• You can clear your Gmail cache by selecting the "Clear browsing data" option in the "More Tools" located in the email client's Settings menu.
• If your Gmail account is configured for offline email, you can remove your cache by disabling offline emails in Gmail's Chrome browser settings. 
• To thoroughly clear your Gmail cache, you should also clear your browsing data and remove the site data file for mail.google.com. 
• Gmail stores files in a cache on your computer, which could be a security risk, especially if other people have access to the PC.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Gmail stores a variety of files on your computer in a temporary cache. 

This permits your computer to run Gmail faster and more efficiently. It also lets you access your Gmail and draft messages offline without internet access if you've already enabled offline email in Gmail. 

If you use Gmail in any other browser, the steps to clear the cache are a little different. In Firefox, follow the steps to clear your cache in Firefox. If you use Gmail in Microsoft Edge, follow the steps to clear your cache in Edge. 

In Chrome, it's not necessary, but it's best to turn off Gmail's offline email feature if it's enabled. This way, additional cached files will not be saved to your computer as you work, and Gmail will delete its existing email cache when the feature is disabled. 

Once you've done this, you can clear your Gmail cache and delete all Gmail files from your computer in just a few clicks. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to clear your Gmail cache using Chrome

 1. Open Gmail in Chrome. 

2. Click the Settings icon, shaped like a gear. 

3. Choose "See all settings."

4. At the top of the page, select "Offline."

5. If offline mail is enabled, clear the checkmark, and click "Save Changes." 

6. Your cached email should be deleted automatically, but continue with the following steps to be sure everything is removed. 

7. In Chrome, select the three-dot menu. 

8. Choose "More Tools."

9. Click "Clear browsing data."

10. In the Time range menu, choose "All time." 

11. Ensure "Cookies and other site data" as well as "Cached images and files" are checked.

12. Choose "Clear data." 

13. In Chrome's address bar, type "chrome://settings/siteData" and press Enter. 

14. Scroll down until you find "mail.google.com" and select the trash can icon to delete it. 

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to clear the cache on your Chromebook to keep your computer running smoothly

• How to clear the cache on a Google Chrome browser to make it run more efficiently

• How to get desktop notifications for Gmail on your computer, so you won't miss important messages

• How to search Gmail for any email or sender on desktop or mobile, and use advanced search options

• How to clear your Gmail search history on a computer or mobile device
  

SEE ALSO: These are the best budget laptops of 2020

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Amazon and Best Buy are offering a special one-day sale on a variety of Sony products, including TVs, headphones, and speakers.
• Best Buy's promotion will run until 1 a.m. ET, while Amazon's sale is set to run until 3 a.m. ET.
• If you're looking for other Tech deals, check out these great sales.
• You can also check out the best headphone deals, the best tv deals, and the best daily deals happening now.
• Visit Insider Reviews' deals page for more general sales and Insider Coupons for more savings.

If you've been eyeing a new Sony TV, soundbar, or pair of headphones, today is the perfect day to make your purchase. Amazon and Best Buy are both offering one-day sales on several popular Sony home entertainment devices.

Discounted products include 4K TVs, noise-cancelling earbuds, Bluetooth speakers, soundbars, and more. You can find a full list of all the Sony deals on Amazon here. And you can find a full list of all the Sony deals on Best Buy here. 

Here are the best deals from the Sony sale:

• Sony 65-inch X950H 4K TV, $1,600 (originally $2,000) at Best Buy [You save $400] 
• Sony 65-inch X900H 4K TV, $1,300 (originally $1,600) at Best Buy [You save $300]
• Sony WF-1000XM3 True Wireless Headphones, $170 (originally $230) at Best Buy [You save $60]
• Sony WFXB700 True Wireless Headphones, $100 (originally $130) at Best Buy [You save $30] 
• Sony WF-SP800N True Wireless Headphones, $150 (originally $200) at Best Buy [You save $50] 
• Sony 3.1-Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer, $400 (originally $600) at Best Buy [You save $200] 
• Sony SRS-XB12 Portable Wireless Speaker, $38 (originally $60) at Amazon [You save $22]
• Sony SRS-XB43 Wireless Portable Speaker, $198 (originally $250) at Amazon [You save $52]
• Sony 49-inch X800G 4K TV, $499 (originally $700) at Amazon [You save $201]

Join the conversation about this story »

• There's no built-in tool that lets you know if someone blocked you on Facebook Messenger. 
• However, you can infer if you have been blocked on Messenger by the state of the message status icon.
• For privacy and security reasons, Facebook doesn't reveal if someone on Facebook Messenger has blocked you.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Facebook doesn't make it easy to know whether someone has blocked you. 

They do this for privacy and security reasons, which means that, unfortunately, you won't get confirmation that someone has blocked your account.  However, it is possible to deduce whether you've been blocked based on how the Messenger app behaves when you try to send a message.

Here's how you can tell if someone's blocked you on the Facebook messaging app. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to know if someone blocked you on Messenger

When you use the Messenger app on your phone or in a browser on your desktop, you are probably familiar with the status icons next to the messages you send. There are four:

1. An unfilled, empty circle means the message has not been sent. This is typically because you don't have any internet access when you try to send a message. 

2. An unfilled icon with a check mark means the message has been sent but not delivered to the recipient.

3. An icon that's filled in means the message has been delivered.

4. An icon that's filled with your recipient's profile picture means it has been read.  

As long as the recipient is logged into Facebook, your message should be delivered within a few moments, which means you'll see the icon's filled-in version. Of course, it might not be read for a while (your recipient needs to open Messenger and view the message thread). 

If you send a message to someone and the message is not delivered, it generally means one of two things:

• The user has not logged into Facebook
• The user has blocked you on Messenger

It's not always possible to tell the difference, but if you see that the recipient has posted to his or her Facebook page or comments on other people's posts, that implies he or she is logged into Facebook. If your message remains undelivered, you are probably blocked. 

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• 'What do the check marks mean on Facebook Messenger?': Here's what you need to know

• How to block or unblock someone on the Facebook Messenger app

• How to save a video from Facebook Messenger on your iPhone or Android phone

• How to archive conversations on Facebook Messenger, and view your archived messages

• How to see a list of users you've blocked on Facebook in 5 simple steps

SEE ALSO: The best cheap phones for staying in touch

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

• Bill Gates, the tech billionaire philanthropist who is helping to fund vaccine research for a number of deadly illnesses including COVID-19, is feeling optimistic about COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. 
• Thanks to this work, he thinks the pandemic should be under control by the end of 2021 for the world's richest nations and by 2022 for the developing world, he told Wired in an interview.
• While that represents record-speed scientific progress, it may be disappointing to think about living in a pandemic for another year or longer.
• Meanwhile, Gates warns people not to let their guards down because he thinks COVID-19 could surge again in the fall.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Bill Gates is feeling optimistic that, with all the work being done to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, there is an end to the pandemic in sight.

Unfortunately, that end is still at least a year away, he told Wired's Steven Levy.

"The innovation pipeline on scaling up diagnostics, on new therapeutics, on vaccines is actually quite impressive. And that makes me feel like, for the rich world, we should largely be able to end this thing by the end of 2021, and for the world at large by the end of 2022," Gates said.

Gates says that he fears that in nations like Russia and China, the pressure to have a vaccine is so high that regulators may be allowing shots to be given to humans before the vaccines are known to be safe and effective.

But the US FDA is not allowing such short-cuts, he said.

"We probably need three or four months — no matter what — of phase 3 data, just to look for side effects," Gates said. "The FDA, to their credit, at least so far, is sticking to requiring proof of efficacy."

Last month, Gates told Business Insider's Hilary Brueck that he's confident that scientists will develop a vaccine that's "very effective and very safe" in part because there are so many vaccines currently in development: more than 160 worldwide. Two of the four speediest trials that are testing vaccines in humans right now are US-based, too: Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech.

Gates also told Brueck if the best vaccines are not shared worldwide, that COVID-19 will "just keep coming back."

In the meantime, Gates predicts we're in for a rough fall and winter with the virus, even though this virus does not appear to be seasonal.

"The fall could be tough," he told Brueck. "We'll be indoors more. It will be colder. We know those are things that push the disease up."

• Now read:
• Bill Gates: We will have a coronavirus vaccine, but the disease will keep coming back if there's a US 'leadership vacuum'
• Bill Gates says COVID-19 'will be back in big numbers' in October-November when US temperatures turn lower

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

• TikTok, the short-form video app, has become one of the most popular social platforms among Generation Z. It has more than 2.3 billion all-time downloads, and 100 million users in the US alone.
• However, the future of TikTok's presence in the US is uncertain: The Trump administration is threatening to ban the app, citing national security risks over its ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance.
• Trump says he'll ban the app if an American company doesn't buy TikTok's US operations by mid-September. He escalated his attack with Thursday night's executive order barring US companies from doing business with ByteDance.
• Microsoft has emerged as a frontrunner in TikTok acquisition talks. The possible deal — in which Microsoft would take over TikTok operations in US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia — is valued between $10 million and $30 million.
• Here's the story of how TikTok got its start and grew into a wildly popular platform, and where the status of TikTok's future in the US stands.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
• Follow INSIDER on TikTok.

One of the most popular apps is a short-form video platform called TikTok.

In just a few years of its existence, TikTok has become a staple of internet culture and social interaction for Generation Z. The app has surpassed 2 billion all-time downloads, thanks to its flurry of short-form videos where users participate in viral challenges, lip sync and dance to music, show off comedic skits, and share their hot takes on society at large.

But TikTok's rise into the mainstream — especially in the US — has also led to increased scrutiny. TikTok is owned by the colossal Chinese tech company ByteDance, a connection that's raised concerns about how much access and influence the Chinese government has to user data and content moderation. To appease concerns, ByteDance recently appointed a new CEO for TikTok, Kevin Mayer, an American ex-Disney streaming executive who is now based out of TikTok's Los Angeles offices.

Nonetheless, the Trump administration has stepped up threats in recent month to ban TikTok in the US, where the app has more than 100 million users. Reports have emerged indicating ByteDance could sell TikTok's US operations to an American company to avoid a ban, and Microsoft has been revealed as the leading buyer.

Now, the pressure is on ByteDance to close a deal before September 15, the date Trump has said he'll ban TikTok on if a deal is not reached. These hints at action against the app in one of its biggest markets could mean trouble for TikTok's future and the millions of users loyal to its content.

Here's how TikTok rose to become a social network loved by teens and scrutinized by US authorities:

SEE ALSO: No, Donald Trump can't 'ban' TikTok

To trace the history of this incredibly popular short-form video sharing app, it's important to note that TikTok didn't start as TikTok, but as two distinct apps that eventually merged: Musical.ly and Douyin.

Musical.ly was a short-form app where users could create and share 15-second lip sync music videos. It was founded in 2014 by Alex Zhu and Louis Yang.

Source: Business Insider

Musical.ly was originally intended for short-form educational videos, but Zhu said that idea was "doomed to be a failure."

Source: Business Insider

The app hit the No. 1 spot in the App Store in the summer of 2015, and never left the charts. From Musical.ly, a new generation of stars was created, including Jacob Sartorius.

Source: Business Insider

When the popular video app Vine closed in October 2016, many of the fresh class of young influencers who found fame by posting videos turned to Musical.ly to continue their work.

Source: New York Times

Meanwhile, in September 2016, short-form video app Douyin launched in China. Short-form video creation was nothing new for China's market, but Douyin's popularity skyrocketed. Within a year, Douyin had 100 million users and 1 billion video views each day.

Source: WalktheChat

In September 2017, Douyin expanded outside of China to select international markets under a new name — TikTok. The platform quickly rose to the top of the charts in Thailand, Japan, and other Asian markets.

Source: KrAsia

As TikTok started to gain traction globally, Musical.ly was taking over the United States.

Source: Business Insider

In November 2017, Douyin's parent company, ByteDance, purchased Musical.ly in a deal valued at $1 billion. ByteDance first operated the two short-form video apps as two separate platforms: Musical.ly in the US, and TikTok in other foreign markets.

Source: Business Insider

Less than a year later, in August 2018, ByteDance announced it would shut down Musical.ly and merge it into TikTok. All Musical.ly profiles were automatically moved over to the TikTok platform.

"Combining musical.ly and TikTok is a natural fit given the shared mission of both experiences — to create a community where everyone can be a creator," Musical.ly cofounder Zhu said at the time.

Source: Variety

TikTok's popularity has since skyrocketed in the US, where the app has an estimated 100 million users. TikTok has just under 1,500 employees in offices across the US, and has pledged to add 10,000 more jobs by 2023. TikTok's US operations are based in Los Angeles, and headed up by US general manager Vanessa Pappas.

Source: Axios, ABC News

ByteDance, which now owns TikTok, is a colossal Chinese tech company headquartered in Beijing that runs several popular social networking apps. Think of ByteDance as China's Facebook: Both companies own families of popular social networking apps used by billions of people a day.

ByteDance is run by CEO Zhang Yiming, who founded the company in 2012. Zhang's name is relatively unknown outside of China, but the 36-year-old CEO comes from a background in software engineering and is worth an estimated $16.2 billion, according to Forbes.

Source: Bloomberg, Forbes

ByteDance's first product was a news aggregator app called Toutiao. Zhang wanted to create a news platform whose results were powered by artificial intelligence, separate from China's search engine Baidu.

Source: Bloomberg

Since 2012, ByteDance has expanded as an umbrella company for several popular Chinese social apps. In 2019, ByteDance released a WeChat-competing chat app called FlipChat, and a video-messaging app called Duoshan.

Source: TechCrunch

ByteDance is now worth $75 billion, making it the most valuable private company in the world. It's received investments from some of the biggest VC firms globally, including SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, and General Atlantic.

Source: PitchBook

TikTok is quickly gaining ground in a social scene largely dominated by powerhouses like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Worldwide, it's become home to viral challenges, has spawned internet memes, and has become particularly popular among Generation Z.

Because of TikTok's music-centric set-up, the app has become a career launchpad outside of the traditional industry. Budding artists like Lil Nas X have seen their songs go viral for uses in dances and challenges on the app. "Old Town Road" was used for countless videos and memes on TikTok ahead of its ascent to the top of the Billboard charts.

Source: Complex

TikTok has also become the newest platform to turn regular users into viral sensations and successful influencers. The No. 1 star on all of TikTok is currently Charli D'Amelio, a 16-year-old who ascended to the top less than a year after joining the platform.

Source: Business Insider

Do you work at TikTok? Got a tip about it? Contact this reporter via Signal at +1 (201) 312-4526 using a non-work phone, email at pleskin@businessinsider.com, or Twitter DM at @paigeleskin. (PR pitches by email only please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

TikTok's popularity has skyrocketed not only in the US, but around the world. Following a popularity boost during the coronavirus pandemic, TikTok surpassed 2 billion downloads worldwide in April across both iOS and Android devices, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Source: Business Insider

But the rising popularity of TikTok has also come with some controversy, due to its ties to China via ByteDance. TikTok has found itself in the crosshairs of US lawmakers, who have raised national security and privacy concerns over ByteDance's ties to the Chinese government.

The US government started investigating the app in 2019 after pressure from lawmakers. Officials have raised concern about how TikTok handles and stores user data, leading to government entities and political parties to ban the app from their employees' phones.

The investigation is being led by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a US Treasury group that has the power to approve and reject business dealings over national security risks. CFIUS's jurisdiction pertains to a review of ByteDance's 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, 

Source: Business Insider

The app's young user base has also gotten it in trouble with children's privacy officials. TikTok paid out a $5.7 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019 over allegations it illegally collected personal information from children under age 13 without parental consent, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Per the FTC settlement, TikTok promised to delete existing data it had on young users and change its practices to adhere to COPPA. However, earlier this year, privacy and child advocates accused TikTok of breaking the terms of the FTC settlement by failing to delete videos and other content obtained illegally, and failing to alter policies.

As a result, the FTC and US Justice Department are now looking into allegations it failed to live up to its 2019 agreement.

Source: Business Insider, FTC

TikTok has also faced allegations it censors content on the platform. The Guardian found TikTok had previously removed political content that would anger the Chinese government, brought on by the suspicious absence of videos of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

TikTok has denied it censors content on requests from any "foreign government," and has said that none of its moderators are based in China.

Source: The Guardian

Media outlets have also uncovered TikTok policies that had censored 'culturally problematic' content — including videos featuring vaping, so-called suggestive dancing, and social issues. TikTok was also found to have censored or limited the reach of videos from disabled, queer, and fat creators. It's still unclear what policies TikTok uses to moderate its content today.

TikTok has said that it no longer adheres to these policies when monitoring content.

Source: Washington Post, Netzpolitik

Amid increasing scrutiny from the US, TikTok has tried to distance itself from its Chinese roots. On June 1, ByteDance appointed an ex-Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its global CEO, based in Los Angeles. The company also launched a content-advisory council to guide policy changes, and set up a transparency center at its LA offices.

Zhu, the Musical.ly cofounder and former head of TikTok, now serves as ByteDance's VP of product and strategy.

Source: Business Insider

It didn't take long for Mayer to face his first challenge as TikTok's new CEO: India said in June it was banning TikTok and other Chinese apps amid violent clashes with China over a disputed shared border. Mayer had to quickly address concerns from thousands of employees in India, a market making up 30% of all TikTok downloads.

Source: Business Insider

In early July, concerns around TikTok's presence in the US were reignited following comments from President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about potentially banning the app. However, it's unclear whether Trump can actually ban the app's use in the US.

Although Pompeo cited national security fears as a reason, Trump said he was looking to ban the app as a way to punish China over the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Business Insider

Despite accusations against TikTok of "spying" on users, it's unclear whether the app collects any more user data or poses a bigger security threat than other major tech companies based in the US, like Facebook or Google.

This accusation of spying, forwarded by the Trump administration, is based on research from March showing how apps are able to access content stored on the clipboard — the copy-and-paste feature — of users' iPhones and iPads. TikTok was only one of the dozens of the apps, including LinkedIn and Fox News, caught spying on iPhone clipboards, but that didn't stop the Trump campaign from turning the story into anti-TikTok ammunition.

Source: Business Insider

However, it's possible the Trump administration's reason for a ban could be a bit more personal. In June, swarms of TikTok teens and K-pop fans were credited with falsely inflating the expected attendance for a major Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Source: Business Insider

Since Trump first publicly threatened a TikTok ban in early July, American users and creators have started to panic about the app's disappearance. Other US tech companies, like Facebook, have capitalized on the chaos to try to lure TikTok's loyal following to their competing platforms.

In a blog post shared in late July, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer explicitly called out Facebook for its "copycat product" called Reels, a new TikTok-like format soon coming to Instagram users in the US.

Source: Business Insider

ByteDance executives and investors have been exploring alternatives to avoid TikTok's ban in the US — some options include ByteDance selling off TikTok US, or spinning out the US operations as an independent US company.

Source: Business Insider, Reuters

Last week, reports emerged Trump was considering two different executive orders — one instructing ByteDance to "divest" its US operations, and another banning TikTok from the US.

According to a 1988 law, Trump has the authority to block foreign business deals pertaining to US companies if he deems the deals are a national security threat. Trump has twice previously used this authority to block deals in which tech corporations from China and Singapore were poised to take over US-based companies.

However, it's unclear what power Trump has to completely ban an app in the US.

Source: Business Insider

Microsoft quickly emerged as a potential buyer of TikTok's US operations. In the wake of Trump's comments about a ban via executive order, Microsoft announced Sunday night it was continuing "discussions" about a potential acquisition of TikTok's operations in the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia — a deal with an estimated valuation between $10 billion and $30 billion.

"The two companies have provided notice of their intent to explore a preliminary proposal that would involve a purchase of the TikTok service in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets," Microsoft said in its statement.

Microsoft also said it might invite other American investors "on a minority basis."

Trump has given TikTok until September 15 to find a US buyer, or else he'll ban app. However, it remains unclear what authority the Trump administration has to ban TikTok.

Trump also said the US Treasury should receive payment as part of TikTok's sale to a US company.

Source: Business Insider

On Thursday night, Trump dropped an executive order barring US companies from "any transactions" with TikTok and ByteDance. The order, set to take effect in 45 days, is likely to face legal challenges.

Source: Business Insider

• You can stop Google Chrome from blocking downloads by temporarily turning off the Safe Browsing feature, located in the Privacy and security section of Chrome's Settings page. 
• Chrome's Safe Browsing feature is designed to protect you from malicious websites and infected files that can damage your computer or compromise your security. 
• After you download the blocked file, it's a good idea to re-enable Safe Browsing.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Chrome's built-in security tools are your first line of defense against online malware, including dangerous websites and malicious downloads. 

Unfortunately, Chrome is sometimes too cautious and can block perfectly safe files, which it believes might be dangerous. 

If you are trying to download a file, but Chrome won't allow it, you can temporarily (or permanently) disable the browser's security. Of course, you should be sure the file is safe before you choose to override Chrome's protection. 

Here's how to do it. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to stop Chrome from blocking downloads

1. Open Chrome and click the three-dot menu at the top right of the window. 

2. In the drop-down menu, choose "Settings."

3. On the Settings page, in the You and Google section, click "Privacy and security."

4. In the Privacy and Security section of the main page, click "Security."

5. In the Safe Browsing section, click "No protection (not recommended)" to turn the feature off.

6. Click "Turn off" in the pop-up to confirm you want to do this.

7. Download the file that was blocked. 

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to delete saved passwords on Google Chrome, so that your login data isn't stored by Google

• How to stop notifications from Google Chrome for a specific site or altogether

• How to backup your Google Chrome bookmarks in 2 ways, so you never lose track of your favorite sites

• How to get your toolbar back in Google Chrome if you've hidden it, in 3 different ways

• How to go into 'Incognito Mode' on a Google Chrome browser, and stop Google from saving your search and browsing history

SEE ALSO: The best laptops of 2020 for studying, working or gaming

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• PayPal's chief creative officer Steve Simpson, its top advertising executive, left the company after about a year.
• The move came after PayPal shifted its marketing strategy during the coronavirus pandemic, placing less emphasis on the brand and more on catering to small businesses, said a source with direct knowledge of the marketing operation.
• Simpson's departure followed that of CMO and former Apple executive Allison Johnson in May. Both "decided to leave PayPal" as the company streamlines its global marketing functions, according to a PayPal spokeswoman.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

PayPal's highest-ranking ad executive Steve Simpson left earlier this month after just over a year as part of a restructuring of its global marketing business.

Simpson, who was chief creative officer, was hired to make high-minded ad campaigns to help PayPal stand out from competitors like Square, Stripe, and Apple Pay. But this strategy changed abruptly following the pandemic outbreak and the April promotion of VP of growth marketing Leanne Sheraton, said someone with direct knowledge of the matter who is known to Business Insider but requested anonymity.

PayPal began to place less emphasis on that sort of brand marketing and tried to be more like a bank catering to small businesses. In March it promoted its decision to waive fees for some merchants in the pandemic. In May, CMO Allison Johnson, who hired Simpson, left. 

Simpson, like Johnson, "decided to leave PayPal" as the company streamlines its global marketing functions, according to a PayPal spokeswoman.

Simpson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Simpson is the latest in a string of ad execs to leave PayPal

Prior to joining PayPal, Simpson spent 10 years at WPP ad agency Ogilvy as North American chief creative officer and nearly two decades at Omnicom's Goodby Silverstein and Partners in San Francisco, where he was a partner. 

He has created ad campaigns for brands such as IBM, American Express, HP, and The Gap.

Simpson's and Johnson's departures follow those of several other key PayPal ad leaders, including the company's VP of global brand marketing, director of global brand advertising and creative services, and senior director of brand marketing.

Got more information about this story or another ad industry tip? Contact Patrick Coffee on Signal at (347) 563-7289, email at pcoffee@businessinsider.com or patrickcoffee@protonmail.com, or via Twitter DM @PatrickCoffee. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

SEE ALSO: Top ad industry salaries, revealed: How much the biggest holding companies including WPP, Publicis, and Omnicom pay employees, from junior account directors to global creative leads

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

• You can clear the cache on Disney Plus if you're having trouble watching Disney Plus and you've ruled out a bad internet connection. 
• Clearing the cache on Disney Plus can be done through your internet browser, or through the app.
• The steps to clear the cache for Disney Plus will vary depending upon what kind of device you are using. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Disney Plus should run error-free most of the time. If you find that the app is not working properly, though — perhaps the video continuously buffers or stutters — you should check your internet connection to see if it's the cause.

But if other video streaming services work just fine, you might need to reset or clear the app's cache of temporary files. 

If you're watching Disney Plus in a web browser, you can clear the browser's cache. On other devices, the process to clear the cache may be a little different.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Disney Plus monthly subscription (from $6.99 a month at Disney)

Samsung 50-inch Smart TV (from $399.99 at Best Buy)

iPhone 11 (from $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (from $699.99 at Walmart)

Sony Playstation 4 Pro (from $359.99 at Game Stop)

Xbox One S (from $392.80 at Amazon)

Xbox One X (from $539.92 at Amazon)

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus using Chrome

1. Click the three-dot menu at the top right of the screen. 

2. In the menu, click "More tools" and then choose "Clear browsing data…"

3. In the "Time range" drop-down menu, click "All time." Then check the option for "Cached images and files." 

4. Click "Clear data."

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus using Firefox

1. Click the "History and Saved Bookmarks" menu button in the toolbar. It looks like a set of books on a shelf.

2. Click "History" and then "Clear Recent History…"

3. In the "Clear Recent History" window, click the dropdown menu for "Time range to clear" and then choose "Everything." Make sure "Cache" is checked, and then hit "OK." 

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus using Safari

1. In the menu bar at the top of your screen, click "Safari."

2. Click "Preferences."

3. In the "Preferences" window, click the "Privacy tab" and then "Manage Website Data…"

4. Select "Remove All." 

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus using an Android phone or Android TV

The exact steps to get to the Disney Plus cache settings may vary slightly depending on which Android device you are using, but this should get you there:

1. Start the "Settings" app on your device. 

2. Tap "Apps" and scroll down until you see Disney Plus in the list of apps installed on your phone or TV. Tap it.

3. Select "Storage" and then "Clear cache" at the bottom of the screen. 

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus on Chromecast built-in TVs

If your TV has Chromecast capability built into it, then follow these steps to clear the cache. If you are using a Chromecast device that's plugged into your TV, follow the steps for clearing the cache on your Android or iPhone mobile device. 

1. From the home screen on your Chromecast built-in TV, open "Settings."

2. Select "Apps," and then select "Chromecast built-in."

3. Select "Clear data" and hit "OK."

4. Click "Clear cache" and then select "OK."

5. Then, restart your TV.

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus using an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV

If you are watching Disney Plus on an iOS device like an iPhone or Apple TV, you can't clear the cache for a specific app like Disney Plus. Instead, you might be able to resolve a problem with the cache by deleting the Disney Plus app and then reinstalling it. 

If you have an iPhone or iPad, delete the app by following the steps in How to uninstall apps on your iPhone. If you have an Apple TV, check out the steps in How to delete apps on an Apple TV, or hide them.

After removing Disney Plus, reinstall it from the App Store and sign back into your account. 

How to clear the cache on Disney Plus on a PlayStation 4

1. Select "Settings" in the Dashboard. 

2. Choose "Storage," then "System Storage," and then select "Saved Data." 

3. Choose "Disney Plus" and then press the "Options" button.

4. Select "Delete."

 How to clear the cache on Disney Plus on an Xbox One

1. Select "My Games and Apps" on the "Home" menu.  

2. Select "Apps." 

3. Select the "Disney Plus" tile, then press the "Menu" button on your controller to see "More Options."

4. Select "Manage App" and then clear the saved data.

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to get Disney Plus on your Xbox One by downloading it from the Microsoft Store
  

• How to get Disney Plus on your Roku device, and watch Disney's new streaming service with a free 7-day trial

• How to get Disney Plus on your Apple TV, by subscribing to the streaming service and downloading the app

• How to turn off language subtitles on the Disney Plus app on your streaming device

• 'How many profiles does Disney Plus allow?': What you need to know about the number of Disney Plus profiles you can create, and how to add or customize them

SEE ALSO: The best media streaming sticks and devices

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

• You can change your profile on Netflix to customize several facets of it through your Account Settings on a web browser.
• Profiles on Netflix allow each user to receive personalized TV shows and movie suggestions based on individual viewing habits. 
• Netflix lets you add up to five different profiles, which is perfect for members of the same household. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Each Netflix account comes with the option to add up to five distinct profiles. Each profile is geared toward the individual, and offers TV and movie recommendations based on viewing habits.

Through Netflix's Account Settings, you can customize your profile in just a few, simple steps. If you have children, you can adjust the type of content they can view, too. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Netflix Subscription (From $8.99 from Netflix)

How to change your Netflix profile picture on a desktop 

1. Go to Netflix's website on your preferred browser and log in.

2. In the upper right-hand corner, select the arrow next to your profile icon to access the dropdown menu. 

3. Then, select "Manage Profiles."

4. Click on the "Edit" icon (resembling a pencil) on the profile you wish to change the profile picture for. 

5. On the next screen, select the "Edit" icon that's located on the profile picture. 

6. A page of available profile pictures will populate the screen. Scroll down and toggle through each to find a desired picture. Many of the profile pictures available are of characters from some of Netflix's original shows. 

7. Once you've made a selection, a pop-up window will ask if you would like to save your choice. If so, select "Let's do it" to save your selection. 

8. To finish, select "Save" on the "Edit Profile" page. 

How to customize your Netflix profile on a desktop

1. Using the steps above, access the "Manage Profiles" page. 

2. Select the profile you want to customize by selecting the edit icon in the middle of the profile picture. 

3. On the "Edit Profile" page there are five options you can customize: Name, language, maturity settings, autoplay, or to delete the account. 

4. To customize a name, use the text box to write in the desired name for the profile. 

5. Use the dropdown menu under "Language" to select your preferred language. There are 27 available languages to choose from.

6. Under "Maturity Settings," select the '"Edit" button to restrict viewer content. You'll be prompted to enter the account password before going forward. Then, under "Viewing Restrictions" you can enable which titles the profile is allowed to view based on their rating. Select the box if it is a kids account. You can even enter individual title names to restrict on the profile. 

7. Under "Autoplay Controls," select and deselect whether you want to autoplay next episodes in a series, and if you want previews for titles on the Netflix menu to autoplay. 

8. To delete your Netflix profile, follow the steps after you've selected "Delete Profile" at the bottom. 

9. To ensure all your preferences are saved, make sure to select "Save" at the bottom of the screen. 

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to watch 4K shows and movies on Netflix with a compatible device
  

• Netflix tips and tricks: 12 ways to get the most out of your Netflix subscription

• The amount of time your Netflix downloads last varies by title and license — here's what you need to know about downloading Netflix shows and movies

• How to reset your Netflix account on a connected computer or mobile device

• How to delete your 'Continue Watching' section on Netflix by hiding your activity

SEE ALSO: The best home theater systems

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

• When you sync OneNote notebooks, you ensure your work on Microsoft's notes composition app is consistent and backed up across your devices.
• By default, OneNote syncs automatically, but there's also the option to sync your notebooks manually.
• Manual sync on OneNote can be configured and performed through the "View Sync Status" under the File menu.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Microsoft's OneNote program is one way to stay on top of and share essential project notes and materials.

To help save your work and ensure no progress is lost, whether you're in the office or working on the go, the OneNote software offers users a sync feature. No matter what device you're on, OneNote will update your latest changes so they're visible anywhere your notebook is open. 

Even better, with syncing across platforms, your most current OneNote work is accessible to shared notebook viewers and editors. You can choose to sync a single notebook or all of them. 

OneNote syncs automatically on Macs and PCs, but you can also manually sync your notebooks to have changes uploaded faster on a Windows laptop or desktop. Here's how PC users can get started configuring and executing manual syncing in OneNote in five steps. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Microsoft Office (From $149.99 at Best Buy)

Windows 10 (From $139.99 at Best Buy)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to sync OneNote notebooks on a PC

1. Launch OneNote from your PC.

2. Select "File" to pull up account details and options for notebooks you've created.

3. Click "View Sync Status."

4. A window titled "Shared Notebook Synchronization" will pop up. At the top, select "Sync manually" from the program's two listed options.

5. Next to the notebook you want to sync, click "Sync Now manually."

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• What is OneNote? How Microsoft's note-taking app can help you organize your work

• Microsoft's OneNote note-taking app is free — here's how to download it on any device

• How to create a new notebook in your Microsoft OneNote app

• How to delete a notebook in OneNote on your computer and remove old or unwanted files

• How to save a OneNote as a PDF and print, share, or view your notes offline

SEE ALSO: The best all-in-one PCs you can buy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

• CIA analysts told the White House that though it is possible for the Chinese government to access TikTok user data, there is "no evidence" that it has done so, per a New York Times report.
• However, President Trump still moved forward with an executive order Thursday night prohibiting US companies from doing business with not only TikTok's parent company ByteDance but also WeChat, a popular app for Chinese citizens.
• The executive order goes into effect on Sept. 20 and is the latest development in a web of US-led efforts to distance Chinese tech firms over national security concerns.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A recent report from the CIA indicates that the Chinese government has not accessed American user data from the video-sharing app TikTok.

According to The New York Times, CIA analysts told the White House that though it is possible for Chinese officials to obtain data from users of the app — which is owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance — there is "no evidence" that the Eastern nation has done so.

However, President Trump still moved forward with an executive order late Thursday barring US companies from "any transactions" with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance. The order argues TikTok "continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States" and will go into effect on Sept. 20.

The CIA assessment is the latest development in a long series of efforts made by American officials to distance Chinese tech firms from US users over national security concerns. Lawmakers are uneasy about the Chinese government possibly accessing American user data through apps such as TikTok.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has unveiled a US plan to crack down on Chinese apps and services. Dubbed the "Clean Network," the program would block "untrusted" Chinese apps from app stores. However, experts have found that TikTok collects data similarly to how US firms, such as Facebook, do so.

Relations between the US and China have grown increasingly strained as a result, a tension that is exacerbated in part by the coronavirus pandemic, for which President Trump blames China.

SEE ALSO: Trump's attempt to ban TikTok and WeChat could face legal trouble for infringing on free speech, according to a First Amendment expert

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

• You can block emails on AOL by adding the person who sent the email to your "Block Senders" list, or by marking the email as spam.
• If you're using AOL Mail on your computer, you can add emails to the Block Senders list through your settings menu.
• If you're using the AOL Mail mobile app, you can mark emails as spam, which will prevent those senders from getting to your inbox.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Like most email services, AOL gives you a way to block unwanted emails from cluttering your inbox. However, how you block senders depends upon whether you're using AOL Mail in a web browser or mobile app.

In a browser, you can add unwanted email addresses to a list of blocked senders. In the mobile app, you can flag emails as spam, which will send any future messages from that sender to the Spam folder automatically. 

Here's how to block emails on AOL, via a browser on your Mac or PC, or the mobile app on your iPhone or Android device.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to block emails on AOL in a web browser

1. Open AOL Mail in a browser and then click "Options" in the upper-right corner of the web page, just under your email address. 

2. In the drop-down menu, choose "Mail Settings."

3. On the Mail Settings page, click "Block Senders," which you can find in the navigation pane on the left side of the screen. 

4. Enter the email address of someone you want to block, and then press Enter or Return, or click the "+" to the right of the email address. Repeat that process for as many senders as you want to block. 

5. When you're done, click "Save Settings." 

How to block emails on AOL in the mobile app

1. In the AOL mobile app, tap an email from a sender you want to block. 

2. Tap the three-dot menu at the bottom-right of the screen and then tap "Mark as Spam."

3. Repeat this process for any other emails you want to block. 

Once you mark an email as spam, future emails from that sender should be deleted automatically. It'll also help AOL's algorithms catch more spam from other senders in the future.

Related coverage from Tech Reference: 

• How to change your AOL password or reset it if you've forgotten it

• How to mark all Gmail as read to clear up your inbox of unread emails

• How to forward email from a Yahoo Mail account to Gmail or other email services

• How to schedule send an email on Gmail on desktop or mobile, if you want to compose an email but schedule it to send at a later time

• How to find archived emails in Gmail in 2 simple ways on Mac or PC

SEE ALSO: The best all-in-one PCs you can buy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

• You can take a screenshot on any ZTE phone by pressing and holding the Power and Volume Down buttons at the same time.
• After taking a screenshot, you can find it in the Gallery app, in the Albums tab.
• This technique works for any ZTE handset, as well as most other Android phones. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Taking a screenshot is a surprisingly routine task. Whether you're sending someone an image from the web, an Instagram photo, or documenting a bug in a program, you'll want to commit the process to memory. 

Thankfully, it's easy to do on any ZTE phone, as well as most handsets from other Android brands. 

How to take a screenshot on a ZTE phone

ZTE has embraced the standard method of taking a screenshot that most Android phones share. That means you can take a screenshot this way:

1. Open the app or go to the screen you want to screenshot. 

2. Press the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously. After a moment, you should see the phone take and save a screenshot. This can be tricky to do since on many ZTE phones, the Volume and Power buttons are on the same side of the handset. 

Then, to find the screenshot:

3. Start the Gallery app.

4. In the Gallery, tap "Albums" at the top of the screen, and then tap "Screenshots."

You should find your screenshot in this folder. You can now do anything you want with it, such as share it or send it to another device. 

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to delete saved passwords on Google Chrome, so that your login data isn't stored by Google

• How to get your toolbar back in Google Chrome if you've hidden it, in 3 different ways

• How to backup your Google Chrome bookmarks in 2 ways, so you never lose track of your favorite sites

• How to change your default search engine in Google Chrome, and switch between Google, Bing, and more

• How to change your recovery email in Gmail using your computer

SEE ALSO: The best speaker deals — save $50 on Bose's portable smart speaker

Join the conversation about this story »

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• OneNote automatically saves your work through its notebook syncing feature. 
• To use this Microsoft note-taking app feature, you have to enable the "Sync automatically whenever there are changes" option through the File menu. 
• On a Windows PC, you can disable and re-enable OneNote's syncing feature at any time.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

OneNote, an organizational platform in Microsoft's Office Suite, offers an elegant solution to organizing your personal and professional notes.

The program's default setting on PCs and Macs is to save your work as you type automatically, and it's one powerful way OneNote helps keep your life in order. If, however, your OneNote application is no longer saving as you go, you can re-enable the program's automatic sync function to ensure things are continuously saved.

It's important to note that you can't enable or disable the auto-sync feature on OneNote for Macs, unlike PCs. So if you're using the note-taking app on a Mac, trust that your work will always autosave. 

Here's how PC users can enable auto-saving in a few easy steps. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

Microsoft Office (From $149.99 at Best Buy)

Windows 10 (From $139.99 at Best Buy)

How to autosave on OneNote using the sync feature on PC

1. Launch the OneNote app for Windows.

2. Click "File" in the top left corner of your open OneNote window.

3. Select "View Sync Status."

4. Select "Sync automatically whenever there are changes." 

5. Click "Close" to return to your notebook. If there have been changes since your last manual sync, the notebook will then automatically sync.

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• Microsoft's OneNote note-taking app is free — here's how to download it on any device

• How to uninstall Microsoft OneNote from your PC or Mac computer

• How to create a new notebook in your Microsoft OneNote app

• How to delete a notebook in OneNote on your computer and remove old or unwanted files

• How to share a Microsoft OneNote notebook on a Mac or PC to collaborate with others

SEE ALSO: The best all-in-one PCs you can buy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

• Bernie Sanders and Elon Musk got into a tiny tussle on Twitter Friday over "socialism."
• Sanders on Thursday introduced a bill that would place a 60% tax on the wealth gained during the coronavirus crisis by billionaires including Musk and use the money raised to pay all American's out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for a year.
• In response to an article about the bill, Musk tweeted out a meme that essentially criticized Sanders for spending other people's money to fund "free government programs."
• Sanders hit back at Musk, calling him out for criticizing programs that help the vast majority of Americans when he and his companies had benefited from billions of dollars in government assistance.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Bernie Sanders showed Friday he isn't afraid to call out hypocrisy — particularly when it comes from someone like Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Musk on Friday tweeted out a meme critical of Sanders and his brand of socialism. The tweet was in response to an article about a bill Sanders introduced Thursday that would place a 60% tax on the wealth gained by billionaires such as Musk during the coronavirus pandemic. The meme, dubbed the "Official Bernie Sanders drinking game!" showed a picture of Sanders along with the text: "Every time the Bernster mentions a free government program, chug somebody else's beer."

Sanders, who's no neophyte when it comes to defending his leftist views and programs, wasn't about to back down from such criticism. In a tweeted response, he called out Musk for benefiting to the tune of billions of dollars from government subsidies and linked to an article from The Los Angeles Times that detailed the assistance Musk and his companies have received.

"Every time Elon Musk pokes fun at government assistance for the 99%, remember that he would be worth nothing without $4.9 billion in corporate welfare," Sanders wrote. "Oh, Elon just l-o-v-e-s corporate socialism for himself, rugged capitalism for everyone else."

According to The Los Angeles Times article, Musk and his companies — Tesla, SolarCity, which is now owned by Tesla, and SpaceX — had received an estimated $4.9 billion in government support through May 2015. That assistance came in a variety of forms, including grants, tax breaks, subsidies for construction, environmental credits, and discounted loans.

The amount of that assistance has only gone up since then. For example, Tesla garnered $428 million from selling regulatory credits in its most recent quarter. The company receives those credits from California for selling electric cars and sells them to other automakers who don't sell enough to meet the state's requirements.

Sanders' bill would raise billions from billionaires

Sanders' bill was cosponsored by senators Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY. The bill would tax any wealth gained by any of the 467 billionaires in the US between March 18 and January 1 of next year and use the amount raised from the tax to pay for the out-of-pocket health expenses of every American for a year.

Millions of US residents have lost their health coverage during the pandemic after losing their jobs. Even those with insurance have sometimes faced steep bills after contracting the coronavirus.

The co-sponsors estimated that those billionaires had seen their wealth increase by $731.8 billion between March 18 and Aug. 5. Musk, according to a fact sheet from them, had seen his own wealth go from $24.6 billion to $70.5 billion. He would face a tax bill of $27.5 billion under the measure

Much of the wealth gains cited by the bill's sponsors are a result of soaring prices. In order to pay such tax bills, the billionaires would almost certainly have to sell large numbers of shares which could undermine their companies' stock prices — and their wealth.

Got a tip about Tesla, tech — or Bernie Sanders? Contact Troy Wolverton via email at twolverton@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter @troywolv, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

SEE ALSO: Stanford business school graduates knew their classmates would soon found great startups, and they created a unique club to invest in them. The result is a $1.5 million fund bound by loyalty, community, and democracy

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NOW WATCH: July 15 is Tax Day — here's what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. This report is exclusively available to enterprise subscribers. To learn more about getting access to this report, email Senior Account Executive Jeff Jordan at jjordan@businessinsider.com, or check to see if your company already has access.

Although competition in the US wireless carrier market remains fierce, the price war among the Big Four US carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint — began to cool over the past year.

In an attempt to avoid further competition on price, carriers began shifting their focus to adding value to their mobile plans with new offerings to differentiate from the competition. This helped average revenue per user (ARPU) start to stabilize across all carriers in Q1 2018, after declining over the last two years.

The Big Four have now begun reshuffling their unlimited plans to lure subscribers by providing more options. This strategy has been unrolling in two flavors: introducing new, expensive unlimited plan tiers loaded with an array of features and choices, while also catering to price-sensitive customers with more affordable plans that strip away extra perks like free digital content and international coverage. As a result, a new battleground is emerging, with differentiation now coming down to the value loaded in their mobile plans.

Looking forward, the US carrier market will see competitive pressure pick up due to a number of trends: 

• The US smartphone market is creeping toward saturation. Penetration in the US hit 85% in 2018, up from 82% in 2017 and 77% in 2016.
• eSIM technology is making it easier for consumers to switch carriers. eSIM technology is a nonphysical SIM card slot that pairs with the physical SIM card to enable dual-SIM functionality — allowing customers to switch carriers without changing to a different SIM card or device.
• And cable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are edging in on US carriers' share of wireless adds. Cable MVNOs, such as Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile, are expected to snag roughly 50% of total wireless customer net adds, or about 2.2 million subscribers, by 2020.

All of this means fostering loyalty and winning over new subscribers is more important than ever for the Big Four, making it crucial for these mobile carriers to understand consumer sentiment around their services.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence uses consumer survey data from our proprietary panel, collected during 2017 and 2018, to evaluate which features are most important to consumers when selecting a mobile provider, as well as to determine which features would convince them to switch to the competition. It contains insights that can help telecoms guide strategic investment and marketing decisions to win and retain customers in this increasingly competitive space.

The companies mentioned in the report are: AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Charter, Comcast, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Sprint, T-Mobile, Tidal, and Verizon.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• T-Mobile came out on top again, outpacing the rest of the Big Four US carriers on value, loyalty, and satisfaction. T-Mobile customers want to see coverage improvements, though. 
• Verizon customers don't see much more value in its offerings than a year ago.
• AT&T was the only carrier to show declines in all capacities. 
• Sprint is still a good deal, but it doesn't offer much else.
• When it comes to features, subscribers still value the basics most. However, demand for international coverage is growing.
• 5G is the next major battleground for the Big Four, and the winner of the 5G race has the potential to leap ahead in customer volumes. 

 In full, the report:

• Determines the features that are most important to consumers when selecting a mobile provider.  
• Identifies which features are nice to have or essential in consumers' willingness to switch carriers. 
• Examines consumers' feelings on emerging technologies and trends in the mobile industry, such as 5G, new network-connected devices, and the T-Mobile-Sprint merger.

SEE ALSO: 5G in the IoT: How the next generation of wireless technology will transform the IoT

Join the conversation about this story »

• Business Insider hosted a webinar with YouTube creators Ruby Asabor (176,000 subscribers) and Katy Bellotte (477,000 subscribers) on how they're making money and adapting as creators during the pandemic. 
• During the webinar, Asabor and Bellotte both told Business Insider's Amanda Perelli that finding a healthy work-life balance was a challenge they faced as influencers. 
• Blocking out time for self care and creating a schedule were the most important takeaways that they wanted to share with other creators who are navigating their time management. 
• Subscribe to Business Insider's influencer newsletter: Influencer Dashboard.

For digital creators, managing time means finding a work-life balance when your life often becomes intertwined with your work, especially for lifestyle influencers.

Between brand partnerships, scheduling posts, selling products, and creating content, influencers have to juggle many tasks at once. 

In a webinar hosted by Business Insider's Amanda Perelli, we heard from two YouTube creators, Katy Bellotte (477,000 subscribers) and Ruby Asabor (140,000 subscribers).

The two creators have built stable careers out of their YouTube videos and various side businesses. Bellotte started her YouTube channel when she was 14 years old and now she earns between $2,400 and $5,000 for sponsored Instagram posts, as well as monetizing her YouTube content. 

Asabor's YouTube channel Lavish Ruby shares finance- and business-related content and she said she currently has 11 income streams between all her side hustles.

Many successful influencers end up quitting their 9 to 5 jobs to go full time as creators on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. In doing so, they sometimes end up working more cumulative hours on their career than before, but in exchange, are pursuing their passions.

"I always say, I feel like what I do on the internet and in my many side hustles and things that I have going on, I think I work more hours than I did ... when I was at my 9 to 5," Bellotte said. "In terms of hours, I'm working probably … from the second I wake up to when I'm scrolling on my phone at night."

Like Bellotte, Asabor also finds herself working more than she would at a 9 to 5 job.

"I have a lot going on, I have multiple businesses, and I have my YouTube channel of course," Asabor said. Her YouTube channel and businesses, including Lavish Life Academy (a program where she teaches financial and investment skills), require her to be constantly paying attention and be updating her viewers and students.

"The only day I really give myself off is Saturday and that's because I'm forcing myself," she said.

Finding work-life balance takes time to learn 

"Our life becomes our work, which is kind of delicate territory when it comes to separating and finding a work-life balance," Bellotte said. 

Although she's been working in content creation for over ten years, she's still learning how to find that balance and where "work ends ... and my normal life begins." 

Asabor, who graduated from college in 2019 and has since been running her YouTube and small businesses full time, echoed a similar feeling.

"Since college, I've always had a lot on my plate," she said.

Self care needs to be a priority, even if that requires asking for help

Both said that part of finding work-life balance and managing your time as creator depends on prioritizing mental health and self care. 

"I need to budget time into my day to not work on anything," Bellotte said. Without self care, which can even just look like getting enough sleep every night, her work and her ability to help others around her were compromised. 

"You have to understand when you need help," Asabor added. There are times where she even has her brother help remind her to eat lunch and take a break from working. 

It's also important to create a schedule

"Every single day, I have a specific topic," Asabor said.

Mondays she has meetings with her interns where she assigns tasks. Tuesdays are her Lavish Life Academy days when she shares her webinars. Wednesdays are for follow-ups and business operations like managing product shipments. 

Days dedicated to filming are also important to schedule, especially when sponsored content can take time to be approved by a brand, she said. Asabor recommends that creators plan out videos almost a month in advance and use a planner to outline the day-to-day and even week-to-week.

To learn more about their influencer businesses, watch the full exclusive Business Insider webinar below:

Here are a few other topics covered in the webinar:

• How to price yourself as an influencer when landing a brand deal and ways to negotiate.
• How to start a Patreon, from pricing to choosing what to offer your followers. 
• Why it's important to have several different revenue streams as a creator, and a breakdown of how they make money through membership programs, YouTube revenue, and sponsorships. 
• How much time they spend each day and week working on their businesses, and tips for time management.
• Lessons for other digital creators who are just starting out in the industry. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

• It's the heart of summer in much of the US, and families are thinking about loading up kids, pets, and gear for road trips.
• I've selected four family-friendly SUVs, at four price points, that are excellent road-trip chariots. 
• I've also thrown in a high-performance SUV and an all-electric SUV, for those looking for something different.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It's road trip season, and given the constraints that the coronavirus pandemic has imposed on family travel this summer in the US, a lot of folks are thinking about getting behind the wheel rather than aboard a plane or cruise ship.

Over the past few years, I've tested numerous SUVs, so I thought a roundup of three-row, seven-passenger choices at different price points, from budget to costly, would be helpful.

I settled on SUVs from Mazda, Subaru, and Kia — and I threw in a high-performance ute from Porsche (lacking a third row) and an all-electric option from Tesla (with a third row).

These SUVs each combine versatility, decent fuel economy, and cargo space to make for excellent family-hauling. They also all have all-wheel-drive, which isn't entirely necessary in the summertime, but comes in handy at other times to the year.

Read on to see what these road-tripping SUV can offer:

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

THE BUDGET CHOICE: The Mazda CX-9. $34,000 base, $45,000 as-tested.

Read the review.

The Mazda CX-9 is the family road-trip mobile I most often recommend. The price is right, it seats seven, and I haven't heard many complaints about the third generation of the SUV, rolled out in 2016.

The interior on the CX-9 I tested was semi-premium — a real treat at this price-point.

I had but one complaint when I drove the CX-9 for a week. The Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine cranks out only 250 horsepower, less than what you'd get in a competing vehicle with a V6. Fuel economy is decent, at 23 mpg city/highway combined.

Cargo capacity was fine, however, at about 15 cubic feet. As with many three-row crossovers, using the third row greatly diminishes what you can haul — to manage five passengers, I used just one of the third-row seats, which increased the cargo hold to around 30 cubic feet.

Mazda's infotainment system lags the industry, but it does cover all the expected bases: Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, and GPS navigation.

THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK CONTENDER: The Subaru Ascent. $32,000 base, $46,000 as-tested.

Read the review.

The Ascent is Subaru's first crack at a mid-size SUV since the ill-fated Tribeca. We were impressed by the Ascent's comfortable cabin, bountiful safety features, solid driving dynamics, and turbocharged engine.

The interior of our top-spec Touring model really impressed. The cabin is traditional Subaru — very conservative but effective and easy to use. Ergonomics are terrific, with no oddly placed buttons or knobs to report. Seating for third-row passengers is cozy, but the second row is fine.

With the third row folded, cargo capacity is 47 cubic feet. With the third row in use, it's 18 cubic feet.

Power for the Ascent comes from a 2.4-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The "flat" or "boxer" turbo-four produces 260 horsepower. Combined with all-wheel-drive, the powertrain gives up a bit on the MPGs, which are under 30 in combined city/highway driving.

The center stack is dominated by a high-definition touchscreen running the latest variant of Subaru's Starlink infotainment system. It does everything well, from GPS navigation to device integration.

THE NEAR-LUXURY FAMILY HAULER: The Kia Telluride. $32,000 base, $47,000 as-tested.

Read the review.

The Kia Telluride impressed me at all levels and represents fantastic value for the SUV segment.

The Telluride's interior isn't luxurious, but it isn't mass-market. For most consumers, it's pure Goldilocks: Just right.

The Telluride does three rows as well as I've seen in an SUV. And even the back row deployed, it offers an impressive 21 cubic feet of cargo space.

Fuel economy from the 291-horsepower V6 is also pretty decent, if not remarkable: 21 mpg in city/highway combined.

Kia is selling what I consider one of the top infotainment systems on the market. The 10-inch central touchscreen is nearly perfect, and the use of old-school buttons, knobs, and switches is welcome.

THE MONEY-IS-NO-OBJECT OPTION: The Audi Q7. $55,000 base, $76,000 as-tested.

The Audi Q7 is a solid choice in the luxury SUV market. I recently tested a 2020 model of the vehicle, now in its second generation.

The Q7's interior is a study in tasteful minimalism. My tester was all-black, with piano-black surfaces and a modest amount of wood trim.

Power came from a 3.0-liter, turbocharged V6, making 335 horsepower (a smaller four-cylinder offers 248 horsepower). My V6 served up 18 mpg, in city/highway combined.

With all three rows in action, you have only about 14 cubic feet of cargo space to work with. Drop the third row, and that rises to 30 cubic feet.

Audi has one of the best infotainment systems in the industry. The central screen provides access to faultless GPS navigation, easy Bluetooth pairing, and effortless device integration. My tester also had the "Virtual Cockpit" feature, which can transfer some features to the instrument cluster.

THE GO-FAST ALTERNATIVE: The Porsche Cayenne GTS. $107,000 base, $167,000 as-tested.

Read the review.

The Cayenne GTS is a very special set of wheels: expensive, but with the sort of prizefighter punch that rewards spirited driving. Plus, the ability to haul enough luggage for a weekend on the road — just not one involving a family of five.

Porsche interiors aren't overtly luxurious, nor are they supposed to be. But the Cayenne GTS's has something else going for it: sporty touches. AND for my test vehicle, a rear-seat entertainment system, powered by Android.

The Cayenne GTS rocks a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine, making 453 horsepower. The motor is thirsty and not yet EPA-rated for fuel economy. But I think I was under 20 mpg on average.

With the back seats in use, there are 27 cubic feet to work with; drop the back seats and that increases to 60 cubic feet.

Porsche's infotainment system is quite good, although not quite the best. It's outdone by Audi (Porsche's VW Group stablemate). But the system checks all the right boxes, from Bluetooth pairing to USB device connectivity to GPS navigation. There's also wireless charging.

IF YOU WANT TO GO ELECTRIC: The Tesla Model X. $80,000 base, approximately $150,000 as-tested.

I actually took the Model X on a 700-mile family road trip. Its interior was more or less roomy enough for five people.

Read all about the road trip.

But only more or less. The third row is quite compact.

Even with one third-row seat in use, cargo capacity was fantastic, and we had backup from the front trunk.

The Model X I tested had roughly 300 miles of range, but Tesla has improved that to 350 miles, for what it calls the "Long Range Plus" trim level. One does have to deal with recharging times when road-tripping in Tesla. Even Supercharger-enabled fast charging could consume 30-45 minutes.

Tesla's technology is fairly incredible. The large central touchscreen controls everything from navigation (which can optimize charging times, based on routes) to audio to Tesla's Autopilot semi-self-driving system.

• Google's Next Billion Users initiative focuses on building products for emerging markets.
• To illustrate how confusing a smartphone can be for a first-time user, Google made a video game where players try to decipher the meaning.
• It's called 'Gorm the Zop'.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Gorm the Zop. That's your objective.

And if you have no idea what it means, don't worry. You're not supposed to.

'Gorm the Zop' is a game played by employees inside Google Next Billion Users team to understand just how overwhelming a smartphone interface can be for a first-time user. 

Google's Next Billion Users, an initiative launched after Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google in 2015, works on building products and services for emerging markets.

NBU, which has around 300 core employees and hundreds more across Google's product teams, has been operating in India, Indonesia and Brazil for several years. It also recently started working in Mexico and Nigeria.

Projects range from mobile payments – it's found huge success with the Google Pay app in India – to stripping down Google's most popular apps to run on lower-powered smartphones.

NBU's team also works on user interfaces and tried to understand how certain iconography does or doesn't translate around the world.

To help employees understand why this is important, the team leaders will have employees play the 'Gorm the Zop' game, where they must tap and swipe their way through levels to complete objectives.

It's difficult and confusing, and that's the point.

"What we were trying to show was, how do we simulate for someone what a new internet user experiences or feels the first time they use a phone?" said Josh Woodward, a group product manager for Google's Next Billion Users.

"If you give someone an interface where the symbols don't make any sense at all, how do they navigate it and what do they do?"

And as Googlers invariably mess up along the way, they'll continue to be scolded by messages until they finally crack the code.

"We usually call people up in front in all-hands meetings and have them play it in front of their peers," said Woodward. 

With the NBU team inside Mountain View unable to travel abroad due to the pandemic, Woodward said they've been  building and using more prototype apps to teach employees how to think like a new internet user.

As for Gorm the Zop, Woodward said it is possible to complete the "game" but it's really designed to make a point: just because someone in Mountain View can switch on a smartphone and instantly understand the interface, doesn't mean someone half way across the world will, too.

SEE ALSO: A top Wall Street tech analyst says Google is 'less relevant' in e-commerce since the pandemic — and it needs to develop or acquire to start gaining ground on rivals like Amazon

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Happy Saturday! 

First, an exciting update. Our associate finance editor, Dan DeFrancesco, has started writing up a recap that you should be seeing in your inbox each weekday morning. We're hoping you'll enjoy the added personal touch on the daily newsletter. (You'll also still be getting this roundup every Saturday.)

If you're not yet a subscriber, you can sign up here.

Now, onto this week's big stories from the Business Insider finance team. 

The savviest hedge funds need employees with specific skills to keep up — and keep ahead — in a rapidly changing world. That means data scientists, coders, engineers, and systems managers.

And while those skills might seem to make the most sense in Silicon Valley, Wall Street has been working for years to pry people away from Big Tech. And as Bradley Saacks reports, it looks like the efforts have been paying off for some:

You can read the full story here:

3 charts map out the epic poaching war between top hedge funds and Big Tech, and show which firms are coming out ahead in an escalating battle

There's also plenty to talk about when it comes to the winners and losers on the performance front in 2020. After a tumultuous start to the year, many big-name hedge fund managers are back in the black.

For one, $34 billion Citadel is dominating 2020 —Bradley took a look at how it's outperforming rivals, and the hedge fund's plan for its latest Goldman hire. But plenty of players haven't been so lucky, and Bradley also rounded up seven big names that are tanking as their credit and quant strategies flounder. 

Keep reading for a look at who's leading Goldman Sachs' merchant-banking division; what Facebook's mega NYC real-estate deal means for the future of the office; and why one fintech is looking for ways to let kids play the stock market. 

Enjoy the weekend, 

Meredith 

Who's leading Goldman's merchant-banking division

Goldman Sachs' merchant-banking division has been ground zero for CEO David Solomon's push to build an alternatives investing powerhouse. 

That strategy has required a combining of several disparate teams from across the firm, which prompted some turnover. But the management team has stabilized in recent months, and Dakin Campbell mapped out who's running the show now.

Read the full story here:

REVEALED: Goldman Sachs leaders who are now running the powerful merchant-banking division that's raising $100 billion for a new alternatives push

A quick fix for valuation woes?

As Bradley Saacks and Meghan Morris reported this week, some of the world's most well-known private companies have lost value since the pandemic's start.And even before the coronavirus hit, a survey of venture capitalists found that a majority believed unicorns were "significantly" overvalued.

But bankers and valuation experts see a potential quick fix to falling valuations: SPACs, which have taken Wall Street by storm over the last month. 

Read the full story here:

Big investors have been slashing valuations on stakes in private companies like Palantir and Sweetgreen. But bankers say there could be a quick fix.

Don't write off the office just yet

Facebook is now extending its work-from-home policy until summer 2021.

But the tech giant has also moved forward with a massive lease to take all of the office space in the Farley Building on Manhattan's West Side. The deal marks a major vote of confidence in New York City's office market at a moment when its future has been thrust into question by the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the full story here:

Facebook just reached a blockbuster deal to lease the massive Farley Building in NYC as a tech and engineering hub. Here's why it's a huge win for a shaken office market.

Cold storage is a red-hot real estate play

Once an obscure corner of real estate, cold storage has seen a jump in demand thanks to surging online grocery orders and shifting consumer preferences for fresh foods. And as Dan Geiger reported this week, cold-storage giant Lineage Logistics has expanded its dominance in the space by scooping up 24 warehouses across the US for more than $500 million.

Read the full story here:

Here's how the private-equity backed industry leader is spending $500 million to tighten its grip on the market.

Parental control for investing

Greenlight, the personal financial management app for kids and parents, has seen its user base double since the start of the year. Now it's building an investing feature where kids can propose stock and ETF trades to their parents.

"To build true wealth, you really need to learn how to invest," Tim Sheehan, cofounder and CEO of Greenlight, told Business Insider's Shannen Balogh. "So we want the kids to try to learn that as early as they can, and to do it in a supervised environment."

Read the full story here:

A JPMorgan-backed personal finance app catering to children has doubled users this year. Now it's eyeing ways to let kids play the stock market.

Careers

• Inside Jefferies' all-virtual summer internship:5 weeks of charity work, and guest appearances from the CEOs of Blackstone and Zoom.
• Average fintech salaries are in the six figures:A talent exec at $5.3 billion Plaid lays out 3 ways to get your foot in the door.
• Boutique banks like Evercore and Moelis are saving tens of millions in travel and entertainment costs:Here's what that newfound efficiency could mean for the future of business travel.

Real estate

• Facial-recognition could be coming to your office: Here's how companies are pitching the tech to landlords and trying to allay privacy concerns.
• Ghost kitchens are pitching themselves as the future of restaurants:These are the 14 companies in the space that you need to know.
• Real-estate developers are racing to reimagine struggling retail space as apartments or last-mile logistics hubs:They're betting the risky strategy could be a lifesaver for struggling shopping centers.

Fintech and payments

• PayPal's CFO outlines ambitious plans to become your virtual wallet:Here's why potential partnerships with the likes of Amazon and Alibaba make more sense now.
• Top fintech investors see a big opportunity in disrupting how people and companies pay their bills:Here are 8 startups on the verge of breaking out.
• A peek inside Goldman Sachs' internal idea factory that's hatched products like a LinkedIn for Wall Street:Here's what else it's trying to disrupt at the bank.

Wealth and investing

• LEAKED MEMO: Bank of America sent 3.2 million mistaken emails about fraud claims to customers including Merrill Lynch and private bank clients, sparking a surge in calls from worried customers.
• Bank of America has made at least 45 hires this year for an aggressive push into business of courting corporate HR execs.Here's why it's betting on the space.
• Vanguard is emerging as a key force in a $3.8 trillion battle against PIMCO and BlackRock for bond investors' cash: Meet 4 power players it brought on to help drive its push.
• Billionaire Dan Loeb lays out his strategy shift to focus on 'quality' companies: Here's why $13 billion Third Point is big on the growth prospects of Amazon, Alibaba, and Disney.

Join the conversation about this story »

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