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How to Turn Your Phone Into a Personal Health Dashboard

From left, the Google Health, the Samsung Health and Apple’s Health apps offer plenty of tools and features to help you manage your diet, exercise and personal safety. (Google; Samsung; Apple)
From left, the Google Health, the Samsung Health and Apple’s Health apps offer plenty of tools and features to help you manage your diet, exercise and personal safety. (Google; Samsung; Apple)
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How to Turn Your Phone Into a Personal Health Dashboard

From left, the Google Health, the Samsung Health and Apple’s Health apps offer plenty of tools and features to help you manage your diet, exercise and personal safety. (Google; Samsung; Apple)
From left, the Google Health, the Samsung Health and Apple’s Health apps offer plenty of tools and features to help you manage your diet, exercise and personal safety. (Google; Samsung; Apple)

New York: JD Biersdorfer

The health app on your phone’s home screen has many uses, even if you don’t have a smartwatch or fitness tracker. With a little manual effort, you can use the app to get a better idea of your general wellness.

For example, you can keep a food-and-fitness diary there. Most phones provide a free basic step-counting function. And you can link other exercise and diet apps you use to streamline your data.

Many medical providers let you import records from your doctor, and you can create a “medical ID” for your phone’s lock screen in case of emergency.

Here’s how to get started.

Choose Your App

Although third-party options abound, the basic health apps from Google, Samsung and Apple have been available for years and have been steadily adding new features:

Google recently revamped its Google Health app (formerly its app for FitBit devices) and is phasing out the older Google Fit software. Google Health is free in the app stores for Android and iOS.

Samsung Health updated last month, comes with Galaxy phones. It is also available for other Android and iOS users, particularly those using Samsung’s fitness trackers and smartwatches.

Apple’s Health app comes preinstalled on iPhones and iPads (and collects data from paired Apple Watches). It does not have an Android version.

The menus in the health apps can be a little overwhelming, so take time to explore. Each app offers a place to manually log your daily workouts, food intake, emotional state and sleep time.

You can set up medication reminders. And if you use a compatible separate exercise or diet app, you can often link it to the health app so you don’t have to log updates twice.

Many phones have an automatic step-counting feature already enabled. While not as precise as some dedicated sensors, the step count shown on the main screens of Google Health, Samsung Health and Apple’s Health, can give you a general idea of your daily distance. (If your phone isn’t counting your steps, check your settings to make sure the fitness-tracking feature is turned on.)

Sync Health Records

Many health care providers use “patient portal” sites like MyChart that allow you to log in and see your test results and other electronic medical records. If the provider’s site is compatible with your health app, you can synchronize those records to have them all in one place. You’ll need the login credentials you use for the provider’s online patient portal.

If you have confidentiality concerns about pulling in digital records to a different app, check your health app’s privacy policy before you proceed. Google Health, Samsung Health and Apple’s Health all have explanations on their sites. Note that federal privacy laws generally don’t apply to mobile devices.

The Google Health support site has a page of detailed instructions. To sync your records directly from your health care provider, open the Google Health app, tap the Connections icon in the upper-left corner of the screen and tap Medical Records; iOS users must tap Apps and Services first to get to the Medical Records option. On the

Medical Records screen, select Manage Connections and then the Add More Providers button to search and sync your files.
In Samsung Health, open the app, tap the Home tab at the bottom of the screen, scroll down and tap to Health Records to get started.

In Apple’s Health app, from the Summary screen, tap your profile icon in the upper-right corner. On the next screen, tap Health Records and follow the onscreen prompts so you can view your files, test results and other data from your doctor, or share information.

Create a Medical ID

Even if you don’t plan to use it as a personal-health database, your phone can show important information to emergency medical workers on your phone’s lockscreen, should you be incapacitated. These details can include blood type, any current prescriptions or health conditions you have, and your organ-donor status.

On many Android models, open the Personal Safety app, and tap the Your Info tab at the bottom of the screen. There, you can add your medical information and an emergency contact person.

On a Samsung Galaxy phone, tap the Settings icon, select Safety and Emergency, and then tap the options for adding medical and emergency contact information.

On an iPhone, open the Health app. If you aren’t prompted to set up your Medical ID, tap your profile photo in the top-right corner and choose Medical ID. On the next screen, add or edit the details you wish to share, and give permission to have the information displayed when your phone is locked.

Setting up a smartphone medical ID is worth your time: A recent study led by the University of Rochester showed the information was useful for patient care in 75% of cases.

The New York Times

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Technology

Pakistan-Built Robots Serve Taste of Future to Karachi Diners

This photograph taken on October 2, 2026 shows Robia (R) and Jojo (2R), humanoid robot waitresses serving customers at the Sicilian restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 2, 2026 shows Robia (R) and Jojo (2R), humanoid robot waitresses serving customers at the Sicilian restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)
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Pakistan-Built Robots Serve Taste of Future to Karachi Diners

This photograph taken on October 2, 2026 shows Robia (R) and Jojo (2R), humanoid robot waitresses serving customers at the Sicilian restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 2, 2026 shows Robia (R) and Jojo (2R), humanoid robot waitresses serving customers at the Sicilian restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)

Wheeling its way between dining booths at a neon-lit restaurant in Pakistan's Karachi megacity, a robot waitress drops off a fresh pizza to an awaiting family.

While global buzz is growing around agile humanoids made in the United States, China and elsewhere, robotic staff are a rare sight in the South Asian country.

"Welcome to Sicilian. My name is Robia," the waitress says in an electronic voice, looking down at diners through blinking red LED eyes.

Robia and her colleague Jojo are the DIY creations of Pakistani engineer Syed Osama Aziz, who is bringing a sci-fi reboot to Karachi's storied dining scene.

They have spherical white heads and dark visors, similar to a motorcycle helmet, and sport black shawls around their neck in the style of a dupatta worn by women in the region.

Aziz, who also established The Sicilian restaurant, developed the machines using mostly locally manufactured parts, designing their circuit boards and programming them in his own lab.

"The equipment, the things needed to make robots, are not so easily available here, so we had to arrange them," he told AFP.

The duo were developed through his robotics company, Cobot, with help from friends and some electronic components imported from abroad.

In China and other East Asian countries especially, robots are an increasingly common sight, shuttling food to customers in chain restaurants and taking on other jobs from cleaning to greeting hotel guests.

But they remain a novelty in Pakistan, where Aziz's home-grown creations are attracting curious diners.

When they arrive at a table, the customers must either take the food off their serving tray themselves or wait for a human member of staff to assist them.

- Excited customers -

Aziz, whose workshop manufacturing the robots is located in Multan in Pakistan's central Punjab province, hopes to make his creations more sophisticated in the future.

"Our plans are to add camera-based processing and image-processing features," he said.

"That means the robot will also recognize you by looking at you, and it will remember what you ordered last time, and accordingly it will be able to give you better suggestions."

For now, the robots are proving a hit with families, who flock to the restaurant to watch the machines in action.

"The best thing about it is that it introduces itself," excited customer Ahmer Zameer told AFP, explaining the robot also "tells you what things you can order".

Children reach out to touch the robots while their parents snap photographs and selfies.

Young customer Sonia Dilosker said she was impressed by the androids' appearance and preferred their approach to serving customers, "because it is a machine and without any emotions".

Restaurant staff say the novelty has brought a surge in customers -- some travelling from across the sprawling port city to meet the robots.

"Our business has grown. People are coming from far away for this. They have seen a robot for the first time here," staff member Hellen told AFP.

"People are excited to see this."

Technology

‘Grand Theft Auto’ Set for Blockbuster Return After 13 Years

An advertisement for the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA VI) is seen in Tokyo on November 4, 2026. (AFP)
An advertisement for the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA VI) is seen in Tokyo on November 4, 2026. (AFP)
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‘Grand Theft Auto’ Set for Blockbuster Return After 13 Years

An advertisement for the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA VI) is seen in Tokyo on November 4, 2026. (AFP)
An advertisement for the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA VI) is seen in Tokyo on November 4, 2026. (AFP)

Fans of the violent "Grand Theft Auto" video game franchise are just two weeks away from getting their hands on the latest edition, which has taken almost a decade to make and has become the most expensive title in history.

The franchise allows players to act out gangster fantasies – shoot ups, crashing cars -- in fictional renderings of US cities where the soundtrack piped through in-game radio is almost as important as the cutting-edge visuals.

GTA VI, which comes 13 years after its predecessor, is expected to break sales records when it lands on November 19 thanks in part to a monumental marketing campaign that kicked off in late 2023 with the first official trailer.

"It is going to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time," Chris Dring of The Game Business outlet told AFP.

The previous edition, GTA V, is still the second-biggest selling game ever -- it took just three days to rack up $1 billion in sales, two days less than the movie "Avengers: Endgame".

The budget of GTA VI has reportedly ballooned to over $1 billion --- far higher than any other game or film -- and projections have it on track to make several billion in its first week, which would smash all records for any cultural product.

- 'Top creators' -

"GTA VI" has two main protagonists, former drug-runner Jason and newly released ex-con Lucia, who try to survive in Vice City, a reimagining of Miami.

Lucia is the first playable woman character in a main edition of the almost 30-year history of a franchise.

During the 1990s and 2000s the game's graphic depictions of violence and misogyny became notorious -- tabloid media outrage boosting the title's notoriety and helping sales to skyrocket.

Rockstar Games has spent eight years developing the sixth edition, a process beset by difficulties including the leak of development footage and code for the game online in 2022.

But expectations are sky-high.

"They've spent a long time on this game, but they are probably the top game entertainment creators in the world," said Dring.

Analysts expect the game to have an impact on the entire video game sector, including on console sales and accessories.

Several other studios delayed the release of new games to avoid being caught in the hype cycle around GTA VI.

Analysis firm Sensor Tower said the game had already generated around $750 million from pre-sales.

Surveys suggested almost one-third of the 49 million people who use PS5 and Xbox Series consoles in the United States intended to buy the game.

"The purchase intent that we're seeing on 'Grand Theft Auto' is far away above any other game we've ever tracked," said Mat Piscatella of consultancy Circana.

"For me, it's the game of the decade," Jocelin Lebeau, 39, a gamer who works for the French military, told AFP at a recent event in Paris. "I'm ready to buy it sight unseen."

Technology

North Korea’s Army of World-Class Hackers Is Secret Weapon That Took Down Binance

A TV screen showing a reporting about the hack at Binance, is seen during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP)
A TV screen showing a reporting about the hack at Binance, is seen during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP)
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North Korea’s Army of World-Class Hackers Is Secret Weapon That Took Down Binance

A TV screen showing a reporting about the hack at Binance, is seen during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP)
A TV screen showing a reporting about the hack at Binance, is seen during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP)

North Korea rewards its top hackers, tasked with heists like the Binance crypto hack that netted a cool $6.3 billion, with perks such as a spacious apartment in the capital of Pyongyang and huge hard currency awards, despite grueling hours of work.

Leader Kim Jong Un has assembled an army of world-class hackers using such incentives in a program more than a decade old that picks 200 of the smartest middle school students each year to study computer engineering, defectors and analysts say.

A fraction eventually become hackers in an investment that has paid off dramatically, as the group has evolved from the early days when it ran illegal gambling websites to pulling off the world's biggest cyber heist last month.

"They are actually one of Kim Jong Un's secret weapons," said Kim Heung-kwang, a North Korean defector who trained hackers of behalf of the state before fleeing to South Korea in 2004.

"There is no other country grooming hackers like this, systematically searching for the smartest children, solely to turn them into operatives," he added. "Whether they want to be a hacker or not does not matter."

The FBI and Binance have said North Korea was responsible for the Binance hack, but Pyongyang has denied that. Blockchain investigation firms have attributed it to a North Korean group known as "TraderTraitor".

The denial is part of a pattern in which the North dismisses such blame over the years as fabricated political provocations.

SYSTEMIC SELECTION

North Korea set up a cyber unit in 1998 but elevated its status after Kim came to power and declared in 2013 that cyber warfare was, along with nuclear weapons and missiles, an "all purpose sword" crucial to the country's ‌strike capability.

Candidate selection begins ‌in middle school as early as 11 or 12 years of age, with authorities picking about 150 to 200 children a year ‌to study ⁠computer science, said ⁠Kim Heung-kwang, the former trainer, and two defectors who worked in IT.

At 17, the top performers are sent to North Korea's best universities and undergo further screening before a chosen few finally enter the military's cyber unit as hackers, they added.

They are trained in areas such as cryptocurrency protocols and reverse-engineering foreign hardware devices in addition to more conventional topics such as advanced mathematics and foreign languages, one of them said.

Those who do not become hackers are trained to turn out software or apps for Western firms via remote jobs.

"While South Korea's best students may pursue medicine or other prestigious careers, North Korea channels top talent into nuclear and cyber programs and essentially guarantees their future," said Lim Jongin, professor emeritus at the school of cybersecurity at Korea University.

Other privileges on tap for the hackers are travel abroad to allied countries, such as China, where they can more freely access the internet.

Successful exploits can earn as much as 30% of the heist's profits in US dollars for the hackers' military unit, and they can even receive a flat in the capital where their ⁠parents can also stay, Kim said.

"There are accounts that successful cyber personnel are given apartments in Pyongyang," Lim said, adding that the flats could ‌range to as much as 132 sq m (1,420 sq ft).

Such performers are also eligible for membership of the ruling party and high-status ‌marriages into elite families, said one of the defectors.

But it is a small group. The North's cyberwarfare operations employ about 8,400 people, South Korea's National Intelligence Service estimated in 2024.

North Korean state media do not publicly ‌celebrate such hackers' achievements, but they regularly highlight students who show talent for programming.

In 2015, North Korea opened the Mirae Scientists Street in the capital, in the construction of which Kim Jong Un ‌had been closely involved, state media said.

Hackers' formal designation in the North was "scientist" or "researcher", said one of the defectors.

STATE ADVANTAGE

Other hacking groups associated with North Korea include the Lazarus Group, also known as APT38, which the US accused in 2022 of having stolen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from the Ronin blockchain network. The FBI has said TraderTraitor is affiliated to Lazarus.

State backing makes the North's hackers more dangerous and harder to repulse, as they face no consequences for hack after hack, enabling them to perfect their strategies, analysts said.

"In the world of cyber crime, often, if you make a mistake ... that is all law enforcement needs to ‌get you," said Alec Zebrick, senior manager for Asia-Pacific global services at Chainalysis.

But North Korea's hackers "are doing this for the regime, so they're going to continue, even after successes," he added.

"Even after failures, they'll continue, because it's very hard for the international community to take action ⁠against them."

Other groups that have engaged with North Korea ⁠IT workers who earn funds for the Kim regime by landing remote technology jobs at Western companies describe them as highly organized, polite in their interactions and avid users of AI.

"There clearly was a structure you would see in military. Strict times, cleaning boots, very orderly," said YouTuber Deeveeaar, who has claimed to have hacked into cameras watching North Korean IT workers at their jobs.

"To say they 'use a lot of AI' is an understatement. AI is the very backbone of their operation," he said, citing use of paid ChatGPT accounts, Claude Code and Cursor, among many AI tools.

"They write code with it, alter their resumes and help make new ones. And even forge documents and identities."

Binance said the hackers used a bogus job interview and software hidden in an advertisement to compromise staffers' computers before using an internal AI tool to seize control of systems.

In 2025, a sanctions monitoring team drawn from 11 United Nations members said TraderTraitor had obtained both ChatGPT and DeepSeek accounts.

TOUGH WORKING CONDITIONS

Yet the lifestyle of a hacker or elite technology worker for North Korea is grueling, particularly when given a mission or sent abroad, say former IT workers and human rights groups.

Living in cramped spaces, often working stretches longer than 10 hours a day, constant surveillance and strict targets are among the downsides, said former IT workers interviewed for a report last year by advocacy group PSCORE.

"There is always pressure to keep earning money," said the group's executive director, Nam Bada. "The stress is extreme, and because of the psychological strain people develop health problems they didn't have before."

IT workers must meet a monthly target in dollars, or face humiliation and other punishments, he said.

Still, the hackers' success is likely to embolden the North Korean leader as they get better and grow more ambitious, analysts say.

"We see more and more them leaning towards what we call 'big game hunting'," said Zebrick.

"So they're targeting some of these larger organizations, potentially have larger vaults of funds, that they could potentially get. These are harder targets," he added.

"However, as we can see with the Binance case, the payout certainly can make it worth their time."