Tech Hacks

⚡ Tech Hacks for South African Small Business Owners

These are small changes you can make on your phone or computer. Each one solves an annoying problem. Each one takes less than two minutes.

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🔥 HACK OF THE WEEK

Stop websites from begging to send you alerts

The problem: Every time you visit a news site or a shopping site, a pop-up asks “Allow notifications?” You always click No. It’s annoying and wastes your time.

The fix (Chrome on computer):

Open Chrome.
Click the three dots in the top-right corner.
Click Settings.
Click Privacy and Security (on the left).
Click Site Settings.
Click Notifications.
Select “Don’t allow sites to send notifications”.

That’s it. That pop-up will never bother you again.

⚡Hacks that Actually Work

1. Turn an old phone into a security camera for free

The problem: You want to watch your shop, stock room, or home office. But security cameras are expensive.

The fix: Download a free app called Alfred Camera on your old phone and your current phone. Put the old phone somewhere it can see the room. Open the app on your current phone. Now you can see live video, get motion alerts, and even hear sounds. Works overnight. Works during load shedding if the old phone has battery.

2. Mute someone on Twitter without them knowing

The problem: Someone you follow posts too much, or says things that annoy you. But you don’t want to block them and cause drama.

The fix:

Find one of their tweets.
Click the three dots (⋯) on that tweet.
Click Mute.
Choose Mute this user.

You will never see their posts again. They will never know you muted them. No awkward conversations.

3. Stop Facebook from tracking what you buy on other websites

The problem: You looked at running shoes on Takealot. Now Facebook shows you running shoe ads. It feels creepy because Facebook shouldn’t know what you buy elsewhere.

The fix:

On Facebook, click your profile picture (top right).
Click Settings & Privacy, then Settings.
Click Your Facebook Information (on the left).
Click Off-Facebook Activity.
Click Clear History.
Then turn off “Future Off-Facebook Activity”.

Facebook will stop following you around the web.

4. Find your keys, wallet, or remote in 10 seconds

The problem: You waste 15 minutes every week looking for lost things. That’s time you could be working.

The fix: Buy an Apple AirTag if you have an iPhone, or a Tile if you have an Android. Attach it to your keys or wallet. Open the app on your phone and press “Play Sound.” The lost item will beep loudly. You will find it in seconds.

5. Stop hurting your eyes when you work at night

The problem: Your computer screen is very bright and blue. At night, it makes your eyes tired and can even keep you from sleeping well.

The fix (Windows): Click Start, go to Settings, click System, click Display, then turn on Night light.

The fix (Mac): Click the Apple logo, go to System Settings, click Displays, click Night Shift, then turn it on until morning.

The screen will turn warmer and orange-ish. Your eyes will thank you.

6. Stop apps from eating your phone battery in the background

The problem: Your phone is dying by 2pm even though you barely used it. Some apps are running in the background without you knowing.

The fix (iPhone): Go to Settings, tap Battery, scroll down to see which apps use the most battery. Then go back, tap General, tap Background App Refresh, and turn it off for the apps you don’t need running all the time.

The fix (Android): Go to Settings, tap Apps, pick the app, tap Battery, then select Restrict background usage.

Your battery will last much longer.

7. Ring your phone even when it’s on silent

The problem: You lost your phone somewhere in the house or office. It’s on silent. Calling it does nothing.

The fix (Android): On any computer, go to android.com/find. Sign in to your Google account. Click Play Sound. Your phone will ring loudly even if it’s on silent.

The fix (iPhone): On any computer, go to iCloud.com/find. Sign in. Click your phone. Click Play Sound. Or use a friend’s iPhone with the Find My app.

8. Recover a tab you closed by accident

The problem: You were reading something important. You closed the tab by mistake. Now you can’t find the page again.

The fix: Press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows, or Cmd + Shift + T on Mac. The last tab you closed will come back. Press it again and again to reopen even older tabs.

Works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave.

9. Silence all robocalls (iPhone)

The problem: Your phone rings constantly with spam calls. “Your vehicle warranty…” “We’ve been trying to reach you…”

The fix: Go to Settings, tap Phone, then turn on Silence Unknown Callers. Calls from numbers not in your contacts will go straight to voicemail. You won’t even know they called.

10. Stop Google from showing you ads based on your browsing

The problem: You searched for something once. Now Google shows you ads for the same thing everywhere. It feels like Google is listening to you.

The fix: Go to myadcenter.google.com. Click Ad Personalization. Turn it Off. Google will still show ads, but they won’t be based on your search history or browsing.

11. Stop Instagram from listening to your microphone

The problem: You talked about something near your phone. Then Instagram showed you an ad for that exact thing. It feels like they are listening.

The fix: Open Instagram. Go to your profile. Tap the three lines (top right). Tap Settings and Privacy. Tap Privacy. Tap Microphone. Turn it Off.

12. Send a text to yourself as a quick note

The problem: You think of something important, but you don’t have a notebook. Or you need to send a link from your computer to your phone.

The fix: Open WhatsApp or Messages. Start a new message. Type your own phone number as the recipient. Now you have a private chat with yourself. Type notes, save links, copy passwords. It’s always there.

13. Stop YouTube from autoplaying the next video

The problem: You watch one video. YouTube automatically plays another one. Then another. Suddenly you lost an hour.

The fix (computer): On YouTube, click your profile picture (top right). Click Settings. Click Playback and performance. Turn off Autoplay next video.

The fix (phone app): Tap your profile picture. Tap Settings. Tap Autoplay. Turn it off.

14. Mute a noisy group chat (iPhone)

The problem: Someone added you to a WhatsApp or iMessage group. Now your phone buzzes 50 times a day with messages that don’t matter to you.

The fix (iPhone iMessage): Open the group chat. Tap the icons at the top. Turn on Hide Alerts. You will still get messages, but your phone won’t buzz or ping.

WhatsApp (both iPhone and Android): Open the group. Tap the group name at the top. Tap Mute. Choose 8 hours, 1 week, or Always.

15. Find any Wi-Fi password you’ve ever connected to (Windows)

The problem: You need to give a visitor your Wi-Fi password, but you forgot it. Or you set it up years ago and never wrote it down.

The fix: On your Windows computer, open the Start menu. Type Command Prompt. Right-click it and choose Run as administrator. Then type this exactly, replacing “WiFiName” with your network name: netsh wlan show profile name="WiFiName" key=clear. Press Enter. Look for Key Content — that’s your password.

16. Stop apps from begging you to rate them 5 stars

The problem: Every time you open certain apps, a pop-up says “Rate us 5 stars!” It’s annoying and gets in your way.

The fix (iPhone): Go to Settings, tap App Store, turn off In-App Ratings & Reviews.

The fix (Android): Open the Google Play Store app. Tap your profile picture. Tap Settings. Turn off Request in-app ratings.

17. Lock your phone without using the power button

The problem: Your power button is broken, or hard to reach, or you just want a faster way to lock your screen.

The fix (iPhone): Go to Settings, tap Accessibility, tap Touch, tap AssistiveTouch, turn it on. A small circle appears on your screen. Tap it, then tap Lock Screen.

The fix (Android): Download a free launcher like Nova Launcher. It lets you double-tap the home screen to lock the phone. Or search the Play Store for “lock screen shortcut” apps.

18. Undo an email you just sent (Gmail)

The problem: You hit Send and immediately realised you forgot the attachment. Or you sent it to the wrong person. Or you made a typo.

The fix: Right after you click Send, look at the bottom left corner of Gmail. You will see a message that says “Sent” with two buttons: Undo and View Message. Click Undo immediately. The email will come back as a draft. You can fix it and send again.

Make it better: In Gmail Settings, go to General, find Undo Send, and change the cancellation period to 30 seconds. That gives you more time to catch mistakes.

19. Stop Facebook from showing you “John liked a photo” spam

The problem: Your Facebook notifications are full of useless things: “John liked a photo,” “Sarah commented on a post,” “Mike updated his cover photo.” You don’t care.

The fix: On Facebook, click your profile picture (top right). Click Settings & Privacy, then Settings. Click Notifications (on the left). Click Likes and Reactions. Turn off “Likes on posts by others”. Also turn off anything else that doesn’t matter to you.

20. Turn your phone into a magnifying glass

The problem: You need to read small print on a label, a menu, or a document. Your eyes aren’t what they used to be.

The fix (iPhone): Go to Settings, tap Accessibility, tap Magnifier, turn it on. Then triple-click the power button. A zoom window opens. Use your camera like a magnifying glass. You can even freeze the image and zoom in more.

The fix (Android): Download the free app Magnifier by Google from the Play Store. Open it. Point your camera at small text. Done.

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