wifi and authorize AirPlay to that screen.

And that’s it—because the QR code is unique to your hotel room, you shouldn’t find yourself accidentally streaming to other guests' sets, or vice versa. Apple says more locations will be added “in the coming months,” which makes sense—the limited rollout probably has something to do with the special LG TVs required for the setup, meaning it'll take time for other locations to stock the new displays.

But what if you’re not staying at an IHG property? This is where the hacks come in.

Other ways to cast an iPhone to a hotel TV

There are plenty of dongles, like Roku and Fire TV sticks, that work with AirPlay right out of the box. The problem is getting a hotel TV to accept them.

Hotel TVs tend to be a bit strict about which devices they’ll let you plug in. That’s thanks to special control boxes that lock them down. Luckily, if you can physically get to your TV’s hookups, you can (carefully) remove these boxes. Lifehacker has covered it before, but the gist is to look for an ethernet cable (or possibly an HDMI cable), gently remove it, and restart the TV before hooking up your accessories. Depending on your hotel, you might also want to disconnect the control box from power if you’re able. Note that you do this at your own risk—it's possible your hotel won't be happy with you unplugging its hardware.

Once your device is plugged in, try swapping the TV input to your dongle and seeing if it works. If it does, simply connect it to wifi (you might need to open a browser page to do it, depending on your hotel) and you’re good to go. If using the hotel's wifi isn’t an option, don’t worry—AirPlay can work without it, and you can always fall back on a mobile hotspot.

(Just be sure to hook your TV’s control box up again before checking out!)

Chromecast HD With Google TV

$53.27 at Amazon

$53.27 at Amazon

How to cast an Android Phone to a hotel TV

Streaming an Android phone, like a Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S24 Ultra, to a hotel TV is much like streaming an iPhone, but with a few extra quirks, some of which can work in your favor. For instance, hotel chains like Wyndham and Hyatt already have Chromecasts connected to their TVs, letting you cast from your phone, or at least log into your streaming services, depending on how locked down they are. If you’re lucky enough to have a Chromecast officially set up from the start, just follow your hotel’s instructions and you should be good to go. As time goes on, you might also see hotels with Google TV Streamers instead, as the Chromecast brand has technically been discontinued.

Alternatively, your TV could have Google Cast built-in. Much like with Airplay, LG is now adding built-in Cast support to its hotel TVs, letting you sign-in via a QR code and requiring no extra hardware. LG says this will work on any hotel TV running webOS23 or later, which comes pre-installed on models released from 2023 on, and can also be applied to certain models from 2022. Theoretically, this should allow for wider availability than even LG's Airplay support, although it might take a while for the hotel industry's TV hardware to catch up.

That's why you might also want to bring your own dongle, like a Fire TV Stick or Chromecast, with you. While it’s possible to stream content from an Android phone to a TV without a dongle, it’s probably not going to be easy in a hotel environment, since these workarounds usually require accessing specific smart TV apps or functions that you can’t depend on your hotel to have or allow you to access.

For the most seamless experience, I recommend a Chromecast (it'll be cheaper and smaller than a Google TV streamer, and will still work despite being discontinued), as certain other dongles can only mirror your screen, rather than cast content across devices. With casting, you’ll ensure you get the best resolution, and generally have a more intuitive experience. (Note, though, that Chromecasts do require wifi when they boot.)

Once you’re in your hotel room with your dongle, you’ll want to connect it to your TV following the same steps outlined in the iPhone section above: gently remove the hotel control box’s connection to the TV, restart the TV, plug your Chromecast in, and swap to the proper input to test that everything worked.

If it did, try to connect your dongle to wifi (again, you may need to open a browser page). If the hotel’s wifi isn’t working, you can either use a mobile hotspot to try casting, or you can screen mirror without using wifi at all, depending on your dongle (the Fire TV Stick is a good choice if this is a concern).

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

$49.99 at Best Buy

$49.99 at Best Buy

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This Video Doorbell Is $80 Right Now, and It Doesn't Need a Monthly Subscription

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

For those looking for affordable smart security without monthly fees, the TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell is now $79.99 (down from $99.99). It covers all the basics, plus a few features that even pricier models skip, earning itself an Editors’ Choice award from PCMag. At about 6 inches tall, the Tapo D225 isn’t the slimmest doorbell out there, but it’s built to handle the elements with an IP66 water-resistant rating. And should someone try to steal your doorbell, its built-in 98dB siren is loud enough to scare off intruders.

Tapo TP-Link Smart Video Doorbell Camera with Chime, Battery or Wired, 2K QHD Color Night Vison, 180° Ultra-Wide Head-to-Toe View, Ring Call, Smart AI Detection, 2-Way Audio, Up to 512 GB SD, D225

$79.99 at Amazon

$99.99 Save $20.00

$79.99 at Amazon

$99.99 Save $20.00

Power options are flexible. You can either go battery-powered (with up to eight months per charge) or hardwire it with your existing wiring (8-24V) and record 24/7 footage. During the day, colors look sharp and well-saturated. At night, the black-and-white vision holds up well, though the color night vision isn’t as vibrant as daytime footage (but that’s typical for many cameras in this range), notes this PCMag review. Its 2K camera (20fps) with a 180-degree field of view gives you a full head-to-toe image of whoever’s at your door—its intelligent motion alerts accurately distinguish between people, vehicles, pets, and packages, helping to cut down on unnecessary pings. Plus, it comes with a plug-in chime, so you don’t have to rely on phone notifications alone.

Unlike many video doorbells at this price, the Tapo D225 supports local storage with a microSD slot (up to 512GB, sold separately), letting you save footage without a cloud subscription. If you prefer cloud storage, subscribing to Tapo Care Premium ($3.49/month) gives you 30 days of video history for one camera. The doorbell connects via 2.4GHz wifi and works with Alexa and Google Assistant, though it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit. However, if you use IFTTT, it can integrate with other smart home devices for added automation. You can manage and control the D225 using the TP-Link Tapo mobile app, including streaming live video, recording manually, setting motion zones, using two-way audio, enabling motion tagging, and more.

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Your Phone Makes a Great Reading Device, Actually

I don't like how scrolling makes me feel these days. Every headline, meme, and take I scroll past leaves me feeling worse about the world. It isn't entirely unwarranted—there's a lot of bad happening—but marinating in that feeling doesn't help.

Scrolling isn't always detrimental, of course. It can be relaxing, for one thing, and it can be a way to keep up with what's happening with your friends. But I think we all know there are diminishing returns when it comes to scrolling—the overall quality goes down the longer you keep going. And that's why reading is possibly more important now than its ever been: There aren't diminishing returns. Scrolling is briefly thinking about lots of things; reading is taking the time to think about one thing.

That's why I'm trying to do more reading and less scrolling. Seeing hundreds of memes about the latest dumb thing that one billionaire said doesn't help me reach any of my goals. Taking the time to get context on the issues I care about—and thinking deeply about them—might. So I've been taking active steps to nudge myself toward scrolling less and reading more. I hope these tips will help you achieve the same.

Hide (or uninstall) social media apps

Are there social media icons on your phone's home screen? The simplest thing you can do in order to scroll less is to get those icons off of there. You can do this by removing the icons from the home screen or by uninstalling the application entirely. Either way, the process is easy: tap and hold on the icon. Both Android and iOS will give you the option to either remove the application from your home screen or delete it.

I, personally, tend to just remove the apps from my home screen. This reduces the number of times I turn on my phone and reflexively open an app to scroll in, but leaves the applications available when I actively want them.

That might not be enough for you, though. You might find yourself going out of your way to scroll even if it means pulling up the app outside the home screen, or sucked in when there's a notification. If that's you, I recommend just uninstalling the application entirely, if only while you're trying to create the habit of scrolling less. It will cut off the problem entirely.

Put books on your phone

Getting books onto your phone isn't hard. There are the big apps, including Kindle and Kobo, if you want to purchase current titles. (Apple has its own proprietary "Books" app as well.) You can access millions of books in the public domain with a little bit of searching. And there's also a good chance your local library offers free e-books: Libby is a common app for this.

Set up one or multiple of these applications and put them right on the home screen of your phone. Ideally, you'll put the icon right where the social application you used to open constantly lives. The idea is to trick yourself into opening books. This isn't magic—you're going to need to force yourself to actually read. Over time, though, the habit may begin to form.

Another thing to consider: audiobooks. Some people can't get into reading no matter how hard they try. Others can't find the time. In either case, I think audiobooks can be a great alternative. Listening to a book while driving, cleaning the house, or just hanging out at home is a great way to take in and reflect on books. Some people get elitist about this—ignore them. Listening to books is great. Most local libraries offer audiobooks, whether in the Libby app or as physical CDs. Otherwise, there are services like Audible and even Spotify to get your audiobook fix.

Make reading articles easy for yourself

If you don't want to read entire books on your phone (I personally don't), you'll likely find its the perfect device for reading articles, and there are plenty of ways to do that without the need to scroll.

I like having read-it-later apps on my phone's home screen. These let you save articles you find on the web for future reading. I tend to clip articles during my work day, when I shouldn't be reading, and come back to them in the evening. I personally use FlyLeaf, which is a great option for Apple users, but Instapaper is also a very good tool for the job.

But it's also a good idea to have a few publications that you browse regularly. There are all kinds of ways to do this. The simplest is to bookmark the homepages of a few of your favorite websites and blogs so that they show up every time you open your browser. The more techie solution is to find an RSS reader, which shows you the headlines from as many websites as you like. That way, you can keep up with everything in one place.

Or, you could look into apps that let you read entire print publications. I recently discovered Press Reader, which offers full versions of magazines and newspapers. It's offered for free by some libraries and lets you read the entire print version of all sorts of publications. Odds are your local library has something similar, or you could physically go there and read the magazine they have on the shelf. (I love doing this.)

Mange your notifications

Nothing disrupts reading faster than being pulled into something else. If you're actually going to read, take advantage of your phone's Do Not Disturb (DND) functionality. We've talked a bit about how to customize your Android notifications and your iOS notifications, so dig into those articles for more details. But the gist is you don't want notifications popping up when you're trying to read. You can turn DND modes on or off manually, if you want, but can also schedule them. For example, if you read before bed, you could set up your phone to never buzz during your usual nighttime routine.

You can get fancy about this: Newer Apple devices can use AI to filter out all but the most important notifications. I've tried this feature and so far it's a great way to unplug without missing the important stuff.

Swap out your phone for something else

I've been talking about phones a lot in this article because that's where the bulk of scrolling happens. If you really want to read more, though, it's probably a good idea to do it on something other than your phone. E-ink devices work, but so do paper books and magazines. It's literally impossible to scroll Reddit on a book.

Depending on how your brain works, though, a new gadget might help. My colleague Joel Cunningham wrote about how the Boox Portable helped him stop doomscrolling, and I can can understand why. This is basically an e-ink Android device, roughly the size of a phone. If you want something bigger, you can look into an e-ink tablet. These are great for both reading and jotting down ideas. I personally use a Remarkable for reading papers and researching articles. Getting away from my colorful and animated computing devices for a bit is helpful. There are all kinds of e-ink devices out there that can give you the best of both paper and electronics. Look into them—they might be what you need to trick your brain into reading more.

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Windows Is Expanding Its Start Menu Phone Integration to iPhones

Sharing files or accessing messages between a Windows PC and an iPhone can be an utter pain in the rear, mostly because, without third-party utilities, you can’t rely on AirDrop to do it. There’s the Phone Link app, but even that requires opening up a separate window—your PC won’t even be able to serve you iMessage notifications unless it’s open. Meanwhile, Android users currently have a smoother experience, able to access their connected phones’ battery levels, messages, and calls right from the Windows Start menu. Now, iPhone users are finally about to get the same.

In a blog post on its site, Microsoft announced that its Windows Insider beta testers are currently getting expanded Start menu phone integration, bringing features Android users have been enjoying since October to iPhone.

These include the ability to connect a phone to your PC right from the start menu, plus that battery status and message/call information (seemingly, you'll finally be able to get your iPhone notifications on Windows without needing to open the Phone Link app first). The only thing that appears to be missing is the ability to browse your photos right from the start menu, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to access them.

That’s thanks to the new “Send files” button, an addition for both Android and iPhone. This will let you access your phone’s files without having to go through the Phone Link app, and it should make photo sharing much simpler, as doing so with an iPhone currently requires relying on either another test feature or going through the multi-step process to connect iCloud to the Windows Photos app.

To see iPhone integration in the Windows 11 Start menu, you’ll need to have an iPhone running iOS 16 or higher (meaning nothing older than an iPhone 8), plus the Phone Link app on both your iPhone and Windows 11 PC. You’ll also need to register for the free Windows Insider program, but most importantly, you’ll need to wait.

Microsoft says these features are “gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels,” so just being signed up might not be enough to access them at first. You can check if you have them by navigating to Settings > Personalization > Start.

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How to Enable (and Turn Off) Apple Intelligence on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple Intelligence brought with it some of the most hyped new features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac when it released with iOS 18.1. Even now, its functions are being upgraded and currently include writing assistance, an enhanced form of Siri, and AI image generation. Capabilities are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro series, all iPhone 16 models, all iPads running an A17 Pro chip and above, and all Macs with an M-series chip, but that's still a lot of options.

However, not everyone's happy with it. That's because Apple recently made the decision to turn Apple Intelligence on by default for all compatible devices. Even though the new features are exciting, not everyone wants to use artificial intelligence features on their smartphones or other devices, especially now that they take up 7GB of storage space and involve sending data to Apple's cloud.

If you're among those who are skeptical, it's good news that you can turn off Apple Intelligence on your iPhone or other compatible Apple device. Alternatively, if you do want to use Apple's AI, it's easy to turn it back on.

How to enable Apple Intelligence on iPhone or iPad

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

If you have an Apple Intelligence compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the easiest way to turn Apple Intelligence on is to upgrade to iOS 18.3/iPadOS 18.3/macOS 15.3 or later. This will automatically enable Apple Intelligence on your device. Alternatively, navigate to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and flick the toggle to turn it on manually.

If enabling manually, you should see instructions to finalize your Apple Intelligence access on-screen. Just follow the outlined workflow and it'll be enabled for you.

If updating didn't turn on Apple Intelligence for you or you're still not seeing an option to enable Apple Intelligence, ensure that your device language and Siri language are set to one of the supported variations of English, as Apple Intelligence is only available in that language for now. Find device language in Settings under Language & Region in the General tab and Siri language under the Siri tab in the same app. If you still don't see the Apple Intelligence toggle, it might not be available in your region.

How to turn on Apple Intelligence's ChatGPT extension

While on the Apple Intelligence & Siri page, scrolling down will also show an option for setting up ChatGPT integration, which is not enabled by default and will allow Siri to pass on difficult questions to ChatGPT, plus will give Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools the ability to compose text rather than just rewrite it. Under Extensions, tap ChatGPT, then on the new page, hit Set Up... to get started. A ChatGPT account is optional for this feature, and Apple promises to obscure your Apple Account and IP address before passing on data to OpenAI, as well as keep OpenAI from training on your information. Note that enabling ChatGPT integration requires agreeing to OpenAI's Terms of Use.

How to turn off Apple Intelligence on iPhone or iPad

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Using AI raises many concerns, such as high energy usage, privacy issues, or even simply the potential for unreliability that often comes with a new, immature technology. If you decide that you'd rather not use Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can easily disable it. Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and toggle off Apple Intelligence. You'll see a confirmation pop-up—select Turn Off Apple Intelligence. That will remove the AI from your device, including any ChatGPT integration you might have also enabled.

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My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: The M4 iPad Pro

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Apple has been top dog in the premium tablet space for years, and the iPad Pro with an M4 chip released last year is no exception. If you've been waiting for a discount on the best-performing tablet you can get, consider the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro for $849.99 (originally $999.99) after the additional $50 discount at checkout. This brings it down to the lowest price the this iPad model has been since its release, according to price-tracking tools.

Apple iPad Pro 11-Inch (M4)

Ultra Retina XDR Display, 256GB, 12MP Front/Back Camera, LiDAR Scanner, Wi-Fi 6E, Face ID.

$849.99 at Amazon

$999.99 Save $150.00

$849.99 at Amazon

$999.99 Save $150.00

The M4 is about 1.5 times faster than the M2, the chip used in the previous generation of iPads. That's a big difference for anyone looking to use their iPad for more than just navigating the web and streaming media apps. The 11-inch screen is an OLED display with a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits and a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, making it ideal for creators who need to see accurate colors for pictures or videos. The processing power can easily handle heavy-duty apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, or Photoshop. A 120Hz refresh rate also means games will look smooth.

As far as battery life, you can expect about 10 hours depending on your use, and a charge that takes about two hours to get to full. Keep in mind Apple switched to USB-C charging, and this iPad does not support wireless charging. Since this is not the cellular version, you'll be limited to wifi signal. You can get the Apple Pencil Pro and the Magic Keyboard if you want to complete the set, but of course, they're not necessary.

If you're not going to be doing heavy work, the iPad Air will do just fine. But if you're looking for the best tablet to perform professional tasks, the iPad Pro M4 is at a great price right now.

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Five Reasons Your Fridge Might Be Leaking (and How to Fix It)

If you’ve noticed water dripping from or pooling under your fridge, there's no need to panic (right away). There are some basic troubleshooting steps you can take to diagnose the problem, and you might even be able to fix it yourself. If your fridge is leaking, here are five problems to check for before calling a professional–and how to fix them before your trickle becomes a flood.

Damaged door seal

Your refrigerators has a big, rubberized gasket that seals the outer edges of the door and maintains the proper moisture inside the fridge. If it's dirty, cracked, or damaged, it can allow air to flow between the interior and exterior of the fridge, causing water to condense in the area. You can usually remove the old gasket with a Phillips head screwdriver or a hex wrench. Check online with the model number of your fridge for a compatible replacement gasket. You can install the new one by inserting it into the slot in the edge of the door and replacing the hardware that holds it on.

Cracked drip pan

In some cases, a cracked drip pan can be the culprit. You can check the drip pan by removing the front grill of the fridge at the bottom, usually by either unclipping or unscrewing it. The drip pan will be under the fridge, behind the grill, and will be able to slide out once the grill is free. If your drip pan is cracked, you should use your model number to look up the appropriate replacement part for your fridge, and then you can slide the replacement in and replace the grill.

Clogged ice dispenser

If your ice dispenser is leaking, there's probably ice lodged in the chute; that ice will melt over time and slowly drip. If the chute is really jammed up, future ice will also become lodged inside, causing the appearance of a leak. To fix it, allow the clogged shoot to thaw for a few hours before trying to use it again. If there’s no ice in the chute, you should look for problems with the water line.

Worn out water lines

Sometimes, your fridge's water lines can get damaged, or just wear out over time. The first step to address this problem is to look over the hoses on the back of the fridge to see if there are any visible kinks or cracks in them. Check near the valves as well to see if the connectors are snug. If you find damaged hoses or valves, you can find replacement parts for most systems online or at a hardware store. To avoid an even bigger leak, turn the water off before removing damaged tubing or undoing kinks in the line. Make sure to measure the length of hose you need to allow for adequate length when installing—and always check your connections before turning the water back on.

Ice on defrost drain

Sometimes, ice can build up in the defrost drain of your fridge, causing moisture to find another exit. Look for the defrost drain in the bottom of your freezer toward the back to see if there’s an ice blockage. If that’s the case, you can unclog it using a mixture of two cups of hot water and two tablespoons of baking soda. Use a turkey baster to squirt your drain cleaner into the drain at the back of your appliance, and you should see the ice melt away pretty quickly.

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All the Ways to File Your Taxes for Free in 2025

Tax season is now open, and the last thing you want to do is pay money to, well, prepare your return and pay your taxes by April 15. Thankfully, more taxpayers are eligible to file their taxes for free this year thanks to the expansion of the IRS' new Direct File program alongside its long-standing (but income-capped) Free File partnerships.

Here are all the ways to file your taxes for free in 2025.

IRS Free File

IRS Free File is one of several free filing options provided by the IRS. With Free File, you complete your tax return using guided software via a partner site, which then e-files it with the IRS. Most commonly used federal tax forms and schedules are available through Free File. However, your adjusted gross income must have been $84,000 or less in 2024 to be eligible for this option.

If you do qualify for Free File, go directly through the IRS website—you'll see a list of trusted third-party preparers with their eligibility criteria, or you can use the guided tool to find the best option for your situation. Note that some IRS partners will also file your state return for free, while others charge an additional fee.

IRS Direct File

The IRS piloted a new free tax filing option last year, and that program is now more widely available for completing your 2024 return. Direct File is a guided software program offered by the IRS (rather than through a third-party preparer), and unlike Free File, it does not have any income limits.

However, to use Direct File this tax season, you must have lived and worked in one of the following 25 states for all of 2024:

• Alaska

• Arizona

• California

• Connecticut

• Florida

• Idaho

• Illinois

• Kansas

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Nevada

• New Hampshire

• New Jersey

• New Mexico

• New York

• North Carolina

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• South Dakota

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Washington state

• Wisconsin

• Wyoming

If your state is listed, be sure to check the specific residency and filing requirements.

Direct File has a few other limitations: It only accepts a handful of income, credit, and deduction types, so if you report business or rental income, itemize your deductions, or have a more complex tax situation, you won't be able to use the program. Direct File also does not include state filing—it will prompt you to a different tax prep tool once you complete your federal return.

You can get started with Direct File on the IRS website by logging in with your ID.me account (or creating one if you don't have one already). This year, the IRS will also import your tax information to autofill your W-2 and other forms.

Other ways to file your taxes for free

If you make too much for IRS Free File and live in one of the 25 states not covered by Direct File, you may still be able to file your taxes for free.

• Free Fillable Forms: This option is just like it sounds. You enter your information into the IRS' fillable forms using the provided instructions and file the return yourself. There are no income limits for Free Fillable Forms, but it does have limited guidance, and state returns are not included. You will still need to create a Free File account.

• Commercial tax software: If your taxes are relatively simple, you can go through tax preparation companies like TurboTax and H&R Block without paying any fees. Cash App Taxes is another free option. Note that these companies also have paid services, so make sure you understand what you are signing up for.

• Volunteer tax prep help: The IRS offers free tax prep support for eligible taxpayers through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs. Taxpayers who make less than $67,000 per year, who have disabilities, or who have limited English proficiency qualify for VITA, while TCE supports those who are age 60 and older. Enter your zip code into the locator tool to find volunteer tax prep options in your area.

• MilTax: MilTax offers free tax preparation and filing for eligible military members, including up to three state returns.

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'Perplexity Assistant' Uses AI to Help You Complete Tasks on Your Android

The next phase of AI evolution looks set to be focused around agents: AI bots that can not only chat to you and draw pictures, but also carry out tasks on your behalf. These new AI tools won't just be able to tell you about the best hotels close to your next vacation destination—they'll be able to make the reservation for you.

These kinds of multimodal agents are being worked on by Google, OpenAI, and others, and now Perplexity has announced Perplexity Assistant for Android (as per The Verge, Perplexity says iOS doesn't give apps the necessary hooks into the operating system for an iPhone version to be possible right now).

You can find the assistant in the main Perplexity app for Android, and it's available to use whether you're using Perplexity for free or paying for a subscription. You'll see a pop-up ad for Perplexity Assistant in the app which you can tap on to enable it, or you can find it by tapping your profile picture (top left), then Enable assistant.

During the setup process, you'll be asked to set Perplexity Assistant as the default assistant on Android, instead of Google Assistant or Google Gemini. This is the same process as it is for setting any other default assistant, and you'll be directed to the right screen: It means you can launch Perplexity Assistant with whatever the assistant shortcut is (like a long-press on the power button).

When the assistant is active, you can use your voice to interact with it or give it commands, or tap the keyboard icon in the lower right corner to type instead. There are no settings to manage, but there is a button in the lower left corner for switching to camera mode, which lets you ask Perplexity Assistant about anything in your surroundings.

You'll need to set Perplexity Assistant as your default assistant. Credit: Lifehacker

What you can do with Perplexity Assistant

Perplexity hasn't been overly forthcoming in terms of what you can actually do with its new assistant, but it has mentioned booking dinner (via OpenTable), playing songs (in Spotify and YouTube), calling cabs (through Uber), drafting emails, and setting reminders. You can see a few examples here. It's worth experimenting with to see what it can and can't do on your phone.

You can ask for directions to a good coffee shop nearby, for example: Perplexity Assistant will search the web for recommendations, ask you to make a pick, then load up Google Maps. It's debatable whether that's any faster or more convenient than just doing the whole process through Google Maps, but it works reliably well.

I was also able to call up songs and playlists in Spotify, though again, Spotify's built-in search tools do all this pretty well anyway. It's not an omnipotent digital assistant yet, however—if you ask Perplexity Assistant to order you something on Amazon, it'll just direct you to the relevant listings pages.

Spotify is one of the apps Perplexity Assistant can control. Credit: Lifehacker

Another test I ran was getting Perplexity Assistant to draft an email apologizing for being late, and with a task like this, the generative AI capabilities can be useful. The assistant found the right contact, composed a short email with my apologies, and loaded a draft in the Gmail app, ready to go—though if you really are sorry about a recent lack of punctuality, it's probably a better idea to actually write out the apology yourself.

It's more evidence of where AI assistants are heading, but they're going to need to be granted the relevant hooks into other apps—like OpenTable and Spotify—in order to work properly. They're also going to need to be reliable and accurate enough to gain the trust of users, which has traditionally been a problem for AI: You don't want your AI-booked dinner recommendations to be for the wrong week or in the wrong city, for example.

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How to Stream the Super Bowl Without Cable

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Super Bowl LIX kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. ET. This year, the game is being broadcast by Fox with a pregame show starting at 2 p.m. ET and game coverage at 6 p.m. ET. Even if you don't have cable, there are a few ways, both paid and free, that you can watch all the action live from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Watch free on Tubi

The game—as well as pre- and post-game coverage—will be streaming on Fox-owned Tubi for free, with 4K available on some devices (including Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV). You do need to sign up for a Tubi account, but no credit card is required. Tubi also includes the NFL Channel for supplemental Super Bowl content.

Sign up for a live TV streaming service

There are a handful of streaming services with live TV that include Fox. Before signing up, check the channel listings for your zip code to confirm Fox is available in your local market.

• DirectTV Stream: $87 per month for the Entertainment plan, 5-day free trial

• FuboTV: Currently $60 per month for the Essential plan with promo, 7-day free trial for new customers

• Hulu + Live TV: $83 per month, 3-day free trial (includes ads on Hulu)

• YouTube TV: Currently $73 per month with promo, 5-day free trial for new users

• Sling TV (in limited markets): $23 per month

When signing up for a free trial, make sure you know when you'll be billed for a paid subscription and cancel before your trial expires. The game will be available in 4K for FuboTV and YouTube TV subscribers (included in the free trials but at an additional fee or at a higher tier with paid plans). The Spanish-language broadcast will be on Fox Deportes and Telemundo, which are also available on most live TV streaming services.

Watch over the air

Another free (ish) way to get the game is with over-the-air (OTA) TV. Of course, this requires you to invest in a digital TV antenna and have a place to put it that gets good reception. You should check the FCC's reception map to see what signals are available in your area and try your antenna out before game day. Your mileage may vary, so if you want a stress-free watch experience, this probably isn't the best option.

Other ways to watch the Super Bowl

You can also watch the game via the Fox Sports app if you already pay for Fox with a cable or satellite package or one of the live TV streaming services listed above. The game will also stream through the NFL+ mobile app—a subscription costs $7 per month.

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‘Butterfly’ Your Meat for Quicker, More Even Cooking

Meats are muscles. On account of this, they’re not perfectly symmetrical bricks. Different cuts can be tear-dropped, conical, or otherwise shaped asymmetrically with a thick and thin side. But, alas, uneven shapes lead to uneven cooking. The thinner end of a chicken breast can come to temperature relatively quickly compared to the bulbous end that might be nearly two inches thicker. Put an end to partially overcooked, dried-out, rubbery meat parts, and try a technique called “butterflying.”

Butterflying is a simple method for modifying a cut of meat by slicing it in half horizontally. You can cut it through completely in this fashion and end up with two thin pieces, or take care not to cut through the other side, and open it like a book. This serves to even-out a cut of meat and extend the surface area. Keep in mind, butterflying doesn’t turn the meat into a perfect rectangle, but rather modifies an extremely asymmetric cut to give it a more even thickness. Butterflying allows for more even exposure to heat, but the increase in surface area serves other functions too. It allows for easier pounding or tenderizing, thorough absorption of flavors through marinating, a more flexible and thin material for roulades, and a shortened cook time.

How to butterfly a cut of meat

Butterflying a cut of meat takes a little getting used to at first, but once you do it a few times, it becomes easy, fast, and deliciously rewarding. Make sure you have a sharp knife, and a stable cutting board.

1. Lay the meat flat on the cutting board

For an elongated cut of meat, such as a chicken breast, I usually place it so the thickest side is on the right and the point of the breast is pointing at me. The goal is to cut through the thicker side first, we'll be leaving the thinnest side connected so it will end up reflecting the same overall thickness of the other sides. If you’re left-handed, you can reverse the arrangement. I’m right-handed, so the thick side will be on the right.

Cut the breast horizontally by starting on the thickest side. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

2. Begin the cut

Place the knife against the chicken halfway down the thick side, parallel to the cutting board, and use slow strokes to begin cutting through. It helps to use your non-dominant hand to hold the chicken, and also lift the top section away as you butterfly. This steadies the meat and also creates some tension in the flesh to make cutting easier.

Lift the top half as you cut for better control. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Again, do this slowly, keep your fingers safe, and periodically check on where your knife is headed. One of the easiest mistakes you can make is to cut quickly without checking, and end up with one tiny piece and one big weird piece. One of the worst mistakes you can make is not checking on the knife’s path, and accidentally cutting yourself.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

3. Stop at the cut to maintain even thickness

Continue slicing along the same cut and stop the cut about a half inch from the connecting side. Now you can open it completely like a book (the hinge-side would be like the book’s binding). If you want two thin cuts, continue your cut through to the other side.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

For a proper butterflied chicken breast, the connecting side remains roughly as thick as the rest of the now-open chicken breast, so use your judgment on if you should stop more or less than a half-inch from the thin side. Once you become more comfortable, you can even adjust the cuts to butterfly chicken breast and other thick cuts of meat into three pieces, like unfolding a letter, for more surface area.

Butterflying is a helpful technique that you can do to most boneless cuts of meat providing it's thick enough and you have precise knife skills. Try butterflying steak, chicken thighs, pork, or even shrimp. After this step, you can pound out the chicken or other meat and fill it with cheese and herbs, or dried fruit and bread stuffing for a leveled-up entree. Enjoy the quick cook time, and marinate, roulade, or tenderize to your stomach’s content.

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