Have you ever experienced the letdown of someone forgetting your birthday? It’s a disheartening feeling, to say the least. To spare yourself embarrassment and disappointment, it’s crucial to ensure that you never overlook your loved one’s birthdays. To help you out with this goal, here are some tech tips that will make sure you never forget one again.
1. Use your phone’s calendar app
The easiest way to get alerted about birthdays on your smartphone is to use the built-in calendar app. Both iPhone and Android let you add an event that can repeat annually, meaning you won’t have to keep adding birthdays each year.
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- Open the Calendar app
- Tap the + (plus) button on the bottom right
- Add the person’s name and the word “birthday” to the title
- Tap All day
- Select the date of their birthday
- Tap next to the alarm icon to set a reminder (day of at 9am, day before at 5pm, 2 days before, or a custom date and time) to get an alert about the birthday ahead of time
- Go back and tap where it says Don’t repeat
- Select Every year
- You can leave the Duration on “Forever“
- Go back and tap Save on the bottom right of the screen
Pro tip: Add their birth year to the Notes section so you don’t forget how old they’re turning.
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Screenshot showing you how to use the Android calendar app to receive birthday alerts. ( )
2. Use a third-party Birthday calendar reminder apps
BDAYS app on iPhone and Android
If you don’t want birthdays clogging up your phone’s calendar, use a separate app to set up birthday reminders. Available for both iPhone and Android, this BDAYS app lets you view all your friends and family’s birthdays in one spot for easy viewing. You can stay ahead of sending birthday cards, add multiple people’s birthdays at once, set multiple reminders, and get alerted every year.
One can use calendar apps to set reminders. ( )
Google Contacts app on Android
Google has a specific app for keeping track of your contacts on Android which is convenient if you want to access contacts across multiple devices like your phone, tablet, and computer. The Contacts app makes it easy to add a birthday while you’re adding a new contact, so you can set up birthday notifications and never miss someone’s big day.
Android: 4.3 stars (at time of publishing)
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How to add a bubble effect to your messages
- Open the iMessage app and tap the Compose icon in the top right-hand corner to start a new message or go to an existing conversation
- Enter your message in the text box and hold down the Send arrow
- Tap the gray dot to preview different bubble effects
- Choose one and tap the Send arrow
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iPhone has a feature that changes the way iMessage bubbles look. ( )
Send a handwritten birthday iMessage on iPhone
Personalize your iMessages by sending them in your own handwriting. Your friends and family will watch them animate once they are sent.
How to get notified of birthdays on Facebook
- Log into your Facebook account
- Tap your profile photo icon (on desktop)
- Tap Settings & privacy
- Tap Settings
- On the left tap Notifications
- Tap Birthdays to adjust your settings
- Make sure Allow notifications on Facebook is toggled on
- Then under Where you receive these notifications, toggle on Push (messages that pop up on your phone or computer screen when you’re not actively using Facebook), Email, and/or SMS for texts
If you’re using Push notifications, be sure your phone’s settings allow notifications from the Facebook app.
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Facebook allows its users to set up Push notifications for birthday alerts. ( )
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You can send eGift cards through Amazon. ( )
Bonus: how to score amazing deals on Your Birthday
Did you know that there are tons of companies out there that will give you free rewards as a birthday gift? From perks at restaurants to makeup brand gifts and more, log onto Cyberguy.com/BirthdayRewards for some of the best freebies and discounts you can get for your special day.
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What’s your favorite way to celebrate a birthday? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
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