Tech
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 31, 2026

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you believe in magic.
Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: While you were sleeping…
The words are related to a mythical creature.
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe a children's tradition.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today's spangram is Tooth Fairy.
NYT Strands word list for March 31
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Wings
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Exchange
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Tutu
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Wand
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Coin
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Note
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Pillow
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Tooth Fairy
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.
Tech
Is your phone gross? Watch this.

Spring cleaning your phone goes beyond just wiping down the screen. Iyaz walks through how to safely clean and disinfect your phone and earbuds to remove built-up grime and bacteria, while also showing how to clean inside your device by clearing unused apps and using built-in Android and iOS tools to free up space and improve performance.
Tech
Former Meta employee accused of downloading 30,000 private user images

London's cybercrime unit is investigating a former Meta employee who allegedly downloaded more than 30,000 private user images from personal Facebook pages.
Police say the employee, a company engineer, allegedly designed a script that allowed his activity to go undetected by internal security systems, according to court documents reviewed by The Guardian.
The incident was discovered by the company over a year ago, Meta explained in a statement to the BBC. In addition to terminating the employee, Meta notified affected Facebook users and updated its security protocols. Meta then referred the case to the UK police, and authorities arrested the man in November.
"After discovering improper access by an employee over a year ago, we immediately terminated the individual, notified users, referred the matter to law enforcement and enhanced our security measures," the company said to the press. "We are co-operating with the ongoing investigation."
Meta has previously been accused of failing to appropriately notify users of privacy policies and how their data is accessed by the company, including recent concerns about Meta AI chatbot prompts being made visible to the public.
Last month, an investigation found that offshore Meta workers in Kenya were being forced to review personal recordings taken by Meta Ray-Ban glasses wearers — videos that were being shared unbeknownst to users to train the company's AI. In January, a group of international plaintiffs and whistleblowers filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that private WhatsApp conversations, which are end-to-end encrypted, were being accessed and analyzed by Meta employees. The company has denied the allegation.
Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google.
Tech
Best Buy is giving away a Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary collectible game case for free — how to claim

GET A FREE COLLECTIBLE GAME CASE: As of April 8, you can pick up a slick Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary collectible game case for free at Best Buy when you purchase two select Mario titles for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
There's a lot of Mario talk lately between The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 Edition release, and the 40th anniversary of the nostalgic Nintendo mascot. And Best Buy wants in on the conversation. For a limited time, the retailer is giving away free Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary collectible game cases. Here's how you can claim yours.
There's limited quantities of these slick collectible cases, so you'll want to act semi-quickly if you want to ensure you get one. All you have to do to qualify is purchase two select Mario titles for Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 at Best Buy. Once you add two to your cart, you'll see the game case added automatically for $0 (a $20 value). It can hold 24 games and showcases photos of Mario himself over the years.
There's plenty of excellent games included in the list, including Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, Mario Kart World for Nintendo Switch 2, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Nintendo Switch, and Mario Party Superstars for Nintendo Switch. Most of them are at full price, which is kind of a bummer, but we do think the majority of them are worth the money.
Regardless, this is your chance to celebrate four decades of Mario and get some sick merch to go along with it. And a free gift is a free gift!
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