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iPhone tips

Every live iPhone tip in the archive, newest first. Menu names are for iOS 18 and iOS 26. Tips that also work on Android are included when the iPhone steps are part of the same trick.

27 live tips · newest

iPhone cheat sheet

  1. iPhoneHold the spacebar to move your cursor preciselyStop poking at the middle of a word. Your phone keyboard has a hidden trackpad.Easy · 1 min
  2. ProductivityBundle non-urgent notifications into a summarySettings > Notifications > Scheduled Summary. Pick the times and the apps.Easy · 2 min
  3. ProductivityTurn on a Focus and allow the people who can still interruptSettings > Focus. A Focus silences notifications except the people and apps you name.Easy · 3 min
  4. ProductivitySet a Downtime schedule in Screen TimeOnly the apps you mark as Allowed stay available. Phone calls still work.Easy · 3 min
  5. Privacy & SecurityKnow where Lockdown Mode is, and what it breaksSettings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode. It is for people who believe they may be personally targeted.Moderate · 3 min
  6. Privacy & SecurityUse Safety Check to review what you are sharingSettings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check. Emergency Reset is the fast path. Manage Sharing is the careful one.Moderate · 5 min
  7. Privacy & SecurityLock an app behind Face ID, or hide itTouch and hold the icon, tap Require Face ID, then Lock or Hide.Easy · 1 min
  8. Privacy & SecurityTurn on the privacy report and read it tomorrowIt records which apps used the camera, microphone, location, and which domains they contacted.Easy · 1 min
  9. Privacy & SecurityStop apps from asking to track youSettings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track.Easy · 1 min
  10. Privacy & SecurityTurn off Precise Location for apps that do not need your doorstepSettings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, then the app. Precise Location is its own switch.Easy · 2 min
  11. Privacy & SecurityMake a throwaway address that forwards to youHide My Email is under your name, then iCloud. You can delete the address later.Easy · 2 min
  12. Privacy & SecuritySet AirDrop to Contacts OnlySettings > General > AirDrop. Everyone for 10 Minutes is the setting for a one-off transfer.Easy · 1 min
  13. Wi-Fi & Home techMake an iPhone hotspot visible to an older laptopTurn on Maximize Compatibility under Personal Hotspot. It uses 2.4 GHz, which older devices can see.Easy · 1 min
  14. Wi-Fi & Home techStop a weak Wi-Fi network from switching you to cellularWi-Fi Assist is under Cellular, or Mobile Service. Turn it off when a bad network keeps spending your data.Easy · 1 min
  15. Wi-Fi & Home techForget a Wi-Fi network that keeps failing to connectSettings > Wi-Fi, tap the i, then Forget This Network. Join it again and retype the password.Easy · 2 min
  16. iPhoneSend unknown callers straight to voicemailSettings > Apps > Phone > Unknown Callers. Saved contacts still ring.Easy · 1 min
  17. iPhoneType to Siri instead of saying the command out loudTurn on Type to Siri. The side button then gives you a text field.Easy · 1 min
  18. ProductivityScan a paper into Notes instead of photographing it crookedIn a note, use the camera or attachment button and choose Scan Documents.Easy · 2 min
  19. Privacy & SecurityShorten Auto-Lock so the screen does not stay onSettings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock. Thirty seconds is the impatient setting.Easy · 1 min
  20. iPhoneSchedule Night Shift so the screen warms up at sunsetSettings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift. Set it to sunset to sunrise.Easy · 1 min
  21. iPhoneTurn on Low Power Mode before the phone diesSettings > Battery > Low Power Mode, or ask Siri. The icon turns yellow.Easy · 1 min
  22. iPhoneShow the battery percentage in the status barSettings > Battery > Battery Percentage. The number replaces the guesswork.Easy · 1 min
  23. iPhoneTurn on the camera level so horizons stay straightSettings > Camera > Composition > Level. A line appears, then turns yellow when you are level.Easy · 1 min
  24. iPhonePull the top of the iPhone screen downReachability drops the whole screen halfway so a thumb can hit the top row.Easy · 1 min
  25. iPhoneShrink the iPhone keyboard to one sideSettings > General > Keyboard > One-Handed Keyboard. Or long-press the globe key.Easy · 1 min
  26. iPhoneDouble-tap the back of your iPhone to run a shortcutThe back of the phone is a button. It does nothing until you assign it.Easy · 1 min
  27. ProductivitySave a text shortcut for the words you type every dayType a short code and the phone expands it. Email addresses are the usual win.Easy · 2 min

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