Issue 4: The ChatGPT Secrets You Need to Know Right This Second — Especially to Protect Your Privacy 🤖🔥
Unlock smarter prompts, better AI images, and must-change privacy settings. Plus, the latest on TikTok, Nintendo Switch 2, and more. Lookout party people, this newsletter is coming in hot...
TGIF from Los Angeles! After a month of being damp and mildly offended by the so-called “spring” in the Pacific Northwest — where the forecast toggles between drizzle, downpour, and you’ve got to be kidding me — my husband and I hopped on a plane to L.A. for my a little work and whole lot of WHOA. Sunshine. Real warmth. I swear my body forgot what it’s like not to be wrapped in fleece.
But first, a big Happy Birthday and Congrats!
It’s my daughter’s 24th birthday and her welcome weekend for UCLA Law School.
The only thing brighter than this California sun is the pure, heart-squeezing happiness of celebrating her — birthday candles, law school dreams, and the start of her powerful new path focused on human rights. Proud is an understatement. She makes my life infinitely better just by existing and I thank my lucky stars for her every single day. (I’m not crying… my eyeballs are just… sweating…)
This light, this energy, this moment? It’s fueling a fire. I’m reflecting, reconnecting, and fired up to share the kind of must-know, must-share insights you count on from me each week. And this edition? It’s bringing the heat. Smart recs, a few rants, and tech tips you’ll actually want to use. Let’s dive in.
-As always, please leave me a comment here, on the socials (and be sure to follow me), or by email here. What are you up to this weekend?
XO, Jenn
ChatGPT has pretty much replaced Google for me
You type what you need — it figures it out. Like Google, but way more helpful. That’s how I explained AI to a non-techy friend last week. Whether you’re like me and use it every day now, or you’re just now ready to dip a toe-in, here are some of the genius tips, tricks, and warnings everyone should know.
How to Start Using ChatGPT (Step-by-Step)
Go to ChatGPT.com – This is the official website where you can access the AI assistant.
Sign Up or Log In – You’ll need an OpenAI account. You can sign up with an email, Google, or Microsoft account.
Choose the FREE Plan – The free version absolutely rocks, but you can upgrade to ChatGPT Plus for faster responses and better performance if you decide later on that it would be worth it to you.
Start Chatting - Add prompts like the ones below!
The Secrets Smart People Use to Get Better (and Faster) AI Results
You don’t need to be a coder or a tech bro to get elite results from ChatGPT — you just need to know how to talk to it like a boss. Whether you're writing, planning, researching, or just trying to make your life easier, these are the six moves that the smartest people (yes, the non-techie ones too)use right now.
1. Assign It a Role
“Act like a hiring manager and help me write a persuasive cover letter for a marketing job at Google.”
Why it works: It’s like casting a part in a movie. The better the role, the better the performance.
Caveat: Use this to help brainstorm and act as a foundation, but don’t just copy and paste. AI still makes a lot of stuff up, and has telltale signs that it’s created by a bot, not a human.
2. Show What You Want First
Drop in a writing sample and say: “Match this tone and write a blog intro about travel.”
Why it works: It learns your voice and reflects it back — kind of like a mirror that edits.
Caveat: The more examples you give it, the better it gets.
3. Ask for Structure, Not Just Ideas
“Give me a day-by-day packing checklist for 4 days in LA, including one work day at NBC.”
Why it works: You get bullet points, tables, timelines — not walls of text. When I asked it to create a graphic for me with this info, here’s what it came up with, which was helpful (I didn’t pack nearly this much, though) when I packed in 20 minutes at 3 am.
4. Keep the Chat Going
Say things like “Make it sassier.” “Add emojis.” “Turn this into an Instagram caption.”
Why it works: It remembers the convo and gets better the more you nudge it.
Insider Tip: ChatGPT gives me answers I KNOW are wrong…a lot (the official term is hallucinations). I correct it, give it a link to the fact I need it to take into consideration, and go from there. AI still makes stuff up, so always ask for sources, then go outside of ChatGPT and double check it. Even if that means a good old-fashioned phone call.
5. Tell It What Not to Do
“Write a tech explainer like I’m 12 — but no jargon, no long paragraphs.”
Why it works: Boundaries = brilliance. The clearer you are, the better the results.
6. BONUS: Generate Fun Images with Prompts
“Can you take this image of me, my dog, and my horse and put us all together in a one cool Marvel-style image? Make the background simple, bright, and outdoors. Make me wear something simpler too - like jeans and a t-shirt that says I love animals.”
Why it works: ChatGPT can generate images — but here’s the trick: the more vivid and specific your prompt, the better the output. Think adjectives, mood, setting, style.
Want a tip within a tip? Ask ChatGPT to write the perfect prompt for you before generating the image. Power move.
Insider Tip: Keep asking it to refine the image until you get what you want. I don’t think the face above looks all that much like me, but it’s fine for this example.
The Bottom Line: ChatGPT isn’t magic. It just responds really well to smart direction. Give it the right tone, role, and boundaries — and it becomes your ultimate sidekick.
🔐 Change these ChatGPT settings right now:
Don’t share any information with ChatGPT or any other AI bot that you wouldn’t share with a stranger on the street or put on a giant billboard outside your parent’s (or co-worker’s) house. No tech company worries about your personal privacy, security, and important info as much as they should, and no one can keep it safe except you.
Your chat history can get leaked in a hack, bugs can expose your queries, and even send your information to the wrong people accidentally. It’s all happened before — with ChatGPT — and it continues to happen at big tech companies every single day.
The companies even tell you upfront not to share too much.
“Please don’t share any sensitive information in your conversations,” OpenAI urges. And Google tells its Gemini users: “Don’t enter confidential information or any data you wouldn’t want a reviewer to see.”
1. Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Because your password deserves a bodyguard.
Go to Settings:
Mobile app: Tap your name at the bottom left.
Desktop: Click your name/profile at the top right corner.
Tap “Settings” > “Security” > Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
Follow the steps to set it up using an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy.
2. Check What ChatGPT Remembers About You
It’s not quite psychic, but it does have a memory.
Settings > Personalization > Manage Memory
Here, you’ll see what ChatGPT “remembers” about you.
You can view, edit, or delete specific items.
Want a clean slate? There’s a “Clear All” button to wipe the memory like a digital Etch-A-Sketch.
3. Disable Chat History & Training (Optional, for extra privacy)
For when you’d rather not leave a trail of your midnight musings and cat poem drafts.
Settings > Data Controls > Chat History & Training
Toggle off to prevent your chats from being used to train the model.
Note: Turning this off means your chats won’t appear in your history — poof, gone like a magician's rabbit.
4. Clear Past Conversations
Spring cleaning, but for your brain dumps.
Go to the left-hand panel where your chats are listed.
Click the trash can icon next to individual chats or go full Marie Kondo and delete them all at once.
5. Review Connected Apps and Sessions
Because your ChatGPT account shouldn’t be partying on multiple devices without you.
Settings > Account > Manage My Account
Check for active sessions and sign out of any that look suspicious.
Review third-party app connections, if any. Remove ones you don’t recognize or use anymore.
The Bottom Line: Proceed with caution. Use a service like Duck.ai, which isn’t nearly as good as ChatGPT, but is more safe overall.
Don’t share — or be sure to redact (delete) medical information, any and all identity information like your Social Security, driver’s license and passport numbers, as well as your date of birth, address and phone number, and do not share any financial account info.
More On My Mind this Week
Here are some of the other topics we’re covering & talking about:
Turn EVERYTHING into Podcasts: Speaking of AI; Gemini (Google’s AI) is starting to show how powerful of a tool it can be. Gemini’s ability to understand language is top-notch, conversations are natural, and it makes you completely forget Alexa or Siri even exist. But…did you know about Audio Overviews? Through the Audio Overview feature, you can turn documents, slides, charts and more into engaging discussions with one click. When you upload your sources, it instantly becomes an expert, grounding its responses in your material with citations and relevant quotes. Yes, a podcast! With one click, two AI hosts start up a lively “deep dive” discussion based on your sources. They summarize your material, make connections between topics, and banter back and forth. You can even download the conversation and take it on the go.
To try it out for yourself, follow these steps:
Go to NotebookLM.
Create a new notebook.
Add at least one source.
In your Notebook guide, click on the “Generate” button to create an Audio Overview.
Nintendo Switch 2
It’s been more than eight years since the launch of the last Switch (here I am showing it off on CNN in June of 2017 with Lynn Smith. This year’s upgrades are great, the price is high, and the exact pre-sale date is up-in-the-air thanks to tariff’s. Read more hands-on and what’s next for the device.
TikTok Gets Another Hail-Mary in America!
Just as I — and many others predicted — President Trump just announced a second 75-day delay against enforcing the divest-or-ban law. At least that’s what he just announced via Truth Social. Read more here but the deadline is now June 18.
Okay — time to go outside and soak in ALLLLLLL the sunshine for real.
Paid subscribers, there’s some big news showing up in your inbox this week…
For everyone else — REACH OUT.
Let’s talk about all the tech-ish, life-ish, important-ish things on your mind too!
Talk soon! xo
That is such an informative post regarding chatgpt. There are new things which I Iearned from this valuable piece, & it surely help in training the newer models of chatgpt & other LLMs. I found some valuable chatgpt prompts which I didn't know before. A round of applause for Jennifer! Cheers!