The everyday tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Startup Aina is taking preorders for a titanium smart ring that lets you say yes or no to AI assistant tasks with a flick, so your phone can stay in your pocket.
Read more: A new smart ring lets you approve your AI assistant's tasks with a tapResearchers showed a shared ChatGPT link could quietly pull private chats from a signed-in user. OpenAI has fixed it, but the lesson about links still applies.
Read more: A single ChatGPT link could have exposed your private chatsOne writer ditched Netflix, Prime and other apps for VLC, a free player, and says buffering, ads and soft picture quality disappeared. It only works if you own your videos.
Read more: A writer quit streaming apps for a free video player and says the picture got betterA writer ran a home Wi-Fi router off a Ryobi tool battery during a 2-hour outage. Here is how it works and what to know before trying it.
Read more: A Ryobi tool battery can keep your Wi-Fi running in a blackoutT-Mobile is cutting $1,100 off Motorola's Razr Fold with a new line on its top plan, or $900 on a lesser plan. Check the plan cost before you jump.
Read more: Motorola's foldable phone is $1,100 off at T-Mobile with a new lineUnited is adding a Spotify app to its seatback screens, so passengers can log in and stream their own playlists and podcasts using Starlink Wi-Fi.
Read more: United will let you play your own Spotify on the seatback screenMotorola's Signature 27 costs $1,599 and brings a 200MP zoom camera and a very bright screen. It is a few hundred dollars above its main rivals.
Read more: Motorola's new $1,599 phone aims at iPhone and Galaxy flagshipsLyft is launching Lyft Go at $9.99 a month, bundling a DoorDash DashPass membership with credits for rides or delivery orders to take on Uber.
Read more: Lyft adds a $9.99 monthly plan that includes a DoorDash membershipTwo Windows malware families steal login tokens from AI tools, and those tokens can keep working after a password reset. Here is what to do and who should worry.
Read more: New malware steals AI chat logins that outlast a password changeA leak says OPPO and vivo's next top phones could carry five 200MP cameras between them, but nothing is official, so photo quality is still a guess.
Read more: Next OPPO and vivo flagship phones may carry five 200MP camerasQueens Public Library's website, Wi-Fi, self-checkout and app are down after a ransomware attack, though every branch is still open.
Read more: Queens Public Library hit by ransomware, Wi-Fi and checkouts downAARP posted a warning on Nov. 5, 2026 to help people avoid holiday scams as gift-buying season starts. Fake stores and delivery texts are on the list.
Read more: How to Spot and Stop Holiday Scams Before They StartCriminals phoning people while posing as Amazon staff took £86,837 from 110 reported victims in nine days, and most were aged 50 to 79.
Read more: Fake Amazon phone calls cost shoppers £86,000 in nine daysVisa tested 22 AI shopping agents on everyday purchases. They succeeded only about 57% of the time, so checking their picks before you pay still matters.
Read more: AI shopping assistants bought the wrong thing almost half the timeA woman was arrested after police linked her used Samsung foldable to a killing. Four simple checks can help any buyer avoid a similar mess.
Read more: She bought a used phone and was arrested. Here is how to avoid thatA tool called Webloc, sold to police in several countries, can locate people through technology built into everyday apps. Here is what that means for your phone.
Read more: Police tool can find people through ordinary phone appsFour apps can bring features from newer Pixel phones to an older one. Two come with warnings, so it helps to know the catch before you install.
Read more: Older Pixel phones can copy new Pixel features with four appsA reviewer ran Google Maps and Waze side by side for over 500 miles and picked Maps for all-around driving, citing clearer traffic marks and calmer routes.
Read more: After 500 miles of testing, Google Maps beat Waze for everyday drivingAmazon has swapped Grubhub for Uber Eats as the food delivery perk for US Prime members, and the Grubhub+ benefit ends Thursday.
Read more: Amazon Prime now offers Uber Eats delivery, replacing GrubhubAn Android Authority writer says a roughly $200 BOOX e-reader is how they got back to reading, after finding that reading on a phone is a trap.
Read more: A $200 BOOX e-reader is one writer's way out of phone readingWhatsApp is testing a way to write a message now and have it sent later on iPhone. Here is how it would work and what is still unknown.
Read more: WhatsApp is testing a way to schedule messages on iPhoneMeta's Muse AI character can now dance in a short video you can post to Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp, or save to your phone, all in a few taps.
Read more: Meta's Muse AI character can now dance, and you can share the videoA new reader survey reported by Android Authority says Nova Launcher still leads rival Android launchers, and it is a free-to-try way to refresh an older-looking phone.
Read more: Nova Launcher is still the most popular way to restyle AndroidAndroid Auto reportedly keeps asking who to call even after Gemini hears the name, a bug that can make hands-free calling in the car frustrating.
Read more: Android Auto keeps asking who to call, even after you tell it
