Let’s call this Farewell Friday, friend. It’s time to say so long to disc burning. I haven’t burned a DVD in forever, and Sony now says they’re officially killing off recordable Blu‑rays. Regular Blu‑rays aren’t going anywhere yet, movie lovers. But there’s one more movie standard dying. Learn about that at the end of this newsletter.

Grow your brand the tried-and-true way: Want to get in front of 500,000 smart, engaged readers or millions on national radio? Our team can help you put together the perfect advertising package for your budget. Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch. Now, on to the tech smarts! — Kim

Want to try out a new city or travel over the long term for cheap? You need to know about home swapping. There are dozens of home-swapping groups on Facebook for everyone from women over 50 to vegans who like baseball. But it’s not for everyone, and you have to do your homework.

Swap smart

My advice: Eat the fee the first time and use a third-party site to see if home swapping is for you. (I’ve got options and costs below.) You can try it by yourself to avoid fees, but be sure to do your due diligence and create an agreement.

🚩 Secrecy is the biggest red flag. If the other party refuses to video-chat on a platform like FaceTime or sign a formal agreement, move on. Ask about security systems and anyone else who has access to the property while you’re staying there, too.

What about your home?

If you’re a renter, check your rental agreement for restrictions and rules around subletting. And if you own your home and still owe on your mortgage, see if your loan agreement lets you rent your place.

Take precautions. Have a plan in place for unexpected maintenance problems and a local contact for your swapper to reach out to about plumbing issues, TVs or pests.

Lock any closets and rooms off-limits to guests, and store all your valuables in a portable safe (this one’s $19).

Insurance is part of this convo, too. Ask if your renter’s or homeowner’s policy extends to anyone you swap homes with. You may need additional coverage.

🦺 Guardhog and Pikl specialize in insurance just for home sharing. Who knew?

Arrivederci, beaches

When you’re getting started with home swapping, going through a vetted third-party website is your safest bet. Here are a few to check out:

✈️ Know someone who loves to travel? Share this post using the icons below so they’re in the know, too.

Wake up with a smile on your face!

🚨 Shed light on this: The FTC says most subscription apps and websites use “dark patterns.” These manipulative design techniques push you to buy things and/or put your privacy at risk. Examples: Being forced to enter payment details for a free trial or upload your contacts to access features. Watch out for this.

Such a lug nut: Advance Auto Parts is notifying 2.3 million folks about a data breach. They say it only impacts current and former employees and job applicants, but samples of the leaked data suggest it could include customer info, too. Argh.

A grieving mom forced off social media: A judge said “to protect minors,” the posts about her 13-year-old daughter's suicide must be removed. Internet sleuths located the four teens accused of bullying the girl offline and online, and now their families are receiving threats. This happened in a Mississippi town of 20,000 people, but it’s getting national attention.

⚠️ Keep it real: More folks than ever are trying out AI companionship. You create your dream partner, and the bot finetunes its responses to match your exact needs. But this sets you up for IRL failure; real people aren’t instantly available, and they def won’t do or say everything you want.

Don’t trust Amazon reviews: More proof is out that Amazon sellers are trading cash and free products for five-star ratings. Some even pay for negative reviews on competitors' pages. Tips to spot the fakes? Language and timing. Look for multiple reviews using similar phrasing with no details.

NASA identifies the first “potentially habitable” planet: The James Webb Space Telescope found the exoplanet with an atmosphere 50 million light-years away. It’s 1.73 times the radius of Earth and 5.6 times its mass. Color-wise, it's a cross between Mars and Jupiter. Isn’t that something?

🦟 Mosquitoes suck: Try the Weather Channel app’s new mosquito forecast that analyzes weather info and real-world mosquito data to predict activity by ZIP code. Download the app (iPhone and Android) > add a ZIP code > tap Daily at the bottom of the screen > and scroll down. OK, now I’m itchy.

32 hours of battery life: Hey, your old earbuds don’t have that! Raycons are so much more affordable than AirPods, have studio-quality sound and they fit securely in every ear. Score 15% off and free shipping right now at BuyRaycon.com/kim.* They come with a 30-day happiness guarantee, too!

Alt + Tab: A keyboard shortcut pro Windows users know. Press those keys to cycle through all your open programs quickly. On a Mac, it’s Cmd + Tab.

You better work: Android now supports creating a work profile on your device to separate your work apps and data from your personal apps. Go to Settings, search for Work Profile or similar, and follow the setup prompts. Sorry, iOS lovers, no soup for you! Apple doesn’t support this.

Airplane Wi-Fi: Read this before you use the Wi‑Fi on a plane. Anyone can grab your credentials. If you’re not flying soon, hit the site and email the article to yourself to read later.

Cord management made easy: Get some stickers — labels you write on, color-coded dots or colored foil star stickers. Affix the same label or colored sticker to the cable and the port on the device. When you plug in the cord, simply match the cable’s sticker to the port.

AI is changing the world at a pace we’ve never seen before in the history of mankind. That’s why you need to take a free test drive to learn how you can save time and money using AI in your business.

The problem: Buying the tech to make it happen is expensive — and who knows if you’re even choosing what you truly need?

The pros at Oracle will bring AI to your company the easy way. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure uses NVIDIA GPUs, so you know you’re getting the gold standard in processing power. Let them worry about updates and maintenance so you can focus on the future.

Swap the E’s for 3’s and add an exclamation point, just to be safe.

Let’s end Farewell Friday with one more goodbye: Redbox is shutting down. No joke, I still know a few folks who rent movies from the kiosks. Parent company Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for bankruptcy, and it looks like they’ll have 24,000 rental vending machines to sell.

Speaking of … Which body part makes a ton of money making movies? This knee. (You’re going to share that with the kiddos, I know it!)

🎨 I’ll be back bright and early with fun, free AI tools to try. You’re going to love tomorrow’s free newsletter. Hit the ratings below and drop a comment if you want to. I read them all! — Kim