Articles by Jeramy Johnson

An unpleasant surprise for Eufy owners to wake up to.

What you need to know

A Eufy server upgrade early this morning resulted in some of its customers’ private videos being made visible to other customers.
The issue was identified and fixed within the hour.
Eufy is adamant that the breach only affected a tiny percentage of its users.

Early this morning, Eufy customers in several different countries noticed something extremely odd — instead of seeing their own video feeds and recordings, they were seeing videos from other Eufy customers. As reported by 9to5Mac, the privacy breach was first noted on Reddit, and then other reports began surfacing around the web.

Apparently, the issue resulted from a bug that occurred during a scheduled server upgrade, and it was fixed within an hour after it was first noticed and reported.

In response to the breach, a spokesperson for Eufy issued the following statement to our Managing Editor, Daniel Bader:

As first reported by @9to5mac, rand…

Buy Buy Birdie?

Twitter’s long-rumored subscription service seems to be edging closer to reality, and one of its key rumored features is the ability to undo sent tweets. Called Twitter Blue, the service will reportedly cost approximately $3 per month and may also include features like the ability to create bookmark collections, with other features and different tiers to be added later.

A subscription plan is something that industry insiders have been expecting from Twitter for some time as the company searches for more ways to sustainably monetize its services. The social media giant has also been upgrading its services quite a bit over the past few months, adding in features like the ability to upload high-quality 4K images with more intelligent image cropping, the ability to search your DMs, and who can forget its Clubhouse competitor, Spaces.

This got us wondering, would you pay to undo your tweets? Answer in the poll or leave us a comment below.

Would you pay to undo your tw…

Best answer: Yes! Amazon’s Fire tablets are great for content consumption, but haven’t previously been built with work in mind. However, the HD 10 Plus Productivity Edition just might be the perfect hybrid option for those on a budget.

Should you buy the Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus Productivity Edition?

Amazon is arguably the top choice when it comes to purchasing an inexpensive, personal tablet for consuming videos, playing games, or entertaining the kiddos. Its popular Fire tablets come in a variety of sizes, and there are even two separate lines of Fire Tablets for kids with longer warranties, more durable cases, and more age-appropriate user interface and content.

The latest edition of the Fire HD 10 now comes in a “Plus” option much like the Fire HD 8 Plus, with more RAM over the base model and the ability to pair with a special wireless charging dock. Not only does this functionality make charging your tablet more convenient, but it also allows you to leave your Fire HD 10 Plus i…

Yes, I’m a grumpy old man. Now get off my lawn.

I hope this article finds you enjoying a relaxing mid-May Sunday, but I’m going to diverge a bit from my typical sunny disposition. You see, I tend to be a pretty positive person, both in life and in the articles I write here at Android Central. I always try to focus on the positives as much as possible when writing a review or opinion piece, and I like to give companies the benefit of the doubt (Benefit of the Doud?) whenever I can. However, I’ve had this persistent, nagging itch building for a while that I feel I must scratch, and now’s the time to let loose.

I’ve had it up to here (holds hand at the top of my 6’1″ frame) with “smart” watches.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still love to try out and experiment with smartwatches. I’m very eager to have a device manufacturer change my mind — which actually almost happened recently when I reviewed the Garmin Venu 2. That fitness-focused smartwatch has a lot going for it — it’s easy…

Amazon first introduced Alexa to us through its original Echo smart speaker in late 2014. To this day, if you’re looking for the best Alexa speaker, you’re probably going to look first at the company’s Echo line of smart speakers. In fact, Amazon recently announced updates to its entire Echo product line, and we will be covering and reviewing each of these new speakers shortly. Many great Alexa-enabled speakers are made by other companies such as Bose, Sonos, and Ultimate Ears that you may wish to consider. This guide will help you make the best purchase decision as you consider the best Alexa speaker for your household.

Best Alexa Speaker from Amazon

1. Amazon Echo (4th Gen) ($100)
2. Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) (From $50)
3. Amazon Echo Show 8 ($110)
4. Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) ($250)
5. Amazon Echo Studio ($200)
6. Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition (4thGen) ($60)
7. Amazon Echo Flex ($25)

Best third-party Alexa speaker

1. Sonos One (Gen 2) ($199)
2. Sonos Move ($400)
3. Ultim…

Google Maps is hands-down one of the most useful apps ever created, helping us find great takeout, get directions to an unfamiliar place, or even learn where we can get vaccinated against a deadly virus. A handy feature that many Google Maps users love is Street View, which lets you explore places you want to visit before you actually get a chance to go there. However, not everyone is thrilled with their homes, businesses, or personal property showing up in photos for all the world to see. Thankfully, there’s a relatively easy way to get your home blurred out of Google Maps, so you can feel like you’re abode is a secret government base protected from spying eyes. We’ll show you how to hide your home from Google Maps Street View so that you can regain a bit of your privacy back.

How to hide your home from Google Street View

From your browser, open Google Maps.
Type in your home address into the search bar.
When your home comes up, click on the little yellow person-shaped figure and…

If you’re looking for a great streaming device, we’ve ranked the best Amazon Fire TV Sticks that you can buy right now. A streaming stick is a great, low-cost option to bring all of the content you want into your living room, and there really isn’t a better option than a Fire TV Stick. Even though it’s a couple of years old at this point, we still believe that the best choice overall is the Fire TV Stick 4K. It comes with a handy Alexa Voice Remote and is the best all-around version of a Fire TV device.

Best Overall Fire TV Stick: Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote

Let’s not mince words here; this is the Fire TV stick that you want to get. Period. Yeah, the others work just about as well, but with the Fire TV Stick 4K, you are future-proofing yourself. As more and more video content is available in better formats like 4K, UHD, HDR 10+, and Dolby Vision, you’re going to want to have a device that can support and stream that content, especially if and when you upgrade your TV…

Thanks to the popularity of apps like Clubhouse, it seems that every other social app is scrambling to add an audio experience to its platform. From Twitter Spaces to Slack, to Facebook, practically everywhere you turn, you’ll see something similar, but it’s not limited to traditional social apps. Even messaging apps are getting in on the fun. Telegram has actually had a voice chat feature for a while now, but over the past year, it’s been promoting the option as a way for small groups or large public channels to communicate in discussion groups or even as an alternative to traditional podcast recording and distribution. If this sounds interesting or exciting to you, we’ll show you how to use Telegram’s voice chat feature to start up some dynamic group conversations.

How to create and run a Telegram voice chat

Telegram voice chats can be created in groups or channels, be they public or private. To start a voice chat, you must be an admin of the group/channel.

Open the Telegram ap…

Rewarding bad behavior?

Yesterday many of us reacted with disdain at the news that several companies ran fake review schemes for their products for sale on Amazon. These unscrupulous activities were revealed from a data breach uncovered by the cybersecurity experts at SafetyDetectives. Some of the top alleged offenders were Aukey and Mpow, two brands whose listings generally appear all over Amazon’s website, and two brands that sites like Android Central regularly review and often recommend.

Amazon has since pulled down most, if not all, of those alleged offender’s product listings. It’s not clear at this point if these measures will be permanent or if the affected companies will be able to successfully appeal Amazon’s actions.

If the companies are able to relist their products on Amazon, will you still consider purchasing them?

Does the alleged fake review scheme on Amazon make you less likely to buy from the accused vendors…

There are plenty of Alexa-enabled devices out there today, and making your home smarter and more secure is easier than ever with Amazon Alexa smart locks. One of the most significant conveniences in a home can come from installing a smart lock so that you never have to fish a key out again, and you can manage guests easier. These are the best smart locks that support Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, although our favorite is the August Smart Lock Pro, which is stylish, easy to install, and works with most smart homes.

Best Overall: August Smart Lock Pro

The Smart Lock Pro is a stylish lock that works with most existing deadbolts, meaning you don’t need to replace your keys to use it. You can lock and unlock the door with an Alexa command, or the door can automatically unlock as you approach it with your smartphone. It supports smart home standards like Z-Wave Plus and Apple’s HomeKit and includes a Connect bridge that allows it to work over Wi-Fi. That included bridge is key to thi…