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Imagine you’re driving home alone late at night after an evening out at a bar when suddenly your iPhone vibrates.

“AirTag Found Moving With You,” reads a notification on your iPhone. “The location of this AirTag can be seen by the owner.”

The roads are empty. There’s no other drivers in sight. And as you continue on your drive home, the notification pops up again and again on your iPhone. 

Is someone following you? What exactly is going on here?

It’s a scary situation, and according to Twitter user @Sega__JEANAsis, who goes by Jeana on the platform, it happened to her. Jeana shared her ordeal in a viral Twitter thread and in a DM with Mashable. She has since made her account private.

Jeana shared her story about being tracked by an AirTag in a viral Twitter thread.
Credit: @Sega__JEANAsis / Twitter

Apple’s AirTags are a small Bluetooth device the company released earlier this year that are meant to track items that you may regularly displace. For example, drop one of these $30 devices in your wallet and the next time you can’t find it, you can just track it using the Find My app on your iPhone to discover it actually slipped into the seat of your car.

However, putting a tiny, relatively cheap tracking device on the market has led to some nefarious uses.

“So something kinda terrifying happened to me last night— someone attached an Apple AirTag to the underside of my front wheel well while I was inside a bar,” Jeana tweeted Saturday morning.

Apple warned Jeana she was possibly being tracked via notifications on her iPhone.
Credit: @Sega__JEANAsis / Twitter

According to Jeana, she received notifications on her iPhone for 30 minutes while driving in the early morning hours on Saturday. She checked her purse and her car but could not find the AirTag. At first, Jeana thought it was a false positive. She says she had received these AirTag notifications before in crowded areas in the past when she likely just happened to be in the vicinity of one of these tracking devices. 

Yet, at 2 a.m. the roads she was driving on were empty and her iPhone kept showing her these notifications. Apple uses these notifications as a way of deterring bad actors from using the device to track other people. Apple does provide instructions for disabling a device that may be tracking them, but the incident spooked Jeana enough where she decided to not go home that night.

According to Jeana, “someone close” later checked her car and found an AirTag “stuck on the underside of my front passenger wheel well.”

Jeana’s experience was a scary one, but it’s also becoming more common.

Shortly after Apple released AirTags earlier this year, stories started spreading on social media platforms like TikTok concerning the tracking device being used to stalk women. To make things more complicated, Apple built these devices so that there is no way to identify the AirTag’s owner.

Apple did, however, realize AirTags could be weaponized by stalkers or abusive partners and took some precautions, such as the previously mentioned iPhone notifications. The company recently released an Android app that scans for unwanted AirTags so that non-iPhone users could be aware if they’re being tracked too, but the app isn’t perfect.

Apple did not immediately respond to Mashable’s request for comment.

On its website, Apple lays out the steps it takes to discourage unwanted tracking with AirTags.

“To discourage tracking without your knowledge, Find My will notify you if an unknown AirTag or other Find My network accessory is seen moving with you over time. An AirTag that isn’t with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will also play a sound when moved so you can find it, even if you don’t use an iOS device”

Apple also says that it “If you feel your safety is at risk, contact your local law enforcement who can work with Apple.”

Still, AirTags are increasingly being used for nefarious purposes.

Multiple instances have been reported in recent months concerning AirTags being used to aid criminals in car-related thefts.

While Jeana’s experience that she shared on Twitter sounded like the storyline from a horror movie, she shared with Mashable that she believes whoever put the AirTag on her vehicle was likely after her 2015 Lexus, and not her.

“I’m pretty sure someone was just trying to steal my car,” she explained in an online message. “I wasn’t parked close enough to the bar for someone to be able to associate me with my vehicle.”

Jeana told Mashable that she did inform her local police department via phone about her experience, even though she “technically wasn’t a victim of a crime.”

Mashable reached out to the police department of the major metropolitan city local to Jeana. In an email, they informed Mashable that “there isn’t currently a category for Apple Air Taggings” within their database. The fact that these unwanted “Air Taggings” are growing, yet still so new that data regarding their usage isn’t being tracked itself is certainly concerning. 

Mashable has previously covered how to disabled an AirTag once you find you’re being tracked.

2020 may have been the year that coronavirus ground Hollywood to a halt. But 2021 marked the industry’s triumphant return to form. With entertainment’s post-pandemic resurgence came opportunities — and stumbling blocks — related to the world-stopping event and how we talk about it.

Over the past two years, how and why COVID-19 is portrayed on screen has grown more and more interesting. Some flagrantly fictional worlds have bent to accommodate the real crisis, while their more realistic counterparts sidestepped the matter altogether. So how was the pandemic addressed on TV this year?

Listed in no particular order, here are 12 note-worthy Covid moments from 2021 television.

1. Best: Superstore

‘Superstore’ did it right.
Credit: NBC

Early in the days of quarantine, I drafted this tweet: “Shows that are allowed to cover COVID: 1. Superstore, 2. End of list.” It is a tweet I stand by entirely after NBC’s show about employees at a big-box store addressed how essential workers fared the pandemic during its final season. Over the course of a few episodes, Cloud 9’s employees face the same challenges we all witnessed during the spring of 2020 — from low mask supplies to customers hoarding sanitizer and toilet paper — but they themselves are indispensable for Americans weathering these times.

Superstore treated the pandemic the way it treated any social or political issue during its run: with critical thought, empathy, and pitch-perfect comedic timing. The show never took its characters “back to normal,” showing the lasting effects of the pandemic on so many lives and jobs around the world. It was hard to watch, but as always, Superstore gave us a weekly dose of comfort. — Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Superstore is streaming on Peacock and Hulu.

2. Worst: The Morning Show

Not so much.
Credit: AppleTV+

The Morning Show had made some capital-C Choices since it premiered in 2019, but the most baffling of all is the decision to address coronavirus in Season 2. Apple’s star-studded drama managed to build disturbingly toward the onset of COVID-19 in the United States while simultaneously becoming more self-absorbed than ever. In a global crisis that decimated so many lives and lifestyles, The Morning Show decided that the perspective we need is that of rich TV producers and a disgraced sexual predator. We needed to watch Jennifer Aniston, of all people, sweat out her COVID fever in a luxury penthouse in Manhattan, all while comparing her circumstances and the deadly virus to an imagined fear of being canceled. The season is tactless, tone deaf, irresponsible, and generally unhinged — but we’ll go with this superlative instead. — P.K.

How to watch: The Morning Show is streaming on AppleTV+.

3. Most Literal: Grey’s Anatomy

It was brutal, but it was accurate.
Credit: ABC

The fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital had patients with COVID-19 this year. That meant Grey’s Anatomy had to render an even more precisely accurate portrait of its medical setting for viewers living through the global health crisis they were watching on screen. With fastidious attention to detail and the smarts to say the science of spread out loud and often, this beloved workplace dramedy did a service to the moment by capturing it well. There’s still the subjectivity of liking a show that’s so soapy. (Meredith’s own battle with Covid, played out in part on an imaginary beach frequented by ghosts, was an…interesting choice.) But overall, Grey‘s Season 17 was an important bit of representation in a TV landscape racing to keep up with the times. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Grey’s Anatomy Seasons 1-17 are streaming on Netflix; Season 18 is on Hulu.

4. Worst Whiplash: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Blink and you’ll miss it.
Credit: NBC

Brooklyn Nine-Nine could have been one of the best pandemic portrayals on TV, but an abridged final season meant prioritizing character resolutions and the flawed police system rather than coronavirus. Season 8 opens with Jake, Rosa, and Charles masked and social distancing in the precinct — and that’s it. After the cold open it cuts to spring 2021, where officers of the nine-nine are gathered unmasked in a bar and Holt mentions that “all first responders have been vaccinated.” Back to business as usual! We could easily have done Season 8 in a magical reality where COVID never happened. Who doesn’t love some escapism? — P.K.

How to watch: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is streaming on Peacock and Hulu.

5. Biggest Surprise: The Other Two

This stinger is painfully funny.
Credit: HBO

The Other Two‘s second season ends with a deadly sneak attack of a pandemic joke. After years of auditions and unfulfilling hosting gigs, Cary Dubek (Drew Tarver) lands a part in a feature film. The finale’s end tag reveals that the movie begins filming on March 13, 2020, aka the day everything shut down. Poor Cary — just when you think he’s achieved his dreams, a pandemic rolls along to put everything in flux. According to showrunners Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, the COVID joke was a last-minute addition to the season, all of which had been written prior to the pandemic. While Season 3 isn’t going to be a COVID-focused season, Kelly and Schneider noted that The Other Two satirizes show business so much that not addressing the pandemic, which has changed how the entertainment industry operates, would shift the show away from reality. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Fellow

How to watch: The Other Two is streaming on HBO Max.

6. Most Rage-filled: You

Get your dang vaccines!!
Credit: Netflix

You could have done an anti-vaxxer subplot with or without a pandemic. But contextualizing a fictional measles outbreak by explicitly commenting on real current events let the psychological thriller drive its prescient point all the way home. In Season 3 episode 3, when baby Henry mysteriously contracts measles, his mom Love (Victoria Pedretti) goes on the warpath to find out how he got it. Ultimately, it’s revealed a neighborhood couple knowingly put her child at risk due to disprovable pseudoscience. So, Love beats one of them over the head with a rolling pin and stashes his unconscious body in her basement. Watching all that go down is an undoubted guilty pleasure. But so is the show. — A.F.

How to watch: You is streaming on Netflix.

7. Most Relatable: Love Life

This one might actually give you hope.
Credit: HBO Max

Rather than having Covid loom large over the excellent second season of Love Life, the team behind the HBO Max dramedy instead focused all of the pandemic’s destabilizing horror onto the strong, poignant penultimate episode of the William Jackson Harper-starring series. Taking place over the course of the pandemic, Marcus goes through the stages we all went through in 2020 —apprehension, horror, and depression aplenty. Tackling the Black Lives Matter protests and the draining exhaustion of dealing with overwhelmingly clueless white co-workers was an added dose of much-needed reality. Happily, all was not hopeless as Marcus began to take a hard look at himself and take concrete steps for a better, healthier post-pandemic future — an aspirational move for us all. — Erin Strecker, Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Love Life is streaming on HBO Max.

8. Most All-Around Impressive: Shameless

It’s just so stupidly impressive what they pulled off.
Credit: Shameless

There’s a lot in Shameless‘ brilliant eleventh season that represents its impressive approach to the pandemic well: creative use of face masks in acting and blocking; of-the-moment dialogue that somehow never feels dated; and plenty more that’s simultaneously insightful, entertaining, and effective. But perhaps more than anything that’s actually in the show, how Shameless‘ final season was made remains a staggering feat of TV excellence. Creator John Wells steadfast commitment to adapting production of his beloved Showtimes series (the longest in the network’s history), while helping its topical moments match broader themes of the show helped its finale feel both fresh and fitting. Regardless of the circumstances, the Gallaghers were able to get the send-off they deserved. That felt good in a year so tough. — A.F.

How to watch: Shameless is streaming on Showtime.

9. Most Fantastical: Mythic Quest

‘Mythic Quest’ never doesn’t deliver.
Credit: AppleTV+

Mythic Quest knocked their 2020 pandemic special episode out of the park with a poignant reflection on loneliness, boredom, and their characters’ bizarrely endearing rapport. Then, right before their Season 2 aired, Mythic Quest released “Everlight,” another bonus episode that bridged the gap between the Covid-19 pandemic and the events of the upcoming season. Mythic Quest has always been smart about what makes fantasy gaming fun, but “Everlight” took that understanding to another level with a plot that begins with Mythic Quest employees live-action roleplaying an end-of-pandemic celebration that transforms into a magical fantasy sequence where light always conquers the darkness. — Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Mythic Quest is streaming on AppleTV+.

10. Most Handwave-y (tied): Gossip Girl, And Just Like That, and The Sex Lives of College Girls

You know, that’s fine!
Credit: Mashable composite; HBO Max

At the end of the day, television is a form of entertainment. Not everyone needs to get into the gritty details of everyday life, especially if those details are a commonly experienced biological disaster that many would rather escape. This is all to say that being handwave-y about the pandemic is not a bad thing; rather it’s a sign that certain shows are committed to their duty of being fun even though they take place in the “real” world. Both And Just Like That and the Gossip Girl reboot take place in a post-pandemic New York City where everyone has already dealt with Covid. They’ll mention masks, quarantining, and not seeing their friends for a while, then enter a crowded room or get on a subway platform unmasked and unashamed. As for The Sex Lives of College Girls, there’s one quick mention of someone getting Covid in the past, after which they dispense with any pandemicalia and move on to better things. — A.N.

How to watch: Gossip Girl is streaming on HBO Max.

How to watch: And Just Like That is streaming on HBO Max.

How to watch: Sex Lives of College Girls is streaming on HBO Max.

11. The Carpe Diem Award for Pandemic-Era Filming Opportunities: The White Lotus

Honestly, we’re just happy for you.
Credit: HBO

The White Lotus is a special case where the characters don’t deal with the pandemic in-universe, but the show itself only exists because of Covid-19. After production delays left HBO with fewer shows than they had slots for, creator Mike White whipped up The White Lotus as a pandemic-friendly series that could start shooting immediately. The fictional White Lotus Hotel is really the Four Seasons Resort in Maui, which lay empty during the pandemic and was easily transformed into a totally different venue. Many of the scenes take place outdoors or between small groups of characters who rarely interact beyond their immediate plotlines, which is a remarkable feat of writing considering the number of characters to juggle and the murder mystery that builds over the course of the season. Mike White made delicious, if bitter lemonade out of restrictive lemons, and so he earns the special Carpe Diem Award for Pandemic-Era Filming Opportunities. — A.N.

How to watch: The White Lotus is streaming on HBO Max.

12. The Cassandra Award For Bleakest Prophecy: Dear White People

Yeah, that’s grim
Credit: Netflix

Season 4 of Dear White People opens in a not-so-distant future, with Lionel (DeRon Horton) and Sam (Logan Browning) in extremely cool masks. They live in a world plagued by…well, plagues — a world where three cases of something called “Irish flu” lead to mandatory preemptive lockdowns. “God I wish bio-lock was the made-up future-y thing it sounds like instead of the every day reality under which we now live,” Lionel groans. As disquieting as it is, the hardest part might be that Dear White People’s reality has much better control of viral diseases than ours does. And they have orgasms in pill form. — P.K.

How to watch: Dear White People is streaming on Netflix.

Being a woman on the internet is hard. At times scary and exhausting, too.

From Twitter reply guys, to other forms of online harassment, to straight-up cyberstalking, letting women exist in peace seems to be a hard concept to grasp. When it comes to dating apps specifically, unfortunately some people assume that merely having a profile is an invitation to send creepy comments, so the chance of women enduring such unsettling experiences feels doubled. The onslaught of men grasping at straws for attention with messages saying “think they saw you somewhere” or requesting nudes in their opening line is an online dating specialty. Queer women on dating apps face all of these same challenges, plus an extra shop of horrors run by fetishization, ignorant cis straight people, and the feeling of not being queer enough.

Is it easier to shoot your shot by simply using a hot selfie on your Instagram story as bait for your crush? I mean, that’s a classic tactic that’ll never die. But unless you and said crush are already in some sort of flirtationship and already follow each other on social media, finding love, a hookup, or someone to grab a drink with could happen a lot faster with the right dating app. At least, it definitely opens more opportunities than waiting to meet someone at work or agreeing to a blind date.

Though it may have a bad rep, the OG swiping-app Tinder can truly be a great place to meet genuine people who are open to getting serious, to find a reliable friend with benefits, or to get a good-old-fashioned confidence boost from a mutual right swipe. But if you’re frustrated with horny jerks disguising themselves as relationship seekers or relationship seekers who can’t handle it when you say you’re just looking for a hookup, opting for a dating site more finely-tuned to what you’re looking for means you’ll spend less time dealing with people who aren’t looking for the same thing.

Maybe you can’t stand starting every conversation from scratch. Maybe your biggest fear is ending up on a date with someone who doesn’t care about voting. Instead of a half-assed bio, dating apps that delve into someone’s hobbies, favorite movies, career goals, or political views before even talking to them opens up a wealth of clever ice breakers, and ensures that you aren’t going into things blindly.

Dating apps are trying to make things safer IRL

Meeting someone from the internet in person for the first time is nerve-wracking for anyone. But for women, it can dredge up the same fear that occurs when walking alone past a big group of men.

Match Group is making strides toward a safer dating experience: Tinder was the first to unveil new features coming out of its partnership with Noonlight, a safety app that tracks the location of users and notifies authorities if there are concerns. Before heading out on a date, Tinder users can log info about where they’re going and who they’re meeting, as well as hit a panic button to alert authorities if there’s an emergency. (Match Group plans to roll out the same features for its other apps, like Hinge and OkCupid, later.) In March 2021, Tinder announced plans to let users run a background check on their matches.

How the pandemic has changed dating for the better

COVID changed online dating dynamics forever. “Double vaxxed up” being a genuine turn-on is the obvious addition to 2021 dating checklists, but there’s something about dating discourse that we think could positively affect communication between strangers in the long run.

Waiting to meet each other and getting to know a match through FaceTime is kind of the norm now — and people don’t really want that to change, even once the pandemic has fully subsided. For the women who’d prefer to gather crumbs of someone’s vibe before meeting in person, online dating’s shift to video dating in 2020 could prove comforting. It goes without saying that you’re never required to meet up with a match in person immediately, but it’d be nice not to be pestered about it.

The communication skills gained through hashing out COVID-related issues aren’t nothing, either. People have gotten comfortable with bringing up personal boundaries and bonding over universal anxieties with someone they met on a dating app — both of which could benefit women online. Tinder thinks the honesty will carry over when things are back to normal, and hopefully the assholes will continue to weed themselves out.

What are the best dating sites for women?

Here are the best dating sites and apps for single women looking for a date, a movie buddy, a friend with benefits, or a romantic commitment. 

Oops, you did it again. You waited until the last minute to get a gift. You love your parents, boyfriend/girlfriend, friends, and other family members, but sometimes they’re hard to shop for and time just gets away from you.

We get it and we’re not here to judge. Rather, we are here to help. Finding a last-minute gift that’s actually meaningful is hard, to be quite honest. But even with the supply chain issues, it’s not impossible. There are still ways to get personalized or sentimental gifts even in a time crunch.

Gift cards are generally the first thought when it comes to last-minute gifts, and while those are great, they’re not your only option. Throughout this guide, you will see some gift cards, but don’t feel like you’re stuck getting one.

Depending on how last-minute you’re pushing it, there are actually some really neat gifts you can get. This is especially true if you’re an Amazon Prime member and get free one- and two-day shipping. As long as your last-minute shopping doesn’t happen too close to Christmas, you should be golden ordering something from Amazon.

Safe bets for last-minute gifting include online services, items with digital delivery, stuff with fast shipping, and subscription services. Check out some unique options below.

AirTags are useful when it comes to keeping track of lost accessories. But the Bluetooth trackers are also highly capable of tracking people. Trust me, I’ve tried and it worked.

To prevent unwanted tracking, Apple allows users to disable AirTags on the spot. This can be done in a few simple steps.

First things first: Upgrade to iOS 14.5 now

Whenever an unknown AirTag is traveling with you, a pop-up notification will appear on your iPhone that reads: “AirTag Found Moving With You.”

In order to receive those safety notifications, you first have to be running iOS 14.5. The new software update is crucial to accessing all the AirTags’ safety features. So please, don’t procrastinate on updating to the latest software.

If you’re unsure as to whether your device is compatible with the new update, here’s a list of which Apple products support iOS 14:

• iPhone 6S and newer

• iPhone SE (1st and 2nd generation)

• iPod Touch (7th generation)

• 11-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation)

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation)

• iPad (5th, 6th, and 7th generation)

• iPad mini (4th and 5th generation)

• iPad Air (2nd and 3rd generation)

To update, go to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and tap Download.

What to do when you receive a safety alert on your iPhone:

When your iPhone detects an AirTag is moving with you, you’ll receive a notification. If you can’t manage to find the unwanted AirTag, you can use the Find My app to trigger a loud sound to help you.

You’ll receive this pop-up notification if there’s an unknown AirTag traveling with you.

Credit: screenshot / apple

You can play a sound, pause the alerts, or remove the battery.

Credit: screenshot / apple

If you borrowed someone’s bag or keys with an AirTag attached, and have an iPhone running iOS 14.5, then you can choose to either pause the safety alerts for a day or turn the feature off completely.

But if you have absolutely no idea where the AirTag came from, you’ll want to fully disable it by removing the battery cover. You can do this by twisting counter clockwise on the back of the tracker (where the Apple logo is) and then manually taking the battery out.

When you find an unknown AirTag on you but you’re an Android user:

When AirTags first launched, Android users had no official means of detecting whether an unknown AirTag was moving with them. That left them with only one option: Waiting three days for the unknown AirTag to emit an audible alert and then disabling it by removing the battery.

But Apple recently released an app on the Google Play store to address this issue. With Tracker Detect, Android users can scan for nearby AirTags and other tracking devices within Apple’s Find My network. If an unknown AirTag is found, users have the ability to make it play a sound, learn more information about it, or access instructions on how to remove its battery.

It’s worth noting that users must manually scan for an unknown AirTag, as opposed to the app automatically running a scan in the background. Many reviews on the Google Play store have cited this as an ongoing issue. It’s unclear whether Apple plans to update the app.

Apple’s Android solution doesn’t automatically scan for unknown devices.

Credit: apple

The app instructs users to contact law enforcement if they feel unsafe.

Credit: apple

When you find an accessory with an AirTag attached:

Since AirTags have NFC built in, you can tap on them using either an iPhone or Android phone (with NFC) to trigger some options. This is handy if you want to return the lost item to which the AirTag is attached.

When an owner can’t find their AirTag, they can enable Lost Mode.

Credit: screenshot / apple

When you find a lost AirTag, you’ll see a phone number to contact and a message.

Credit: screenshot / apple

If the owner of the AirTag attached to that accessory has marked it as lost, then tapping on the AirTag with your phone will take you to a web page with their phone number and a message.

And remember, if you ever feel unsafe in the presence of an unknown AirTag, there’s really only one thing to do: Remove the battery.

Related Video: Unboxing Apple’s new AirTags

UPDATE: Dec. 20, 2021, 3:22 p.m. EST This article has been updated with information regarding Apple’s Tracker Detect app for Android users.

SAVE $10: As of Dec. 20, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 instant camera is only $59.95 — that’s $10 off its usual price. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the retro camera lover in your life, this instant camera deal should be at the top of your list.

Whether you’re looking for a last minute gift for a teenager who’s obsessed with adding a retro vibe to their Instagram or if you just want some nostalgia in your life, you might want to consider getting an instant camera this holiday season. An instant camera is a camera that uses self-developing film to create a developed print shortly after taking the picture.

Brands like Polaroid and Fujifilm are well-known for making this type of camera. Particularly, Fujifilm has been very popular for their instant cameras. And, now the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 instant camera on Amazon is just $59.95.

It comes in four colors: blush pink, charcoal grey, lilac purple, and sky blue. Because it is a “Mini,” the the device uses instax mini film, which is 85mm by 54mm. Two AA batteries are all you need for it to work. (See ya, cords!)

What’s great about the Mini 11 is that it automatically picks the ideal shutter speed for any environment. Two shutter button accessories are included: the jewel button and a glow button.

The Mini 11 also lets you take the perfect selfie with Selfie Mode. It allows you to get up close and personal with its built-in macro mode and selfie mirror. Just pull out the lens barrel until the “Selfie Mode” mark appears. There’s no need for a close-up lens attachment.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 instant camera is usually $69.95, but you can snag one on Amazon for only $59.95 — a 14% savings.

Explore related content:

• If a basic, cheap laptop is what you need, these 9 are your best bets

• Kindle Paperwhite Kids review: A tech gift for little bookworms

• The best gifts for couples: Double-duty gifts they can enjoy together

When you have the time and resources to cook, shop and scout new restaurants, it’s easy to call yourself a foodie. But even foodies can fall off the wagon — like I did in 2020 when the pandemic first hit. And then again when I had a kid. And then, moved out of New York City, the capital of scrumptious eats. Cue sad music.

Forget spending an hour-plus in the kitchen, experimenting with trendy meals for two. Forget group dinners at the hottest new gastropub. Forget having fun at the grocery store or trying new recipes — it’s “mac and peas” or some variation all day everyday, my friends.

Then it occurred to me: People talk a lot about regaining a spark in the bedroom, but why not in the kitchen? That’s what I’ve been missing, and the meal subscription service Blue Apron delivered — literally — by helping me reignite that flame (or burner) without added stress.

Fortunately for all you Mashable-ings, there’s no time like the present to replicate my quest. You can sign up for Blue Apron today to get $110 off + free shipping on your first box just in time for the holidays. Here’s why it’s worth it:

Options galore

Before my box was even delivered, Blue Apron wowed me with its huge list of menu options. There were over 50 menu options to choose from in a single week. Between Premium recipes, Signature faves, vegetarian and Wellness options, there really is something for everyone. You can also customize your order by swapping or adding ingredients to suit your tastes — or those of your picky partner and toddler, bless them.

As for me, I opted not to defer to the boys this time around and get a little experimental.

Credit: Jen Markert / Mashable composite

Convenience and flexibility

Let’s face it: grocery shopping can be a time-consuming nightmare, especially with a kid in tow during a global pandemic (gulp). Having Blue Apron arrive right at my doorstep lifted that burden, and coming off the Thanksgiving weekend, the last thing I needed was another shop — although it’s great to know I can skip weeks and alter my plan as needed.

One of my favorite things about Blue Apron is that they give you an exact amount of every item. Buying groceries that go to waste is a huge source of anxiety for me; you could say the perfectly-portioned ingredients have brought Jen some Zen.

As for the cooking, each meal took only a little over a half an hour to prepare while still introducing new techniques and flavor combinations. I even got to knead a big ol’ ball of dough — talk about stress relief.

Credit: Jen Markert / Mashable composite

Impeccable quality

Now, the food itself: Oh, the food! For variety’s sake, I opted for salmon, a truffle flatbread, Italian burgers, and spicy farrow bowls.

It turns out pesto and breadcrumbs were all I needed to go from fish-agnostic to sea-worshipper. The truffle flatbread looked (and tasted) straight out of a Brooklyn pizzeria. The burger, oozing with mozzarella and an out-of-this-world pepper and olive mayo, may have been the best I’ve had in years. And the farrow bowls, with their delightful pop of green and orange, were gourmet and gobble-able with just the right kick.

It should be no surprise, once you try them, to learn these meals are chef-designed. Many even include specialty sauces from boutique brands I definitely wouldn’t be able to find just anywhere, let alone at this value. As a bonus, Blue Apron has strict animal welfare standards — so I can feel good about my selections right away instead of Googling obscure certifications at the market.

In the end, Blue Apron was a much-needed balm for my cooking blues. If you want to reclaim your inner foodie and get your kitchen groove back, give it a shot — it could do the same for you. Sign up for Blue Apron to receive $110 off across your first 4 boxes and receive free shipping on your first box.

Credit: Jen Markert / Mashable composite

On Thursday, Meta, Inc. announced that its video chat device Portal (previously the Facebook Portal) will support an app for live American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting services.

That means people who are “Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, Speech-Disabled or have hearing loss” will be able to use Portal for video chats with people who do not communicate in ASL, via a live human interpreter. That’s called a Video Relay Service (VRS).

Portal will now support a VRS app from ZP Better Together, LLC. The app is free for all users — it’s actually funded by the FCC! And while other devices, like an iPad, can support some VRS apps, members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community can apply for a free Portal through ZP Better Together’s website.

“The combination of ZP’s apps and video relay service with the Portal’s AI-powered Smart Camera that automatically keeps people in frame is game-changing,” Meta’s Head of Accessibility Mike Shebanek said in a statement. “It delivers simplicity, connectivity, and the freedom to move and communicate using both hands.”

Portal is the video chat device the company formerly known as Facebook debuted at the inopportune moment that it began facing privacy scandal after scandal — which made it basically drop like a rock. Even if Facebook wanting to sell customers on having a camera in their homes is a tough pill to swallow, some credit where credit’s due: It was the first device that would “follow” a speaker in a video chat as they moved.

Other companies, like Amazon, have since integrated that feature into their video chat devices. So any edge the Portal had with people who want to move around while they video chat pretty quickly dissipated.

That’s all made the Portal a somewhat minor player in the device wars. Even so, more accessibility is a win all around.

It might not look like an electric sports car, but the first all-electric Mercedes-AMG EQS certainly feels like one. What presents itself to the world as a traditional model in the car brand’s storied lineup is, under the hood, clearly a car for the post-Tesla world.  

The performance version of Mercedes’ first electric sedan is arriving in the U.S. early next year, the German automaker announced Sunday. It looks similar to the original EQS variants that just came out this month, but the AMG configuration (that’s the name of Mercedes’ performance line) has plenty of flashy ways to turn heads on the Autobahn and interstate. 

Some are skin-deep. The AMG-trained eye will immediately notice the vertical struts on the front grille indicating it’s the high-performance version. Inside, the seats have a sporty look and you’ll find the AMG graphic on the seats and headrests.

Look closely for some AMG clues.
Credit: Sasha Lekach / Mashable

But during a two-plus-hour drive in the AMG EQS from Palm Springs to Manhattan Beach, California, earlier this month, I gained a deeper appreciation for the newest EV from Mercedes. It’s electric luxury through and through, from the sleek door handles to the impressive acceleration. With over 330 miles of range on a big 107.8 kWh battery, it’s an electric powerhouse. 

Its AMG features come through despite the bigger, S-Class sized vehicle with a full trunk and roomy backseat. This isn’t technically a sports car but it still hustles going from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds with a 155 mph top speed. That’s faster than the base EQS models that take up to 5.5 seconds. 

The performance EQS has a long legacy to live up to, and the expected (unannounced) price will certainly keep up with Mercedes-level expectations. The EQS starts at $102,310, so the AMG version will kick it up a notch.

The steering wheel is one of the notable differences from the non-AMG, with a thicker grip, flat bottom, and extra buttons for quick access to different drive modes, like slippery for wet conditions or comfort, sport, or sport+ for those different driving situations. For the true AMG aficionados, the secret way to uncover the “race start” feature still involves pressing on the pedals in a certain order — like in other (non-electric) models.

Since it’s an EV with no internal combustion engine, it’s a fairly silent ride. That must be why Mercedes added what it calls an “AMG sound experience” (AKA fake engine-inspired noises) when the car is in performance modes. This feels like a desperate attempt from Mercedes to hold onto its traditional gas-powered legacy, and it’s ultimately unnecessary. But for anyone mourning revving engine sounds, turn up the volume.

In contrast to the “AMG sound experience” the giant door-to-door dash screen shows that Mercedes now has both feet firmly planted in the 21st century. Called the Hyperscreen, this screen stands out as one of the standard features on the AMG EQS (usually a $9,000 add-on). While cruising through the California desert, I went deep into the “zero layer” touchscreen experience. The zero layer layout tries to learn your preferences over time, and reduces sub menus and other potential distractions. I quickly adjusted to the large size, especially since it made it easy to get to the massage settings for the driver and passenger seats while driving.

Say hello to 56 inches of screen.
Credit: Mercedes-AMG

The immense width of the screen makes for a unique passenger experience. The co-pilot gets their own dedicated screen real estate, meaning they can take over music and other media playing or browse different features and settings. The passenger doesn’t need the driver’s permission to initiate a massage.

The oversized hyperscreen really shines with mapping tasks. I didn’t even miss Google Maps while using the built-in navigation system. I could add in stops along the way, plan my trip based on charge levels, and see nearby charging stations.

On the screen behind the steering wheel (which is not a touchscreen, but controlled through buttons on the wheel) I could set the display to show the map view, a nice touch that reminded me of the Google Maps integration in Polestar and Volvo. 

But being a luxury Mercedes, even the navigation goes the extra mile. On the main 17.7-inch center screen or in the heads-up display projected in front of the driver on the windshield, you can opt in to see augmented reality directions. So if you need to turn right, giant blue arrows will point toward the right. On the main screen, a live video image is displayed with an AR layer showing what lane you should be in or what direction you’ll be heading.

Maps everywhere.

Credit: Sasha Lekach / Mashable

Mapping it out with some enhancements.

Credit: Sasha Lekach / Mashable

Even though I only used up less than half the battery on my drive (thanks to an efficient regeneration system while braking and going downhill), I headed to a charging station to see what it’d be like during a road trip. Through the navigation system built in I found a nearby ChargePoint station at a hospital parking lot. It said a few chargers were available, which I confirmed with my eyes as I pulled in.

These were standard Level 2 chargers, but the EQS can handle faster charging on 200 kW DC fast-charging plugs, which add 180 miles in 19 minutes. 

Although I didn’t charge up, I saw how easy it would be. While in the parking lot, two women walked by and ogled the car. Seeing their interest I showed them around the vehicle and the massive screen. One asked about range and was impressed when I told her it could go more than 300 miles. They were even more impressed when I said I’d used the driver assistance system, which comes standard, for a lot of the freeway driving, and that it could even change lanes for me if I put on my indicator. 

While driving through LA county’s typical stop-and-go traffic I didn’t feel so sporty, but every once in a while I’d need to get to an exit or shake a tailgater, and I would zip over. Drivers of those LA cars probably rolled their eyes at a classic LA situation: getting outmaneuvered by a flashy Mercedes. But this was different from all those other times. It was an electric Mercedes.

TikTok is launching a takeout business called TikTok Kitchen, and we have questions.

The social platform has plans to let people order delivery for dishes based on recipes that have gone viral, Bloomberg reports. The menu will include baked feta pasta, corn ribs, a smash burger, and pasta chips, and will change when new recipes start to go viral. 

TikTok partnered with GrubHub and a company called Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) for the venture. VDC is a platform that lets clients license recipes and brands to spin up takeout-only menus made in the kitchens of other restaurants, or in delivery-only restaurants, known as ghost kitchens. In addition to TikTok Kitchen, it’s partnered with YouTuber Mr. Beast to sell viral smash burgers, as well as other influencers, media brands, and celebrities.

There will be 300 kitchens churning out the viral dishes at launch, with 1,000 planned by the end of 2022. 

TikTok has 1 billion users and plenty of money. Even with 1,000 restaurants, we don’t see this being a huge slice of their revenue. In fact, TikTok says it will use the proceeds to pay the creators of the recipes. So what, exactly, is the point of delivering all this lukewarm food? It seems like a marketing stunt based on the novelty of being able to order something you’ve spent countless zoned out hours watching in a vertical video.

Whether TikTok Kitchen is a stunt or money-maker, the concept is questionable.

First, the claim that TikTok will pay recipe creators is nice but has plenty of holes. Viral recipes often have more than one video that popularized them, and those videos aren’t necessarily from the original recipe’s creator. Take baked feta pasta: It first went viral on Instagram in a post from a Finnish blogger, but made the jump to TikTok when @feelgoodfoodie and @grilledcheesesocial clocked the trend and posted their versions of the dish. So who actually gets the credit, and the cash?

The answer seems to be that sometimes individual creators will get paid, and sometimes that money will potentially go to TikTok’s creator fund.

“Proceeds from TikTok Kitchen sales will go to both support the creators who inspired the menu item and to encourage and assist other creators to express themselves on the platform in keeping with TikTok’s mission to inspire creativity and bring joy to its users,” TikTok told TechCrunch.

It’s not clear whether that means the creator fund will be increasing, or whether TikTok will just have to divert fewer advertising dollars to the creator fund. With so few details about how TikTok will identify and pay recipe-makers, TikTok Kitchen seems like another way the company is making money off of the people that actually power the platform.

Next is the question about why anybody would be ordering this food. On the one hand, it makes sense that getting to eat something you’ve watched come to life on your phone would be satisfying. Who hasn’t wanted to slice into an extremely complicated and beautiful cake after watching The Great British Bake Off?

But part of the reason dishes go viral on TikTok in particular is because they are so easy to make. Baked feta pasta gets you a creamy, flavorful pasta sauce just by melting a block of cheese with some tomatoes. Other viral recipes basically require one trip to the grocery store and an air fryer. Why would you order an easy-to-make recipe when that same money could get you something it would take way more time and effort to make yourself?

The answer, of course, is for the novelty of it. Millions of people have watched Emily Mariko turn her leftovers into a visually mouth-watering salmon rice bowl, but probably only a fraction of those viewers have actually flaked salmon for lunch themselves. 

So the logic isn’t sound for why a person would pay money for other people to make something designed to be easily made at home, but that doesn’t mean people won’t be getting those corn rib orders in. In fact, people probably will — and then make a TikTok video of the experience. Maybe this half-baked idea is actually genius. Sigh.