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Apple iPhones arrived in 2007 running an unnamed operating system. A year later, it received this boring sobriquet: iPhone OS 1. By 2010, marketing got its act together and came up with “iOS,” just in time for the debut of version 4.
We’re now up to iOS 18. In the previous decade and a half, iOS has undergone a bevy of changes—from embracing dedicated apps (in version 2) and dropping skeuomorphism for flat images (iOS 7) to finally embracing widgets and, for better and worse, AI.
Apple’s iOS is so full of features that no single review or story can cover it all. So, we compiled our favorite tips, tricks, and secrets for iOS and the iPhone. They’ll make your day—and your life—more productive and put you on the path to becoming an iPhone expert.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence launched with iOS 18.1, but you also need a compatible device. For now, it only works on the iPhone 15 Pro and up, including the new iPhone 16e, as well as iPads and Macs with an M1 chip and up, and the newest iPad mini. Here’s some of what it can do.
Chat with ChatGPT on iPhone
Over the years, Siri’s limitations have become obvious, and we may not see a fully revamped Siri until 2026, so Apple Intelligence includes access to . If you have a paid plan, you can log in to take advantage of the advanced premium features.
Make sure Apple Intelligence is turned on in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT. This is also where you can sign into your premium ChatGPT account. Make sure Setup Prompts is on so Siri can suggest ChatGPT when you make a query. When your verbal prompts to Siri get complicated, it will say something about how it needs to use ChatGPT to do that, and the AI will take over.
Draw Your Own Imagery
Open the Notes app and draw something with your finger, be it a bare-bones box, a landscape, or a full-on monster. In the toolbar with all the draw tools is a Magic Wand tool. Tap it, then circle your finger around the drawing a few times. Type in a prompt for what the drawing is actually supposed to be and it’ll make it as realistic-looking as possible in a very emoji way.
Create Emoji via Prompt
If you find that existing emoji aren’t enough to convey how you feel, you can now use Apple Intelligence to generate emoji (called, of course, Genmoji) with a description. When you’re typing on an iOS keyboard, tap into the Emoji keyboard, and look for the face icon to right of the search box that says “Describe an Emoji,” or use the microphone icon to say what you want. Create a prompt and watch the Genmoji generate, complete with multiple options. Swipe left to see more. Tap Done to insert the Genmoji into whatever you’re typing. You can also use your own photos or even other emoji as inspiration for a Genmoji.
Text Input Tips & Tricks
Shift Your Keyboard Left or Right
Trying to type with one thumb? The default iOS keyboard offers a left- or right-leaning option. Hold your finger on the globe or emoji icon at the bottom of the keyboard (if you have three or more keyboards installed, it’ll display the globe), and in the pop-up, you’ll see an option for a left and right keyboard. Tap your preference. Tap the arrow pointing opposite your preference to go back to full screen. (This only works in Portrait Mode, and won’t work if you’ve adjusted to “Larger Text” view under Settings > Display & Brightness.)
Hold the Space Bar to Make a Trackpad
You’re typing along and want to move the cursor up and change something you wrote. You could tap the screen, but your thumbs are already flying. Keep them on the virtual keyboard by holding down on the spacebar. You’ll see the keys go blank; now, drag your thumb tip around to move the cursor. Drop the cursor where you want it, and delete or type as needed.
Create Text Replacements
Are there phrases you find yourself typing over and over, like “On the way home” or “Love you more than the sun and moon!”? Go into Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Click the plus (+) icon at the top to enter a phrase and then a shortcut. Then, any time you type the shortcut (such as “otw”), the full phrase (say, “I’m on the way home, leave me alone!”) springs to life on the keyboard’s text preview. You can even use this trick to type a letter combo that brings up a specific series of emoji.
Swipe Type to QuickPath
Many third-party iOS keyboards have had the ability to swipe-type—that is, to move your finger or thumb around the keys without lifting it to type words. As of iOS 13, this feature is also part of the default keyboard; Apple calls it QuickPath.
Screen Capture Tips & Tricks
Take a Screen Shot of an Entire Web Page, Even if It’s Lengthy
When you’re taking a screenshot on your iPhone, a thumbnail appears on the bottom-left for annotation. Tap to take it full-screen. If you took the shot while using the Safari browser, and the web page you’re on extends past the size of the screen, glance at the top for a tab that reads “Full page.” Tap it, and a slider appears on the right displaying the full page, even if you didn’t scroll through it all originally. You can crop to just the area you want or click Done to save it as a PDF, copy it, or delete it.
Bonus: This also works with other browsers on iOS like Chrome and Firefox.
Sign Documents
We don’t all have scanners and printers in our homes these days, but Apple offers an easy way to sign a document digitally. Take a screenshot of the doc, and tap the thumbnail. On the lower-right, click the Plus sign. One of the options is Signature. Sign directly on the screen (or use a stored signature). Hit Done, and then drag it to the document in the screenshot. Place the signature, resize it, and save it to send.
Snag Text from Photos and Video
Live Text is iOS’s ability to pull editable text out of a photo or even a video. All you have to do is view the image or pause the video. Click the small Live Text icon, and it highlights all the text you can copy (tap and hold to copy it). Depending on what the phone can read, you’ll get action buttons. For example, you can translate foreign languages on the fly. If it sees a phone number, it can call the number; if it sees a URL, it will can take you to the website. Turn the phone to get a three-dot ellipsis menu, and you’ll see other options, such as the text appearing in an editable window.
Safari Tips & Tricks
Customize Settings per Website
Some websites look great with default settings, and others don’t. You can create settings that are specific to one website—so it displays a larger font than others, for example. Simply click on the AA font icon in the address bar when visiting a site. You can set the font size, as well as click on Website Settings to specify whether you always want to see the desktop version; jump right into the Safari Reader (which makes pages easier to read by stripping out extraneous stuff); or turn off all your content and advertising blockers.
Hide Distracting Items
Web pages are filled with distractions—pop-ups, overlays, all sorts of things that require you to click an X to get rid of them. And then they return later on other pages from the same site. With Safari in iOS 18, you can use Distraction Control to eliminate them. When you’re on a page, click the icon on the left in the address bar to see the Page Menu and click Hide Distracting Items. Then tap anything you want to disappear.
Recording & Audio Tips & Tricks
Record Phone Calls
New in iOS 18: This feature has been needed for a long, long time. You can finally record phone calls. All you do is tap the Recording button at the top left (it looks like a waveform with a button on it). After a three-second countdown, a voice will tell all parties that the call is being recorded. It doesn’t matter what the person on the other end is talking on—Android, landline, whatever—the call gets recorded to memory on your iPhone. Once the call ends, it is stored in your Notes app. Newer phones will also get a full transcription of the call.
Bring Back Volume On Screen
New in iOS 18: As of iOS 16, Apple took the volume slider off the screen control when you listen to music or podcasts in favor of forcing users to push the up/down volume buttons on the left side of an iPhone. Bring that slider back. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual and toggle Always Show Volume Control to on. Now you’ll have a volume control back under the play/pause buttons again.
Play Background Noise
With Background Sounds, your iPhone can play sounds like bright noise, ocean, or rain to drown out distractions and help you focus. You can adjust this via Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds, but you can also add it to the Control Center. Swipe from the top right and long-press on the screen until Add a Control appears at the bottom of the screen. Swipe down or type in “Hearing” and tap Background Sounds, Hearing, or both. Background sounds show up as a musical note icon; tap that to turn sounds on and off. Hearing gives you quick access to the settings menu so you can switch to another sound.
Another option: Set up a shortcut to turn it on using a triple-tap on the Home button. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and put a check next to Background Sounds. When you activate it after a triple tap, it’ll default to the last sound you used.
Turn Off Your Microphone on Screen Recordings
To screen-record on your iPhone and iPad, open the Control Center and make sure the Screen Recording icon is there. (If not, long-press, select Add a Control and find Screen Recording). A screen-record button then appears in Control Center. When recording, you may notice that it’s also recording audio, so you can record a voiceover. If you’ll be adding voice later or don’t need a voiceover, long-press on the button in Control Center. Below, you’ll see either Microphone Off or Microphone On—set your preference.
Broadcast Your Screen
Holding down the Screen Recording button in Control Center also produces another option: You can pick an app into which your recording can be saved (say, Photos) or do a direct broadcast. Supported apps include Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Google Meet, TikTok, and Twitch.
Enhance Your Voice
In Voice Memos, you can use Enhanced Recording to reduce background noise. Make a recording, click the equalizer menu, and under Options, turn on Enhance Recording to make it sound better. You can also use this screen to adjust playback speed or to skip the silences in the recording.
App Store Tips & Tricks
Force App Updates
Do you worry that the app you’re using may not be the most up-to-date version? Make sure the App Store is set to auto-update your apps. Go to Settings > Apps > App Store and in Automatic Downloads, turn on App Updates.
If you don’t want to wait, open the App Store app, tap your picture, swipe down to update, and tap Update All, if it appears. (Bonus: If you see an app in that list that you don’t use anymore, just swipe left to delete it.)
Offload Apps
Have you filled your phone with apps that you never use? While you’re in Settings > Apps > App Store, turn on Offload Unused Apps. Apps then disappear from your phone when you don’t use them after a few weeks. Any data or docs related to the app remain, though, so if you reinstall, it’ll still be of use. This is a great trick to use when you’re a heavy gamer, since games can take up a lot of space. Free some up space for new fun. Note: If an app is offloaded and then removed from the App Store (like TikTok), you will not be able to download it again.
Stop App Install Verification Requests
Annoyed by your phone constantly asking you to re-enter your Apple Account credentials when your download an app? It might happen every time, especially if you haven’t updated payment options in a while. Go to Settings and tap your name at the top and enter Payment & Shipping; use Add Payment Method, or edit whatever is there. Also, double-check your Subscriptions or Media & Purchases > Purchase History in that first menu. If any are hung up via a failed payment, that might be the culprit.
The last step: completely sign out of your iPhone at the bottom. Make sure to do a full iCloud backup of your data first, just in case. Restart the phone and go back to Settings and Sign In.
Phone Tips & Tricks
Silence Unknown Callers
Inundated by robocalls? Visit Settings > Apps > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers. When that’s turned on, any number that’s not in your contacts, Siri suggestions, or recently called list goes directly to voicemail. A silent notification tells you that a call has been silenced; you can view the number in your Recents list. To keep your line open to unknown callers, you can use a secondary number via a second SIM card or VoIP burner account.
Watch a Live Voicemail
When you get a call in iOS 17 that you don’t recognize, keep looking at your lock screen. The phone will now transcribe any voicemail being left for you in real-time as you watch. If it’s long enough, you can answer the call if it seems important. You may have to turn it on in Settings > Apps > Phone > Live Voicemail. If you turn on Silence Unknown Callers (above), the Live Voicemail still works so you can decide if you want to answer—but it won’t transcribe any numbers marked by your mobile carrier as spam.
Hang Up via Airplane
Hanging up on people, even when you really want to, is impolite. But when you’re on a call and switch on Airplane mode, the call is cut off, as if it had failed. Then you don’t look responsible. (Thanks to @kaansanity on TikTok for this idea.)
Make Calls Over Wi-Fi
When cellular service is iffy, Wi-Fi Calling can tap into a Wi-Fi network to place calls. You’ll need a wireless carrier that supports it. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling to turn it on. Be sure to set up an Emergency Address; 911 centers can’t pinpoint your location for VoIP calls. You’ll know it’s on when you swipe to see the Control Center and the word “Wi-Fi” appears next to your carrier’s name.
For more, read “How to Set Up Wi-Fi Calling on an iPhone.”
Use Your iPad to Make Phone Calls
Once you have Wi-Fi Calling turned on, you get another option—Add Wi-Fi Calling for Other Devices. That feature is exactly what it sounds like. When your iPad (or another iPhone) doesn’t have a cellular account, as long as the device is signed into your iCloud account, it can make phone calls using your main iPhone’s connection to the internet. Your carrier may throw some warnings up about it (such as an AT&T notice that this won’t work with TTY Devices).
Take a Video While Talking
To take a photo while talking on the phone, open the camera and take the pic. If you try to take a video, however, you’ll see that the video option only shows a blacked-out screen. The workaround: Stay in photo mode, but hold your finger down on the shutter button. The video will record for as long as you hold it.
New Timer for Timing
If you’ve ever tried to take a photo with the iOS camera timer, you know that 3 seconds isn’t enough to get into place. And 10 seconds means waiting forever for the shutter to go off. As of iOS 18, there’s now a 5-second timer option. It’s the perfect sweet spot.
Interface Tips & Tricks
Move Multiple Apps at Once
You can group apps together on the home screen by dragging one over another to create a folder. But what if you want to move a bunch of apps to another page on the home screen? Don’t do it one at a time: Instead, press down on one app until it goes wiggly, then use another finger to tap a bunch of apps. They’ll be grouped; you’ll see a number increment go up as they’re added. Without removing your finger, drag that stack to a new page and drop them all at once. (This takes practice.)
Change the Default Apps
Apple long favored its own apps, which meant links and emails defaulted to opening in Safari and the Mail app. Now, you can change your default mail or browser app to another option, say, Gmail or Chrome. And with iOS 18.2+, Apple lets you select a default for a wider category of apps, including calls and messages. Here’s how.
Hide a Page of Apps
Have some apps you want to hide but not delete? Put them all on a single screen. Then hold your finger on the screen to go into wiggle mode, and tap the home-screen scroll dots at the bottom. You’ll get an Edit Pages interface that lets you turn off the view of an entire page of apps. This doesn’t delete the apps, and you can still swipe down to access Spotlight search and find the apps easily. But it’s a quick way to keep certain apps from prying eyes.
Lock Any App
With iOS 18 you can lock an app so only you can access it using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Long-press on any app icon, and when the menu pops up, select Require Face ID (or whatever you’ve got active). You could also hide the app and require Face ID from the same menu for even more security. You’ll have to then go to the Hidden section of your device’s App Library, on the home screen’s farthest menu to the right—a search in Spotlight won’t show the app anymore.
The Three-Finger Symphony
Want to quickly undo a mistake in iOS? You have a few options.
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Swipe three fingers to the left;
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Single-tap three fingers on the screen;
Swiping left is an automatic undo, while a single tap of three fingers will produce a quick toolbar at the top that shows an undo curly arrow (as well as cut, copy, paste, and redo options). Shake to Undo, meanwhile, could be annoying in some circumstances, so you might want to disable that one in Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Shake to Undo.
Take the Night Shift
You shouldn’t look at your iPhone before you go to bed—that blue light doesn’t help you sleep. But we all do it, so activate Night Shift via Settings > Display & Brightness to reduce the blue wavelength of light on the screen. It will add a yellowish tint to the screen (which you can control in Settings), so videos may look a little off, but it’s fine for reading. Set it to activate at pre-scheduled times and shut off in the morning, or you can turn it on manually until the next day.
Live Wallpaper Returns
There used to be the ability to turn one of your Live Photos into a wallpaper, but Apple removed it… only to bring it back for iOS 17. To do it, find a Live Photo in the Photos app, click the Share icon at the lower left. One of the options is Use as Wallpaper. It only seems to work with new Live Photos you take after the iOS 17 upgrade; older Live Photos don’t have the option. Once you share it as a wallpaper, it’ll animate every time you unlock the phone.
Photo-Shuffle Your Wallpaper
Another option is to have a different image come up each time you unlock. Go to Settings > Wallpaper > +Add New Wallpaper > Photo Shuffle. You can specify a person or persons (iPhone narrows the search with facial recognition), pet, nature shots, or a specific place. Your wallpaper then changes with every tap or lock or every hour or day.
Customize Icons, Widgets, and More
iOS is now (almost) as customizable as Android. Here’s how to redesign the home screen to personalize your phone.
Replace the Lock Screen Flashlight/Camera Icons
When your phone is locked, you still have quick access to the flashlight and camera from the two buttons on the lock screen. But you can also swipe the lock screen left to get to the camera, so it’s a little redundant. With iOS 18, you can replace one or both of the lock-screen buttons with other functions. Unlock your phone, but don’t swipe up. Long-press on the screen and tap Customize > Lock Screen. Minus signs should then appear on each icon, allowing you to delete them. Tap the plus button that appears to see the full suite of controls you can swap in.
Networking Tips & Tricks
Share Your Wi-Fi Password Automatically
Want to share your Wi-Fi password without writing down a complicated string of numbers and letters? Make sure you and your guest both have Bluetooth turned on. Then, have them open Wi-Fi settings. If they have a modern Apple device, and they’re in your contacts list, a pop-up will appear on your screen saying Do you want to share the Wi-Fi password for [network name] with [contact name]? Tap Share Password, and that person can log in.
Find Forgotten Wi-Fi Passwords
Before iOS 16, your phone stored your Wi-Fi passwords, but it wouldn’t actually show them to you. Now it will. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and tap the info icon (the “i” in a circle) next to a network name. To find a network that’s out of range, tap Edit at the top. The Wi-Fi password on the info screen will still be blanked out—tap to reveal it. You’ll have options for iOS to copy it or say it aloud. You can also use these screens to forget Wi-Fi passwords by tapping the red minus (-) icon next to each network name.
Quick Switch a Network or Bluetooth Connection
To easily switch a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth connection, swipe down to access Control Center. The top-left section has the connection buttons for Airplane mode, Cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth grouped together. Long-press on the group, and a menu pops out showing AirDrop and Personal Hotspot buttons. Press down on Wi-Fi for a quick menu of all available networks; do the same to Bluetooth for a list of possible connections.
Siri and Search Tips & Tricks
Teach Siri Names
Siri often gets names tragically wrong. Sometimes, she recognizes the error and asks if she should learn how to pronounce a name, but other times, you have to correct her. Say “Hey, Siri, learn how to pronounce [name].” Once she confirms the name in your contacts that you want, she’ll have you pronounce it, then provide choices on-screen. Pick the one she gets right.
Change Siri’s Voice
Voice assistants have long defaulted to female voices. Siri has offered the option to switch to a male voice for a decade. To change up Siri’s voice, go into Settings > Siri > Voice. In addition to a generic American female voice, you can select an Australian, British, Indian, Irish, or South African accent with a male or female voice. Set the language so that even if it sounds Irish, the voice uses US phrases.
Find Other iOS Devices
If all your iOS devices are on the same Apple or iCloud account, it won’t be hard to find them. Say “Hey Siri, find my iPad” (for example) to the device you actually have in your possession. The missing iPad starts playing a chime, which should continue until you find the device and turn it off. You can also use the Find My app.
Just Say ‘Siri’
As of iOS 17, you no longer have to say the full “Hey Siri” as a wake word. You can just say “Siri.” (But if you hate that, you can change it in Settings > Siri > Talk to Siri, so the phone only listens for “Hey Siri.” Or turn off the wake-word option altogether. (For more, read our Tips for Using and Tweaking Siri on Your iPhone or iPad.)
Calculator Tips & Tricks
Skip the Calculator to Calculate
If you have some addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division you need to do quickly, use the search bar. On the home page or widgets page, swipe down from the middle of the screen to search, type in the operation, and you’ll get the answer. It’s flexible enough to realize that an “x” and a “*” can both be used for multiplication. It can even handle operations such as 9^2 (9 squared, which equals 81) or 9% 100 (9, which is 9% of 100). Click Go on the keyboard, and it pushes you to the Calculator app.
Swipe to Delete Calculator Entry Mistakes
The built-in iOS calculator app is pretty basic, but in landscape mode, it transforms into a scientific calculator with exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric options. Tap Clear (C) to clear your last entry, or All Clear (AC) to clear all your entries. If you put in one wrong digit, and catch yourself, simply swipe on the calculator’s display in either direction, which deletes the last number typed. Keep swiping to trash a few in a row.
With iPadOS 18, the Calculator app finally comes to Apple’s tablets; here’s what to know.
FaceTime Tips & Tricks
Read What They’re Saying
Live Captions show closed captions, generated in real-time, of what the person you’re talking to is saying. It’s not always accurate, but it can be helpful in some situations—say, when you need to chat face-to-face with the volume down. It also can take up a lot of screen real estate, so turn it off by tapping the “i” in a circle to pull up the settings for the person you’re talking to. Or turn it off permanently in Settings > Apps > FaceTime > Live Captions.
Zoom Yourself
Want to zoom in on your own face during a FaceTime call? Double-tap and your thumbnail expands to full size. (This doesn’t affect what the person on the other end sees.)
Take a FaceTime Live Pic
Tap the screen as you’re chatting: You’ll see a round white shutter button over the video. Tap it, and you’ve taken a Live Photo (the kind with minimal, Harry Potter-esque motion) of the person on the other end. That person will be told that a picture was taken, so don’t think you’re getting away with anything.
Make Eye Contact for Real
In a video call, we usually look at the person we are conversing with on the screen. That’s natural to us, but it means that you are not really making eye contact with the person—because you’re not looking at the camera. Apple created a feature called Eye Contact that subtly, digitally adjusts your eyes so they appear to be looking at the camera, and thus at the other person. It works well, but if you don’t want it, go into Settings > Apps > FaceTime > Eye Contact to deactivate it.
Trigger Things by Hand
You can make little visual effects appear on the screen in a FaceTime call by using your own hand gestures. Give a thumbs up and there’s a thumbs-up icon (same with thumbs down). Two thumbs up puts fireworks behind you on the screen. Double-down makes it rain. You can do a peace sign, make a heart, double rock-n-roll horns…. or just hold your thumbnail down so you can get a menu to see all of these options.
Leave a Message
When someone doesn’t answer on FaceTime, you can leave a message for them right in the app, as a video. Just tap Record Video when there’s no answer, record what you want to say, click Stop, then Play if you want to review it before you hit Send. People can save the video you send them to their Camera Roll, so don’t say anything incriminating.
Take Control of Their Screen for Remote Help
This will change how you help friends and family with iOS issues completely. You can take over their phone when you FaceTime—as long as both systems are running iOS 18 and above.
While you’re on the call, tap the Share button and select Ask to Share. Tell the person on the other end to tap the Share button on on their screen. You’ll then get a blurred version of their screen (the call). If you tap the window for their screen and they go to the home screen, you’ll be able to see their complete phone display. You can then draw things so they can see them and follow along with what you’re saying. It’s not really full remote access; the drawings will fade out.
Sound too limited? Tap the Control icon in the bottom right (or top right on an iPad)—it looks like a finger touching a button. Tell the other end to click “Allow” in the box that comes up. Then you get actual control of the phone (along with the phone’s owner). This only works iPhone to iPhone or iPad to iPad. Tap Control again to stop controlling.
Contacts and Calendar Tips & Tricks
Make Custom Ringtones for Each Contact
Want to know who’s calling without looking at the screen? Assign a custom ringtone sound to your most frequent callers. Enter their contact entry, click Edit at the top, and scroll down to Ringtone. You’ll get the full list of available ringtones on your iPhone. Click Classic at the bottom for the list of original ringtones that came with the first iPhones. (If you don’t see one you like, tap Tone Store to enter the iTunes Store app and buy a tone; they’re around $1.29 each.) While you’re editing that contact, you can set a custom Text Tone in the same way.
Customize Good Vibrations
If your phone is on vibrate, a custom ringtone won’t help you ID a caller or texter. Assign frequent contacts their own individual vibration pattern. On the contact, tap Ringtone again, then tap Haptics. It is likely set to default. You’ll see a few options, including “Alert,” “Heartbeat,” and “Symphony.” Make your own by clicking Create New Vibration. On the next screen, tap a pattern. (I use “shave and a haircut, two bits” for my family.) Click Stop, then Save, and give your new vibration a name. Go back to the Ringtone screen, and click Done to finish.
Create SOS Contacts
Make sure your most important people are in your contacts. Then go to the Health app and tap your icon on the top right. Tap Medical ID > Emergency Contacts > Edit to designate one or more as emergency SOS person(s) if you have an issue. (SOS also contacts emergency services.) A red asterisk now appears next to them in your Contacts list.
To send an SOS, hold down the power button on the right and one of the volume buttons on the left at the same time. You can either use the Emergency SOS slider, or keep holding the buttons—a countdown will start, an alert will sound, and when the call goes through to 911, messages are sent to your emergency contacts. This is even more powerful in the latest iPhones, which have Emergency SOS via satellite.
Use Search to Make a Quick Calendar Entry
The spotlight search on iOS is accessed by swiping down from the top of your screen. But if you want to make a quick calendar entry, just start typing (or press the microphone button to talk) and include dates, times, and a description. iOS will figure it out and put an entry on screen with a giant Add button next to it to throw it on your default calendar.
Tap to Share Contacts and Cash
With NameDrop, you can bring your iPhone (or Apple Watch) next to someone else’s to quickly share your email and phone number. Turn it on (or off) in Settings > General > AirDrop > Bringing Devices Together.
New in iOS 18: You can do the same thing to swap Apple Cash. Don’t worry, both users have to allow it via Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode for payment to go through.
Camera and Photo Tips & Tricks
Use Volume Buttons as Shutter Buttons
When you’re in the camera app, the volume buttons can be used as a shutter. Press and release either volume button to take a snapshot. If you hold either volume button down, it’ll take a video until you release it. You’ll hear the “shutter” sound unless you have your volume turned down. (If you have wired earbuds connected to your iPhone, the volume buttons on the wire do the same thing.)
Snap Photos While You Shoot Video
As you’re shooting video, look for the white circle shutter button on the screen. Any time you tap that as you shoot, it snaps a still image. You’ll see all of them in your camera roll. They’ll be video-resolution quality, though, not the multi-megapixels you’re typically shooting with the still-camera option on the phone.
Visual Look Up
Want to identify plants, animals, food, symbols/signs, or landmarks in a photo? With Visual Look Up, open an image in the Photos app and see if the information icon has stars next to. That signifies that Visual Look Up works on that pic; tap it for more information. (Some people have reported that it doesn’t work for them; Redditors have some solutions.)
Hidden QR Code Scanner
The Camera app includes a QR scanner. But for faster access, Apple also offers a hidden, standalone QR code scanner app. As our sister site Lifehacker writes, swipe down from the middle of the screen to bring up the Spotlight search box, type CodeScanner, and an app appears. Tap it, and snap a photo of any QR code.
Lock Camera Focus
In the Camera app, the iPhone refocuses instantaneously as you or your subject moves. If you don’t want that, hold a finger on the screen over the area you want in focus—you’ll know it worked when it says AF Lock at the top.
Adjust Focus After the Shot
There are many lenses on iPhones, so you can take cool portrait-mode photos with blurred-out backgrounds (the bokeh effect). Modern iPhones also offer this with videos when you shoot in Cinematic Mode. The latest iOS knows that sometimes you blow the shot and focus on the wrong thing anyway. So now you can go into the Photos app and reset the focus after the shot is done. You can change the f-stop for each photo to increase or decrease the blur as desired. In a video, click edit, and you’ll get a timeline showing the places where the focus shifted via yellow dots. You an delete them all and set up a new spot in the shot that should be tracked for focus. TyTeachesTech on TikTok has an excellent short tutorial.
Mirror Selfies
Look at yourself in the front camera of your iPhone. You are seeing a mirror image, which is what humans are used to when they see their reflections. When you take a pic or video, the image gets flipped, as it would appear when the photographer was behind a camera. You usually want that. If not, go into Settings > Camera and turn on Mirror Front Camera.
Copy Your Photo Edits to Paste
When you create a beautiful new image using just the in-phone Camera app, you can easily recreate the effect on other images. After you do your edit, hit the ellipsis menu (…) > Copy Edits. Move on to the next image, and in the same menu, look for Paste Edits. Or go to the full camera roll, touch Select, tap multiple pics, then use the menu button to select Paste Edits and change them all as a batch.
Burst Changes
Initially, you would hold your finger down on the white shutter button for burst mode, which takes several pictures in less than a second. But hat changed in iOS 14. Now, holding down your finger on the button shoots a video until you release it. (You can drag right to keep shooting the video without using your finger).
You can still access burst mode, which is a great way to get still images of subjects in action. The trick: Hold the shutter button and drag it left. It’ll keep shooting as long as you hold it. Alternatively, in Settings > Camera > Use Volume Up for Burst, you can make the Volume Up button a default way to get a burst of shots.
Strip Data From Photos Before You Share
When you’re sharing images directly from the Photos app to a person or service, the shots take with them all the information collected at the time of capture, including location data. You may not want to share that. Instead, view a photo and click the Share Button, but before you share it, click Options at the top. Turn off All Photos Data. That removes everything, including the edit history, crops, filters, and Live Photo effects you may have applied.
Keep It On the Level
Photo level shows up as a horizontal, yellow line. The idea is show you if your phone is tipping down too far on either side, whether in portrait or landscape orientation. Tilt far enough and the level line disappears, as the gyroscope inside assumes you meant to go full Dutch-angle. Turn it on under Settings > Camera if you can’t see it.
Crop It Quick
Your iPhone now has a quick-crop tool. Just open an image and do the two-finger zoom in portrait or landscape mode. A Crop button appears at the upper right. Tap it and the image is instantly whittled down to what you see on the screen. (You can always go back in to Edit the image and restore it.)
Pause Video Recording for On-the-Fly Edits
This tip harkens back to the days of videotape when you could pause and un-pause while recording. Now you can do that on an iPhone. Instead of tapping the red button, which stops the recording, tap the pause button to the left (or bottom, depending on how you’re holding the phone). Tap it again to resume. It’s like 1995 all over again.
Tips & Tricks in Notes
Scan Multiple Pages Into a PDF
Hold your finger down on the Notes app icon to bring up an instant menu of things to do: You can add a new note or a new checklist, as well as Scan Documents. The latter is a powerful tool, giving you a way to take a picture of all the pages in a physical document and stitch them together into one PDF. You can then view it page by page in the app and share it with others.
Draw a Note
Sometimes you just want to write a note—or sketch it. You can get fancy apps for that, but the Notes app can handle it too. In any note, new or old, click the pen-nib icon for a menu of writing implements at the bottom—a marker, highlighter, or pencil—along with an eraser and a lasso to grab entire areas of the drawing. Hold a finger down on the tool to select different line-thickness options. Tap the color wheel to change the color and opacity of your virtual link or lead. (Apple’s Freeform app is also great for drawing.)
Password-Protect a Note
Got some Notes you want to keep from prying eyes? Go to Settings > Apps > Notes > Password. Choose to lock down notes using your device password or a custom code. You can also turn on Touch ID or Face ID (depending on your iPhone model) to require either method to open notes, but you’ll still have to enter a password. This doesn’t instantly put a password on your Notes app, though: Within the app, swipe left and tap the lock to protect a specific note.
Tips & Tricks for Messages
Name a Group
Group messaging is a hallmark of any good message service, but these chats can get unwieldy. Keep them organized by naming them. You can also assign an overarching emoji or Memoji to the group for easy access. Click “[X] people” under the icon, then click Change Name and Photo to provide a Group Name. You’ll also see a section of avatar options. If you don’t like those, pick one anyway, and on the next screen, replace it with any emoji. (This also works with a non-iOS user is in the group, such as someone with an Android phone or a dumb phone.)
Draw Your Message
Sometimes you want to send a hand-drawn picture to a friend. You don’t have to sketch on paper and take a photo. In a Messages thread, just turn your phone to landscape orientation; the keyboard displays an icon that looks like a hand-drawn loop. Click it for a blank canvas on which you can draw (only in black). Anything you send will also be listed at the bottom to use again later. Hold a finger down on a pre-written note to delete it.
Thread Messages in Group Chat
Sometimes group messages get out of hand, with everyone talking about different things. Instead, thread your replies. Swipe the message to the right (or hold a finger on a particular message and tap Reply), then everything else gets grayed out while you type. Once sent, a mini thread appears. Keep in mind that it’s not private—anyone in the group can see the threaded reply and also chime in.
Add Almost Anything to Messages
To add things to messages, from images to memes, tap the plus sign in a circle next to the messages box for quick access to your Photos, Stickers, Apple Cash, and more. (Long-pressing also brings up your photos right away.) Go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Message Apps to turn off any app you don’t want to see on the list.
You can send almost anything as a Sticker reaction. Lots of apps are offering stickers, from Wikipedia to PBS Kids to Papa Johns. But most important is that ANY emoji can be a sticker, and you can make your own from your photos. To do that, start from the Photos app and hold a finger on a part of an image you want to sticker-ify; or in the Stickers section while in Messages, click the Plus icon to go into the Photos. Each sticker you make from a photo can have its own special effect, like looking puffy or turning into comic book art.
Talk, Pause, Talk Some More
Sending audio to someone via Messages is like doing a direct voicemail without the phone, and it got an upgrade in iOS 17. To record audio you tap the + icon and select Audio. Start talking, and push on the red square to stop. But that’s more like a pause now; you can click on the + next to the time stamp to start the recording again. Stop and start again as much as you like. You can play it back to yourself before sending, and drag your finger across the waveform to scrub back and forth to hear different parts of your outgoing message.
Send Check-In Alerts
When you’re traveling somewhere and want to keep someone else abreast of your whereabouts, you can select Check In from the list under Messages (via that + menu). When you first use Check In, you have to configure if you want the recipient to see Limited or Full location data and details. For example, it will send info about your phone’s battery and network signal strength, or even if you took off your Apple Watch. Change the details of what you share later in Settings > Apps > Messages > Check In Data.
Schedule Your Messages
New in iOS 18: Like your email, you can now write a message and send it later, as long as you’re both on iOS. After it’s typed out, select a date and time for it to go. Now your all-important missive composed at 2 a.m. can reach its destination safely at 9 a.m.
Security Tips & Tricks
Check Your Password Security
Apple’s iOS 18 added Passwords, a standalone password-management app that also supports , , and . It can alert you if any passwords are compromised in a breach. In the app, tap the Security section, which will list any saved passwords that Apple recommends you change.
Hide Your Precise Location
Precise Location is a system-level setting that rolled out in 2020 with iOS 14. It’s useful for certain apps, like telling an Uber where to pick you up or getting directions on Google Maps. But some apps don’t need to be keeping such close tabs on you. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services to see the settings for every app. If any unnecessary apps have Precise Location turned on, you can toggle it off.
Turn Off Ratings Nags
Do any of your apps constantly ask you to rate them? They need good reviews to earn better ranks in the App Store, but it can become annoying. Go to Settings > Apps > App Store and turn off In-App Ratings & Reviews. You can always go back in and rate any app you like or hate by searching for it in the App Store.
Set Face ID to Work With a Mask
Face ID scans your eyes, nose, and mouth. But you may still be masking. Apple introduced the option to still use facial authentication even when your mouth and nose are covered—the scan sticks to your eyes only. It’s not as secure, but it works (on the iPhone 12 and later). Head to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Face ID with a Mask to set it up.
Delete One-Time Security Codes
We live in a world full of MFA codes, and for those codes coming in via Messages, iOS has long had a nice feature where it will auto-detect an incoming message with a code and offer it at the top of the keyboard for easy input. The downside to that is having a bunch of message detritus filled with one-time codes that you have to manually delete. Fix that via Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords and toggle on Delete After Use. Now, iOS will delete the message after you input the code. They’ll still be in your Recently Deleted folder for a while.
Private Browsing Gets Face ID
You don’t have to do anything to have this work other than have Face ID turned on. In Safari, if you open up a bunch of websites under the Private entry at the bottom, you can now swipe left to go back to normal browsing without worrying that someone could pick up your phone and swipe right again to see your secret surfing. All your open Private tabs stay locked until you show your face.
Stop Getting Nudes
If unsolicited d*** pics and other nudity are a problem on your phone (getting them sent to you at all could be an issue), go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Sensitive Content Warning. If you turn it on, the operating system will try to detect photos and videos with too much skin and blur the naughty bits. It’ll specifically look at images sent to you via Messages, FaceTime Video Messages, or AirDrop.
Hide Embarrassing Apps
New in iOS 18: For a while now, there has been an option in the Photos app to put images you don’t want casual phone-grabbers to see into a hidden folder. The folder is then protected by your biometric security (Face ID or Touch ID) or a passcode. Now, you can do the same with apps. You won’t get calls or notifications from the app if you hide it. But it also won’t show up in search if someone looks for it. Here’s how to do it.
Maps Tips & Tricks
Download Maps for Offline Use
Sometimes you may have to drive or walk somewhere that has no clear signal, but you still need GPS to get around. Apple Maps now offers the option to download maps ahead of time so you don’t have to panic. Open Maps and click your name, then go to Offline Maps > Add. Select some section of a city or state in the adjustable box, and it’ll grab the map to store on the phone. Use the toggles at the bottom to get Automatic Updates (so you don’t have to download that same map again on the next trip) or Optimize Storage by auto-removing any map data you don’t access for a while (it can take up a lot of space). You can even set it to Only Use Offline Maps when you know the internet will be iffy. (For more, read 18 Reasons to Use Apple Maps.)
Accessibility Tips & Tricks
Unlock via Voice
This one works only when you have a 5-digit-or-fewer passcode on your phone, but it’s a great option on an older iPhone you access frequently. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control. Turn it on, tap Customize Commands > Custom > Create New Command… and type in a phrase you want to say: “Saddlesoap,” for instance. Click Action to pick Run Custom Gesture. Tap or swipe a gesture that would hit your passcode. (This requires you to know approximately where the number pad keys would appear.) Tap Stop, and Save at the top a couple times. Next time you’re out, tap the screen, look for the icon of a microphone in a blue circle at the top—that means the iPhone is listening—and say “Saddlesoap.” Watch your phone unlock itself for you.
Turn Voice Off (or On) via Voice
When you want to stop using Voice Control, say, “Hey, Siri, turn off Voice Control.” You can turn it on the same way. When it’s on, say “Show me what to say” to get a list of commands for your iPhone, such as “go to sleep,” “wake up,” “lock screen,” or “show grid continuously.” That last one puts an overlay grid on your screen, with numbered boxes. Say the name of the box, and it can zoom in or “push” an icon or button for you.
Flashy Alerts
Alert noise isn’t always enough: You can set your iPhone’s LED light to flash when certain messages come in. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > LED Flash for Alerts.
Change Appearance in Select Apps
For larger text in a particular app, go to Settings > Accessibility > Per-App Settings > Add App. Pick an app, and then tap it to adjust the display and text size, increase the contrast, invert the colors, and other options.
Mouse Around the iPhone
Did you know you can connect a Bluetooth mouse to your iPhone and use it to mimic your fingers? Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch, and turn it on. Then scroll down to Devices > Bluetooth Devices. Turn on your Bluetooth pointing device, and pair it. Customize the mouse clicks to reflect how you use your fingers.
Back Tap to Success
Back Tap lets you double- or triple-tap on the back of your phone to complete certain actions. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap to turn it on. Then pick a system action to perform for each, including muting the phone, taking a screenshot, activating Siri, locking the screen, activating other Accessibility options, and activating shortcuts.
Tips & Tricks for the Shortcuts App
I’m Getting Pulled Over
This mashup of Siri, Accessibility, and Shortcuts is perfect for anyone who wants an instant record of a potentially problematic interaction, such as getting pulled over. Once installed, “I’m getting pulled over”—created by Robert Petersen—will let you say “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over,” which will:
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Text your location to pre-selected contacts
You can also tap it in the Shortcuts apps. Here’s a full rundown on how to set it up.
Say Cheese via Siri
This is a Shortcut you can download. When you say, “Hey, Siri, say cheese” the Shortcut activates to take a hands-free photo for you. Set it up to default to the front or back camera, and tell it where to save the image in your Photos app. Click on the entry for it in Shortcuts to make sure you give it access to your camera. The iPhone has to be unlocked for it to work.
Make a Speed-Dial Button
This is a good one to set up for your non-techie relatives who have some issues with these new-fangled iPhones. In the Shortcuts app, view All Shortcuts, and click the plus sign (+) at the upper right. Click Add Action. In the Call section, click the + in the blue circle, then click Call (again). On the next screen, click Contact to add your favorite person. Select two or more people if you’ll want to call multiple people at once. Rename it at the top. Click Done. On the main All Shortcuts screen, find and long-press the ellipsis menu (…) > Details > Add to Home Screen.
More Shortcuts Options