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June 18, 2023 |
In partnership with GetRefunds.com |
A very happy Sunday to you! For todayβs trivia, say you have a great video of your dog fighting with your Roomba you know could go viral. Whatβs the best day of the week to post it on Instagram? Is it β¦ Monday, Wednesday or Saturday? Bonus points if you know the best time of day, too. Each Sunday, I share a few longer tips and tricks to keep your tech life safe β and maybe even put some money back in your pocket. Letβs expand your tech smarts! β Kim π« First-time reader? Sign up here. (Itβs free!) IN THIS ISSUEπ©Ί Paging Dr. Amazonπ‘ Get your homeβs photos removed onlineπ Google Mapsβ road to dominance |
KIM'S COLUMNRead this before signing up for Amazon ClinicEvery week, I write two special features for major news sites like the Daily Mail, New York Post, USA Today and more. They donβt publish on their sites until next week, but because you get my free newsletters, youβre in the know first! Looking for a cheaper way to get health care? Amazon Clinic is an affordable option, but can you trust it with your health information? I took a closer look. How much is too much?It's one thing for Amazon to know which dishwasher tabs you use (although what Amazon knows about you goes way deeper than that). It's another thing entirely for them to have your health records. Book an appointment through the new Amazon Clinic, and you'll meet with a clinician who can prescribe medication for anything from depression to thyroid issues. To be clear: Amazon doesnβt provide the care itself. It's an intermediary between you and those whoβll treat you. That's where the problems begin. Not-so-protected health informationAmazon declares it is "compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)," but there's more to the fine print. When you sign up for treatment through Amazon Clinic, you also "authorize" everyone involved (doctors, pharmacies and labs) to share your Protected Health Information, or PHI, with Amazon. That includes: Contact information, including your email address.Demographic information, such as your date of birth.Account and payment information, including insurance info.Your complete patient file, including medical and billing records.Amazon says it has the right to "retain, use and disclose this information" for two purposes: To set you up with another healthcare provider if your previous doctor leaves their network.To "facilitate services from other providers." Hmmm.It's unclear who these providers are. Doctors? Or businesses looking to target you with ads related to your condition? β There are more privacy risks with Amazon Clinic than what I can share here. See more here, along with ways to opt out if youβve already signed up for the service. |
DEAL OF THE DAY
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LISTEN UPβοΈ How Apple Watch is revolutionizing PTSD treatmentWhen I heard about how the Apple Watch was helping soldiers with PTSD, I wanted to know more. I interviewed a soldier who was on over 35 meds, losing his family and close to giving up. Thanks to a special app on Apple Watch, heβs living a happy, productive life. I also spoke with the appβs developer, who came up with the idea for his dad, a vet. Bonus: The Apple Watch and iPhone are covered by insurance. |
MY TRUSTED ADVICEOn my national radio show and podcast, I talk to smart, interesting folks β some who need a helping hand. Here are a few convos on the show this weekend: Dr. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer for the SETI Institute, discusses if there are really UFOs and aliens out there.Joy and her grandson, Brad, share their Guinness World Records-setting journey to all 63 national parks. Joy is 93 years old, and her favorite part of the trip was ziplining!Mike Perez tells us how he built gas station credit card skimmers to make hundreds of thousands of dollars β¦ until he got caught. He spent two years in a federal prison.I also chatted with Chula about the best way to secure her financial activities online, helped Matt set up a calendar to reserve rooms at his church, showed Hal where to find Microsoft Office for free, taught Heath how to text ads to his customers and more! β You have three ways to catch my show: Find me on your local radio station.Listen now in the Komando Community commercial-free.If you donβt mind waiting for shows to appear, get the podcast, Kim Komando Today.π€ Need my help? Leave me a note here. I read them all myself! |
No joke, I got back $400KGetRefunds.com helps small businesses get COVID relief funds for keeping employees during the pandemic. I found out I was owed $400,000. Seriously. This is not PPP. Itβs different. Itβs the Employee Retention Credit. If you kept your full-time or equivalent employees on payroll during COVID, you could get a huge refund, too. Thereβs no upfront charge β they donβt get paid until your business gets its refund. Heck, itβs worth checking to see if your business is owed money, too. Go now to GetRefunds.com. Be sure to tell them I sent you! In less than 8 minutes, see if your business qualifies for ERC assistance. β |
DIY SECURITY TIPRemove your homeβs photos from Zillow, Redfin and RealtorUnless you're trying to sell your home, there's no reason to leave interior photos and other details on real estate sites like Realtor, Zillow and Redfin. This information puts you at risk from criminals who can gather strategies based on your floor plans. And letβs not forget about nosey neighbors. Thatβs why Iβm here to tell you how to take down your listings. Removing your private informationFortunately, there are steps you can take to secure your details. One of the simplest is to remove photos of your home from real estate sites, primarily Zillow, Redfin and Realtor. ZillowFirst, go to zillow.com/sellerlanding/claimyourhome and enter your homeβs address. Once you've found it and claimed ownership of it on Zillow, you can start removing its photos. Hereβs how: Sign in to your Zillow profile. Click on the profile icon, then select Your Home from the menu option.Click on the tile for your home to load the property page.Make sure youβve enabled Owner View, then click on the Edit Facts icon.To remove a photo, click on the βXβ in the corner of the photo. To remove all photos, click Delete all photos.Save your changes by clicking the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.If you run into any problems, you can submit a request to Zillow for help. β Youβre not done yet! You need to get your home off Redfin and Realtor, too. Here are the steps on my site. |
THE INTERNETβS NOT ALL BADGo behind the scenes with Google MapsDid you know Google Maps helps over 1 billion people find their way around every month? After 17 years in the hands of users, this incredible mapping technology keeps improving. This Wall Street Journal video explains how Google Maps utilizes satellites, GPS data and photogrammetry to ensure you can navigate easily to your destinations. |
WHAT THE TECH?I can hear the cat screaming, βLet meow!β |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ...β° The answer: The best time to post on Instagram is 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. Whatβs a thousand times better than Instagram? An Instakilogram. Check out this chart for other good Instagram posting times. Thanks for all you do to support me and the team behind the radio show, podcasts, newsletters and website. We wouldnβt be here without you! See you tomorrow! β Kim |
How'd we do?What did you think of today's issue? π Fantasticπ Just OKπ Waste of time |
π« Was this forwarded to you? Sign up free here. π§ Ready to hear more? Check out my podcasts. ποΈ Want to listen to my show? Find your local radio station. π Thinking about upgrading? Try the Komando Community free for 30 days. β Got a question (or comment) for Kim? Ask away here. π² Looking to advertise in this newsletter? Email us. |
Photo credit(s): Apple.com, NightWare.com, Β© Feverpitched | Dreamstime.com |
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