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Spotlight search is one of the most useful features in macOS. You can access it by pressing Command-Space, and it allows you to find anything on your Mac. And there's so much more Spotlight search can do than you might realize. From performing currency conversions to running complex automation routines, here are 10 Spotlight search hacks that you'll find useful.

Enable clipboard history to keep track of everything you copy

Since the release of macOS 26 Tahoe, Spotlight search has been able to store your clipboard history. This means that Spotlight keeps a record of every item you copy on your Mac. This feature is disabled by default. You can enable it by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen, and going to System Settings > Spotlight. Scroll down, and enable Results from Clipboard. You can use the drop-down menu below this option to set an auto-delete timer for clipboard history, and your choices are 30 minutes, 8 hours, or 7 days.

To access clipboard history, press Command-Space to open Spotlight search, and then, press Command-4.

Use the built-in converter for instant currency and unit conversions

Currency conversion in Spotlight.
Credit: Pranay Parab

I stopped using online searches for currency and unit conversions ever since I discovered this Spotlight feature. To convert currency in Spotlight search, you can type "USD 100 to INR." The result appears in Spotlight, which is a lot faster than opening a browser and performing a web search. Feel free to replace the currency abbreviations with the ones you need, as Spotlight search supports almost all countries' currencies (but not cryptocurrencies). You can use similar syntax to convert units. For example, try something like: "100lbs to kg," or "3L to oz."

You should also try Spotlight's built-in calculator, which can handle arithmetic quite well. Ask it to add, subtract, divide, or multiply numbers, and Spotlight will show you the results instantly.

Try Spotlight search filters to find any file on your Mac

Once you have the search bar open, you can type any file name or app name, and Spotlight will search your Mac to locate it—that part is pretty clear. The fun begins when you start using search filters for advanced queries. You can ask Spotlight to restrict search results to PDF files by typing "/pdf" ahead of your query. This works for other file types such as jpeg, png, and tiff. To use it correctly, you'll have to select the filter from the search results. When you type "/pdf," the first search result will be "PDF" with the word Kind written under it. Select this, and type your query to restrict queries to that file type.

You can also use this format to search specific folders, such as "/downloads" to look for files in the Downloads folder in your Mac.

Send messages to any contact directly from Spotlight

Sending messages via Spotlight for Mac.
Credit: Pranay Parab

Whenever I open any chat app with the intention of messaging someone, I get distracted by other unread messages. To avoid this on my Mac, I've started messaging people directly from Spotlight, which lets me avoid looking at unrelated messages. To use this feature, open Spotlight, and type "Send Message." You can select the Send Message action from the results to start composing the text. You can then pick a recipient and hit the Return key to send the message.

Use Spotlight's built-in timer to bypass the Clock app

Your Mac's built-in Clock app lets you set alarms, timers, or use a stopwatch. This works fine, but when I'm setting timers, I usually want to do it fast. That's where Spotlight comes in. Type "Start Timer" and select the action in Spotlight. You can then add a duration for the timer, and it'll alert you when time's up.

Use this Spotlight shortcut to open files in Finder

When I see search results in Spotlight, sometimes I want to open the file or app, but more often than not, I want to open the folder that contains those results. I recently discovered a keyboard shortcut that opens the folder containing any search result directly from Spotlight. To use it, look for something in Spotlight search, and use the arrow keys to reach the correct result. Then press Command-Enter to open the file or app in Finder.

Translate languages directly from Spotlight

Translations in Spotlight for Mac.
Credit: Pranay Parab

I had no idea that Spotlight could also be your personal translator, until Lifehacker's Senior Technology Editor Jake Peterson told me about it. Now that I've used the feature, I don't think I'll be opening Google Translate by default when I need translations. To set up this feature on your Mac, go to System Settings > Language & Region, and select Translation Languages. Download the languages you need to translate, and enable On-Device Mode on the same page if you want offline translations. Click Done when all downloads are complete.

Once this is done, type "Translate" in Spotlight, and select the Translate Text action from the results. Type or paste some text into the "Text" field, and Spotlight will show you the translation shortly.

Use Spotlight to locate and open hidden system settings

Ever since macOS switched away from the old System Preferences menu, I've had trouble locating many settings on my MacBook. The new System Settings menu is less confusing for iOS users, but that doesn't help those of us who were used to the old layout. To get around this, I've started using Spotlight search to find system settings. You can type the name of the settings page, or even specific features such as Reduce Motion. Spotlight's results will show you two types of results: One where you can open the System Settings app, and the other where you can toggle the preference directly from search results. The latter is especially handy for features you want to toggle more than once, such as Bluetooth.

Assign dedicated keyboard shortcuts to your favorite actions

Now that Spotlight search lets you run actions such as creating notes, calendar events, and sending messages, it's worth considering ways to speed up this process. Typing the full name of each action isn't a good solution for actions you use frequently, which is why it's a good idea to assign keyboard shortcuts to your favorite actions. Instead of typing "Send Message" each time, you could trigger the action by typing "sm." To set this up, open Spotlight and press Command-3. This will load the list of actions supported by all installed apps on your Mac, and you can click the "Add quick keys" button next to any action to assign a keyboard shortcut.

Change Spotlight settings to exclude certain apps from search results

If you don't want to see results from certain apps in Spotlight search, you can exclude those apps easily. On your Mac, go to System Settings > Spotlight, and scroll down to the "Results from Apps" section. You can click the button next to any app to remove it from Spotlight results. Scroll down further till you reach the "Results from System" section. Here, you can click the i button next to "Files" and exclude certain folders from Spotlight search results.


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You can’t turn off Strava’s AI summaries anymore. Sometime in July or August, the feature, called “Athlete Intelligence,” became a built-in part of premium subscriptions. If you have a free account, you still won’t see it, but if you subscribe to Strava Premium, you’ll now have the summaries stuck onto all of your workouts. 

What is Strava's "Athlete Intelligence"?

Athlete Intelligence, conveniently abbreviated AI, is a Strava feature that gives text responses to your workouts. It’s only available for premium subscribers. Strava refers to “insights” in these responses, but as far as I can tell, they just seem to regurgitate the information from the workout description, sometimes with added errors. 

I used the feature briefly, around the time it launched (I was a premium subscriber then), but quickly turned it off when I realized it wasn’t telling me anything interesting. I asked my colleague Meredith Dietz, who has a premium subscription, whether she had seen anything useful in her Athlete Intelligence. She said, “They’re usually positive, so that’s nice. But ultimately: useless.” 

Meredith has written more about why AI fitness summaries are mostly useless, and Strava’s AI checks every box: it doesn’t use enough context to understand what’s going on, it presents generic advice as if it were personal, and it’s overconfident in its incomplete data. She showed me a recent Athlete Intelligence summary that said a run was both a “recovery run” and included her “fastest pace in two weeks.” Those are simply not compatible statements. Another message complimented her “solid half-marathon effort” on a run that Meredith says was “not even close to a half-marathon effort.” 

What happened behind the scenes? 

You used to be able to turn off the AI. When Strava launched Athlete Intelligence in October 2024, it was a “beta” feature available to premium users only. Since then—as far as I can remember—Strava’s support page had instructions for opting out of Athlete Intelligence. 

But that changed recently. The last Wayback Machine snapshot that included those instructions is from June 30, 2026. A snapshot from Aug. 4 removed both the question and answer about opting out. On Aug. 26, I noticed a Reddit thread where users were wondering where the opt-out feature went. The support page currently says, “There isn’t an option to opt out of Athlete Intelligence.” 

I asked what happened, and received an answer from a Strava spokesperson: “As was standard practice for experimental features, Athlete Intelligence launched with a "turn off" mechanism scoped to its initial beta period. Given the feature’s formal exit from beta, that mechanism is no longer available. We invite all subscribers to tap Give Feedback to help us improve the insights they see.”

Athlete Intelligence officially left beta in February of last year. If the support page was kept up to date over the subsequent year and a half, then it seems the opt-out was removed much later. (The instructions used to say to click “leave beta” and then changed to “leave Athlete Intelligence” sometime before June 21 this year.) I asked Strava for clarification on the timeline, and got the answer: “Thanks for the follow up, we're not able to provide additional information.”

Why “Athlete Intelligence” has been such a disappointment

Strava claimed in its February 2025 announcement that over 80% of users found Athlete Intelligence useful. That seems hard to believe, given the weaknesses that both Meredith and I noticed in our own AI summaries. For all my browsing of Strava user forums, I’ve often seen people complaining about the AI’s tone or pointing out its mistakes; I’m really not seeing anyone praising it for being insightful or for helping to analyze or plan training. 

Meredith finds the summaries easy to ignore. I found they annoyed me, so I hid them while it was still possible to do so. So far I’m not seeing anybody who opted out complaining that the summaries are back; it’s possible they will remain hidden. But the option to turn them off is no longer available. You can still “leave feedback” on a given response, but there used to be an option to leave Athlete Intelligence altogether. That option is no longer there, and given Strava’s statement, it doesn’t seem likely it will come back.


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If, like me, you let some of your fitness goals fall by the wayside this summer, Labor Day is the perfect time to build out your home gym and revitalize your exercise routine. And you don't even have to wait for the long weekend to start seeking out some excellent Labor Day deals, because Amazon's sale has already started. Below, I've collected my favorite fitness deals so far from Amazon's early Labor Day sale—and I'll keep adding more as the holiday weekend gets closer.

The best early Labor Day sales on cardio equipment

  • All of the NordicTrack T Series is all on sale, with the T10 in particular catching my eye: Normally $1,299, it's currently discounted to $999. For cardio, your options get trickier in an apartment setting or a home without a ton of extra space, but foldable equipment like this is a nice solution.

  • The YOSUDA Friction 1.0 bike is $178.99, down from $249.99.

  • This MERACH exercise bike is $399.98, down from $599.99.

  • This walking pad is $79.98, normally $106.80. This is a simple, straightforward option if you've been looking to get your steps in while working at a standing desk.

  • If you're looking for more than just a bare-bones option, this fancier walking pad reaches speeds of up to 6.2 mph and a 5% incline, and it's also foldable for storage. It's currently on sale for $119.98 (normally $199.99).

(A word of caution: When you're browsing walking pads, remember you really cannot trust those product pictures.)

The best early Labor Day sales on dumbbells

  • This CAP ADJUSTABELL adjustable dumbbell set is $249.99, normally $299.99. These can adjust from 10 to 55 pounds in 5-pound increments with a simple twist of the handle (no knobs, pins, or levers are involved).

  • This CAP rubber-coated dumbbell weight set is $159.99, normally $189.99. While I'm a big proponent of adjustable dumbbells, you can't go wrong with a traditional vertical rack like this. It includes a pair of 5-pound, 10-pound, 15-pound, 20-pound, and 25-pound rubber hex dumbbells with a vertical dumbbell rack.

  • These Feierdun adjustable dumbbells are $161.98 for the 90-pound set, down from $219.99. I'm especially drawn to how this system can configure the weights as fixed barbells, kettlebells, traditional dumbbells, or individual weight plates. Incorporating kettlebell swings and goblet squats without purchasing separate equipment? That's a steal.

The best early Labor Day sales on other home gym staples

  • These resistance bands are $18.99, normally $24.99. A solid pair of resistance bands like these will be the perfect addition to your home gym, and great for travel workouts, whether in the poolside gym or your hotel rooms.

  • This FLYBIRD adjustable weight bench is $125.99, normally $139.99.

  • This Yes4All kettlebell is $69.16 for the 45-pound option, normally $91.35. It's got a wide-grip handle and neoprene coating over the cast iron to reduce noise and protect your flooring.


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Home Depot is one of the first major retailers to start its early Labor Day sale, and if you're looking for deals on major appliances, tools, or gardening equipment, it's the place to look. The discounts are already in effect, and the sale will continue until Sept. 9, though some choice bargains may disappear sooner.

Below, I've rounded up some of the best deals on tools and appliances I've found so far. (And I've used price-tracking tools to make sure these "sales" are actually a bargain.)

The best deals on appliances during Home Depot's early Labor Day sale

Right now, Home Depot also has an extra discount on top of its Labor Day deals. For select appliances (refrigerators, washers and dryers, freezers, ranges, wall ovens, cooktops, dishwashers, and over-the-range microwaves), you can get an additional $50 off when you spend $698; $100 off when you spend $998; $150 off when you spend $1,298; and $250 off when you spend $1,498 or more. You'll know the appliance is eligible when you see the "Buy More, Save More" banner under the price. Here are some of the best ways to score this double discount:

  • A stainless steel over-range microwave: Right now, the Whirlpool 1.7 cu. ft. Over-the-Range Microwave is $229 (originally $410) after a 44% discount. This microwave has two fans that help mask the odor of whatever you're cooking.

  • An LG gas range: If you're in the market for a new gas range, the LG 30 in. 6.3 cu. ft. Smart Oven is now $1,425 (originally $2,499), a 40% discount. (This early deal expires at 3 a.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 28.)

  • A Whirlpool French door refrigerator: The best deal on a 33-inch fridge at Home Depot right now is the Whirlpool 22 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator, currently going for $1,799 (originally $2,599). This is the cheapest this fridge has been in months.

  • This oversized Bespoke fridge: For those who need a bigger fridge, the 36-inch Bespoke Refrigerator is also $1,799 (originally $3,199) after a 44% discount. It holds 29 cu. ft. inside with a four-door French-door design.

The best grill deals during Home Depot's early Labor Day sale

Wood pellet grills can produce a lighter wood-fire taste that charcoal or gas grills can't match. This Traeger Pro Wood Pellet Grill can fit about four chickens, five rib racks, or about 28 burger patties with its 27 inches of depth. You can get it for $389.99 (originally $549.99) right now.

Other grill deals to consider

The best leaf blower deals during Home Depot's early Labor Day sale

Fall is around the corner, and if you're looking for a leaf blower to help you manage your yard, you can get this Milwaukee M18 FUEL cordless handheld blower for $149 (originally $199).

Other leaf blower deals to consider

The best tool deal during Home Depot's early Labor Day sale

This Ryobi ONE+ 18V Cordless 5-Tool Combo Kit is perfect for those who need a solid foundation of tools to get started with DIY projects. This set comes with a drill, a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, a multi-tool, a hand vacuum, batteries, a charger, and a bag. It's selling for $179 (originally $466.88) after a 62% discount.

Other tool deals

The best security camera deal during Home Depot's early Labor Day sale

This Ring Outdoor Floodlight Security Cam Plus is a wired camera with 2000 lumens—bright enough to light up most backyards—and it has a 105dB alarm that will wake you up (and probably your neighbors, too). You can get it for $119.99 (originally $199.99).

Other security camera deals to consider

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Two men from Western Australia have been charged after police allege they were part of TeamPCP, a cybercrime group that planted malicious code in open-source software, then used it to break into organizations around the world.

TeamPCP hackers arrested

The Australian Federal Police (AFP), working with the FBI and Western Australia Police Force (WAPF), arrested a 21-year-old from Cottesloe and a 23-year-old from Mandurah on August 26.

The 21-year-old Cottesloe man was charged with eight offences, including possessing and supplying data for use in computer offences, unauthorized modification of data, failing to comply with a section 3LA order, and dealing with proceeds of crime worth $100,000 or more. The charges carry maximum penalties ranging from three to 20 years in prison.

The 23-year-old Mandurah man was charged with six computer-related offences, including possessing and supplying data for use in computer offences and unauthorized modification of data. The offences carry maximum penalties of up to five years in prison.

“These men are allegedly members of the cybercriminal group TeamPCP, whose malicious code potentially compromised more than a thousand organizations worldwide,” FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director, Brett E. Leatherman, said.

According to the AFP, the investigation started in April 2026 after several cyber threat assessment companies flagged a syndicate that had inserted malicious code into software hosted on an open-source repository. Developers who pulled that code into their own projects unknowingly spread it into systems across government, academia and the private sector.

Once inside those systems, the code let the group harvest sensitive data, including login credentials and authentication tokens. The AFP estimates the campaign hit more than 1,000 organizations worldwide, with over 500,000 credentials stolen and at least 300 gigabytes of data taken. Global remediation costs are estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Cybercrime syndicates are becoming increasingly organised and often operate like professional businesses,” noted AFP Commander Graeme Marshall.

Investigators say a large amount of seized data is still being examined, and they have not ruled out further arrests.

TeamPCP has allegedly been behind supply chain attacks on GitHub, Telnyx, LiteLLM, Aqua’s Trivy, Checkmarx’s KICS, TanStack, MistralAI and Red Hat, using their self-spreading Mini Shai-Hulud worm to steal credentials and infect further packages.

TeamPCP made headlines after being attributed to a self-replicating worm dubbed Shai-Hulud, which compromised more than 180 npm packages in September 2025 by stealing credentials and using them to spread to new packages automatically. It exfiltrated secrets to public GitHub repositories and turned victims’ private repos public.

“There are absolutely no indications that TeamPCP was behind the original S1ngularity and Shai-Hulud attacks we saw in the summer of 2025. However, they did clone the worm, and it became regularly reported that they were behind the Shai-Hulud attacks. I want to make it clear that they are distinct attacks. We still don’t know who was behind the original attacks, and we may never know,” Aikido researcher Charlie Eriksen wrote.

Eriksen described TeamPCP as difficult to categorize: neither a state actor, an organized cybercrime group, nor a purely ideological one.

“They were also not especially sophisticated. What made them dangerous was their ability to take public exploits, techniques, research, and malware ideas and operationalize them quickly,“ Eriksen added.


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This week, Apple Maps officially launched ads in search. It's not necessarily a surprise, mind you: We learned back in October that Apple planned to roll out ads at some point. But it's still a bit jarring to see Apple actually commit to the plan. Now, most of the mainstream navigation apps come with ads, which makes getting around without dealing with ads difficult—but not impossible.

How Apple Maps' ads work

Once ads hit your app, you'll start seeing them when you search for new destinations. That includes both in the new "Suggested Places" section, as well as within search results as well. Like other platforms that float sponsored items to the top of search results, you'll likely want to be a bit more scrupulous, since the top pick might not actually be the most relevant to your query.

What's more, there's no way to actually disable these ads. There are ad blockers for iPhone, but they're limited, and won't block Apple's own ads. As such, it just doesn't feel very "Apple" to deal with ads on the company's own navigation app—especially if you're already giving Apple money every month. While Apple Maps doesn't have a paid subscription, Apple offers plenty of services at a cost. As YouTuber Quinn Nelson notes, some users are paying $50 per month for Apple One, and still having to deal with ads on Apple Maps. Of course, it's the same story for Google Maps: Google's famous navigation app also has mandatory ads, whether you subscribe to one of Google's services or not. In Apple's view, its approach is better than competitors like Google, as the company is adamant its ads preserve your privacy. But even if that's the case, I'm not sure it's going to sell users on the new approach.

'Organic Maps' is an ad-free alternative to Apple Maps and Google Maps

It's tough to find a good navigation alternative to Apple Maps or Google Maps. That includes Waze, which is also owned by Google and also has ads. However, there is one solid—albeit rather underground—choice for anyone whose top priority is a lack of ads.

Organic Maps is a free and open-source app that prioritizes privacy for navigation. According to the developer, the app works entirely offline, and does not track people as they use it. (How refreshing.) As such, you could download your maps, disable cellular services, and still have the ability to navigate—of course, you can use it while connected, as well. The app supports a number of features that you'll find on other more mainstream platforms, including cycling and hiking routes, turn-by-turn directions, public transit maps, and dark mode.

Organic Maps uses OpenStreetMap to provide its navigation data. While the benefit of OpenStreetMap is that it's also open-source, so users all over the globe can add their own data points, it likely isn't as robust as Apple's map data, not to mention Google's decades of data. Still, users have generally positive reviews on the iOS App Store, suggesting that OpenStreetMap's data offers an adequate alternative to Apple Maps. Now, if you're used to scrolling through restaurant reviews or checking out Street View, you'll miss that here. While Organic Maps does have a search function, it's lacking compared to other platforms. This is definitely a navigation-first app, rather than a full Apple Maps or Google Maps replacement. Still, if you're looking for an ad-free alternative, there are few better options out there at this time.


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The Eufy Security EufyCam S4 four-camera kit is down to $999.99 from $1,399.99 on Amazon; price trackers show that this is its lowest price so far. Each camera gives you a wide 4K view for keeping an eye on the whole scene, while a separate 2K pan-and-tilt lens can follow someone moving through it and zoom in when you need a closer look. That could mean watching the entire driveway while still following someone walking toward the garage, or keeping a broad view of the backyard without losing detail when something moves near the fence.

Also, since each camera comes with its own 5.5W solar panel—and Eufy says about one hour of direct sunlight per day is enough to keep the battery topped up, under typical conditions—you can mount a camera on a detached garage, shed, fence line, or far side of the house without planning the installation around a nearby outlet. The system is also wire-free, so moving a camera later is much easier than relocating a hardwired setup. You also get color night vision, which should make it easier to see what is happening around the property after dark, while radar and passive infrared sensors help make those recordings more useful by narrowing down motion alerts.

That coverage is also easier to manage because you're not relying on a cloud subscription to keep your footage. The included HomeBase S380 stores recordings locally on 16GB of built-in storage and can be expanded with a 2.5-inch drive for up to 16TB more, so you can keep a much larger archive without adding a monthly fee. It also handles facial recognition and cross-camera tracking locally, which means someone moving from the driveway toward the backyard can be followed across multiple cameras as one continuous event (as opposed to a series of unrelated clips). The main tradeoff is the high upfront cost, and a four-camera system is excessive for a small apartment or single-entry setup. For a smaller setup, Amazon also has a two-camera bundle on sale right now.

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