Most iPhone users treat the "Accessibility" menu in their Settings app like the engine room of a ship: a place you only visit if something is broken or if you strictly need to be there. But if you’ve been scrolling past this menu, you are missing out on some of the most powerful, productivity-boosting, and downright cool features your device has to offer.
Apple has designed these tools to help people with visual, auditory, or motor challenges, but in doing so, they have created a suite of "superpowers" that can benefit absolutely everyone. From turning the back of your phone into a secret button to creating instant focus zones, these hidden gems can change the way you interact with your device every day.
Ready to upgrade your iPhone experience without downloading a single new app? Let’s dive into the hidden powers waiting for you in the Accessibility settings.
1. Back Tap: The Secret Button You Didn't Know You Had
Imagine if you could launch your favorite app, take a screenshot, or turn on your flashlight just by tapping the back of your phone case. You can. It’s called Back Tap, and it is arguably the most "magical" feature hidden in iOS.
Back Tap utilizes the accelerometer in your iPhone to detect when you tap the back of the chassis. You can program two distinct actions: one for a double-tap and one for a triple-tap. It works surprisingly well, even through most protective cases.
Real-world uses for Back Tap:
- The Screenshot Snap: If you struggle to press the volume and power buttons simultaneously to take a screenshot, set Double Tap to "Screenshot." It changes the game for capturing memes or receipts instantly.
- The Flashlight Toggle: Fumbling in the dark to find the flashlight icon on your screen can be annoying. Set Triple Tap to "Torch" to light up the room instantly.
- Launch Shazam: If you love music, you can set a tap to launch Shazam instantly so you never miss identifying a song playing in a coffee shop.
Pro Tip: If you are a fan of Apple’s "Shortcuts" app, Back Tap becomes even more powerful. You can trigger complex automations—like texting your spouse "I'm on my way" or setting your smart home lights—just by tapping the back of your phone.
How to enable it:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Accessibility.
- Select Touch.
- Scroll all the way to the bottom and tap Back Tap.
- Choose your actions for Double Tap and Triple Tap.
2. Background Sounds: Instant Focus and Calm
In the age of open-plan offices and noisy commutes, finding a moment of zen can be difficult. Many users pay for premium subscriptions to apps like Calm or Headspace just to play white noise or rain sounds. However, your iPhone has a high-quality white noise machine built right into the operating system.
The feature is called Background Sounds. It is designed to mask unwanted environmental noise to help you focus, stay calm, or rest. The audio is continuous and loops perfectly, and the best part is that it can play underneath other audio. This means you can listen to a podcast or music while a gentle rainstorm plays in the background.
Available sounds include:
- Balanced Noise (White noise)
- Bright Noise
- Dark Noise
- Ocean
- Rain
- Stream
This is a lifesaver for students trying to study in a coffee shop or anyone who struggles to fall asleep in a quiet hotel room. You don't need to hunt for a YouTube video that drains your battery; this is native and efficient.
How to enable it:
- Open Settings and go to Accessibility.
- Tap Audio & Visual.
- Tap Background Sounds and toggle it on.
- Select your preferred Sound and adjust the volume.
Quick Access Tip: You don’t want to dig into menus every time you need to focus. Go to Settings > Control Center and add the Hearing icon (it looks like an ear). Now, you can swipe down from the top right of your screen, tap the ear icon, and toggle Background Sounds on or off instantly.
3. Magnifier: Your Bionic Vision
Have you ever sat in a dimly lit restaurant and struggled to read the tiny print on the menu? or perhaps you’ve tried to read the serial number on the back of a Wi-Fi router tucked behind a dusty desk? Most people instinctively open their Camera app and try to zoom in, but the Camera app is designed for taking photos, not analyzing fine details.
Enter the Magnifier. This is a standalone tool that turns your iPhone into a digital magnifying glass. Unlike the standard camera, the Magnifier allows you to freeze a frame (so you don't have to hold your hand steady while reading), adjust contrast, apply color filters to make text pop, and turn on the flashlight simultaneously.
For the DIY enthusiast, this tool is indispensable. If you are trying to thread a needle or read the tiny specifications on a screw, the Magnifier provides a level of clarity that the standard camera zoom simply cannot match.
How to set it up:
- The Magnifier is actually an app, but it might be hidden in your App Library. Search for "Magnifier" to open it.
- For the best experience, go to Settings > Control Center and add Magnifier.
- Now, whenever you need bionic vision, just swipe down your Control Center and tap the magnifying glass icon.
4. Spoken Content: Turn Any Article Into a Podcast
We all have those days where our eyes are tired, but we still have a mountain of emails, articles, or eBooks to get through. Or perhaps you are cooking dinner or driving, and you want to "read" a long news article without looking at the screen.
Spoken Content allows your iPhone to read whatever is on your screen out loud to you. This isn't the robotic voice of the 90s; Apple’s modern Siri voices are incredibly natural and easy to listen to. This feature effectively turns your Kindle books, web articles, and long emails into a private podcast.
This is also a fantastic tool for proofreading your own writing. Hearing your emails or documents read back to you often helps catch typos and awkward phrasing that your eyes might skip over.
How to enable it:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content.
- Toggle on Speak Screen.
- Once enabled, go to any app with text (like Safari or Notes).
- Swipe down with two fingers from the very top of the screen.
- A small controller will appear, and Siri will start reading the page to you. You can even speed up the playback if you’re in a hurry!
5. Guided Access: The Ultimate "Guest Mode"
Handing your phone to someone else can be anxiety-inducing. Maybe you are letting a child play a game, but you don't want them accidentally deleting your emails or calling your boss. Or maybe you are showing a friend a photo, and you don't want them swiping through your entire gallery.
Guided Access is the solution. It locks your iPhone to a single app and allows you to disable specific areas of the screen. It is essentially a "kiosk mode" for your phone. When Guided Access is active, the user cannot leave the app, and they cannot use the hardware buttons (like volume or sleep/wake) unless you allow it.
This is also a tremendous productivity hack for yourself. If you are addicted to social media but need to finish a report in your Notes app, turn on Guided Access. You physically cannot leave the Notes app to check Instagram until you triple-click the side button and enter your passcode to release the lock.
How to use it:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access and toggle it on.
- Set a Passcode (this is required to exit the mode).
- Open the app you want to lock (e.g., a game or a photo).
- Triple-click the side power button.
- Tap Start in the top right corner.
- To exit, triple-click the side button again and enter your passcode.
Parenting Hack: Before hitting "Start" in Guided Access, you can draw a circle around specific parts of the screen to disable touch in those areas. This is perfect for blocking "Buy Now" buttons in games or settings menus that you don't want kids to touch.