Does owning a smart fridge or a smart toothbrush make you smart??

Amazon just released a Superbowl ad and it is hilarious!
Amazon gamely admits that it has tried incorporating Alexa, the company's smart assistant in a lot of products that could have been avoided. Amazon cheekily admits that they have gone out of the way in trying to put Alexa in everything from a toothbrush to a spaceship.

Nice ad. But, let us step back and actually consider this digital assistant / smart things phenomenon.

Just a couple of weeks back, hot on the heels of this years CES event, Google announced that they have now 1 billion GOOGLE ASSISTANT active devices and The Verge carried out an exclusive that Amazon has sold over 100 million ALEXA devices.

These are HUGE numbers!! These are impressive numbers. If you were to dive a little deeper into the distribution of these devices, Amazon might have a slight edge as people have gone out and purchased devices with built-in Alexa whereas Google Assistant is baked into an Android phone, thus inflating the number of "active devices".

Source: Freepik

But, I digress. This piece is not about who is winning the war and whether Alexa is better than Google Assistant or otherwise. I want to address the situation that we find ourselves in. What situation, you ask? the situation of having a smart assistant in every electronic device. While it started out as a war between Amazon & Google, the likes of Samsung (BIXBY), Apple (SIRI) are also making a splash. For all practical purposes, I do not consider CORTANA as a competitor.

Digital Assistant War (Source: Google Photos)

This month during CES, we saw a number of things that had a smart assistant built-in. From alarm clocks to microwaves. The one that takes cake was a piece of wood with an electronic display to show you the weather!! No kidding! Why would anyone want that? Or why would you want a "smart" microwave?

I clearly seem to be missing something. Do not get me wrong. I like the basic concept of a smart home. I myself have about 6 "smart" gadgets at home. These connected devices make my life simpler. They are practical. For instance, at night, I like the convenience of being able to switch off the light from an app or just saying Goodnight. I also like to just get my home device to play a song with a simple command rather than fishing my phone out! I am of the belief that these connected devices should have a practical use. They should not be made just because it is possible!

Let me give you an example of the Samsung Family Hub refrigerator. It is loaded with 3 cameras and internet-enabled tablet. It costs a cool $5000!!!!! Why?

A) You can leave notes on the big display for family members?
B) Playing videos in your kitchen?
C) Display your grocery list?
D) Click pics with your fridge?

 Sounds more like a gimmick than being practical. Just by making it sound like an "upgrade" from your "dumb" appliance/gadget, customers are led to buy something that is exorbitant. My question to Samsung is - If your phone & tablets don't last longer than 18-24 months, how is that tablet on the fridge going to hold up for 5-6 years or more? You dot expect us to upgrade our refrigerator every 2 years, do you? What about security? Since it is a connected device, would you give security updates as long as we keep the refrigerator? the answer is a BIG no!

The other reason why it is not advisable to make everything "smart" is that there are glaring security issues. All these devices are vulnerable to hacking and are easily exploitable. Here is an instance of the getting HACKED last month. SCARY is an understatement.
Imagine a scenario wherein someone takes full control of all the gadgets of your household remotely. The lights go off when you want them on at night. The TV shows what the hacker needs to show you instead of the cute Cat videos.

Let me again reiterate that I am not against the idea of building a smart home. I am in on it. The thing is, you need to be absolutely sure of the utility of the device before taking the plunge. Once decided, ensure that you have all the security checks in place.

If any product does not do anything that you want it to do in a simpler, cheaper and effectively in an already existing manner, it is certainly not smart. Ans, you shall not be smart in buying it!!

Here are my key takeaways:

1) A smart home (or multiple smart devices)  MUST ensure both simplicity and privacy. If anyone is being compromised, it is not worth it.

2) Currently, these smart devices are more beneficial for manufacturers and advertisers. They use whatever you say and store it in a remote server. Share smartly. Do not be at the mercy of these devices.

3) I am not the one to go all in on a single HUB. I am just not comfortable dumping all my info into or to one device.

What do you guys think? What is your take on this issue? Are you a digital person or an Analog person? or a bit of both (like me)?
Let me know if you want everything to be smart or you just like life as it is now.

Finally, if you want to start taking baby steps in building a smart home, do let me know. I could help you with it or just write a blog or shoot a video about it.

Xiaomi to concentrate on becoming a Luxury/Lifestyle brand?

Earlier this month, Xiaomi announced that it is spinning off REDMI into a separate brand while separating it from the Mi brand. REDMI joins POCO as the 2nd sub-brand that manufacturers niche budget smartphones. The 1st phone (Redmi Note 7) under the independent REDMI  brand was launched on January 10th.

So far, Xiaomi has launched premium phones under the Mi lineup of smartphones and the budget/value for money phones under the Redmi series. Poco series, which caters to budget flagships,  falls between these two.

The move to spin off brands is not a new one. HUAWEI did the same with its HONOR brand of phones and more recently, OPPO launched REALME to focus on the entry-level and budget segment phones to cater to the price sensitive Indian market.

That said, why would Xiaomi do that? There could be a few reasons for this. The first one is the more apparent one. While Redmi series would continue to operate in the segment it already rules, the Mi series would concentrate on launching high-end (more expensive) flagships. The super success of the Redmi phones, owing to inexpensive phones, has led everyone to believe that Xiaomi is a budget brand. This move will allow Xiaomi to launch aspirational / lifestyle products under the Mi series at a higher price.

Mi India lifestyle product page

The other reason is not very different from the first one but important for Xiaomi. In India, Xiaomi is largely considered as a phone brand. However, the brand offers a lot more in China and in other select markets. Xiamoi has invested in several tech start-ups to offer a varied range of products that include robot-vacuum cleaners, security cameras, fitness bands, smartwatches, air-purifier smart lights etc. The Mi line up of TVs is also a recent addition to the long list of products. While the narrative so far has been to undercut the more expensive alternatives by offering great value for money, this move will allow Mi to slowly start charging a little premium.

On the product front, Xiaomi has already started positioning itself as a lifestyle brand in India, Over the last 12 - 18 months, the company has launched a slew of products including, backpacks, neck pillows, luggage, pollution mask, pens, security camera and a soundbar. All these products have a unique understated design language. They look and feel premium. These products have done reasonably well. Considering that the brand has done such a good job with its lifestyle portfolio, the move of  Mi launching its premium line-up of lifestyle products would be a smooth one.

Xiaomi portfolio

While Redmi will continue to be the torchbearer on the financial growth front (after all Xiaomi only makes 5% profits off its smartphone business), the lifestyle range will surely help the company grow (both financially and product -portfolio wise) over a period of time. This will help Xiamoi in both solidifying its financial structure and it will also come across a lifestyle brand that offers a huge portfolio of smart electronics and lifestyle products that simplify life. Xiaomi would want to own the whole ecosystem in an Indian household.
Take my example for instance. My household has 5 smartphones ( 3 Redmi, 1 Mi & 1 Poco), 1 air-purifier, 1 VR headset, security camera, soundbar, earphones, pens, suitcase, power bank that belong to Xiaomi. I am also planning to purchase a Mi TV for my bedroom!

Looking at Xiaomi's Chinese portfolio, it soon will cater to almost every need of an average Indian consumer. Having owned and loved Xiaomi products for a while now, I can only look forward with glee to see the brand grow and become a force to reckon with across the globe.

HOW TO: Lock/Unlock your Aadhar biometric data

Aadhar card has pretty much become mandatory across the board! Over the last couple of years, it has gone on to become one of the most credible Government documents that act as identity & address proof.

Source: Google Images

There are many, like me, who fear the misuse of information linked and stored in connection with Aadhar, as there have been multiple cases of Aadhar numbers and info of lakhs of people being compromised.

Biometric data refers to the iris, fingerprint & facial photograph of the Aadhar holder. The iris & fingerprint data is often used for authentification.

Keeping this in mind, UIDAI has rolled out a facility of locking or unlocking biometric data online, in order to prevent any misuse. 
Once the Biometric is locked by the Aadhar holder, he/she will not be able to use their Biometrics (fingerprints/iris) for authentications and neither can anyone else, thus preventing potential misuse. The process has been kept simple and once locked, it will temporarily get unlocked for only ten minutes. It automatically gets locked again. 

One can lock/unlock their biometric data online either through UIDAI portal or through the mAadhaar mobile app. 

Given below is the procedure to lock/unlock Aadhr details online:

Locking data:

Step 1. Visit UIDAI’s online portal and select the “Lock/Unlock Biometrics” from the Aadhaar Services section.

Step 2. Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number and the security code and click on the 'Send OTP' option.

Step 3. An OTP will be sent to your mobile number registered with Aadhaar.

Step 4. Enter the OTP sent to your mobile number and click on the 'Login' button.

Step 5. Your biometrics will now be locked when you enter the 4 digit security code displayed on the screen and click on the “Enable” button.

Unlocking data:

Step 1. In order to unlock the biometrics, click on the “Login” button.

Step 2. Enter your Aadhaar number and the security code in the space provided.

Step 3. Click on the “Send OTP” button to receive one-time password on your mobile.

Step 4. The OTP will be sent to the mobile number registered with Aadhaar.

Step 5. Enter this OTP in the space provided and click on the “Login” button.

Step 6. Enter the security code and click on the “Unlock” button and your biometrics will be unlocked temporarily for 10 minutes.

Facebook is combining Messenger, WhatsApp & Instagram into one. There goes online privacy & security!!

According to a report in the New York Times, Facebook is integrating all of its messaging platforms - Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram - into one infrastructure. While the 3 apps would remain separate, the back end connections between these apps would form and develop into one common (read BIG) messaging platform. This move shall bring together 3 of the world's largest messaging platforms (consisting of 2.6 billion people), allowing people to interact across the platforms for the first time.

Source - Google Images

The good thing, on the face of it, is that end-to-end encryption, which already exists on WhatsApp would be extended to all 3 services, which would convert into increased security and privacy for direct messages (DMs) in Instagram and Messenger.

But...... there are a few caveats! Of course :)
Before we get to the caveats, let us understand why is Facebook doing this?

Earlier, Mr. Zuckerberg had promised Instagram & WhatsApp relative autonomy. But he is going back on it now. See, the popularity of Facebook has weaned over a period of time. A lot of people do not actively use the network. The interest, especially amongst the youth is on the decline. Instagram, though is a cherished network and WhatsApp continues to grow phenomenally across the globe. By bringing all these services together, Facebook may be able to farther its reach, analyse and advertise to its user base at once, for Facebook is heavily dependent on advertising revenue.

The 2nd advantage that Mr. Zuckerberg would be hoping is that Facebook's utility would go up and people would be invested within the ecosystem which would mean less reliance on rival apps fro Apple & Google. If users interact within the company's apps, they would be able to increase their advertising business and maybe, even add a revenue generating service.

Now let s talk about the concern!

This move raises concerns of privacy. Question marks remain about how would user data be shared within these services. Unlike Facebook, users are not required to share their real identities/names on WhatsApp (only phone number) & Instagram (May use pseudo names). So, if a WhatsApp user does not have a Facebook account, will their real identity be automatically generated in Facebook's back end?   

While this might look like a trivial issue to most, do note that Facebook had horrible 2018 when it  garnered the reputation of being a company that misused the data it had at hand.

The company also landed in trouble for having provided misleading information to European regulators as they reviewed Facebook’s more than $17 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. Facebook had  initially told European Union officials that it wasn’t possible to meld WhatsApp data with Facebook’s own digital information/data. It turned out that wasn’t true and Facebook has since started to combine user information. Facebook later said it made unintentional errors in a filing to the European Union related to the WhatsApp purchase.

Source - Google Images

While this debate will rage on for a while to come, the unifying of the apps in itself is inevitable. This will also make the "Quit Facebook" movement difficult to take up.
All that we, as users can do is to be very careful about what kind of data/messages we send online. With so much data mining & scrutiny by Facebook, we need to be mindful about sharing as little data as possible!

How to buy a BAD phone in 2019?

As a geek, I am pretty much excited about every phone that is launched across the globe! Not all of them are the latest & greatest but have something going for them.
Just like us humans, all smartphones have some good features and some bad. So, it is quite okay for someone to like a phone that you may not.

That said, there are some really BAD phones out there. These are phones that won't offer a great experience to anyone out there. It is the kind of phone that you would not have liked using 3 years back!

Here are some things to look out for before you shell out your hard earned money on that piece of tech (or junk)!

NOTE: If you are an iPhone user, do not read any further. This article won't make a difference in your life!

Source: Google Images

ANDROID VERSION

This is a sure shot way of getting to know if the phone is good or not. How old is the version of Android? Is it the latest (Android Pie) or is it rocking an older version?
If the phone you are looking for is rocking Android 7 (Nougat), junk it. It means that the OEM is not bothered about the phone and Google won't be providing security patches either, which makes the phone vulnerable to malicious attacks.

Ideally, get a phone that is running on Android 9 (Pie) or get one that has Android 8 (Oreo).
Considering that you will hold on the phone for 1 to 1.5 years at least, it will have the most recent features and you have a good chance of getting updates till you think of upgrading.

BASIC FEATURES / FUNCTIONALITY

Not all phones have all the features. Also, not everyone needs all the features. So, while it is good to have all the set of features, it is completely okay to miss out on things like a dual lens, wireless charging, NFC etc.

What is not okay is missing out on features / functionalities like
1) Basic sensors like gyroscope & proximity sensors
2) A sub Full HD screen

I understand that a large segment of people won't know/care about these features, but it goes a long way in making the overall experience better.
While on this point, if possible, go in for a phone that has USB type C charging port (instead of micro USB) and a phone with basic storage of 32/64 GB & 4 GB of RAM.

BLOATWARE

In an ideal world, all phones should have no bloatware/unnecessary apps out of the box. Unfortunately, even some of the biggest phone manufacturers (Samsung) load their phones with bloatware! Having a duplicate Google app is nothing but a plain nuisance. Why would you need 2 of every app like calendar, notes, browser, mail etc?
The security, cleaner apps are even more annoying. We have noticed that most of these apps from chinese phone manufacturers have severe security risks.

When shopping for a cheap phone, it becomes a bigger problem as it eats into the storage space.
So, what does one do? Either uninstall (If you have the option) all the apps that you do not use immediately after unboxing or go in for a phone that runs the Android One software.

CAMERA CONUNDRUM

Probably, the most important feature of a phone! Even the most affordable phones these days come with a dual lens and upwards of a 12-megapixel count. Do not assume that the phone is a decent shooter on the basis of these 2 factors. a good camera on a phone comes down to software optimisation and pixel size etc.
If possible, check the performance on a friend's phone and (or) read/watch camera reviews of the particular model before buying it.

                                                            -----------x-----------

While the above can make or break your experience, here are a couple of things to do/mull over before buying your phone.

READ/WATCH LOCAL REVIEWS

While your favourite international Youtuber or website may have liked or disliked the phone you are considering, make sure that you read and watch your country specific review before making a decision. The reason I say this is because some of the features may be different than the international version of the phone and some functionalities may/may not work in all the countries.
If the local reviews are great, look no further and go ahead.

CAN YOU WAIT?

When it comes to buying an Android phone, timing is everything. There is a good phone being launched every week!
This is not to say that you should hold off your decision to buy a new phone. Just take some time and do some research. Only once you are certain that you are getting a good deal and all the list of features that you want at the given price, go ahead and buy it.
After all, you will be spending a lot of money on something that will remain with you for at least 18 months.

Source: Google Images

Can you think of any more red-flags before buying a phone? If so, do let me know. I sincerely hope that this article helps you make an informed decision :)

SPOTIFY ALTERNATIVES IN INDIA (2019)

Spotify, the music streaming giant has accidentally revealed the India launch date
on their website.
The service shall start on the 31st of January, 2019. The service was, so far,
not officially available in India.

For those of you who do not know, Spotify is a music streaming service that was
launched in 2008 and is available in 78 countries and serves over 200 million people.

Spotify operates under a freemium business model, wherein, the basic services are free,
while additional features are offered via paid subscriptions.
Spotify generates revenues by selling premium streaming subscriptions to users and
advertising placements to third parties.

Sounds familiar? Yes of course. After all, this is how streaming services in India like
JioSaavn, Airtel Wynk, Gaana work.

GIven all the already existing free services in India, like JioSaavn, Airtel Wynk,
Amazon Music, it will be interesting to see how Spotify will price their subscriptions.
It is not only the above-mentioned services that Spotify shall go up against.
There are loads of people paying for Apple Music & Google Play music subscriptions.

So, given all these alternatives,  it is indeed going to be a tough climb to the
music streaming service peak.

While Spotify has a HUGE international content library, there are rumours
suggesting that Spotify has tied up with T-Series to offer Indian content.
However, it remains to be seen as to how they intend to bring other regional content
on its platform.

Here is a quick look at the available options for music lovers in India:

APPLE MUSIC

IDEAL FOR: Apple users. Users looking for international music content

AVAILABILITY: iOS, Android, Mac, Windows

PRICE:

Free Trial - 3 Months

Student - INR 60 /- P.M

Single User - INR 120 /- P.M

Family Plan - INR 190/- P.M

GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC

IDEAL FOR: Google Home owners. Free Mood Based music playlists

AVAILABILITY: iOS, Android, Web, Google Home

PRICE:

Free Trial - 14 Days

Single User - INR 99/- P.M

AMAZON PRIME MUSIC

IDEAL FOR: ECHO device owners.

AVAILABILITY: Android, iOS, Web

PRICE:

Single USer: INR 999/- P.A (Bundled with Prime)

JioSAAVN

IDEAL FOR: Jio Users. Music lovers looking for “Original podcast / Show content”.

AVAILABILITY: Android, iOS, Web, Amazon Alexa, Fire TV

PRICE:

Single User: Unlimited streaming free (With ads)

Saavn PRO: INR 99/- P.M (offline mode on 5 devices, unlocks the highest quality option)

Pricing for Jio users to be revealed soon.

GAANA

IDEAL FOR: Streaming Bollywood Music

AVAILABILITY: Android, iOS, Web

PRICE:

FREE unlimited streaming (No Offline storage)

GAANA PLUS: INR 99/- P.M,
INR 999/- P.A (offline mode on 5 devices, unlocks the highest quality option)

WYNK

IDEAL FOR: Airtel Users

AVAILABILITY: Android, iOS, Web

PRICE:

Free: Stream songs without the offline mode (regular users). Free trial available.

Airtel Users: Bundled with the mobile plan.

Android: INR 99/- P.M

iOS: INR 120/- P.M

SOUNDCLOUD

IDEAL FOR: Indie Music fans

AVAILABILITY: Android, iOS, Web, UWP, XBOX

PRICE:

FREE (No Offline mode)

P.S - There is no official statement from Spotify regarding the launch.
Considering that 31st Jan is just a week away, expect an imminent announcement.

Safeguard Your Digital Life In 2019

As we have become heavily dependent on our mobile devices for privacy-sensitive tasks such as online banking, work emails, online shopping and sharing on social media, it is critical that we practice mobile security 24/7, 365 days per year.

Talking about security, 2018 was a bad year for tech & social media companies. A lot of companies lost trust & hence, a lot of users. A ton of people lost their data to god knows who!!

Here are some of the easy and simple ways to secure your phone and protect your data. It might seem that most of these involve a steep learning curve, but once done, you can live a peaceful digital life.

Source: Google Images

SECURE THE DEVICE:

Probably the most basic rule of protecting a phone! One can do this by implementing a screen lock by using a unique password and/or biometric authentication such as fingerprint! While this can prevent someone else in checking the contents of your phone, it is especially helpful if you lose/misplace your phone. My suggestion is to avoid a pattern lock as it could be easily remembered or could be recognised through swipe marks on the screen.

How-to: Settings > Lock Screen & Password > Set Screen Lock / Manage fingerprints

KEEP THE DEVICE UP-TO-DATE:

Updating your phone to the latest software helps you in safeguarding your data. It not only prevents your data from getting compromised, but it also brings you up to speed with the latest functions.

Apart from the phone software itself, even app manufacturers are constantly updating apps in order to identify bugs or make critical repairs.

Make sure you keep checking for updates and do it on a regular basis, as it helps you i making your phone experience better.

In case your data/wifi is unlimited, you may set automatically update the apps instead of having to check and update them manually.

How-to:

Device Update: Settings > About Phone > System Update

App Update: Play Store > My Apps & Games > Update

PASSWORDS:

Consider changing your once every 3 months. Let it become hygiene. Oh, also, remember to not have the same password for work & personal accounts.

If you have a tough time remembering passwords, you may want to avail the services of a password manager, instead of writing them in a piece of paper!!

What is a password manager, you ask? Here is some info - PASSWORD MANAGERS

BACK UP!

Whether it is your personal data or work-related data, if you are still saving all of it in a single location, 2019 is a good year to back up your data both digitally and the good old way of backup on a hard drive. Google, Apple & Microsoft (apart from other companies) allow free cloud storage. Depending on the kind of usage, you may buy additional storage to store important files.

Other than acting as a backup, cloud services also let you access your files from anywhere under the sun!

STOP BEING FOOLED BY CYBER CRIMINALS (Well, try):

Do not click on links, ads and attachments that look fishy or too good to be true. Remember, NOTHING is free.

Unless from a direct source or from a trusted colleague & friend (worth a check, nonetheless), do not click on any link as it might be spam and might put your device and data in serious risk.

If the link is too tempting, do a quick search on the web. If it is indeed true, go ahead check it out from the source itself.

STOP USING UNSECURED WiFi NETWORKS:

Google Rail-Tel is nice. So is the free wifi at the nearby cafe. But, it might put your data at serious risk.

When you connect to an open Wifi network that doesn’t require a password, anyone else on that network can connect to you.  Malicious parties can set-up data syphons and can easily access the sensitive data in your device.

Data has become very inexpensive these days. Stick to them. Okay, in case you HAVE to connect to an open WiFi network, ensure that you have a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on your device. They act as a shell and protect your PC / Mobile from being attacked.

Note: Despite all the software to protect, avoid sending sensitive data over public WiFi

More on VPNs HERE.

SET PRIVACY FILTERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

This might not be a fun and easy task to complete, but navigating through the settings menu of all the social media services and setting up various privacy filters will help you stay safe from prying eyes.

You may start with making your account private. You may also create different groups with relevant sharing access.

Apart from the above, disable auto location tagging and untick options that allow people to tag you in photos.

Okay, in all fairness, doing the above defeats the purpose of being a part of a social network. But given the security risks involved, doing the above may safeguard you.

CLEAN-UP 3rd PARTY ACCESS:

Google & Facebook can link-up to 3rd party apps so that they can access your name, calendar, contact list and other info. You would have given them access while signing up for a particular service. Over time, we stop using these apps & services. These apps, however, continue to access your data like calendar, location etc and may track you. All this becomes a problem when the app/service in questions gets hacked, or sell data to nefarious companies!

So, ensure that your data is strictly shared with companies that you use on a regular basis and revoke access to others that you have stopped using.

Here is HOW you can do it.

UPGRADE YOUR DEVICE:

Remember. If all else fails, consider getting yourselves a new device! It will not only be the latest in terms of hardware and software, but it will also go a long way in making your digital experience better!

Source: Google Images

Those were some of the security measures you can take to lead a safe digital life.

If you feel that I have missed out on any major security task, do let me know. May all of you have a safe and peaceful 2019 :)

Tech Resolutions for 2019

Source: Google Images

2019 is here. You are probably reading this on your smartphone/laptop that you haven't switched off in quite a while!

A new year is a time to rethink about how we use technology in our daily lives; whether it is to make life easier, improve efficiency, get fitter or just passing time! Now is probably a good time to think about your “tech” resolutions for the year.

What are “tech” resolutions, though? They are tech-related habits - Some that you need to adopt, some that you need to break! Let me tell you that most of them are easier than “no more dessert / let’s hit the gym”!

Before I proceed to the part where I talk about my tech resolutions, let me tell you that I shall be doing this as a three-part series. This blog is particularly about tech- habits. The 2nd one shall talk about security-related habits and the last one shall be about making strides in making my home a smart home.

With that out of the way, here is my list of resolutions. They are, obviously, not in any particular order. Some might feature higher or lower on your list :)

PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE:

Ok, when it comes to usage of the phone, I am as bad as anyone reading this! I use my phone while at work, while commuting, on the bed, just before sleeping and occasionally, at the dining table too. That is…. Just bad!

I am 34 and I have a toddler at home. I need to be spending more quality time with my loved ones and generally slow down on the screen time. There, I said it. My phone takes away most of my spare time and does not leave me with enough time to do other activities that may actually help me connect with people around me!

I know that this is going to be difficult. Putting the phone down is a tough ask. I am going to work hard, though. I have already taken baby steps by installing this app called QUALITYTIME. It is an Android app that gives you an in-depth review of your phone usage habits and helps you reduce it. I am hoping that it will further help me in the “Digital dieting” exercise.

iOS users can check out this app called MOMENT.

LOVE THE PHONE YOU HAVE:

On average, we see one new phone getting launched every week. Each phone has that 1 feature that “I GOT TO HAVE”!

Do not fall for this! See, the phone in your hand already does pretty much everything that you want it to do & does it well too! Even if you end up buying the next “latest & greatest” phone on the block, chances are the within a month or two, there will be a better phone that will ask for your attention ( & money).

So, appreciate and love the phone that you are using and don't fall into the annual upgrade cycle. It will save you money. Oh, and how could I forget peace of mind?!

SOCIAL-MEDIA FASTING:

For most people, the title could have been - GOODBYE, FACEBOOK.

It is 2019 and Facebook still manages to hook people for at least 1 hour a day!

I deleted the app about a year back and it has been a great year since. If I absolutely feel the need to check or post something, I log on from my computer and do it.

Over time, I have decreased my social media time by a good deal. However, I feel that I can still trim it by another 30 mins a day!

Go on, try the social Media fasting for a week. Try uninstalling the app for a week and see how it affects your daily schedule. As someone who has done it, I am sure that it will make you a much happier person :)

REJIG YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE:

Apart from cutting down time spent on social media, one thing that I have started doing is to clean my profiles. I have consciously added content that is positive and is some help to people. I I have weeded out lots of old data, re-looked at app permissions and refrained from posting personal stuff online.

If you are someone who is looking to get a job, you may want to consider scrubbing your posts and remove anything that may reduce your chance of landing our dream job or may potentially harm or haunt you in the future.

I have also unfollowed and unfriended a lot of people whom I do not know. This has helped me unclog my feed.

BE PATIENT WHILE TEACHING TECH TO ELDERS:

Let's accept it. Your folks are not going to understand tech the way you do. I have been guilty of flaring up at my mom & dad every time they came up to me with some tech query. The rate of enquiry reduced over time and it pained me a lot. I have made a conscious decision to help them understand tech better.

UNDERSTAND IOT (INTERNET OF THINGS) BETTER:

I took baby steps in the world of IOT last year. I must confess that I have had some great fun and I have learnt a fair lot. The sheer amount of knowledge and possibilities in this space is so huge that I intend to cover this in a separate blog itself. I shall be covering details like what is a smart home and how to go about making your home smart in the blog. Do look out for that.

GET SMART WITH YOUR SECURITY AND UNDERSTAND T&C BETTER:

Security is a BIG word in the online world today. Understanding the terms and conditions of new and existing accounts can help you in making informed decisions w.r.t what, how and when can you share info online.

Apart from that, there is a big checklist of DO's & DON'Ts when interacting with the digital world, which I shall be covering in the blog after this one.

Source: Google Images

That pretty much rounds up my tech resolutions for 2019.

The toughest of the lot is going to about spending less time with my phone and more time off it.

Do let me know about your tech habits that you would want to adopt or let go. While at it, in case you find any of my tech habits annoying, do let me know and I shall make sincere efforts in changing the same.