5 tech myths you still believe—and why they’re totally wrong

Everywhere you look online, there’s no shortage of “expert” tech advice—whether it’s viral hacks, miracle fixes, or bold claims about making your phone or PC run faster. The trouble is, a lot of these tips are just plain wrong.

From battery-saving tricks that don’t actually help to browser tweaks that do nothing, tech myths are everywhere, spreading fast and fooling even the savviest users. In a world where everyone’s trying to get an edge with their devices, it’s easy to fall for these myths—especially when they sound so convincing.

So, let’s clear things up and call out five of the most stubborn tech myths that simply refuse to go away. Time to separate fact from fiction.

Myth 1: Incognito Mode Is Your Secret Cloak

Come on, admit it. We've all opened an Incognito window and felt a little bit like a spy, right? The name itself suggests total anonymity. But let me tell you, it's a total lie. Incognito mode's only real power is on your own device. It just stops your browser from saving your history, cookies, and passwords locally. That's it.

It's a simple broom for your browser's history folder. It does absolutely nothing to hide your activity from the big players like your internet provider, the websites you visit, or your boss if you're on a work network. So, yeah, it's a "private" mode for your local device, not a magic shield against the internet.

Myth 2: More Signal Bars Mean Faster Internet

I've been a victim of this one too. Standing on a street corner, holding my phone high like a weirdo, just to get one more bar and hopefully get that video to load. It's an instinctive thing, but it's completely wrong.

Those little bars on your screen only measure how strong the connection is between your phone and the nearest cell tower. That's all. It tells you nothing about the data speed. You can have a perfect, five-bar signal, but if you're in a crowded spot like a football game or a concert with thousands of other people, your connection will crawl to a halt. It's the digital equivalent of having an empty on-ramp, only to find the highway is in a massive traffic jam.

Myth 3: A Higher Megapixel Count Means Better Photos

When you're shopping for a phone, all the marketing around the camera seems to scream about just one thing: the megapixels. The positioning always is that more is better, that its should be very obvious that a 108MP camera must take way better photos than a 12MP one.

Well, that's just marketing mambo-jumbo. Megapixels just tell you how big the photo is. They have almost no impact on the actual quality of the image. What really matters are things like the camera's sensor size, the size of the pixels, the kinds of glass being used in the lens, and the tuning process used by the camera.

Just take a look at our Oppo Find X8 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Pixel 9 Pro XL camera showdown to know what we're on about.

A camera with a larger sensor can capture more light and detail, which is what makes a photo look amazing, even if it has a lower megapixel count.

Myth 4: Fingerprint Scanners Are Unbreakable Security

Using your fingerprint to unlock your phone feels incredibly futuristic and safe. It's so fast and convenient that we just assume it's the gold standard of security. But here's the thing: it's not. It's actually a lot easier to beat than you'd think. Security researchers have shown that they can lift fingerprints from surfaces and replicate them with simple materials.

Meanwhile, a strong, complex passcode with letters and numbers has a near-infinite number of combinations, making it practically impossible for someone to brute-force their way in. So while fingerprint scanners are super convenient, they're not a perfect security solution. For real peace of mind, it's always best to use a mix of both.

Myth 5: You Have to Drain Your Phone Battery to 0% Before Charging

This is probably the single most common and harmful myth out there. It’s a holdover from the days of old nickel-cadmium batteries, which had a "memory effect" and needed to be fully drained. But modern phones use lithium-ion batteries, and they work in a totally different way.

Draining them down to zero and then charging them all the way to 100% puts a massive amount of stress on the battery cells. Doing this regularly will kill your battery's lifespan. The healthiest way to charge your phone is to keep it topped up between 20% and 80%.