iOS & iPhone Features
How To: Enable Downtime on Your iPhone to Help Stay Distraction-Free
Excessive cell phone use was issue that Apple decided to tackle with iOS 12. Starting with the iPhone's 2018 update, a new "Screen Time" feature give you the ability to set App Limits to encourage more balanced usage, and there's another setting that gives you control over when certain apps can be accessed.
News: 8 Games You Can Play Right from Your iPhone's Today View on the Lock Screen
Over the years, mobile gaming has become a phenomenon, rivaling in magnitude with its console and PC-based counterparts. We even have mobile versions of Fortnite and PUBG now, games that require lots of processing power to run. But when you just want a quick game to play in the grocery line or even on the toilet, try these simple, quick games that you can play right on your lock screen.
How To: 7 Screenshot Secrets for iPhone You Need to Start Using When Capturing Your Screen
The screenshot tool on your iPhone can come in handy in various ways, but it may be even more helpful than you realize. So if you thought you knew everything there was to know about your iPhone's screenshot tool, it's time to put your knowledge to the test.
How To: 15 iPhone Tips for Busy Users to Maximize Your Productivity
When they first appeared, smartphones came with a promise to make our lives easier and make us more productive so we could have more free time and energy. But now, the average user spends almost 5 ½ hours daily on their smartphone. If that sounds like you, there are ways to use your iPhone more efficiently — without getting sucked into distractions.
How To: Find Stored Usernames, Emails, & Passwords on Safari
Every time you log in to a website in Safari on iOS, you're also asked if you would like to save the username and password—a great feature of just about all browsers that makes it so that don't have to enter your credentials each time you access website in the future. While this feature is great for quickly getting into all your favorite websites, have you ever wondered where all those passwords are saved on your device? In this guide, I'll be showing you where to find all of the stored usern...
How To: Beef Up Your iPhone's Passcode Security with a Blank Keypad on Your iOS 7 Lock Screen
Are you tired of your snoopy coworkers and friends lingering over your shoulder as you type in your security passcode? Unless you have the newer iPhone 5S with Touch ID that scans your fingerprint, you've only got a couple of security options—either a 4-digit numeric passcode or a cumbersome password.
How To: Completely Close Out Running Applications on Your iPhone
If you're anything like me, you'd like the ability to fully exit your iPhone apps to help free up memory, improve battery life, stop background processes, and fix unresponsive apps. The thing is, you can, with the help of the app switcher. Force-closing apps also helps keep your app switch clean and organized.
How To: The Easier Way to Capitalize Words with Your iPhone's Keyboard
An uncapitalized proper noun in a message or email is a serious no-go for those skilled in the art of grammar. But trying to make a lowercase letter uppercase (and vice versa) is not a fun task if you're using an iPhone. You've got to point the cursor is just the right spot to change a letter, and that's a skilled art in and of itself.
How To: Use This Shortcut to Turn Any Photo into a Notch-Hiding Wallpaper on Your iPhone
While the notch on Apple's newer iPhones started a wave of notches across the smartphone market, there are still plenty of users who don't like screen-obstructing zone up top, and you may be one of them. While it may soon disappear in future iPhone models, or at least get smaller, there are things you can do to hide the big notch you have right now.
How To: Use Touch ID to Log into Apps & Websites More Easily on Your iPhone
Apple introduced Touch ID on the iPhone 5S back in 2013, which let you unlock the device with your fingerprint. While it was an impressive feature, it could only do that one thing—unlock the device.
How To: Your iPhone's Messages App Has 22 New Must-Try Features — And You Probably Didn't Know About Half of Them
Your iPhone's Messages app has some impressive new features and changes with iOS 17, and you've probably already noticed some of them just by using the updated app. But there are less apparent features, even hidden ones, that have likely eluded you that you're going to want to know about. There are even some new Messages features yet to be officially released.
How To: Turn a Viral TikTok Sound Bite or Song into Your iPhone's Next Ringtone
There seems to be no end to all the viral TikTok sound bites and trending TikTok songs, and there's a good reason why they are ingrained in the fabric of our pop culture. TikTok's short audio clips can evoke laughter, tears, and a wide range of other emotions, and many of them just happen to be the perfect length to add to your iPhone's or iPad's arsenal of ringtones.
How To: Your Photo Texts Might Be Giving Away Your Location (Here's How to Prevent It on iPhones)
Location Services, a native feature on iPhones since iOS 6, is used to pinpoint your approximate location using a combination of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cell tower information. Apple uses this on their smartphones for many useful reasons: so that you can tag locations in Instagram, get better directions in Maps, and check for matches based on your location in Tinder.
How To: Hide the Status Bar on Your iPhone with This Cool & Simple Glitch
Apple's iOS might be user-friendly, but it's a bit restrictive when it comes to personalization, so you can really only change the look of the home screen by either jailbreaking or exploiting glitches. While there isn't a jailbreak for the current version of iOS, there is a glitch which helps a little bit.
Safe Mode Explained: How to Troubleshoot Problematic Jailbreak Tweaks on Your iPhone
Installing tweaks or themes onto your jailbroken iOS device is a pretty fun and exciting experience, but if you do it for long enough, you're bound to come across a bug that will cause your operating system to crash.
How To: HD & 4K iPhone Videos Play Back in Low Res? Do This to Watch Them in Their Full Original Quality
One of iCloud Photo's biggest perks is its ability to store large video files taken with your iPhone, so you can fill up your iPhone's storage with other items. That said, when you play back those videos, you may not be watching the footage in its original quality. Instead, they may be low-res versions. To view the high-quality originals — or to make sure that's what you see — just follow this trick.
How To: Take Back iMessages You Already Sent So Your Recipients Never See Them
You can quickly correct a mistake in an iMessage you send, but the recipient will still see whatever you originally wrote since there's a history of edits. When you don't want the other person in the conversation to know what you originally sent, there's a better thing you can do.
How To: These Hidden Gestures Can Instantly Undelete Emails for You on Your iPhone or iPad
It's easy to start panicking when you delete an important email, but it's even easier to undo the mistake on your iPhone or iPad. You can retrieve an accidentally deleted email instantly on iOS and iPadOS with the help of a hidden gesture, and you'll be much more efficient with the Mail app once you learn how to use it.
How To: iOS 16.2 Has 39 Huge Changes You Need to Know About Before Updating Your iPhone
Apple's latest big software update includes an entirely new Apple app, a controversial change in the TV app, better Siri control, an improved Shortcuts app, interesting Safari upgrades, Apple Music Sing, and more. Keep reading to see what iOS 16.2 has to offer your iPhone.
How To: Wallet Not Showing on Your Lock Screen? Here's How You Really Access Passes Quickly on Your iPhone
I haven't bought into Apple Pay just yet, but I do love the idea of having quick access to passes like loyalty programs, boarding passes, and my Starbucks card. However, for some users, it's impossible to open these passes stored in Apple Wallet on the iPhone's lock screen. While it's not totally obvious, or even ideal, there is a way to get those Wallet passes back on your lock screen in iOS 9 or iOS 10.
How To: Force Restart the iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro & 12 Pro Max When It's Frozen or Buggy
Apple's latest offerings, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max all feature the A14 Bionic system on a chip, the fastest chipset ever seen on a smartphone, running 50% faster than any other CPUs. But despite the advanced technology, even the iPhone 12 is privy to internal issues, which is why you should know how to force restart it if it ever freezes.
How To: Stop Your iPhone Photos from Broadcasting Your Location to Others
Every photo you take is brimming with metadata such as iPhone model, date and time, shooting modes, focal length, shutter speed, flash use, and geolocation information. Share these pictures with friends, family, or acquaintances via texts, emails, or another direct share method, and you unwittingly share your location data. Even sharing via apps and social media sites can compromise your privacy.
How To: It's Easy to Falsify Photo Geotags on Your iPhone to Keep Real Locations Secret
Without realizing it, you may be giving away the GPS coordinates of your home, workplace, school, and other important or secret locations. Unless you've blocked the feature on your iPhone, location data is stored in almost every photo and video you take, and anyone you share the content with can find out where you are or were. But there are a few things you can do to safeguard the information.
How To: Install Kodi on Your iPhone Without Jailbreaking
Kodi, formerly known as XBMC, is one of the most versatile media players available. With it, you can play virtually any internet and media file in a large variety of formats, and it can be used on practically every single operating system out there, including iOS 10. Kodi, an open-source software, was originally designed to connect to your TV so you could control your media from up to ten feet away, and the core functionality still shines today. All of this is what makes Kodi so popular today...
Messages 101: Get Text Sounds & Vibration Alerts for Specific Contacts in 'Do Not Disturb' Mode
In the "Do Not Disturb" menu in your iPhone's settings, you can choose to allow phone calls from everyone, your favorites, or specific groups. However, this does not apply to text messages, only phone calls, so there's no way to get vibration or sound alert for messages from select contacts — but that doesn't mean there isn't a way.
How To: Measure Real-World Objects with Your iPhone in iOS 12
Thanks to Apple's ARKit 2.0 augmented reality framework in iOS 12, we now have a "Measure" app built right into our iPhones that can measure real-world objects. No more physical tape measure or ruler. No more guessing. Just whip out your iPhone, open the app, put your camera, and get measurements. Before you do, however, there are a few things you'll want to know.
How To: There's a Much Faster Way to Rearrange Your iPhone's Home Screen
For most of the iPhone's history, rearranging apps has been a giant pain. On the surface, iOS 13 seems to make things worse — with the new long-press gestures, it takes longer for iOS to know you want to move apps around. That might be true, but iOS 13 also introduced a way to make the process so much faster.
How To: Quickly Disable Touch ID on Your iPhone for Extra Security in a Pinch
In the US, law enforcement officials can make you unlock your smartphone with a fingerprint, but they can't force you to input a password or PIN, which would violate your Fifth Amendment rights. To help you from ever being in a scenario where you're forced to put your finger on the Touch ID sensor, Apple has a built-in way for you to disable biometrics on your locked or unlocked iPhone in mere seconds.
How To: Turn Your iPhone into a Real-Time Interpreter
Nothing beats a human translator, but Google Translate and other software-based solutions have developed into decent alternatives for help with basic translations. Need an English word translated into German? No problem — but what if you need to have a conversation with someone who doesn't speak your language? Is Google Translate capable of doing that? The answer is not really.
How To: The Hidden Way to Delete Numbers on Your iPhone's Calculator
Let's say you're using your iPhone's Calculator app, and you're knee-deep into a complicated calculation with many steps. You type in a large number, for example, "123,466,789," but mess up. You meant to type "5" midway through but accidentally typed "6" instead. The only thing to do now is start over, no matter how far along you are, right? Wrong.
How To: Auto-Hide New Apps You Install in iOS 14 for a Cleaner Home Screen
If you keep your iPhone's home screen obsessively tidy, new apps are the bane of your existence. Hyperbole aside, they automatically fill the first available space on your home screen, starting on the second page, which can wreak havoc on your carefully planned layouts. With iOS 14, however, you can auto-hide new apps so that you never see them until you want to.
How To: How Fast Can You Really Type on Your iPhone? Take These Tests to Find Out
We use our smartphones every single day. They're a part of our daily routine, and as a result, we've gotten really good at using them — especially when it comes to typing very quickly. But just how fast can you type on your iPhone? Can you match your speed on a physical keyboard for your computer or tablet? You might just surprise yourself.
How To: Change the AirDrop Alert Sound on Your iPhone to Anything You Want
These days, AirDrop's distinct "doo-doo-doo-doo" sound is almost as iconic as Apple's classic Marimba ringtone. And just like with ringtones, that AirDrop alert on your iPhone doesn't need to sound like everyone else's. In just a few taps, you can make it sound like anything you want.
How To: iOS 15 Gives You More Reasons to Use Your iPhone's Accessibility Shortcut
I use the Accessibility Shortcut on my iPhone practically every day, whether it's to dim the screen below the standard threshold, keep my child confined to a specific app, or open up the simulated magnifying glass. But with iOS 15, there are at least three more things I can use it for, and one of them is really good.
How To: Trigger Reachability on Your iPhone to Interact with the Top Part of the Screen One-Handed
Apple's "Reachability" feature made its debut with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, to compensate for larger screen sizes, allowing users to reach screen items at the top while using one hand. It has since become a staple feature of all iPhones (except the original iPhone SE), but how you activate it varies depending on if it's a model with Face ID or Touch ID.
How To: Customize Your iPhone's Email Signature—The Ultimate Guide
Emails sent from an iPhone, by default, are signed "Sent from my iPhone," which almost seems like a disclaimer in case the email has spelling or formatting errors. If your goal is to look professional while corresponding with coworkers or potential employers, then you're better off removing the signature completely and just typing your name out.
How To: Automatically Answer Phone Calls on Your iPhone in iOS 11
If you've ever missed an important phone call because you're hands were too dirty to touch the screen, you won't have to worry much longer about it happening again. Apple is remedying this age-old problem on the iPhone with a hidden feature in iOS 11 that ensures you'll never miss another call again.
How To: 4 Ways to Quickly Open and Show Off Your COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card on Your iPhone
Whether it becomes mandatory or not to show your COVID-19 vaccination card at events, restaurants, bars, hotels, airports, and other public places, it's a good idea to digitize the paper card on your smartphone so that it's always with you. It's also wise to give yourself quick, convenient access to it, so you're not holding up lines while trying to locate the file, and there are a few ways to do that on your iPhone.
How To: Track Your Lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac Even When Its Offline — As Long as This Feature Is Enabled
Apple's latest updates to its operating systems add another security feature to its Find My service, so you have an even better chance at locating your lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac should it ever happen. As long as you have the option enabled, you can leverage other Apple users' devices to find yours on the map.
How To: Force Safari to Automatically Show Reader View for Specific Websites on Your iPhone
The Reader mode in Safari is a great way to view a webpage on your iPhone in a stripped-down manner, removing unnecessary images, videos, and advertisements for a streamlined experience free of distractions. Apple's iOS 13 improves upon Safari Reader when it comes to choosing which sites you want it to run automatically on, so everything is more accessible with more controls to work with.