Have you ever opened Safari, the web browser on your Apple device, and noticed lots of open tabs? There is a built in feature on iOS devices that allows you to have open tabs automatically close after a certain period of time. Having too many open tabs can sometimes slow down the device.
To see how many tabs you currently have open, tap on the Safari icon, which looks like a blue compass:
On an iPhone, tap on the two squares in either the top or bottom gray bar:
On an iPad, tap on the four squares icon on the top right:
Once you tap either of those icons, you’ll see a screen that shows all of your open tabs and the total number of open tabs. On those screens, you can tap the little X in the corner of each tab preview to close that particular tab. When finished on this screen, tap done to return to the previous screen.
iPhone Display of Open TabsiPad Display of Open Tabs
A long press (holding your finger down on the icon instead of a quick tap) on either of the icons mentioned above will give you more options, including the ability to close that specific tab or close all of your open tabs.
To have your device automatically close any open tabs after a set period of time, tap on Settings and then Safari. Scroll down to the tabs section and then tap on Close Tabs.
You have the option to have Safari automatically close tabs after one day, one week, or one month. A blue check will be next to whatever option is set.
Have you tried out this feature? Let us know in the comments.
If you have a Kindle and use the Libby app, you may have been wondering how to send e-books to your Kindle.
Libby is an app made by OverDrive that allows you to browse for and read and listen to e-books, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines. If you have a Kindle, you also have the option to checkout e-books and read them on your Kindle device.
To get started, open the Libby app on your phone or tablet, which is available on iOS (Apple) and Android devices. If you have a Kindle Fire or another device that does not support the Libby app, you can go to https://libbyapp.com/
Once the app is open, click on the shelf icon on the bottom of the screen.
Next, find the book you want to send to your Kindle and tap or click on Read With.
If this is your first time accessing the book after borrowing it and there is no “Read With” text and it only displays “Open in Libby,” that means that particular e-book is not available in Kindle format. If you have previously opened the book within the Libby app and would like to send it to your Kindle, tap on “Manage Loan” and then tap on “Read With.”
Next, tap on Kindle.
From here, a browser window will pop up prompting you to log in to Amazon if you aren’t already logged in. Once you are logged into Amazon, you’ll see a screen with more info about library loaning as well as a “Get Library Book” button.
If you have more than one Kindle or device with a Kindle app (for example if you have the Kindle app installed on your phone), you will have the option to choose where you’d like to deliver the book.
Above the Get Library Book button, the email address you use to log in to Amazon is displayed. If that is not the email address of the account you used to register your Kindle, click or tap sign out and log in with the correct account.
Also on this page, you will see when your loan period ends. After the loan expires, the title will automatically be returned.
Tap or click “Get Library Book” to send your e-book to your Kindle.
Once you have sent your e-book to your Kindle, you will get a confirmation screen that it was successful. The e-book will automatically be downloaded to your Kindle and it will be displayed in the Your Library section of your Kindle. If you are using a Kindle Fire, open up the Kindle app, which is called either Kindle or Books. If you don’t see the e-book on your Kindle, make sure that it is connected to WiFi.
Here is a step-by-step video showing the process when using the Libby app on an iPad:
Have you used the Libby app to send books to your Kindle? Let us know in the comments!
If you have used Facebook, you have seen an ad. There’s no getting around it, and unfortunately, there is no way to completely block ads on the platform. However, you do have some control over your ad settings, including which types of ads you see and what information of yours advertisers can access.
The methods to change your Ad Settings are slightly different based on how you access Facebook.
If you are accessing Facebook via a computer, click on your profile picture in the top right corner and then click on Settings & Privacy, and then Settings. In the app, tap on the three lines in the bottom right corner (iOS) or top right (Android), then swipe down to Settings & Privacy, and then tap on Settings.
Next, on a computer click on Ads on the menu on the left side. On the mobile app, swipe down and tap on Ad preferences. From here, the settings are in similar locations.
On the Advertisers tab, you will have the option to hide ads from advertisers you have seen recently. You can also see advertisers you have hidden and advertisers whose ads you’ve clicked. On the Ad Topics tab, you can select which types of topics advertisers can use to reach you. If you click or tap on a specific category, you can choose to leave the setting as is or see less of that particular topic.
On the Ad Settings tab, you can manage whether or not you receive personalized ads. “Data about your activity from partners” allows you to choose whether Facebook shows you personalized ads on Facebook and Instagram, if you have an Instagram account. If this option is set to yes, Facebook will allow advertisers to use data from your activity on Meta products, which include Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, and other Meta Apps. With any options with a radio yes/no button, gray signifies don’t allow and blue signifies allow.
Under “Categories used to reach you,” you can select whether you would like an advertiser to be able to target you based on the information you have provided in your profile: Employer, Job Title, Education (any schools you have listed), and Relationship Status. You may also have an “Other categories” option depending on how much personal information you have provided in your profile. Each type of profile information (e.g. employer, education) has its own yes or no option.
The “Audience Based Advertising” setting allows you to see to which advertisers have accessed lists that contain certain information from your profile. For example, an advertiser may pay for a list containing everyone who is female, aged 25-35, and lives in the United States. The birth date field is required to join Facebook, and gender and location are in the basic info section of your profile. You can see which companies have used these lists.
If you click on the company name and then click on “they uploaded or used a list to reach you,” you can get the option to allow or not allow advertisers to use this particular list on Facebook to show you ads. You may also have the option to contact that particular company. If you would like that company to not be able to use that particular uploaded list to show you ads, click on don’t allow. If you have already chosen that, you will see an allow button.
The “Ads shown off of Facebook” setting allows you to decide whether you can be shown ads off of Facebook Company Products, such as on non-Facebook websites and apps that use Facebook advertising services.
The “social interactions” setting lets you choose whether or not your friends can see if you have liked a certain page that is being advertised. For example, if you have liked the Hannaford Facebook page, and Hannaford runs an ad, if you allow your friends to see, there will be a message next to the page name on their feed saying that you liked that particular page.
There are several different ways that you can limit what information advertisers can find out about from your Facebook profile. It’s a good idea to access your ad settings to see what information is being shown to advertisers. With any social media, it’s always a good idea not to share too much information. You may think it’s just your friends and family who are seeing it, but often times that same information is being accessed by advertisers.
Have you had the chance to go over your ad settings on Facebook? Let us know in the comments.
Ancestry is one of the big names in genealogy research. Their database contains thousands of records including US Census Records, Birth, Marriage, Death, Military records, and more. During the pandemic, Ancestry offered home access to its library database with your library card. Now that most libraries are open to the public, ProQuest has once again required Ancestry Library to be accessed within the library by either using a library computer or with a device connected to the library’s WiFi network.
You can search for a specific person by entering the first and last name and other optional information such as places they have lived or the year they were born. You can also add optional information such a particular family member, occupation, and their race/nationality.
In addition to searching, you can also explore record collections of Census and Voter Lists, Birth, Marriage and Death Records, and Military Records.
If you would like to learn more about how to Ancestry Library Edition, check out our YouTube video tutorial:
Have you tried out the Ancestry Library edition? Let us know in the comments.
You may have heard of the many things that AI (artificial intelligence) can do. There are chat bots that can assist you with various tasks, and you may be familiar with Alexa and Siri, digital assistants who can help you with various tasks like giving directions and setting timers. We have even previously written about Rytr, a tool that can help you with your writing. Now there is a new type of AI that can create art by simply entering a keyword or two.
Craiyon, which was formerly known as Dall-E Mini, uses AI model drawing images to create images based on any prompt.
You can use a broad term. This is what it came up with when I entered “mountain hotel”:
Or you can get a little more specific. This is what it came up with when I entered “cat reading on the beach”:
There are all sorts of fun things you can try, such as famous people, places, or food. Have you tried Craiyon? Let us know in the comments.
