Learn the real story.
Plain-English explainers on the things people are actually worried about. No jargon, no scaremongering, and we'll always tell you what a privacy phone can and can't do.
No jargon. No scare stories.
Scams & fraud
Spot the fake email, the fake call and the fake shop.
How to report a scam in the UK: who to tell, and how
One page, every UK scam covered: forward emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, texts to 7726, ring your bank on 159, then Report Fraud. Plus scam adverts, HMRC, post, investments and nuisance calls.
Read it →Scams & fraudIs this email a scam? Spot phishing and report it
The five tell-tale signs of a scam email or text, how to check if a message is really from your bank or a delivery firm without clicking anything, where to report it (report@phishing.gov.uk and 7726), and what to do if you've already clicked.
Read it →Scams & fraudIs this website legit? How to spot a scam website
Eight quick checks before you buy from a shop you don't know: the web address, the prices, contact details, Companies House, independent reviews, a free website checker and how they want you to pay. Plus section 75, chargeback, and what to do if you've already paid.
Read it →Scams & fraudIs it really your bank calling? How to check, and why to hang up
How bank impersonation calls work, what your real bank will never ask, how to call back safely (159, a different phone, or wait), and what to do if you've already moved money, including the £85,000 reimbursement rules.
Read it →Scams & fraudHow to stop spam calls: block numbers on iPhone, Android and landlines
How to stop spam calls: block a number on iPhone and Android, silence unknown callers, forward scam texts to 7726, and free landline call blocking.
Read it →Scams & fraudHow to stop cold calls: register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
Stop unwanted sales calls for free: register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) online, by text or by phone. Calls must stop within 28 days. Plus what TPS won't stop (scams included) and where to complain.
Read it →Scams & fraudCan you trust online reviews? How to spot fake ones
Fake reviews have been illegal in the UK since April 2025. How to spot them, how to read reviews sensibly, and what to check when a shop has none.
Read it →Scams & fraudHow to find genuine discount codes (without the scams)
Where genuine discount codes really come from, how voucher and cashback sites make their money, the coupon-extension controversy, and the red flags that a “discount” is a scam.
Read it →Everyday privacy
What's watching, what isn't, and what to switch off.
How to clear your browsing history on iPhone, Android and PC
How to clear your history in Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox, plus the copy most guides forget: your Google and Microsoft account activity. And the honest bit about what clearing can't reach.
Read it →Everyday privacyIncognito mode and private browsing: what they really hide
How to open a private window in every browser, exactly what Incognito and Private Browsing hide (your device's history) and what they don't (you, from websites, your broadband provider or your employer).
Read it →Everyday privacyHow to use a VPN, and when it actually helps
What a VPN really does, when it's worth having (public Wi-Fi, your broadband provider) and when it isn't, plus a ten-minute set-up: install, connect, kill switch, and how to check it's working.
Read it →Plain-English explainerUK digital ID has been scrapped: what's still checking who you are
The national digital ID was cancelled in July 2026. What was proposed, what happened, the identity and age checks that remain, and the honest truth about whether a de-Googled phone ever helped.
Read it →Plain-English explainerOnline Safety Act explained: age checks and the under-16 ban
What the Online Safety Act actually requires in 2026, why sites now ask for your ID or a face scan, the real data-breach risk, and the under-16 social media ban coming in spring 2027.
Read it →The smart, lawful wayUK age verification: prove you're 18 without your passport
Age checks don't have to mean uploading your ID to a site that might get hacked. Privacy-preserving verification lets you prove your age without surrendering your identity. Here's how.
Read it →Plain-English explainerHow to choose a VPN (and ignore the marketing)
Most VPN 'reviews' are affiliate adverts. Here's what actually matters when you choose one (no-logs, jurisdiction, who owns it), what doesn't, and the honest truth about free VPNs.
Read it →Plain-English explainerData brokers: who's selling your details, and how to get off their lists
Data brokers quietly buy and sell your name, address and habits. Here's who they are, how to opt out yourself for free, and when a removal service is worth the money.
Read it →Everyday privacyGadgets that physically block tracking: what works, what's a gimmick
USB data blockers, webcam covers, privacy screens, Faraday pouches, RFID sleeves and kill switches, sorted into what's worth a few quid and what's a waste. Plus the free settings that do the same job.
Read it →Everyday privacyAre there spy chips in your phone? What's real, what isn't, and what a privacy phone can't fix
Hidden hardware is real, but it was aimed at targets, and the famous spy chip story was never proven. The genuine hardware weak point is the modem, which no de-Googled phone removes, and what actually costs people money is scams.
Read it →Everyday privacyHide my email: aliases, temporary email and burner numbers, and when not to use them
Every shop and wifi login wants your email and mobile. Aliases stop that at source: Apple Hide My Email, DuckDuckGo, Firefox Relay and Proton Pass compared. Plus the trap nobody mentions, because a public inbox or a number you lose can cost you the account.
Read it →Staying secure
Locks, passwords and the boring bits that matter.
How to tell if your phone has been hacked, and what to do
The real signs your phone or accounts have been hacked (and the myths that aren't), then what to do, step by step: updates, unknown apps, passwords, 2-step verification and when to reset.
Read it →Staying securePhone storage full? How to clean up your iPhone or Android
A one-hour privacy clean-up for iPhone and Android: update, delete apps you don't use, take back permissions, unlink old sign-ins, free up space and clean it safely.
Read it →Staying secureHow to hide apps on iPhone and Android
Hide apps on iPhone (the locked Hidden folder), Android private space and Samsung, step by step, plus the honest limits: hidden isn't the same as secure.
Read it →Staying secureHow to lock apps on iPhone and Android
Lock banking, email or any app behind Face ID, keep private photos in a locked folder, and use Android private space or Samsung Secure Folder, step by step.
Read it →Staying secureWhich antivirus do you actually need? An honest UK guide
The honest answer: Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android already have built-in protection that's enough for most people. When paying makes sense, and the fake-virus scam to watch for.
Read it →Staying secureHow to secure your home internet and Wi-Fi
A one-evening checklist for UK homes: router admin password, WPA2/WPA3, updates, a guest network for gadgets, switching off WPS and UPnP, and your provider's free scam filter.
Read it →Plain-English explainerKeyless car theft: do Faraday pouches for car keys work?
Relay theft lets thieves drive off without your keys ever leaving the house. Here's exactly how it works, the free things you can do tonight, and the cheap pouch that stops it.
Read it →For parents
Lock down the phone your child already has.
The best first phone for a child (ages 9 to 12): a UK parents' guide
Basic phone, smartphone with controls, or a hand-me-down? The honest pros and cons of each, what to look for (calls, location, battery, spending caps), and how to set it up safely.
Read it →For parentsHow to lock down your child's phone: a UK parents' guide
The free parental controls already on iPhone, Android and Windows, the five settings that matter (limits, app approvals, filters, location, passcode), a starting point by age, and the honest limits of it all.
Read it →For parents · AndroidGoogle Family Link: set up your child's Android phone, step by step
A plain-English, step-by-step guide to Google Family Link for UK parents: screen time, bedtime and school time, blocking apps, approving downloads, web filters, location, plus a 'basic apps only' setup and the honest caveats.
Read it →For parents · iPhoneiPhone parental controls: set up Screen Time step by step
Set up your child's iPhone from your own, in plain English: Family Sharing, a Screen Time passcode, bedtime Downtime, app limits, who they can contact, blocking downloads, Ask to Buy, location sharing, and a 'basic apps only' set-up.
Read it →For parents · Windows & XboxMicrosoft Family Safety: controls for your child's Windows PC and Xbox
Step by step for UK parents: screen time, app and game limits, website filters and purchase approval on a Windows PC and Xbox, plus what Microsoft has quietly removed, and why a phone needs different tools.
Read it →Phones & GrapheneOS
Which phone, which updates, which apps.
Pixel 8a vs 9a vs 9: which is best for privacy (and GrapheneOS)?
All three get security updates into the 2030s and all three are recommended by GrapheneOS. How they differ on update dates, memory, battery, camera and price, and which one we'd pick.
Read it →Before you switchWill my UK banking app work on GrapheneOS?
Which UK banking apps work on GrapheneOS in 2026: Starling, Monzo, Nationwide and HSBC do; Barclays needs one setting; Lloyds, Halifax and M&S Bank don't. Plus why, and what to use instead of Google Wallet.
Read it →Check before you buyHow long will my Pixel get security updates?
Every Pixel from the 6 onwards and the date its security updates end, what that means for a renewed phone, what GrapheneOS can and can't do after that date, and how to check your own phone.
Read it →What's changingGoogle wants to approve the apps you install. What that means for you
Google's new developer verification rule, in plain English: what changes, when it reaches the UK (not on 30 September), why Google says it's about scams, the trade-off, and why GrapheneOS phones aren't affected.
Read it →Buyer's guideWhich Google Pixel to buy for GrapheneOS (a plain buyer's guide)
GrapheneOS only runs on Google Pixels, but not every Pixel is a good buy. Why Pixel 8 or newer is the rule for 2026, new vs renewed, the carrier-lock trap that ruins a cheap deal, and how to choose.
Read it →Phones & GrapheneOSiPhone slow or hot after iOS 26? What actually helps, and what's a myth
A big update leaves an iPhone slower, warmer and hungrier for battery for a few days, and that part is normal. Then the settings that genuinely help (two of them cut tracking as well), the myths that don't, and how to tell when it really is the battery.
Read it →Get the free guide.
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