How to Export Your Google Photos Library

Google Photos App Store listing on Apple iPhone

Google Photos keeps your pictures and videos backed up online. But to save your moments in case of an accident or to free up cloud space, you should still periodically back up your Google Photos library locally. Here’s how to do that with Google’s export tool, Takeout.

Visit the Google Takeout website and sign in to your Google account. Click the “Deselect All” button to export only your media from Google Photos and exclude your information from the rest of the Google services.

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How to Pin Control Center Modules to the Menu Bar on Mac

Mac User Adding Control Center Module to Menu Bar

The Control Center on Mac consolidates all the system controls in one neat drop-down menu. But there are some controls like “Wi-Fi,” “Battery,” and “Sound” outputs that you still might want to access from the menu bar.

Mac users running macOS Big Sur and newer have both options. They can keep system controls in the Control Center and they add any control directly to the menu bar. This includes new Control Center modules like “Now Playing,” “Display,” “Accessibility Controls,” “Fast User Switching,” and more.

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How to Launch Chrome with a Keyboard Shortcut in Windows 10

Windows 10 is packed full of keyboard shortcuts, but you can also create your own keyboard shortcuts to launch the applications they are assigned to. Here’s how to create one for launching Google Chrome on Windows 10.

You’ll need Google Chrome installed on your PC to do this. You’ll also need to create a desktop shortcut for Chrome if you don’t already have one. To do this, open the “Start” menu by clicking the “Start” button in the bottom-left corner of your desktop.

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How to Send an Email with a Different “From” Address in Outlook

If you have multiple email accounts in Microsoft Outlook, you can change the “From” address in a new email. This is quicker than swapping to a different inbox, and lets you send emails from different addresses, even if they aren’t your own. Here’s how—with some caveats.

Outlook lets you send emails from any account you’ve set up in the email client, but also from any other email address, even if you haven’t set it up. That sounds worrying—and in some circumstances it is—but there are legitimate reasons to use this functionality as well as nefarious ones.

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How to Listen to Spotify Offline on a Samsung Watch

spotify offline samsung galaxy watch

Smartwatches can be very handy when they allow you to leave your smartphone behind. Samsung Galaxy watches include several features that make this possible, including offline Spotify music playback. We’ll show you how to get it set up on your watch.

Downloading music for offline listening is great for running and working out. You can connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones and listen to tunes without your phone. It can also help save mobile data if your Samsung watch is equipped with LTE.

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How to Add World Clock and Time Zone Widgets to Your iPhone

Three world clock widgets.

When you work remotely or have friends and family who live in another country, it’s important to know what time it is across time zones. A world clock (or time zone) widget on your iPhone’s Home screen makes this much easier.

We prefer the following options:

  • World Clock widget: This built-in widget is analog-only and quite basic, but it gets the job done.
  • Widgetsmith: This popular widget-builder utility has a World Clock feature that shows the time in multiple locations in digital format. It’s also immensely customizable.
  • World Clock Time Widget: This one is great for time-zone conversion. It also has a visual timeline of each location, so you’ll know if it’s day, night, or the next day, in a given location.

The process of adding widgets to your iPhone Home screen is the same for all apps (more on that later). First, let’s set up a widget from each app we mentioned above.

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How to Force Close Apps on Android TV

android tv force close apps hero image

It’s always annoying when an app doesn’t work as it should. Sometimes, the only thing you can do to solve the problem is force close the app. You can do this on your Android TV just like on your smartphone. Here’s how.

There are a few reasons why you might need to force close an Android TV app. Perhaps video streaming is choppy, the app is being laggy and slow, or it’s just plain unresponsive. Whatever the case may be, force closing the app will usually solve the problem, and it’s simple to do.

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How to See Your Notification History in Android

android notification history hero

Notifications are a key component of smartphones, so it can be annoying if you accidentally swipe one away before reading it. Introduced in Android 11, “Notification History” is a log of every notification you’ve dismissed. Here’s how to use it.

The Notification History feature is not enabled by default. Once turned on, it will keep a log of every notification that was dismissed over the past 24 hours. This includes system notifications and alerts that appeared and disappeared on their own.

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How to Track Your Data Usage on Android

android data usage hero image

As smartphones have become more popular, data plans have become more limiting. A lot of people need to keep a close eye on data usage to avoid surprise bills. We’ll show you how to do this with Android’s built-in tools.

All Android devices have a basic set of tools for monitoring data usage. Many devices also allow you to set up usage warnings and limits to help you avoid using too much data. Setting up these tools can help you stay on top of your usage and avoid costly fees. On your Android phone or tablet, swipe down from the top of the screen once or twice and then tap the “Gear” icon to open the “Settings” menu.

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