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.

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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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Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer 

Samsung

Pro tip: Add their birth year to the Notes section so you don't forget how old they're turning.

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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.

iPhone: 5.0 stars (at time of publishing) 

Android: 4.8 (at time of publishing) 

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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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If you and the one celebrating a birthday both have an iPhone, you can send your birthday text in a super fun way. The Messages app automatically sends a screen full of balloons if you type the message "happy birthday" to another iPhone user. You can also send other fun effects on the messages app.

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You can use the bubble effect to change the way that your iMessage bubbles look when they send.

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Personalize your iMessages by sending them in your own handwriting. Your friends and family will watch them animate once they are sent.

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Sometimes you want to wish a former colleague or acquaintance a happy birthday, but that doesn't mean you necessarily need their birthday in your yearly phone calendar. Turn on Facebook birthday notifications, so your Facebook app will alert you anytime you should send a birthday to your online friends.

1. Log into your Facebook account
2. Tap your profile photo icon (on desktop)
3. Tap Settings & privacy
4. Tap Settings
5. On the left tap Notifications
6. Tap Birthdays  to adjust your settings
7. Make sure Allow notifications on Facebook is toggled on
8. 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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While a text, call or email on your birthday is nice, an even nicer gift is to receive a gift card. GiftYa is a site that lets you send personalized gift cards with a beautiful presentation for tons of merchants in the U.S. Your gift will be sent to the loved one's phone within seconds, so it's a great last-minute gift.

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Amazon's website lets you buy an eGift card, a physical one, and even one you can print yourself. They have tons of fun graphics so you can jazz up your gift card that you know will be the right size for anyone.

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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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Forgetting someone's birthday can lead to major disappointment and embarrassment, so staying on top of those special dates is important. Thankfully, technology has our back to ensure we never miss a birthday again. From using your phone's calendar app to setting up reminders with third-party apps like BDAYS or Google Contacts, there are tons of ways to keep track of those important dates. And let's not forget the fun and personalized touches, like sending a screen full of balloons or a handwritten message using the iPhone's Messages app. So, embrace these tech tips, and never again experience the letdown of forgetting a loved one's birthday. Plus, if you're looking to add something extra special, you can surprise them with an E-gift using platforms like Giphy or GiftYa. Now you have no excuses.

For other Birthday present ideas, be sure to head to Cyberguy.com/Kurts-picks for all the top CyberGuy gift guides this year.

What's your favorite way to celebrate a birthday? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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