With over 50% of adults owning smartphones, it’s hard to imagine life without one. However, most people don’t take the time to truly read up on how their smartphone works and more often than not they don’t use the phone to its true potential.
Here’s a quick list of smartphone tricks that will make you the most interesting person at your next progressive cocktail party.
1. Take a screenshot
This one is an easy one. Great for sharing a web image or scandalous text SNAFU, all you do (on the iPhone) is press the home button and the sleep/on/off button at the same time. The image will go directly to photos for quick and easy sharing.
For Android phones, hold the power and volume down buttons at the same time. The image is then saved to your captured images folder in your Gallery App. This trick only works on Android 4.0 and higher.
2. Salvage a wet phone
Nothing quite says 1st world problems like dropping your smartphone on the ground or even worse, in the water! While you may think that this is the end of the world as you know it, all may not be lost.
The first thing you need to know is not to turn the power on. Next, you should wipe the phone dry with a micro fiber cloth. If you can take the battery out you should do so.
On to the weird part, put your smartphone into a bag or container with uncooked rice and leave it overnight. The rice will help draw all of the moisture out of the phone. Who thought of that!
Whatever you do, don’t put the phone in the microwave!
When you wake up, put the pieces together and turn the phone on. If it starts back up you’re saved!
3. Find a lost or stolen phone
All iOS devices have an app called Find My Phone (though it works for iPads, iPods and such) Register this as soon as you can. It lets you remotely find your gadget as long as the battery is not dead the gadget is in standby. You can also remotely wipe all the data on the gadget as well.
On Android, they have apps that do the same thing. Where’s My Droid?, Lookout Mobile Security and Carbonite Mobile will all do the same thing pretty much.
4. Don’t share your location
Nowadays, every app you use wants to broadcast everything about you, inlcuding your GPS location.
You should turn off GPS when you’re taking pictures. To turn it off on your iPhone, go to Settings>>Privacy Location Services. You can select what you want to turn off, the camera or everything else.
On an Android, go to Settings>>Location Services and turn GPS off when you don’t need it. For Windows Phone, go to Settings>>Location to turn off Location Services.
via USA Today