Five Annoying Tech Things to Turn Off Right Now

Give yourself a precious gift this holiday season and ditch annoying technology crud.

And while your loved ones are stewing in a post-Thanksgiving haze, grab someone's else phone and turn off these things, too. They'll thank you later, probably.

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Google's AI 'overviews'

Why you should turn them off: Google's artificial-intelligence-aided "answers" at the top of some search results vary in quality, from good to moderately pointless to preposterous — like mixing glue into pizza sauce.

Using AI also gobbles energy and water. And some websites are worried that the AI overviews perpetuate Google's trend of keeping you inside the company's digital walls rather than encouraging clicking to the rest of the internet.

How? Choose the "Web" option under the search box. You'll see only Google's classic web links. No AI.

Google said that in its testing, people find their results more helpful with the AI suggestions and they search more. A spokesman also reiterated that people are more likely to spend time on websites they click on from links in the AI overviews.

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Apple's AI summaries

Why you should turn them off: The Apple Intelligence summaries of text messages or pop-up notifications can be so stupidly off-base that they've gone viral.

Apple's AI features are only available if you have a 2023 iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max model or any model of the iPhone 16. You also must turn on Apple Intelligence.

Related:CES 2024's Most Intriguing Gadgets: eVTOLs, AI Home Agents, Smartwatches, and More

How? If you turned on Apple AI and regret it, open the Settings app > Notifications > Summarize Notifications. You can turn off AI-generated summaries of all your iPhone notifications, or only the ones for individual apps, like Messages.

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.

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Typing sounds on your phone

Why you should turn them off: You're a monster if there are audible clickety-clack sounds as you type on your phone.

How? On an iPhone, open the Settings app > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback > tap "Sound" so the button turns from green to gray.

The process varies on Android phones, but try opening the Settings app (you can find it by searching "Settings" in the Google search box at the bottom of your phone) > Sound & vibration > and flip off "Tap & click sounds."

You can also turn off all ringing, pinging, bleeping and blooping sounds like those for on-screen typing, text messages, emails, notifications and calls.

With many iPhone models, flip the ring/silent switch toward the back of the phone until you see a red bar. With some iPhones released in the past two years, you can silence your phone with the "Action" button.

On most Android phones, press one of the volume buttons on the side. When the controls pop up, tap the speaker-looking icon and then the icon that like looks like a phone with echo symbols. It replaces audible sounds with vibrations.

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Your phone's advertising ID

Why you should turn it off: The advertising ID acts like a unique fingerprint for your phone. Without it, companies have a harder time tracking the websites and apps you use and where you go in the real world.

How? On iPhones, apps need your permission to access your advertiser ID. That's why an app might ask to track your activity across other companies' apps and websites.

To see which apps have access to your iPhone's unique identifier, tap the Settings app > Privacy & Security > Tracking. If you switch off any apps that have permission here, it's like stopping their access to your phone's fingerprint.

For most newer Android phones, tap the Settings app (you can find it by searching "Settings" in the Google search box at the bottom of your phone) > Security & privacy > Privacy > Ads. You may see options to get a new advertising ID or delete it. More information is available from the consumer privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org).

Advertisers still have other ways to track your online activity and movements. But Thorin Klosowski, security and privacy activist at EFF, said deleting your device's advertising ID is like roaming a room full of strangers without wearing a name tag. Someone can figure out who you are, but it takes more effort.

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Teeny-tiny text size

Why you should change this: If you're old enough to remember AOL AIM, your deteriorating eyesight probably doesn't love your phone's standard font size. No shame. This is just reality for some of us.

But you can make the words in your text messages, many apps and web browsing MUCH BIGGER.

How? On an iPhone, open Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Larger Text. Tap the button until it's green, and use the size options at the bottom to pick your preferred text size.

On most newer Android phones, tap the Settings app and search settings for "Font size." Use the sliding option to make words or everything on your screen larger.

If you go too large, apps and online menus may become unreadable. Experiment to find what works.

— Shira Ovide, The Washington Post