Technologies

You Can Fix the Most Annoying iOS 17 Features on Your iPhone

You’re not going to love everything about iOS 17 — and that’s OK.

iOS 17 brings several new major features to the iPhone, like StandBy mode, interactive widgets, full-screen contact posters for phone calls and the Journal app. And while most of these features are welcome additions and changes, if you’re like me, you might not love every new offering.

Read more: iOS 17.2: Check Out These New Features on Your iPhone

I get used to a particular way of doing certain things. For instance, I wasn’t a fan of the new search button at the bottom of each home page when I upgraded to iOS 16, because I’d accidentally trigger it all the time. It isn’t necessarily a bad feature, I just personally didn’t like it.

With iOS 17, there are a few features I’m not a huge fan of, as well. If you want to find out about some of the iOS 17 settings I sometimes find annoying, keep reading. Even better, there’s a «fix» for all of them, so you can either get rid of them or never have to deal with them again.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features and Settings on Your iPhone

Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

Text message verification codes on iPhone

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While you’re here, check out the iOS 17 settings you need to change ASAP and the best hidden features in iOS 17.

Stop NameDrop from automatically sharing your contact info

The new NameDrop feature on iOS 17 allows you to quickly swap contact information via AirDrop simply by bringing your iPhone near another iPhone or Apple Watch. Your name and Contact Poster (also new with iOS 17) are shared with NameDrop, along with your phone number, email address and other information.

Some people have had issues with NameDrop sharing info when they don’t want to. For example, if you place your iPhone near another iPhone in general, NameDrop may attempt to transfer your contact information. If you carry two iPhones in your bag — one personal and the other for work — NameDrop could attempt to share contact info between the two, which can be annoying when you’re not trying to use the feature on purpose.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to disable NameDrop completely. In the Settings application, go to General > AirDrop and toggle off Bringing Devices Together. Once the feature is off, you won’t be able to swap numbers and information via NameDrop.

Hide notifications in StandBy

The StandBy feature is arguably one of the biggest new iOS 17 features to the iPhone, turning your phone into a smart display when it’s charging horizontally and showcasing information, like the time, your calendar, photos and notifications, in large blocks that are easy to see. StandBy is a great way to quickly absorb information by glancing at your phone, but if people are around and you want to keep some of your information private, you may not want StandBy to show notifications.

In Settings > StandBy, toggle off Show Notifications. Now when you’re in StandBy mode, you won’t see all of your notifications displayed. Critical notifications, like weather emergencies, will still be shown in StandBy mode.

Alternatively, you can hide notification previews instead of the entire notification. That way, you can still see what notifications you’re getting, you just can’t check out the exact details unless you tap on the notification. For this to work, you’ll need to enable Show Notifications, as well as the Show Preview on Top Only setting underneath.

Stop Siri from activating so easily

Siri received a few major changes in iOS 17, including the ability to activate the voice assistant by only saying «Siri» — no more «hey» needed. It’s an easier way to quickly open an application or run a shortcut with just your voice, but at the same time, you might accidentally trigger Siri more often, since the new trigger is just a single word now.

If you want to go back to only having Siri activated when you say «Hey Siri» and not just «Siri,» go into Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for and choose the solo «Hey Siri» option. Your iPhone will no longer activate Siri simply when you say «Siri.»

For more on iOS 17, learn how to automatically delete multifactor authentication messages in texts and email and how to create Live Stickers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 25 #662

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 25, No. 662.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a holiday theme, and if you know a certain Christmas carol, you’ll quickly determine which words to hunt down. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Carolers count.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Five golden rings.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RIMS, HIMS, MARS, CHIME, CHIMES, MADS, DATE, DIAL, WAIL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

LORDS, MAIDS, SWANS, LADIES, PIPERS, DRUMMERS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CHRISTMASDAYS. To find it, look for the C that’s three letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.

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Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

Technologies

Judge Blocks Texas App Store Age-Check Law

A preliminary injunction found the Texas law, set to begin Jan. 1, is «more likely than not unconstitutional.»

A new Texas state law set to take effect on Jan. 1 would have required app stores to implement age verification processes. But the law has been put on hold, at least temporarily, by a federal court judge.

As reported by the Texas Tribune, Senate Bill 2420, also known as the Texas App Store Accountability Act, is the subject of a temporary injunction issued by US District Judge Robert Pitman.

Pitman said in his decision that the law as written is broad, vague and «more likely than not unconstitutional.» However, he also wrote the court «recognizes the importance of ongoing efforts to better safeguard children when they are on their devices.»

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The Texas law, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in May, requires app store operators — including Apple, Google, Nintendo, Steam and more — to build age verification processes for the storefronts and to only allow downloads to minors who obtain parental consent. The injunction is a ruling in an October lawsuit filed by the Computer & Communication Industry Association.

CCIA senior vice president Stephanie Joyce said in a statement, «This Order stops the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect in order to preserve the First Amendment rights of app stores, app developers, parents, and younger internet users. It also protects parents’ inviolate right to use their own judgment in safeguarding their children online using the myriad tools our members provide.»

Other individuals and the advocacy group Students Engaged in Advancing Texas also filed suits over the law, the Texas Tribune reported.

App Store Accountability Act

The bill author, State Senator Angela Paxton, said the bill was meant to give parents «common sense tools to protect their kids and to survive court challenges by those who may have lesser priorities.»

The language of Texas Senate Bill 2420 does not only include mobile app stores from Apple or Google, but any «website, software application, or other electronic service that distributes software applications from the owner or developer of a software application to the user of a mobile device.»

By that definition, websites with links to browser games or mobile game consoles with download options would fall under the Texas law as written. The law also defines mobile devices as including phones and tablets, as well as any other handheld device capable of transmitting or storing information wirelessly.

The parental consent aspect of the law requires those under 18 to have an app store account affiliated with a parent or guardian to purchase or download applications.

Age verification elsewhere

In an effort to keep adult materials out of reach of minors and to protect children from potentially harmful content and interactions, tech companies have been compelled by law or through legal action to verify the age of users.

Roblox, which has a huge audience of minors, began rolling out stricter age verification after investigations and lawsuits hurt its reputation as a safe gaming space. Australia is perhaps the most large-scale example of a government restricting access to online content. In December, Australia began restricting social media access to those 16 and older. Reddit recently challenged that law.

In the US, age verification laws have primarily targeted adult sites. Texas already has a law on the books that requires adult sites to age-block their content. The Supreme Court upheld that law in a June ruling. The UK has also enacted age restriction rules for adult sites as have other US states.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Dec. 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 25.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Of course, there’s a very Christmassy clue involved. And once you solve the entire puzzle, look at the letters used in all the answers and see what they have in common. (5-Across will tell you!) Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.