Inside Facebook Dating, launching today first in Colombia

Does deeper data produce perfect matches? Facebook is finally ready to find out, starting today with a country-wide test in Colombia of its Dating feature. It’s centered around an algorithm-powered homescreen of Suggested romantic matches based on everything Facebook knows about you that other apps don’t. There’s no swiping and it’s not trying to look cool, but Facebook Dating is familiar and non-threatening enough to feel accessible to Facebook’s broad array of single users.

Originally announced at F8 in May, Facebook has hammered out details like limiting users to expressing interest in a maximum of 100 people per day, spotlighting personal questions as well as photos, and defaulting to show you friends-of-friends as well as strangers unless you only want to see people with no mutual connections. If the test goes well, expect Facebook to roll Dating out to more countries shortly as the social network pushes its mission to create meaningful connections and the perception that it can be a force of good.

“The goal of the team is to make Facebook simply the best place to start a relationship online” Facebook Dating’s product manager Nathan Sharp told me during an expansive interview about the company’s strategy and how it chose to diverge from the top dating apps. For starters, it’s not trying to compete with Tinder for where you find hookups by swiping through infinite options, but instead beat eHarmony, Hinge, or OKCupid at finding you a life partner. And it’s all about privacy, from its opt-in nature to how it’s almost entirely siloed from Facebook though lives within the same app.

“We wanted to make a product that encouraged people to remember that there are people behind the profiles and the cards that they’re seeing. We wanted a system that emphasizes consideration over impulse, We want you to consider more than that person’s profile photo.”

There are no plans to monetize Facebook Dating with ads or premium subscriptions to bonus features. But as Facebook strives to stay relevant beyond the aging News Feed and combat its branding crisis, there are plenty of incentives for it to find us a significant other.

How Facebook Dating Works…

“Dating is something we’ve seen on the platform since the earliest days. We know there are 200 million people who list themselves as single” says Sharp. He’s married himself but says with a laugh that Facebook Dating “is definitely a young and single team.” Back in 2004, online dating still had a sleazy reputation. But now that over a third of U.S. marriages start online, and Facebook has had time to identify the pitfalls stumbled into by other dating apps, it’s ready to pucker up.

The basic flow is that users 18 and up (or the local ‘Adult’ equivalent) will see a notice atop their News Feed inviting them to try Facebook Dating when it comes to their country, and they’ll see a shortcut in their bookmarks menu.

They’ll opt in, verify their city using their phone’s location services, and decide whether to add details like a free-form bio, workplace, education, religion, height, and if they have children. Facebook offers non-binary genders and sexual orientations. To fill out their profile, they’ll choose up to a dozen photos they upload, are tagged in, previously posted to Facebook, or cross-posted from Instagram as well as answer up to 20 questions about their personality such as “What does your perfect day look like?”

Users can select to filter their matches by distance (up to a maximum radius of 100 kilometers), if they have children, religion, height and age. They may then browse through the homescreen’s Suggested matches list, or they can choose to ‘Unlock’ Events and Groups they’re part of to see people from those who’ve done the same. Anyone you’ve blocked on Facebook won’t show up, though unfriended exs might. To see the next person, they either have to say they’re not interested, or choose a photo or question from the person’s profile and send them a message related to it (or at least they’re supposed to), and the sender can’t see the recipient any more.

The text and emoji-only messages go through a special Facebook Dating chat section, not Messenger, and land in the recipient’s Interested tab with no read receipts. If they reply, the chat moves to both people’s Conversations tab. From there they can decide to connect elsewhere online or meet up in person.

Sharp admits that “The moment you try to control the system you may have some unexpected behaviors occur there”. Facebook thought ahead so you can’t message photos (dick pics), you’re supposed to tie your message to a piece of their content (fewer generic pick-up lines), and you can’t follow up with people who don’t respond to you (stalking). But the company plans to stay vigilant in case unexpected forms of abuse or privacy issues emerge.

…And Why

Starting today users in Colombia will be able to create a Facebook Dating profile, but the company won’t start serving matches until there are enough sign ups. Sharp tells me “we don’t expect it to take months.” But why Colombia? He says it’s because much of South America has culturally accepted online dating, it has a sizeable population of 30 million monthly active Facebook users, and the social network can track data out of a few discrete metropolitan areas.

But there are a lot of other ‘whys’ to how Facebook Dating was built. Sharp ran me through the decision making process his team undertook to turn Facebook Dating from a concept into a concrete product. Here I’ll run through its rules and features while explaining the philosophy behind them.

1. Meaningful relationships not one-night-stands, because “meaningful” is Facebook’s new watchword as it enters the ‘Time Well Spent’ era, and Facebook has the deep biographical and interest data to find you matches you’ll want to wake up next to each day, not just go to bed with.
2. Opt-in not automatic enrollment, because “not everyone who’s single wants to date, not everyone who wants to date wants to date online, not everyone who dates online wants to date on Facebook” says Sharp.
3. Within Facebook not a new app, because it lowers the barrier to behavior that’s already hard enough for some people, and it can only achieve its mission if people actually use it.
4. Friends-of-friends and strangers not friends, because many people’s biggest fear is “are my friends and family going to see this” says Sharp, and people who are already friends don’t need help meeting and may already know if they want to date each other.
5. A new profile not your same one, because some people might want to share a different side of themselves or might not publicly disclose their sexual orientation. The only info ported into Facebook Dating is your first name and age.
6. Message and response not both people swiped right, because since Facebook wants you to be deliberate about who you show interest in, you have to send one message and hope to hear back. There’s no infinite right-swiping and then waiting get matched or messaged. “It puts the power in the responder” Sharp says.
7. Profiles and chat are separate not part of Facebook, because it doesn’t want to scare users about privacy slip-ups, and doesn’t want people to pollute the main Facebook experience soliciting dates
8. Real age and location not self-described, because Facebook wants to prevent catfishing as well as users contacting matches in distant cities who they’ll never meet.
9. Matches through Events and Groups not randos, because a photo isn’t enough for choosing a life partner, interest overlaps are key to compatability, and they give people ready-mate happenings to use as dates.

A prototype of Facebook Dating’s onboarding flow

The end result is an online dating product that maximizes convenience, both in where it’s available and how much hunting you have to do by yourself. The big question remains how far Facebook will go to making Dating a hit. The feature could live or die by how much Facebook is willing to constantly nag its single users to sign-up.

Facebook’s in a precarious time for its brand, and may have trouble getting people to trust it with an even more sensitive part of their lives. “As all the events of the past year have unfolded, it’s only underscored the importance of privacy” Sharp concludes. No one wants their dating profile ending up Cambridge Analytica’d. But if analyzing your every Like and link gives Facebook uncanny matching accuracy, word could travel fast if it’s how people find their soul-mates.

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How to Use Multiple Google Accounts at Once in Google Chrome

If you use a shared computer, chances are, you’re using a shared browser. If you would rather have personalized browser settings, private search history, and all the things that come with a browser of your own, you should be using Google Chrome’s custom profiles feature.

How to Set Up Custom Profiles in Chrome

To set up a custom profile in Google Chrome:

• Click your profile picture or name in the top right corner of Chrome. Click Manage People > Add Person. You can also reach this setting through the Chrome menu, under People > Add Person.
• Choose the name and photo for the new profile and click Add.
• A new Chrome window will open, prompting the new user to sign in to their Chrome account.

How to Switch Profiles in Chrome

Once you have all your profiles set up, you can switch profiles by clicking the profile picture or name in the top right corner, and selecting the profile you want to access from the list in the menu.

You can also access this list in the Chrome menu under People:

How to Remove a Profile in Chrome

If you want to remove a profile, you can do so with the following steps:

• Click your profile picture on name in the top right corner of Chrome > Manage People.
• Click the menu (three dots) button in the top right corner of the profile picture of the user you want to remove.
• Click Remove this Person.

Removing a profile means that their bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and any other Chrome settings are erased from your computer. (If they were signed into their Google account on your computer, and have their settings synced to their Google account, they should still be able to access their Chrome information on other devices.)

You can also get creative with your use of Chrome’s custom profiles. Rather than just use it to allow others to use your Chrome browser, you can also use it to create work and home profiles, to test if your browser extensions are wreaking havoc on your browsing, and more.

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Windows Has Built-In Troubleshooters for These 10 Problems

Computer troubleshooting can be tricky business. While some experience helps you diagnose issues, sometimes it can take hours to get to the root of the problem.

When troubleshooting, it’s thus wise to always try the simplest steps first to avoid spending too much time on an issue. To that end, you should know about the built-in troubleshooters in Windows 10 and what they can fix.

Windows 10’s Built-In Troubleshooters

To access these troubleshooters, head to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot. You’ll see a list of troubleshooters divided into two sections: Get up and running and Find and fix other problems.

The first contains troubleshooters for the most common and important areas, while the others are secondary. While they won’t always fix your problems, they’re worth a try.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the most useful of these and when to use them:

Get Up and Running:

• Internet Connections: Useful if you can’t get online or have a “Connected, no internet” message. Also see our network troubleshooting steps.
• Playing Audio: Come here if you can’t hear anything from your PC.
• Printer: Can’t add a printer? Have a job stuck in the queue? Give this a try.
• Windows Update: If Windows Update fails for some reason, run this troubleshooter.

Find and Fix Other Problems:

• Blue Screen: If you receive a blue screen of death, try this troubleshooter (and our BSoD troubleshooting tips).
• Hardware and Devices: If you can’t add a new piece of hardware or it won’t respond properly, use this.
• Keyboard: This can fix unexpected keyboard behavior.
• Power: Try this tool to see what PC settings you can change for better battery life.
• Program Compatibility Troubleshooter: This can help you get programs designed for older versions of Windows working properly.
• Search and Indexing: Windows search takes forever or won’t find the right results? Run through this troubleshooter.

For more help, check out our Windows troubleshooting guide for dummies.

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This 19-Hour Course Helps You Become a Full-Stack Developer

Many people go to college to learn code. But racking up all that debt isn’t actually necessary. Become A Full-Stack Developer: Beginner To Advanced is a 19-hour course that teaches you how to build web apps and websites from top to bottom. Right now, the training is just $12.99 at MakeUseOf Deals.

Full-Stack Education

People who can code are always in demand. But the very best jobs in technology go to full-stack developers — individuals who have mastered both front-end and back-end code.

This course helps you acquire this skill set through concise video lessons. You don’t need any experience to get started, and the training helps you gain real-world experience.

You start with the fundamentals of the web: HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The lessons get straight to the point, giving you simple instructions to follow. Within minutes, you will build your first basic website. Over the next 19 hours, you learn how to work with PHP, Laravel, React JS, Bootstrap, and more key tools.

Every few videos, you get a new mini project to try. By the later chapters, you will be creating shopping carts and setting up online payments from scratch.

These skills will be valuable in any technical career, and you can use them to build your own digital startup.

19.5 Hours for $12.99

This course offers over 19 hours of in-depth content for $12.99. Order now to get lifetime access and save over 90% on the regular price.

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‘Jackrabbot 2’ takes to the sidewalks to learn how humans navigate politely

Autonomous vehicles and robots have to know how to get from A to B without hitting obstacles or pedestrians — but how can they do so politely and without disturbing nearby humans? That’s what Stanford’s Jackrabbot project aims to learn, and now a redesigned robot will be cruising campus learning the subtleties of humans negotiating one another’s personal space.

“There are many behaviors that we humans subconsciously follow – when I’m walking through crowds, I maintain personal distance or, if I’m talking with you, someone wouldn’t go between us and interrupt,” said grad student Ashwini Pokle in a Stanford News release. “We’re working on these deep learning algorithms so that the robot can adapt these behaviors and be more polite to people.”

Of course there are practical applications pertaining to last mile problems and robotic delivery as well. What do you do if someone stops in front of you? What if there’s a group running up behind? Experience is the best teacher, as usual.

The first robot was put to work in 2016, and has been hard at work building a model of how humans (well, mostly undergrads) walk around safely, avoiding one another while taking efficient paths, and signal what they’re doing the whole time. But technology has advanced so quickly that a new iteration was called for.

The JackRabbot project team with JackRabbot 2 (from left to right): Patrick Goebel, Noriaki Hirose, Tin Tin Wisniewski, Amir Sadeghian, Alan Federman, Silivo Savarese, Roberto Martín-Martín, Pin Pin Tea-mangkornpan and Ashwini Pokle

The new robot has a vastly improved sensor suite compared to its predecessor: two Velodyne lidar units giving 360 degree coverage, plus a set of stereo cameras making up its neck that give it another depth-sensing 360 degree view. The cameras and sensors on its head can also be pointed wherever needed, of course, just like ours. All this imagery is collated by a pair of new GPUs in its base/body.

Amir Sadeghian, one of the researchers, said this makes Jackrabbot 2 “one of the most powerful robots of its size that has ever been built.”

This will allow the robot to sense human motion with a much greater degree of precision than before, and also operate more safely. It will also give the researchers a chance to see how the movement models created by the previous robot integrate with this new imagery.

The other major addition is a totally normal-looking arm that Jackrabbot 2 can use to gesture to others. After all, we do it, right? When it’s unclear who should enter a door first or what side of a path they should take, a wave of the hand is all it takes to clear things up. Usually. Hopefully this kinked little gripper accomplishes the same thing.

Jackrabbot 2 can zoom around for several hours at a time, Sadeghian said. “At this stage of the project for safety we have a human with a safety switch accompanying the robot, but the robot is able to navigate in a fully autonomous way.”

Having working knowledge of how people use the space around them and how to predict their movements will be useful to startups like Kiwi, Starship, and Marble. The first time a delivery robot smacks into someone’s legs is the last time they consider ordering something via one.

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Google’s GitHub competitor gets better search tools

Google today announced an update to Cloud Source Repositories, its recently relaunched Git-based source code repository, that brings a significantly better search experience to the service. This new search feature is based on the same tool that Google’s own engineers use day in and day out and it’s now available in the beta release of Cloud Source Repositories.

If you’ve been on the internet for a while, then you probably remember Google Code Search. Code Search allowed you to search through any open-source code on the internet. Sadly, Google shut this down back in 2012. This new feature isn’t quite the same, though. It only allows you to search your own code — or that from other people in your company. It’s just as fast as Google’s own search, though, and allows you to use regular expressions and other advanced search features.

One nifty feature here is that for Java, JavaScript, Go, C++, Python, TypeScript and Proto files, the tools will also return information on whether the match is a class, method, enum or field.

Google argues that searching through code locally is not very efficient and means you are often looking at outdated code.

As Google also notes, you can mirror your code from GitHub and Bitbucket with Cloud Source Repositories. I’m not sure a lot of developers will do this only to get the advanced search tools, but it’s definitely a way for Google to get more users onto its platform, which is a bit of an underdog in an ecosystem that’s dominated by the likes of GitHub.

“One key benefit is that now all owned repositories that are either mirrored or added to Cloud Source Repositories can be searched in a single query,” Cloud Source Repositories product manager Russell Wolf writes in today’s announcement. “This works whether you have a small weekend project or a code base the size of Google’s. And it’s fast: You’ll get the answers you need super quickly—much faster than previous functionality—so you can get back to writing code. And indexing is super fast, too, so the time between new code being added and being available means you’re always searching up-to-date code.”

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Google brings vulnerability scanning to its Cloud Build CI/CD platform

Google today announced an important update to its Cloud Build CI/CD platform that brings vulnerability scanning to all container images built using the service. Container Registry vulnerability scanning, which is now in beta, is meant to ensure that as businesses adopt modern DevOps practices, the container they eventually deploy are free of known vulnerabilities.

As Google rightly notes, the only way to ensure that security protocols are always followed is by automating the process. In this case, all new Cloud Build images are automatically scanned when Cloud Build creates an image and stores it in the Container Registry.

The service uses the standard security databases to find new issues. Currently, the service can identify package vulnerabilities for Ubuntu, Debian, and Alpine, with CentOS and RHEL support coming soon.

When it finds an issue, the service will notify the user, but businesses can also set up automatic rules (using Pub/Sub notifications and Cloud Functions) to take actions automatically. Users also get detailed reports about the severity of the vulnerability, VCSS scores, which packages were affected and whether there’s a fix available already.

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Google’s Cloud Memorystore for Redis is now generally available

After five months in public beta, Google today announced that its Cloud Memorystore for Redis, its fully managed in-memory data store, is now generally available.

The service, which is fully compatible with the Redis protocol, promises to offer sub-millisecond responses for applications that need to use in-memory caching. And because of its compatibility with Redis, developers should be able to easily migrate their applications to this service without making any code changes.

Cloud Memorystore offers two service tiers — a basic one for simple caching and a standard tier for users who need a highly available Redis instance. For the standard tier, Google offers a 99.9 percent availability SLA.

Since it first launched in beta, Google added a few additional capabilities to the service. You can now see your metrics in Stackdriver, for example. Google also added custom IAM roles and improved logging.

As for pricing, Google charges per GB-hour, depending on the service level and capacity you use. You can find the full pricing list here.

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5 Reasons Your Kids Shouldn’t Use the After School App

Can you remember what it was like to be in school? Arguments over who had the most expensive trainers, teachers complaining about your haircut or dress sense, and endless amounts of playground gossip.

The latter of those three—playground gossip—moved into the 21st century in November 2014 with the launch of the After School app on iOS and Android.

Ominously, the app’s tagline says it provides “funny anonymous school news for confessions and compliments”. That alone should be enough to set alarm bells ringing.

Let’s take a closer look and why parents shouldn’t let their kids use the After School app.

How Does the After School App Work?

The After School app revolves around anonymous and private message boards for any given school. Messages can take the form of videos, pictures, or regular text. Anyone in a school can see all the messages posted, and users are not identifiable in any way unless they reveal personal details within a message.

Users need to sign-up with Facebook. This enables the app to verify which school users attend based off their profile information and their friends.

1. Bullying

The most obvious criticism of an app of this nature is the potential for bullying.

Cyberbullying has become a huge problem in the last few years. The explosion of social media has taken the harassment away from school corridors and onto the web, a place where it’s much harder to monitor.

The After School app faced massive criticism when it first launched for its inadequate cyberbullying controls. Both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store removed the listing after a slew of complaints.

The app was relaunched in April 2015. It now has live moderators who review every post and tag them with the type of content it contains, along with stricter age verification controls.

2. Out of the Reach of Teachers

Teachers have always taken a somewhat parental role in the classroom; they have a duty of pastoral care to the children in their school.

That duty of care extends beyond being vigilant against bullying. If a child is struggling to keep up with their work, is depressed about their looks or weight, is suffering from problems outside of school, or is showing signs of extreme behavior, they can step in and try to help the situation.

With this app, a child can take their frustrations out from the gaze of both teachers and parents. For example, as reported by Recode one user in Michigan claimed they were going to bring a gun to school. This resulted in a police and FBI investigation before being eventually cleared as a hoax. The authorities never discovered the comment’s author.

3. Age/School Verification

Yes, there are stricter controls in place in terms of verifying a user’s age and school—but the main tool for verification is still Facebook.

This is clearly a recipe for disaster. Children can easily lie about their credentials on Mark Zuckerberg’s network—it already has a problem with underage users. This could potentially grant them access to the message boards of friends’ (or enemies’) schools where they could wreak anonymous havoc.

More worrying, however, is the potential for adults to pose as children and gain access. It would take most internet-savvy people less than five minutes to create a fake Facebook profile that purports to be a 15-year-old school-goer. Add a few people from the school you want to target and you’d presumably be given access.

4. Personal Details

We live in an age of government surveillance, spying programs, and eroding privacies. This is bad enough where adults’ information is concerned, but as a parent, do we not have a responsibility to protect our children from these concerns for as long as possible?

Once again, this comes back to the usage of Facebook. The app’s website says “We use your friends, education, and location information [to verify your school]”. Why should the app have so much information about a minor’s personal life? It’s creepy.

Even if they aren’t using the details for nefarious (read: money-making) purposes, what happens if someone hacks its servers? The app would lose its anonymity in a heartbeat.

5. Impersonation

Just because a user needs to provide their Facebook credentials to verify their school, it doesn’t mean that once they have access to the app they cannot impersonate someone else.

Imagine the age-old scenario of an address for a party given out to everybody. Who is inviting people to this party? Is there even a party? Do these hosts even know there’s going to be gatecrashers arriving? Who would want their child’s address given out like this?

In an interview with The Washington Post, Mya Bianchi, a 15-year-old attendee of Ionia High School in central Michigan, said the following:

“At first it was people saying nice things and complimenting others, and then it turned into bullying. A user posted my phone number along with instructions to contact me for photos, a message that was punctuated by a winking smiley face and icons of a camera and a bikini. After receiving harassing messages, I had to change my number.”

Would you want your kid exposed to that?

Mounting Concerns Over the After School App

The app’s developer is trying hard to present a friendly and open image. There are clearly issues though—a quick search on Google will reveal a mountain of negative press and quotes from concerned parents.

Please reach out and let us know in the comments if the app has affected your child—either positively or negatively. We would love to hear your story.

And if you’d like to learn more about how to keep your kids safe online, check out our list of the best family safety tools and apps.

Read the full article: 5 Reasons Your Kids Shouldn’t Use the After School App

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Here’s what Google’s $149 Home Hub smart display will reportedly look like

Google is reportedly getting ready to launch some new hardware at its October 9 hardware event and we just learned a lot more about a new product that might be launching.

It was rumored that Google was working on its own Smart Display, now we’ve got images of the Google Home Hub and details about its price tag via a report from AndroidAuthority.

via Android Authority

The device certainly looks like a Google Home product with all the fabric anyone could ask for and then far, far more on top of it.

It’s rocking a 7-inch screen and will cost just $149, which is quite a bit cheaper than the 8-inch Lenovo Smart Display which is currently the cheapest option at $199 while its 10-inch varietal ships for $249 as does the stereo-speakered JBL Link View.

Having played around with Lenovo’s product, Google has some very pretty software for their Smart Displays but there are some strange quirks given that the screen is basically superfluous by design as it can’t ever assumed that the speaker can see the screen when an answer is being given. Google has their work cut out for them, but it might be in their best interest to introduce some light touch interactions that allow you to perform more actions without speaking at all, otherwise the screen is always going to feel a bit misplaced aside from pulling up a YouTube video or watching a slideshow.

Google said to be releasing its own smart display this year

What will be interesting to see is what exclusive software wizardry the device has, if anything. The report details that the device will not have a camera like other Smart Displays which is a bit funny given that the whole point of it was to bolster its Duo video call service, which Google seems to realize either isn’t worth the inexpensive components or the potential privacy overhead.

If the rumored price of $149 proves accurate and Google opts for most of the internals that the partner Smart Displays have, this will be a very cool device at a great deal that will not get used very often. It is wildly unclear what the point is of this product vertical, and without breaking it free of its software prison Google seems to be missing a big opportunity that could be fulfilled by whatever the big G’s competitors eventually release.

This report seems pretty solid, but we only have to wait a couple more weeks to see what Google has in store, TechCrunch will be keeping up with the details at the company’s Pixel 3 hardware event on October 9.

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Google Home Mini was the best-selling smart speaker in Q2

Amazon’s Echo Dot may have been a bestseller on Prime Day, but Google’s Home Mini device is now the top-selling smart speaker worldwide, according to a new report out this morning from Strategy Analytics. The analyst firm says Google’s small speaker accounted for 1 in 5 smart speaker shipments in Q2 2018, edging out the Echo Dot with its 2.3 million global shipments compared to Echo Dot’s 2.2 million.

Combined, these two entry-level smart speakers – the Echo Dot and Home Mini – accounted for 38% of global shipments, the firm found.

In total, 11.7 million smart speaker devices were shipped during Q2, with 4 out of the top 5 devices coming from either Amazon or Google.

Following the Dot, was Amazon’s flagship Echo device with 1.4 million shipments, then Alibaba’s Tmail Genie (0.8m), and Google Home (0.8m).

Apple’s HomePod wasn’t ranked in the top five, but took a 6% share of the shipments in Q2.

However, HomePod’s premium focus and higher price tag allowed it to take a sizable chunk of smart speaker revenue during this period.

While the Home Mini and Echo Dot combined accounted for 17% of smart speaker revenues, Apple’s HomePod alone took a 16% share of wholesale revenues. And in terms of devices above the $200 price point, the HomePod had a 70% revenue share.

Strategy Analytics’s report also indicated this growing market is still in flux, thanks to expected new arrivals which could impact the shares held today by existing players.

“The number of smart speaker models available worldwide has grown significantly over the last twelve months as vendors look to capitalize on the explosive market growth,” said David Mercer, Vice President at Strategy Analytics, in a statement. “Heavyweight brands such as Samsung and Bose are in the process of launching their first models, adding further credibility to the segment and giving consumers more options at the premium-end of the marker,” he added.

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The Best Offline Games for Android That Don’t Need Wi-Fi

How to Reinstall macOS for a Fast and Squeaky Clean Mac

Most Windows users reinstall their operating system at some point, but this isn’t as common a step for Mac users. While there are less invasive ways to make an old Mac feel like new, reinstalling macOS can still prove useful at times.

Whether you’re having a major problem and want to start fresh, or plan to sell your Mac and need to reset it, reinstalling macOS is a relatively painless process. We’ll walk you through it.

Note: I performed this process using a mid-2012 MacBook Pro running OS X 10.7 Lion and ended with macOS High Sierra. The process may look slightly different on your machine.

Before You Start: Back Up!

Presumably, you’ve used this computer for some time and have personal data on it. Reinstalling macOS will wipe everything on your system, so it’s vital that you back up first. Before you back up, you might want to free up space by getting rid of old files you never use.

The easiest way to back up is using Apple’s built-in solution, Time Machine. We’ve covered how to use Time Machine to back up your Mac; you’ll need an external hard drive to take advantage of it.

If you don’t want to use Time Machine or don’t have an external hard drive, you can look at alternate Mac backup solution. Some of these offer cloud backup, so you won’t need any extra storage handy. However, cloud backups almost always require a paid subscription.

If you only have a small amount of files, you might look at syncing your most important files to Google Drive or other cloud storage. Another alternative is copying your vital folders to a USB flash drive.

Whatever you choose to do, remember that this process will erase everything on your Mac.

Sign Out of Apps

Before you proceed, you should also take the time to log out apps on your computer. Services like Adobe Creative Cloud limit the amount of installations you can use, so you should sign out to avoid wasting one on a non-existent system.

Sign out of iTunes by opening it and choosing Account > Sign Out. You can sign out of iMessage by opening Messages and choosing Messages > Preferences. Choose your account on the left sidebar and choose Sign Out.

Finally, sign out of iCloud by visiting System Preferences > iCloud and choosing Sign Out.

Step 1: Boot Into Recovery Mode

In the old days, you could reinstall the OS through the DVD that shipped with your Mac. But since new Macs don’t have an optical drive, we’ll use the built-in Recovery Mode to do so. This will work on any Mac running OS X 10.7 Lion or later.

Shut down your Mac. Hold the Cmd + R keys (one of many Mac startup key combinations) and turn the power back on. Continue holding these keys until you see the Apple logo. After a moment, you’ll see a macOS Utilities (or OS X Utilities) page with several options.

If this doesn’t work (perhaps your computer freezes at the Apple logo as mine did), you’ll need to start the internet Recovery mode instead. This runs the recovery environment from the internet instead of a partition on your hard drive. Hold Cmd + Option + R at startup to access this. You’ll see a spinning globe instead of the Apple logo.

Connect to a Wi-Fi network if you’re not already. Then wait a bit while your computer downloads the recovery environment. You’ll need to select your language to enter Recovery mode proper.

When using internet Recovery mode, the system may reinstall a different version of macOS than you were using. Mine installed Mavericks, even though I was running Lion to start with.

Step 2: Erase the Disk

Note that if you want to simply reinstall macOS without losing any data, you should skip this step and jump to “Reinstalling macOS” below.

To properly reinstall the OS, you’ll first need to erase the disk. To do this, select Disk Utility from the menu.

Next, select your internal hard drive (usually labeled Macintosh HD) from the left sidebar. Switch to the Erase tab on the right side. Make sure the Format is set to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). The default name of Macintosh HD is fine, unless you prefer something else.

Click Erase and confirm the operation. Once it’s done, you’re ready for a fresh install of macOS. Press Cmd + Q to quit the Disk Utility.

Step 3: Reinstalling macOS

Back on the macOS Utilities menu, choose Reinstall macOS (or Reinstall OS X). Click Continue to proceed; Apple will verify your computer’s eligibility to install the OS. You may see a prompt to enter your Apple ID as part of this process.

Accept the license agreement, then click your hard drive to select it for installation. Click Install to start the process. Depending on your computer’s specs (and internet connection speed if using internet recovery), this will take some time.

Once you see the Welcome screen, your Mac is back to factory defaults. If you’re selling or giving away your Mac, you can press Cmd + Q at this point. You’ll get a prompt to shut down your Mac; the next owner can proceed with setup later.

If you’re keeping your Mac, we’ll guide you through the setup.

Step 4: Set Up macOS Anew

Choose your region on the Welcome screen and click Continue.

Next, confirm your keyboard layout and hit Continue again. You’ll then need to connect to a wireless network (you can skip this for now if needed).

Continuing on, you’ll see the Transfer Information to This Mac screen. Here you can select From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk to import the data you backed up earlier. Choose Don’t transfer any information now to skip this; you can go through the process later.

Your Mac will then prompt you to sign in with your Apple ID. Enter your credentials here to sign in, or choose Create a new Apple ID if you don’t have an account yet (check our Apple ID FAQ for more). If you want to use a local account, choose Don’t sign in. However, this will prevent you from using the App Store, FaceTime, and similar.

Accept the terms and conditions, then create your computer account if you didn’t sign in with an Apple ID. From here, give your computer a moment to set up, and you’ll be greeted with your desktop.

Step 5: Update macOS (If Applicable)

You should check for macOS updates at this point. Open the Apple Menu in the top-left and click Software Update to open the App Store.

You’ll see any updates that are available for the current macOS version on the Updates tab, but you should also check on the Featured tab (or search for macOS) for the latest version of macOS available. Click Get and walk through the steps to initiate the update.

Depending on how old your Mac is, you may not be able to update to the newest version. I was able to upgrade to macOS 10.13 High Sierra on the machine formerly running Lion.

Our complete beginner’s guide to macOS will take it from here.

A Clean Install of macOS: Done!

Now you know the steps to back up your Mac’s data, erase your hard disk, and install a new copy of macOS. You shouldn’t need to do this as a troubleshooting step except in the most dire of circumstances. But it’s important if you’re selling or giving away your computer.

If a factory reset didn’t fix your issue, check out how to troubleshoot your own Mac.

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What Is Cryptocurrency? It’s Not the Same Thing as Blockchain

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple. Some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency. But what exactly is cryptocurrency? How does it differ from blockchain? And does it really matter? Here are the answers that’ll help you get caught up.

If you strip away all the marketing, hype, and hysteria, cryptocurrencies are simple.

A cryptocurrency is digital money. Rather than numbers in a bank account, cryptocurrencies are operated by users around the world. No one person can manipulate account standings, as every participant in a cryptocurrency’s network has to agree on each transaction that’s made.

For most cryptocurrencies, anyone can join in and start verifying transactions with their own computer and some freely available software. With no central authority (such as a bank), it’s difficult to hack, censor, or otherwise stop cryptocurrency—and this is why it’s so brilliant.

Have you ever tried sending money abroad? In particular, sending money to a sanctioned country? Your bank complies with national and international laws by charging you fees to send that money to other countries, and may even prevent you from sending money to certain ones. When making a cryptocurrency transfer, it makes no difference if the receiver is five miles or 5,000 miles away. It goes through.

Cryptocurrencies are “decentralized,” meaning there is no central store of data. No single person or entity has complete control over it.

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym for a person or group who still remains unknown). People like you and me can start verifying Bitcoin transactions with nothing more than a computer (such people are called “miners”). Each computer on the Bitcoin network is a “node.” By figuring out a way to ensure that every node agrees on every transaction, Satoshi invented a radical new technology that revolutionized finance.

Since then, thousands of new cryptocurrency projects have spawned. Many aim to improve on Bitcoin in some way (e.g. faster transaction validations, greater security or privacy, etc.) while others aim to offer something entirely new that Bitcoin doesn’t. Each project is different, but they all base their work on the original Bitcoin concepts.

The Cryptocurrency Terms You Need to Know

During your exploration of cryptocurrency, you may encounter the following terms:

Blockchain: The technology that drives cryptocurrencies.

BTC: The symbol for Bitcoin. Each cryptocurrency has its own shorthand “ticker” symbol like this.

Crypto: A shorthand name for cryptocurrency.

DAO: Short for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. The DAO used the same principles behind Bitcoin to distribute share capital. Almost dead after a huge and embarrassing hack.

DApp: Short for Decentralized Application, DApps run applications on the blockchain. Rather than transferring cryptocurrencies, users can transfer data, contracts, and more.

Exchange: Like a stock exchange, users can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies.

Fork: The splitting of a cryptocurrency or blockchain project into two or more different pieces of code. Learn more about forks in our guide to cryptocurrency forks.

FUD: Fear, uncertainty and doubt. Not unique to cryptocurrencies, but generally used when publications are pushing agendas and manipulating markets, or worrying new traders with misinformation or lies.

HODL: An alleged typo on a Bitcoin forum, HODL is a cryptocurrency war cry. A quick reminder to others that they should stand strong and keep hold of their currency, even if the market is struggling.

ICO: Initial Coin Offering. These are a way to raise money for cryptocurrency projects which don’t exist yet. They might be worth something in the future, but they could also be worth nothing, or be a scam.

Lambo: The dream of cryptocurrency owners, hoping that one day their coins will be worth enough to buy a Lamborghini, circa $250,000.

Miner: A person who verifies transactions. Essential for any cryptocurrency to survive.

Node: A computer or other machine used by a miner to verify transactions.

Satoshi Nakamoto: The anonymous inventor of Bitcoin.

Satoshi: The smallest unit of Bitcoin. One hundred millionth of a Bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC).

To the moon: Another cryptocurrency enthusiast warcry, often spoken in jest, used when a coin is experiencing a large price rally.

Wallet: Like a bank account for cryptocurrencies. Used to store your virtual coins.

Phew, that’s a lot of slang terms. At least now you can HODL and post “when moon?” memes from the back of your Lambo (that’s assuming you mined Bitcoin back in 2010, and didn’t pump it all into the DAO). Learn even more in our blockchain and cryptocurrency glossary.

Cryptocurrency Is Not Blockchain

You know what cryptocurrencies are, but it’s also important to know that cryptocurrency is not the same thing as blockchain. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, and wrongly so. They are two separate things.

Blockchain refers to the underlying technology of cryptocurrency. When Bitcoin first arrived, the two concepts were so deeply intertwined that many just referred to them as the same thing, but once other projects, currencies, and blockchains arrived, the distinction grew clearer.

Blockchain technology simply stores data on a distributed ledger. Different blockchain projects aim to store different types of data on their blockchains, from real estate details, to contracts, and, of course, virtual currency values. Cryptocurrency is just one type of data that can be stored on a blockchain. All cryptocurrencies implement blockchain technology, but not all blockchain projects involve cryptocurrency.

Learn more in our What Is Blockchain? article.

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Sony Launches the PlayStation Classic for $99

Sony has announced the PlayStation Classic, a reimagining of the original PlayStation for nostalgic nerds. Like Nintendo before it, Sony has realized there’s money to be made from bundling old games into new (and really rather cute) hardware.

It has always been possible to play old games, whether legally (by hooking up old consoles or buying digital copies) or slightly less legally (with emulators and ROMs). However, the NES Classic and SNES Classic proved people wanted to own the hardware too.

What Is the PlayStation Classic?

After seeing people go gaga for old Nintendo consoles repackaged for a new generation, Sony is jumping on the bandwagon. And where better to start than with the original PlayStation, which was released way back in 1994.

The PlayStation Classic is an almost exact replica of Sony’s debut console. Except it’s 45 percent smaller, and has the cables required to hook it up to modern televisions. It also comes with two wired PS1 controllers for local multiplayer gaming.

Games consoles are nothing without games, so the PlayStation Classic comes with 20 titles pre-installed. Sony hasn’t released the full list of games yet, but we know it includes Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3, Ridge Racer Type 4, Jumping Flash, and Wild Arms.

The PlayStation Classic is being released on December 3, 2018. It’s priced at $99.99 in the U.S., €99.99 in the EU, 9,980 yen in Japan, and £89.99 in the U.K. If the NES Classic and SNES Classic are anything to go by, demand will quickly outstrip supply.

Necessary for Nostalgic Nerds?

The main problem Sony has here is how many old PlayStation games are already available elsewhere. For example, Final Fantasy VII, the biggest draw of the games mentioned thus far, is available on all of the latest consoles, plus Windows, Android, and iOS.

If this has made you feel nostalgic for your formative gaming years check out our list of the PS1 games we’re still playing today. Or check out our overview of the NES Classic Edition and our quick look at the Super Nintendo Classic Edition.

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Facebook plans voter drive, partners with Democratic/Republican Institutes

Facebook will push users to register to vote through a partnership with TurboVote, has partnered with the International Republican Institute and International Democratic Institute non-profits to monitor foreign election interference, and will publish a weekly report of trends and issues emerging from its new political ads archive. Facebook has also confirmed that its election integrity war room is up and running and the team is now ‘red teaming’ how it would react to problem scenarios such as a spike in voter suppression content.

These were the major announcements from today’s briefing call between Facebook’s election integrity team and reporters.

Facebook’s voter registration drive will also partner with TurboVote, which Instagram announced yesterday will assist it with a similar initiative

Much of the call reviewed Facebook’s past efforts, but also took time to focus on the upcoming Brazilian election. There, Facebook has engaged with over 1000 prosecutors, judges, and clerks to establish a dialog with election authorities. It’s partnered with three fact-checkers in the country and worked with them on Messenger bots like “Fátima” and “Projeto Lupe” that can help people spot fake news.

The voter registration drive mirrors Instagram’s plan announced yesterday to work with TurboVote to push users to registration info via ads. Facebook says it will also remind people to vote on election day and let them share with friends that “I voted”. One concern is that voter registration and voting efforts by Facebook could unevenly advantage one political party, for instance those with a base of middle-aged constituents who might be young enough to use Facebook but not so young that they’ve abandoned it for YouTube and Snapchat. If Facebook can’t prove the efforts are fair, the drive could turn into a talking point for congressional members eager to paint the social network as biased against their party.

The partnerships with the Institutes that don’t operate domestically are designed “to understand what they’re seeing on the ground in elections” around the world so Facebook can move faster to safeguard its systems, says Facebook’s Director of Global Politics and Government Outreach Team Katie Harbath. Here, Facebook is admitting this problem is too big to tackle on its own. Beyond working with independent fact checkers and government election commissions, it’s tasking non-profits to help be its eyes and ears on the ground.

The war room isn’t finished yet, according to a story from the New York Times published in the middle of the press call. Still under construction in a central hallway between two of Facebook’s Menlo Park HQ buildings, it will fit about 20 of Facebook’s 300 staffers working on election integrity. It will feature screens showing dashboards about information flowing through Facebook to help the team quickly identify and respond to surges in false news or fake accounts.

Overall, Facebook is trying to do its homework so it’s ready for a “heat of the moment, last day before the election scenario” and won’t get caught flat-footed, says Facebook director of product management for News Feed Greg Marra. He says Facebook is “being a lot more proactive and building systems to look for problems so they don’t become big problems on our platform.” Facebook’s director of product management for Elections and Civic Engagement Samidh Chakrabarti noted, this is “One of the biggest cross-team efforts we’ve seen.”

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Password bypass flaw in Western Digital My Cloud drives puts data at risk

A security researcher has published details of a vulnerability in a popular cloud storage drive after the company failed to issue security patches for over a year.

Remco Vermeulen found a privilege escalation bug in Western Digital’s My Cloud devices, which he said allows an attacker to bypass the admin password on the drive, gaining “complete control” over the user’s data.

The exploit works because drive’s web-based dashboard doesn’t properly check a user’s credentials before giving a possible attacker access to tools that should require higher levels of access.

The bug was “easy” to exploit, Vermeulen told TechCrunch in an email, and that it was remotely exploitable if a My Cloud device allows remote access over the internet — which thousands of devices are. He posted a proof-of-concept video on Twitter.

Details of the bug were also independently found by another security team, which released its own exploit code.

Vermeulen reported the bug over a year ago in April 2017, but said the company stopped responding. Normally, security researchers give 90 days for a company to respond, in line with industry-accepted responsible disclosure guidelines.

After he found that WD updated the My Cloud firmware in the meanwhile without fixing the vulnerability he found, he decided to post his findings.

A year later, WD still hasn’t release a patch.

The company confirmed that it knows of the vulnerability but did not say why it took more than a year to issue a fix. “We are in the process of finalizing a scheduled firmware update that will resolve the reported issue,” a spokesperson said, which will arrive “within a few weeks.”

WD said that several of its My Cloud products are vulnerable — including the EX2, EX4, and Mirror, but not My Cloud Home.

In the meantime, Vermeulen said that there’s no fix and that users have to “just disconnect” the drive altogether if they want to keep their data safe.

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5 Facebook Alternatives That Don’t Steal Your Data

Facebook was once the poster child of the social media revolution. Today, it’s a shining example of how not to run a social network.

Facebook’s ongoing security and privacy issues mean young people are leaving in their droves. According to Pew Research, 44 percent of users aged 18 to 29 said they deleted the app in the last year. Given they are also the demographic who are most likely to understand Facebook’s confusing privacy settings (64 percent), this is all rather worrying.

So, if you’re looking to jump ship and delete your Facebook profile, which social network should you head for next? Which Facebook alternatives won’t steal your data? Here are our top five picks.

1. FamilyWall

Of the all the arguments against deleting Facebook, perhaps the one that holds the most weight is the potential loss of contact with your extended family.

If you have family members living in other cities—or even other countries—Facebook is one of the best ways to share photos, stories, and videos with each other. It lets you keep up with each other’s lives in a fast and easy way.

@familywall I love your app! I wish, though, that I should add weekly or daily chores for my children. Is there hope for that? #teenageboys

— Samantha (@samiamthirty) July 7, 2016

But wait. There are alternatives to Facebook that you can use that fulfill the same role. One example is FamilyWall. As the name suggests, it’s specifically designed for keeping in touch with your loved ones.

The network has three key features that make it appealing from a privacy standpoint. Firstly, your family’s communications are kept in a private, secure cloud. Secondly, the network is ad-free—so no companies will be using behavioral data to target you. Finally, FamilyWall promises that it will never use your private data for commercial use.

Features on FamilyWall include shared calendars for birthdays and other events, shared task lists, real-time location tracking, the ability to create private groups within your family, and an extensive photo and video library.

2. NextDoor

FamilyWall can fulfill the same role as Facebook when it comes to your family, but what about with regards to your local community?

Another core strength of Facebook is its ability to let you contact your neighbors and townspeople to organize events, discuss security, sell unwanted items, and generally foster a feeling of goodwill in the local area.

If you use Facebook for those purposes, you should check out NextDoor, the local social network. Aside from the security benefits, it’s much more suited to community use that Facebook. It’s the best community-driven Facebook alternative.

Privacy-wise, NextDoor’s policy is to never sell or rent your contact details or personal information to third-parties. Due to the nature of the network, some of your contact information might be visible to your neighbors.

So, what about the features? NextDoor lets neighborhoods make private communities that only local invitees can join. Before someone can join, the person must verify their physical house address. Everyone must also use their real name.

The network revolves around the neighborhood feed. It’s a continually updating list of recommendations, questions, items for sale, and more.

3. 23snaps

You should think twice before you add any more pictures of your children to Facebook; you might see them staring back at you from the side of a city-center bus one day.

Why? Because (although you retain copyright of the photos) Facebook’s terms grant Mark Zuckerberg’s company “non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free rights” to anything you put on the network.

In practice, that means Facebook can sub-license your content to other companies without your permission. It can even charge for the sub-license without being legally required to pay you a cent. And no, those silly copyright statuses you see pop up occasionally won’t help you.

If you’d like to create a shareable photo album full of precious memories of your children, check out 23snaps instead. The company will not share your information or photos with advertisers unless it has your explicit permission to do so.

The network itself lets you create multiple albums of photos, videos, and text, then share them with the appropriate people. To save time, it will intelligently place your pictures in the right albums. You can even order a print book of all your photos that’ll last for eternity.

4. Edmodo

Edmodo is focused on the education sector. Social media connections between students and teachers are playing an increasingly important role in the classroom, but the more public and open platform of services like Facebook tempers their suitability. This has left educators looking around for Facebook alternatives.

The Edmodo network seeks to fill that space. The app was designed by teachers. Features include classroom-wide group chats, subject-based conversations between classrooms, and one-on-one monitoring.

There’s also support for class rosters, school reports, and exam creation. The vast community has now shared more than 650 million free support materials for both teachers and students.

And, because of the inherently sensitive nature of minors’ information, Edmodo has a robust privacy policy. The company does not sell your or your children’s’ information to anyone, including advertisers and third-party apps.

As another safety net, Edmodo also lets parents join the network. Doing so differentiates it from cyberbullying-ridden apps such as After School. By joining, parents can engage in the learning process and coordinate their efforts with teachers and professors.

5. MeWe

The four networks we’ve looked at so far all have seemingly robust privacy policies. But if Facebook has taught us anything, it’s that privacy policies are liable to change.

Sadly, there are hardly any networks whereby privacy has been one of the founding principles of the site. MeWe is the exception.

On the site’s homepage, you’ll see the MeWe challenge. Tick the social networks you use, and it scans your browser to see how many tracking cookies they are running. I ticked all nine networks for testing purposes, and the scanner found 126 results. And the worst offender by some distance? Facebook.

MeWe is different. The network prides itself on its Privacy Bill of Rights. It says:

• MeWe will never show you a targeted ad.
• All posts will be shown chronologically; no algorithms will manipulate what you see.
• The site will never use tracking cookies, either of their own or a third-party.
• MeWe will never sell your personal data.

Some big names have bought into the idea; Sir Tim Berners-Lee—the inventor of the world wide web—serves on the board.

Some of MeWe’s unique features include profiles that can be customized for each group you join, the library tagging so you can find your content easily, and platform-wide voice integration.

If absolute privacy really is your number one priority from a social network, MeWe is the best Facebook alternative.

Which Is the Best Facebook Alternative?

If you’re a privacy fanatic, you simply won’t be able to find a network that’s as expansive as Facebook but without the tracking, selling, and manipulating of data.

However, using the Facebook alternatives we recommended, you can split the network down into its component parts and replace each function with something more suitable.

To continue your journey, you should consider some privacy-focused alternatives to Facebook Messenger, as well as more niche social networks that can fulfill specific needs.

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How to Start Making Your Own Bullet Journal Templates

The Bullet Journal system is all about keeping a handwritten journal, but that’s not to say that you can’t use digital tools to simplify the process of creating your Bullet Journal layouts.

With advanced design apps like Illustrator or basic tools like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote, you can breeze through creating your templates, and focus on getting things done. Here’s what you’ll need to create your own Bullet Journal templates.

1. Digital Dotted Paper

Dotted grid journals are among the most popular choices for Bullet Journal enthusiasts. If you want to design your templates with that grid in mind, or plan on printing out your templates, you can generate digital dotted paper with Incompetech.

If you’re a Bullet Journal purist and want to stick to the popular A5 Leuchtturm journal, you’ll need 39 dots down and 27 dots across. To generate one side of an A5 journal with Incompetech, you can use the following specs:

• Page size: 5.8 x 8.3
• Minimum border: 0.25 inches
• Dot weight: 1 point
• Grid spacing: 5 dots per inch

You’ll end up with one extra row, but it’s close enough—and you can always remove the extra row in Illustrator.

The final file is saved as a PDF, which you can then use in your vector app as the basis for your templates.

If you’re planning on printing these out and placing them in a binder, you can use the same specs as above with an A4 or letter page, to get the same size boxes.

2. Design App

Now you’re finally ready to design your layouts, with several options to choose from based on your design skills.

We’d recommend first printing out your dotted grid and sketching out your basic layout by hand to figure out where everything’s going to go.

It doesn’t have to be pretty, but this is a good way to get a basic sense of what you want your template to look like.

Adobe Illustrator

An easy way to create your own Bullet Journal templates is to use a vector app like Adobe Illustrator. If you’re already an Adobe Creative Cloud member, the choice is a no-brainer.

Illustrator makes it easy to create tables which you can use to create your monthly and weekly layouts. To get started, open up the PDF you generated from Incompetech in Illustrator.

• (Optional) Select all the dots using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + A and group them using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + G.
• Open the layers panel by going to Window > Layers.
• Check the box as shown below in the screenshot to lock the layer. If done correctly, you should see a lock icon appear. This will prevent you from inadvertently moving the dots.

Now you can begin to design your layouts. You can create a monthly grid, for example, in a few easy steps (just remember to select Landscape orientation when you create your new document):

• After you select the layers panel, click the New Layer icon. 
• Go to View > Snap to Point and make sure it’s toggled on, so your shapes snap to the dotted grid.
• Draw a rectangle using the Rectangle Tool (Keyboard shortcut M).
• With the rectangle selected, go to Object > Path > Split into grid.
• In the dialog box that opens, choose the number of rows and columns you want. (If you’re creating a monthly calendar with the days of the week listed at the top, select seven columns and seven rows.) 

The grid is actually composed of individual boxes, so you can select the entire top row using the Select tool (Keyboard shortcut V). Click and drag your mouse across the top row of boxes and then use the anchor point in the center to narrow the size of your rectangles for the days of the week.

Use the text tool to add the days of the week and the number dates for the month, and the fill tool to change the color of significant dates. (You can select a color scheme for your Bullet Journal using Adobe Color.)

You can also get creative with the use of shapes in Illustrator, switching things up with other shapes like polygons and circles, and even create your own shapes using the pen or pathfinder tools.

Using a vector app means you can work quickly, easily duplicating layouts for each month, and duplicating repetitive shapes within a layout. And if you don’t want to pay for a vector app, there are plenty of decent free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator.

If you have an iPad Pro or 6th Gen iPad that supports the Apple Pencil, there are plenty of ways you can hand draw your templates, but with the added benefit of apps that make it easy to draw straight lines.

Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote

If you find Adobe Illustrator overwhelming or don’t want to pay for access to the program. there are plenty of apps you probably already have on your computer like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote.

Each program has basic shapes, lines, and the ability to create tables. And you can save your templates as PDF files.

• In PowerPoint, click the Insert tab and you’ll find the option to add tables, shapes, icons, pictures, and more. 
• In Keynote, click Insert in the menu to add tables, shapes, lines, and images. 

In both programs, you can also find formatting options for your shapes. You can change the fill color and transparency, the stroke color and type, and you can also add design elements like drop shadows.

Both apps also make it easy to align shapes and text, with elements of your design snapping into place.

3. Stickers and Fonts

Bullet Journals are all about being productive and keeping track of your to-do list. But there’s no harm in making it pretty as well.

When you maintain a digital bullet journal it not only saves you time but also gives you the option to easily use icons and digital stickers. You can use them to make your templates look pretty regardless of your creative skills.

You can find digital PNG files on graphic design marketplaces like Creative Market (keep an eye out for their weekly freebies) or the completely free Pixabay.

You can also find icon files on sites like The Noun Project and interesting fonts on sites like FontSquirrel.

Make sure that anything you download is in the PNG format. You can then place them on your template without obscuring the dotted grid, or anything else on your layout.

Using Your Bullet Journal Templates

When it comes to using your templates, you can print them out and put them in a binder.

If you’d rather keep the entire process digital, you have two main options. You can import them into a mobile note-taking app and write directly on your template with a stylus. Have an iPad Pro or 6th generation iPad that supports the Apple Pencil? GoodNotes 4 is a popular paid app that plenty of Bullet Journal enthusiasts use. Another popular choice for creating templates and doodles is the iPad app Procreate.

Or you can make an editable PDF. Once you’ve saved your PDF, go to PDFEscape:

• After you’ve uploaded your PDF, click Form Field and select Text or Text Paragraph.
• Click and drag to insert fields wherever you want to be able to type in text.
• Click the green download button.

You can then open your PDF in your browser or PDF editor of your choice and type in your info.

And don’t forget: as you begin designing your own templates, you can always turn to Instagram or Pinterest for more Bullet Journal inspiration.

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