chevron-right
chevron-left

How to Use the Back Tap Function on iPhones

Educational

Updated on

Published on

How to Use the Back Tap Function on iPhones

What if you could give your iPhone invisible buttons? Well iPhones let you do that. Introducing to you the “Back Tap”. Back Tap is an accessibility gesture that maps two distinct rear-taps, the Double Tap and Triple Tap, to almost any system control, accessibility function, or Shortcut. Back Tap is available on all iPhones 8 and onwards running iOS 14

How to enable Back Tap on your iPhone?

  1. Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap.

  2. Choose Double Tap or Triple Tap.

  3. Pick an action from the list or scroll to Shortcuts to link any automation you’ve built.

  4. Tap Back to save. Test by tapping in the upper-center of the phone’s back; you’ll feel a subtle haptic and the action fires.​
enable Back Tap on your iPhone

What are some ways to use the Back Tap function?

  1. Screenshot – capture the screen instantly.

  2. Flashlight – toggle the torch in dark spaces.

  3. Control Center – jump straight to brightness, Wi-Fi, etc.

  4. Magnifier – zoom tiny print without opening the app.

  5. Scroll Down / Scroll Up – read long pages one-handed.

  6. App Switcher – flick between recent apps.

  7. Mute / Unmute – silence your phone in meetings.

  8. Lock Screen – turn the display off for privacy.

  9. Reachability – pull the screen lower on big phones.

Once you assign your favourite tasks to “Back Tap”, sit back and tap away and watch the back of your iPhone transform into an automated machine. Want to take some photos? Double tap. Screen shot? Double Tap. Zoom? Triple Tap. The possibilities are endless. 

Disclosure: This list is intended as an informational resource and is based on independent research and publicly available information. It does not imply that these businesses are the absolute best in their category.
Learn more here.

This article may contain commission-based affiliate links. Learn more on our Privacy Policy page.

This post is also related to

Arash F. serves as a Research Specialist and Junior Journalist at Brand Vision Insights. With a background in psychology and scientific writing, he offers practical insights into human behavior that shape brand strategies and content development. By blending data-driven approaches with a passion for storytelling, Arash creates helpful insights in all his articles.

Subscribe
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

By submitting I agree to Brand Vision Privacy Policy and T&C.