Warning: Take these steps to protect your privacy on FaceApp

If you’ve been on social media at all over the last few days, you’ve probably noticed your friends, family and even celebrities posting pictures of themselves aged dozens of years using an app called FaceApp.

However, there are new warnings about what might be happening to those pictures you’re allowing the app to access and how they might be used in the future.

Techcrunch reports that the company, a Russian startup, is uploading users’ photos to the cloud, rather than making those crazy image transformations directly on your device.

“FaceApp goes on to specify that it ‘might’ store the photos users have chosen to upload in the cloud for a short period, claiming this is done for ‘performance and traffic’ — such as to make sure that a user doesn’t repeatedly upload the same photo to carry out another edit,” Techcrunch says.

That doesn’t sound too reassuring to us.

If you’ve downloaded and used FaceApp, here’s how to remove your pictures from their storage

If you’ve given FaceApp permission to access your photos and you’re concerned about how they could be used, the company has outlined how to request that your pictures be deleted:

1. Open the app on your device
2. Click ‘Settings’
3. Click ‘Support’
4. Click ‘Report a bug’
5. In the subject line of the report, write: privacy
6. Submit it

As always, be careful about the apps that you download — and especially with the data you share with them!

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Avoid Google Calendar phishing scams with these 4 steps

A new scam targeting people who use Google Calendar makes them vulnerable to phishing attacks.

Criminals have figured out a way to access your Google Calendar and put phishing links in event invites, according to Kaspersky Labs, an intelligence firm that specializes in internet security.

Google Calendar phishing scam: ‘Scammers making appointments en masse’

“Spammers have recently taken to making appointments en masse,” Kaspersky researchers said in a blog post.

Here’s how the scam works: Users will see details about a fake event in the topic and location fields of Google Calendar. The scammers sometimes use the lure of money to get you to click on the links.

“Usually, their spam details consist of a short bit of text stating that you are entitled to a cash payment for some reason, and a link that supposedly lets you receive it,” the security firm says.

Because Google Calendar is installed on so many devices, this vulnerability is pretty widespread — but you don’t have to be a victim.

The #1 to not get scammed by phishing attacks and protect yourself?

Never click on suspicious links sent to you via email or your calendar.

Google Calendar phishing scam: 4 steps you must take to protect yourself

To fully protect yourself against this phishing scam, you must change your settings so invites from random users won’t show up. Once you follow these four steps, you should only see Google Calendar invites from people in your contact list:

1. From your device, open your Google Calendar and go to Settings. To find it, click on the gear icon in the top right of the page then click Settings.

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2. Scroll down to “Event Settings,” where you’ll see “Automatically add invitations.”

3. Click on “Automatically add invitations” and it will open a collapsible menu. Click “No, only show invitations to which I have responded.” It will automatically save your preference.

4. Finally, you’ll want to clear out all those invitations that might be bogus on your Google Calendar.

To do that, go to the vertical menu on the right side of the page and click “View options.” Make sure you uncheck “Show declined events.”

Just like that, you’re protected from the Google Calendar phishing scam.

After making these changes, you will still be able to receive emails with Google Calendar invites, but it will be up to you whether to accept them.

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Mint.com review: 7 ways to get the most from the free budgeting tool

Mint.com is a free, ad-supported money management tool that’s helped millions of Americans stay on budget for more than a decade.

The personal finance app is owned by Intuit, the company behind TurboTax and QuickBooks, and stands out from competitors like YNAB (You Need a Budget) and Personal Capital for its easy-to-use budgeting and bill tracking features.

What’s so great about Mint is that it brings together all of your accounts in one place to give you a snapshot of your financial life.

If you’ve been following money expert Clark Howard for a while, maybe you’ve heard him talk about how Mint’s website and mobile app can help you create and stick to a budget.

In Clark’s opinion, Mint is the best of the budgeting apps:

“Mint has stood the test of time and will help you categorize your spending in so many different ways, and so much of it is done automatically to help you get control of what you’re up to.”

I’ve personally been using Mint.com since the early days. When I was working to pay off my $86,000 mortgage in two years, I would sign in several times a week to track my earnings and spending.

Over the years, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks that may help you get the most from Mint.com. Read on for the details…

1. Link as many accounts as you can

For Mint to give you the most accurate picture of your finances, you need to link as many bank accounts as you can, which requires providing login usernames and passwords.

That way, Mint can download and categorize your transactions, such as your credit card purchases.

“Login user name and passwords are stored securely in a separate database using multi-layered hardware and software encryption,” Mint said on its security FAQ page.

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Mint also uses multi-factor authentication to protect your account. I’ll have more on that later on.

If you link your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage and other loans, Mint will automatically calculate your net worth (the sum of all your assets minus your liabilities). You can track that number from the “Accounts” section on the Overview page.

2. How to add a manual account 

Mint works with most financial institutions, but there are times when you can’t automatically link an account.

For example, I have some investments with Personal Capital — one of Mint’s competitors — and Mint told me there’s no way to link my account like I can with Vanguard and Fidelity.

The workaround is the “Other Property” feature. Here’s how to add a manual account from your computer:

• Click the Settings tab in the top black menu bar
• Click Property in the left sidebar
• Click the + Add Property button
• Select the type of property you’d like to add: “Real Estate, Vehicle, Cash or Debt, or Other” and click Next
• Enter the requested fields then, click “Add it”

Important note: Since any of your accounts that are added manually won’t be updated automatically, you need to remember to update that information yourself when the balances change.

3. Fix transactions that are categorized incorrectly

One of the best things about Mint.com is how it pulls your spending data and categorizes your transactions, which can help you see if you’re overspending in one particular area — like groceries, home improvement or entertainment.

I cut my food spending by $1,200 last year, thanks to my budgeting tools, after noticing that I was spending too much on groceries and dining out.

Mint has hundreds of default categories, but sometimes your transactions may be categorized incorrectly. Fortunately, you can edit them in just a matter of seconds:

1. Click the Transactions tab
2. Click the transaction you’d like to edit
3. Click on “Edit Details” and then you can edit the description and/or category
4. Click I’m Done

Those steps are for one-time transactions, but what if it’s a recurring transaction? You need the Renaming Rules feature. I had to figure this one out when Mint categorized my mortgage payment incorrectly.

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To fix it: Click on your transaction, select “Edit Details” and change the category, then put a check mark next to “Always rename.”

4. You can track cash spending from the app 

If you put most of your expenses on a credit card and pay it off every month, staying on top of your budget with Mint is easy. All of those transactions are pulled in and categorized for you!

But what happens if you like to budget with cash? There’s a relatively new way to easily track those purchases with Mint.

Let’s say you go out to your favorite restaurant with co-workers and your bill is $20. You decide to pay cash instead of fooling with a credit card. When you leave the restaurant, open the Mint app or log in at home and select “Add a transaction.”

From there, just enter the details about the cash expense so that it’s reflected in the proper budget category.

5. Control alerts and notifications

When you sign up for Mint, you can expect to receive emails with bill reminders, credit score updates and general spending alerts.

These emails can be super helpful, especially if you have a history of forgetting to pay your bills, but I’ve found that the emails can be a little annoying at times. Do I really need an email every time I go $1 over my budget?

Luckily, there’s a way to control the alerts and notifications that you receive. Here’s how to do it…

From the Settings tab, click on Notifications. Make sure to click on “Change” next to “Send spending alerts” for a long list of alerts (unusual spending, over budget, bank fees, etc.) that you can adjust to your preferences.

6. Customize your Overview page to your preferences 

In recent years, I’ve really started to use Mint’s mobile app just as much as the website. It’s a great way to quickly check in on my budget while I’m on the go.

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Mint’s Overview page lists your cash flow, transactions, accounts, bills, budgets, trends and even your credit score.

If you like to use Mint to monitor when your bills are due, you may want to see that information front and center. That’s why Mint makes it possible to customize your Overview page.

From the app, simply go to Settings and then Overview Settings to change the display order:

7. Use your fingerprint as your password 

I mentioned that Mint uses multi-factor authentication a little bit earlier. The service says you may need to provide more than just your username and password when you sign in to your account.

“Rather than just a login and password, we also notify you of account changes with data from a second source or with information only you will have, like special security questions or a code from a text message or email.”

For app users, you can either use a passcode or your fingerprint to sign in. I recently switched to the fingerprint method and it works flawlessly.

RELATED: Ask Clark: How safe is Mint.com?

Final thought 

Budgeting is essential if you’re serious about reaching your financial goals. Mint provides everything you need to pay your bills on time, create a budget, check your credit score, set money goals and track your net worth.

The best part is that Mint is 100% free — all you have to do is put up with a few credit card advertisements.

“If you have trouble knowing where your money goes, and more important, how to get your spending under control, add Mint to your smartphone and take back control of your wallet,” Clark says.

Do you use Mint or another personal finance tool to stay on budget? Tell us about it in the comments below! 

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