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Squinting at one app? Your iPhone can make the text bigger in just that one

How to make text bigger on iPhone

For every app: Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size, then drag the slider. For one app only: add the Text Size control to Control Center, open the app, swipe down from the top-right corner, tap Text Size, switch the toggle at the bottom from All Apps to the app's name, and drag up.

How to do it

  1. To change every app: open Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size and drag the slider.

  2. For one app only, add the control first: swipe down from the top-right corner, tap +, then Add a Control, and pick Text Size.

  3. Open the app you want bigger, swipe down to open Control Center and tap Text Size (the aA tile).

  4. Switch the toggle at the bottom from All Apps to the app's name, then drag the slider up. Only that app changes.

My mum kept asking me to read her emails out to her, but she hated how giant her home screen got when I turned the text up for everything. I set Mail bigger on its own and left the rest. She hasn't asked since.

The setting sticks to the app, not to the moment. Close Mail, open it next week, and the text is still the size you picked.

If an app doesn't change, it's the app, not you. Safari pages have their own zoom under the aA button, which also remembers each website.

Other ways to do it

  • Zoom (Accessibility) Built in

    Pick it if you need to magnify anything on screen, including pictures and apps that ignore text size.

    Stick with this tip if it's only the text that's too small, and you don't want to double-tap with three fingers every time.

  • Bold Text Built in

    Pick it if the size is fine but thin letters are hard to make out. It's under Display & Brightness.

    Stick with this tip if the letters really are too small, not just too thin.

Questions people ask

How do I add Text Size to Control Center?

Swipe down from the top-right corner, tap the + in the top-left, then Add a Control, and search for Text Size. On iOS 17 and older it's Settings > Control Center, then the green + next to Text Size.

The slider doesn't go big enough.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Larger Text and turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes. The slider gets five more steps.

Some apps don't change at all. Why?

The app has to support Apple's text sizes. Mail, Messages, Notes, Settings and most big apps do. Some games and older apps ignore it, and websites in Safari have their own zoom under the aA button in the address bar.

Can I set it in Settings instead of Control Center?

Yes. Settings > Accessibility > Per-App Settings, tap Add App, pick the app, then tap it and choose Larger Text.

How do I put one app back to normal?

Open that app, open the Text Size control again and drag back to the middle, or remove the app under Accessibility > Per-App Settings.

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