Top 10 tech embarrassments you’ll want to avoid at all costs

We’ve all been there. Technology is meant to make life easier, but one wrong tap, click, or setting can turn into an awkward moment fast. From accidental calls and oversharing photos to emails sent a little too quickly, even smart, careful people slip up.

The good news is that most of these tech embarrassments are easy to avoid once you know where the traps are. Below are 10 simple, practical tips that can help you stay in control of your devices, protect your privacy, and save yourself from those “I wish I could undo that” moments we’d all rather forget.

1) Don’t let autofill reveal your search history

Sharing a device with family members can make browsing awkward fast. You might be researching a surprise gift, or you may simply want to keep your searches private. Browser autofill can expose past searches, email addresses, and form entries unless you clean it up regularly.

Apple users can learn how to delete embarrassing autofill entries on a Mac or iPhone by clicking here.

Windows and PC users can follow these steps to remove autofill entries from common browsers by clicking here.

2) Avoid pocket dialing

It’s always embarrassing when you leave your phone in your pocket and then accidentally dial someone. It’s one thing if it’s a friend or family member; however, if you accidentally call your boss while you’re out at a party, then that can be pretty embarrassing. There are multiple ways that you can avoid this from happening by locking your phone and adjusting some settings within audio messages, whether you have an iPhone or an Android.

Here’s how to do it if you have an iPhone:

Go to “Settings”
Tap “Display & Brightness”
In the “Auto-Lock” section, set it to 30 seconds (this is the lowest time you can set this to)

Here’s how to do it if you have an Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Go to Settings
Tap Lock Screen (or Security & privacy)
Adjust screen timeout and lock behavior

3) Lock your photos

If you’ve ever handed your phone over to someone, it can be downright embarrassing when they start scrolling through your photos, and you have some on there that you didn’t intend on sharing. You can lock your photos on your smartphone so that no one else can access them.

Here’s how to do it on an iPhone:

Open your Photos app
Tap the photo you want to hide
Select the 3 horizontal dots inside the circle in the top right
Click Hide and then Hide Photo to confirm
To find the photo, tap Collections at the bottom of your screen
Scroll all the way down and tap Hidden. You will need Face ID or your iPhone’s passcode to look at the album

Here’s how to do it on an Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open the Google Photos app
Go to Library
Select Utilities
Tap Locked Folder
Tap Set up Locked Folder
Follow the on-screen instructions to unlock your device. If your folder is empty, you’ll find “Nothing here yet”
Select the photos and videos you want in Locked Folder.
At the top right, tap the 3 vertical dots
Select Move to Locked Folder
Tap Move

4) Turn off Live Photos

While the Live Photo feature on the iPhone is great, remember it’s a mini-movie of 3 seconds, so make sure there’s no video or audio within those 3 seconds that could be embarrassing before sending a photo to someone. A person on the receiving end can still hold down that photo and view the video and audio. Here’s how to turn off Live Photo if you’re an iPhone user.

Open your Camera app
In the top right corner, tap the dotted circle
You’ll see a slash across the circle once it’s off, and your phone will say LIVE OFF at the top of the screen. Tap the circle again to turn it back on

You could add that Live Photos can also be turned off per photo when editing, not just in Camera.

5) Don’t send an email to the wrong person

You never want to be that person who sends an email to the wrong person or with an awkward typo in it, especially if it’s an important email with private and secure information within it.

My tips here are to always double-check who you’ve put into the “to” field. Also, use a website or browser extension like Grammarly to help you check for any spelling or grammar errors before you send off that important message. Grammarly will also help you to write clearly and concisely and improve tone and word choice.

For more browser extensions that will make your life easier, click here.

6) Don’t accidentally send to a group chat

Sending a message to the wrong group can happen fast, especially when chats stack up. The good news is that many messaging platforms now give you a short window to fix mistakes.

On iPhone (iMessage)
If you use iMessage, you have limited control after hitting send:

You can unsend a message within 2 minutes of sending it
You can edit a message up to five times within 15 minutes
To do this, press and hold the message, then choose Undo Send or Edit

On Android

Android users are not stuck anymore. Several messaging apps now support editing or unsending messages.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Google Messages (RCS chats)

Google Messages is rolling out message editing and limited unsend features in some RCS chats, but availability depends on app version, carrier support, and whether the recipient also uses RCS.

To do this:

Open the Google Messages app
Open the conversation
Press and hold the message you want to change
Tap Edit to update the message or Delete and choose Delete for everyone (if available)
Confirm your selection

Note: Edit and delete options only appear in RCS chats, and availability may vary by recipient and app version.

WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal

These apps allow you to unsend messages after they are sent.

To do this:

Open the app and go to the conversation
Press and hold the message you want to remove
Tap Delete, Remove, or Unsend (wording varies by app)
Select Delete for everyone or Unsend
Confirm the action

The message will be removed from the chat, often replaced with a notice saying it was deleted.

Using apps with edit or unsend features gives you a safety net when a message goes to the wrong person or group. It is one of the easiest ways to avoid an awkward or irreversible mistake.

7) Turn your ringer off

Remembering to turn your ringer off is super important, especially if you’re in class, a meeting, or any other important event. The last thing you want is to be that person who everyone judges for not silencing their phone. Try setting a reminder for yourself on your phone to turn your ringer off if you know you have a big event coming up.

To put your iPhone on silent or vibrate mode, just use the physical switch on the upper left side of your iPhone.

Press the slider down toward the back of the phone to put your phone in silent or vibration mode.

Or you can use the “Focus (Do Not Disturb)”. Here’s how:

Swipe down from the top right of your iPhone’s screen to access the Control Center
Tap the crescent moon icon to enable Do Not Disturb mode
You can customize the “Do Not Disturb” settings by going to Settings > Do Not Disturb. Here you can set specific times, allow calls from certain contacts, and more.
When you’re ready to turn off Do Not Disturb mode, simply swipe down from the top right of the screen again and tap the crescent moon icon to disable it

To turn off the ringer on an Android phone, you can follow these steps:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Press the volume down button on the side of your phone until the volume is all the way down
Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the Notification Shade
Tap the bell icon or the “Do Not Disturb” icon to turn on the “Do Not Disturb” mode. This will silence all incoming calls and notifications, but you can still receive them and view them later
If you want to completely turn off all sounds and vibrations on your phone, including notifications and alarms, you can also toggle the “Silent” mode on by pressing and holding the volume down button until the “Silent” mode is enabled

1-MAN STRESSED ON LAPTOP

8) Be careful what you post

Once you post something on social media, it’s out there forever. You always want to avoid posting anything embarrassing, inappropriate, or offensive on your social accounts because it will likely come back to haunt you later. Always think before you post. And if you’re someone who spends a lot of time on social media and wants to cut back on screen time, follow these steps.

For iPhone:

Open Settings
Click Screen Time
Select App Limits
Click Add Limits
Select the category of apps that you want to put a limit on

For Android:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open the Settings app
Tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls
Tap the chart
Next to the app you want to limit, tap Set timer
Choose how much time you can spend on that app
Tap Set

Bonus Tips

Don’t forget to attach those files

Don’t forget to attach an important file when sending an email about said attachment. Some email apps like Gmail and Outlook will have a reminder feature that can recognize if you’ve typed something about an attachment and remind you to attach a file. However, if you’re prone to forgetting to upload that file, set up a draft email with it already attached so you can’t forget once you type the real thing.

Don’t delete important files

Make sure you’re always saving important files or documents that are sent over to you. It’s always awkward having to ask someone to resend something or to just have it gone forever. Try using a cloud storage service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive so that your files are always backed up on your computer. It wouldn’t hurt to put things on an external drive, either, if you have one.

By following these tips, you can avoid some of the most common technology embarrassments that we all make.

Related links:

Kurt’s key takeaways

Technology is supposed to make life easier, not put you in awkward situations. Most tech embarrassments do not happen because people are careless. They happen because settings are buried, features change, and devices move faster than we do. The good news is that a few small habits can save you from big regrets. Lock your screen. Double-check before you send. Use tools that give you an undo button when mistakes happen. These simple steps put you back in control of your phone, your privacy, and your peace of mind. Before you tap send, post, or share, take one extra second. That pause is often all it takes to avoid a moment you wish you could rewind.

What tech mistake do you still double-check for every day? Let us know by commenting below.

FOR MORE OF MY TECH TIPS & SECURITY ALERTS, SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE CYBERGUY REPORT NEWSLETTER HERE