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iOS 14

iOS 18 Tips, Tricks, How-Tos, News

How To: Get Back the 'Favorites' Phone Widget on Your iPhone's Home Screen or Today View in iOS 14

There are plenty of reasons to upgrade to iOS 14, home screen widgets chief among them. With that in mind, it's ironic that Apple placed so much emphasis on "widgets" this year when the new update removes a fan-favorite widget of the past — the "Favorites" Phone widget, which was accessible via the Today View or quick actions on the home screen. Here's how to get it back.

How To: Make Perfect Shapes in Notes, Drawings & Annotations with iOS 14's New Shape Recognition Tool

There's a set of drawing tools that have been available for a long time on the iPhone that helps you create handwritten notes and sketches. It's great when you need a free-form way to capture your ideas, and now it's even better. Apple added shape recognition in iOS 14 so that you can now draw geometrically perfect shapes using finger doodles, giving the older shapes tool a run for its money.

How To: Create Your Own Home Screen Widgets in iOS 14 for an Even More Customized iPhone

Possibly the most popular feature in iOS 14, home screen widgets are here to stay. Apple created a ton for its own apps, and third-party developers keep building ones for their own apps. But home screen widgets go beyond that since you can make a widget for practically anything you want, from a custom news feed to an inspirational picture of the day — and this is how you do it.

How To: Stop Getting Notifications When Tagged in iMessage Threads in iOS 14

One of iOS 14's more exciting features lets you tag someone in a group iMessage chat in the same way you would @ someone on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Even if the conversation is muted, you can get notified when you're mentioned, which helps you jump in only when needed. But if you want complete silence, then disable contact tagging notifications altogether.

How To: Hide Any App from Your iPhone's Home Screen in iOS 14

It's not hard to let your iPhone's home screen get cluttered. Apps pile up one after another, and while you don't use every app every single day, you can't quite seem to part ways with even those one-use apps you've collected over the years. But you can apply the KonMari method to your home screen, getting rid of apps you don't love — without actually trashing any of them.

How To: Use Custom App Icon Images to Modify Your iPhone's Home Screen Look

One of Apple's key features for iOS was always its "what you see is what you get" philosophy. Sure, there were small tweaks and complicated workarounds to customize an iPhone, but, for the most part, all iPhones felt similar. These days, however, changing up your iPhone's look is much easier. In just a few steps, you can change one of the most visual parts about iOS — home screen app icons.

How To: Disable FaceTime's Creepy Eye Contact Feature in iOS 14 So You Don't Look Like You're Staring Awkwardly

It's incredible what technology can do these days, but sometimes, it gets a little scary. For instance, FaceTime's "Eye Contact" feature, which Apple beta-tested in iOS 13 but released with iOS 14, makes it appear like you're looking right at the camera, even when you're actually looking at your friend on the screen. If you find this artificial trick a bit creepy, rest assured you can turn it off at any time.

How To: iOS 14 Monitors Your Passwords to Protect You Against Data Breaches — Here's How It Works

Everything lives online these days, so it's not uncommon to have hundreds of credentials for different accounts on apps and websites. That's why a password manager is a must, and your iPhone has one built right into iOS that you can start using today. In iOS 14, it's gotten even more useful since it can now monitor your passwords regularly to see if any match leaked password lists online.

How To: Bring Back the Scroll Wheel in iOS 14 to Pick Dates & Times Like You Could Before

Before iOS 14, the date and time picker on the iPhone had been a scroll wheel for a very long time. Whether you loved or hated it, it was like second nature to use it. Now, you need to use a calendar and your keyboard to input dates and times. If you got so used to the old way and find the new method jarring, there's a trick to getting the scrolling date and time selector back.

How To: Make iOS 14 Show Newly Downloaded Apps on Your Home Screen Like It Did Before

If you're asking yourself where your newly installed iPhone apps are, you aren't alone. Upgrading to iOS 14 offers many beneficial features, but it also can stop new apps from appearing on your home screen. Sure, they're always in the App Library, but that shouldn't prevent you from accessing your favorite apps the old-fashioned way. The good news is that you can make iOS set things back to normal.

How To: Remove the 'Browse' & 'Listen Now' Tabs for Apple Music on Your iPhone to Keep the Focus on Your Library

The Music app for iPhone underwent a significant update back in iOS 8.4 when the Apple Music subscription service was incorporated into the user interface. It then had another transformation in iOS 10 that improved the UI for everyone. But things can still feel a little cluttered in Music, even in iOS 14, especially if you don't or never will subscribe to Apple Music.

How To: iOS 14's New Security Alerts Rat Out Apps for Privacy Invasions on Your iPhone & It'll Only Get Better

In the tech world, our data is always under attack. When you download and install a new app, it can be difficult to know what information the app is actually accessing. Thankfully, a new emphasis on privacy in iOS 14 changes the game, exposing more of what your apps want access to — and even changing some behavior along the way.

News: Apple's First iOS 14.2 Beta for iPhone Developers Adds New Control Center Tile for Shazam Music Recognition

Apple released the first beta for iOS 14.2 to iPhone developers on Thursday, Sept. 17. A significant new feature that iOS 14.2 brings to the table is a new Control Center tile for Shazam music recognition. A simple tap of the tile will launch the operating system's built-in Shazam capabilities, scanning for music playing in the immediate area.

How To: Stop Your Default Apps from Switching Back to Apple's After Your iPhone Reboots in iOS 14

As cool as iOS 14 is, it isn't without bugs. One of those bugs in iOS 14.0 just happens to affect one of its coolest features — choosing default browser and mail apps. When you reboot your iPhone, iOS will reset your default apps back to Apple's defaults, Safari and Mail. Not ideal. However, there is a fix that will stop you from having to choose default apps over and over again manually.

How To: Change Your Default Browser in iOS 14 from Safari to Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Another App

For the longest time, we were simply stuck with Safari on the iPhone. Sure, you could install a third-party browser, but Safari was always the default, so tapping on links would always open Apple's app. Times have changed, however, and now you can set third-party browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge as your iPhone's default choice.