Ios tips

Make a Collection of Posts

Instagram is all about photos and videos, so why not save the photos and videos that we come across on Instagram and create a collection of sorts. For instance, you like a lot of photos of new cars on Instagram, so why not make a designated folder for it? Simply follow these steps.

  • Go to Instagram and tap the profile icon. Now, tap the hamburger icon at the top and select Saved.
  • Over here, make a list. For example, let's name it Phones.
  • Now, whenever you come across a good photo of any phone on Instagram, you can simply tap the Save icon. Doing that, you'll see a pop-up that says, Save to Collection. Doing that you can choose to save the phone photo in the Phones list that you created earlier.
  • Similarly, you can make as many lists as you want and start saving photos and ultimately making a collection of photos on Instagram.

Stay Safe With Exposure Notifications

Thanks to the Covid pandemic, Apple has made Exposure Notifications a standard part of the iPhone. It is an opt-in feature (since iOS 13.6) in the countries where it is supported by local health authorities. You don’t have to download any third-party contract tracing app and worry about data privacy.

  • Open Settings.
  • Swipe down the list and tap on Exposure Notifications.
  • Tap Turn on Exposure Notifications to get into the feature.
  • Click Continue and check if it is available in your country.
  • Toggle off Availability Alerts if you don’t want to know when contact tracing is available in your area.

Share an Approximate Location for Privacy

Some apps will not work without your location information. But now, you can control your privacy by sharing an approximate location instead of your precise location. This may be enough for some apps.

  • Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
  • Choose the apps on the Share My Location list and check their location permission. Turn off the Precise Location switch for any app you don’t want to send your exact location to.

Change the Default Browser

Safari has been the default browser on iOS devices for a long time. Now, you can change the browser to Chrome, Edge, or DuckDuckGo. Go to Settings > [Browser] > Default Browser App Tip: You can change the default email client to Apple Mail or Outlook too.

Tap the Back of Your Phone to Perform Actions Faster

Imagine this: a simple double or triple tap on the back of a phone helps you perform quick actions on your iPhone. The Back Tap feature is an Accessibility tool, but you can customize it to control your phone.

  • Open Settings > Accessibility.
  • Tap Touch.
  • Swipe to the bottom and choose Back Tap.
  • Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap to pick an action. For instance, use a double tap for a screenshot. Tip: You can set up Back Tap with customized Shortcuts for more powerful automations too.

Swipe Up and Down to Quickly Set an Alarm

The Clock app has got a tiny facelift and the Alarm has got a bit tinier. You may hate that the large scroll wheel is gone now. Instead, there’s the tiny window with the time counter. It seems counter-intuitive but that tiny window also works like the old scroll wheel that allowed you to set the time. You can set the time with two methods after you tap to add a new alarm or edit an existing one.

  • Use the number keypad to enter the alarm quickly.
  • Tap on the hour to select it. When it turns orange, you can swipe your finger on the screen like the old scroll wheel to select the hour. Then, do the same for the minutes. The keypad is the fastest way to enter the time (or use Siri). But it’s good to know about the other option as well.

Use the Volume Button to Shoot Fast

A small tweak to the volume buttons and you could become better at capturing spontaneous snaps or videos. Press the volume up button to take a quick shot in Burst Mode. Press the volume down button to shoot a video. Keep it pressed for the duration of the shoot. But how do you enable this hidden trick in iOS 14 which turns a physical button into a button for the camera shutter?

  • Go to Settings > Camera.
  • Enable the Use Volume Up for Burst switch. This could be better (and faster) than dragging the on-screen shutter button on the iPhone Camera app.

Hide Your Hidden Album

What good is the Hidden album in your Gallery if it’s visible? iOS14 has the ability to really hide the album with a simple toggle switch. Go to Settings > Photos > Hidden Album. Toggle the switch to the off position and the album will disappear in your Gallery. Enabling it will make it reappear again.

Write Captions With Photos

A caption can help you add context to your photos. Go to Photos and select a photo. Swipe it up and write a caption.

Facetime Picture-in-Picture

Facetime Picture-in-Picture makes multitasking a lot easier while on a Facetime call or watching a video. The call or the video window shrinks in size and you can then go to any other app from the homescreen. Resize the video window or drag it anywhere on the screen while working on another app.