How To: Search All the Content Spotlight Can't in Your Non-Apple Apps

Search All the Content Spotlight Can't in Your Non-Apple Apps

Spotlight is awesome for finding items in the stock Apple apps, but what if you want to search through the rest of the apps on your iPhone?

Let's say you want to check out all of the latest ALS Ice Bucket Challenges, but you don't want to go through each one of your apps (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to do it individually. Also, you don't want to search through Google, because well, they give you results you probably don't care to see.

To search through the apps on your iPhone, try using In-App Search by developer Steve Taylor, which allows for the use of search terms to look through the actual apps on an iPhone, aggregating results in a Google-type search page.

Update: In-App Search has been shut down by the developer.

With no login required, open In-App and begin searching by typing into the search bar. As you type, the app will provide search predictions. When you enter a search term, In-App will assemble popular profiles, hashtags, posts, videos, and more in a Google-esque search results page.

Tap on a link and you'll be taken to the specific post in whichever associated app you have on your device.

Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, and more currently work with In-App as part of the 33 currently supported iPhone apps (and 24 iPad apps). If you're favorite app isn't available, don't worry, more are being indexed everyday.

Personally, I love having a one-stop-shop for searching all my apps. For stock apps, there's Spotlight. For everything else, there's In-App. Let us know your thought in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Just updated your iPhone to iOS 18? You'll find a ton of hot new features for some of your most-used Apple apps. Dive in and see for yourself:

Be the First to Comment

Share Your Thoughts

  • Hot
  • Latest