The Honest Answer First: You Can Tap the Back of Your iPhone Like a Button
Your iPhone has a button you have probably never pressed, because it is invisible. It is the back of the phone itself. Since iOS 14, iPhones have a feature called Back Tap, which turns two or three firm taps on the back of the phone into a shortcut. Double-tap to take a screenshot. Triple-tap to open the Control Centre. Double-tap to lock the screen, turn on the torch, start a voice memo, or run any shortcut you have built in the Shortcuts app.
It sounds like a gimmick, and on first hearing it does. In practice it is one of the most useful accessibility features Apple has shipped, because it puts the things you do fifty times a day one gesture away, without your thumb having to stretch to the top of the screen or find a small on-screen button. Once you have taken a screenshot by tapping the back of your phone twice, reaching for the side buttons starts to feel slow.
This guide covers the whole feature: turning Back Tap on, choosing what each tap does, connecting it to your own shortcuts, and fixing the two problems everyone runs into, which are accidental taps and a case that muffles the taps. Everything here works on any iPhone 8 or later running iOS 14 or newer, which covers every iPhone sold in the last several years.
Before You Start: Check That Back Tap Is Available on Your iPhone
Five quick checks will confirm that Back Tap exists on your phone and that you are looking in the right place for it, because it is buried deeper in Settings than most people expect.
Step 1: Check your iPhone model. Back Tap needs an iPhone 8 or later. That includes the iPhone 8, iPhone X, and every model since, including the iPhone SE second generation and later. If you have an iPhone 7 or earlier, the feature does not exist, because those phones do not have the tap-detection hardware it relies on.
Step 2: Check your iOS version. Back Tap arrived with iOS 14. Open Settings, then General, then About, and look at the iOS version. If it says 14.0 or higher, you have it. If it says 13 or lower, update your phone first, in Settings, then General, then Software Update, because the feature will not appear at all on older software.
Step 3: Know where the setting lives. Back Tap is an accessibility feature, so it lives in Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch, then Back Tap. That is four levels deep, which is why most people have never seen it. It is not in the main Settings list, and it is not in Control Centre settings, so do not look for it there.
Step 4: Understand what the taps feel like. A Back Tap is a firm double or triple tap on the back of the phone, roughly where the Apple logo is, with one or two fingers. It is not a gentle touch and it is not a knock. Think of it as tapping the back of the phone the way you would tap a table to get someone’s attention. The phone detects the taps through its accelerometer, so it works through most cases, but a very thick case can muffle it.
Step 5: Decide what you want each tap to do before you turn it on. Back Tap gives you two gestures, a double tap and a triple tap, and each one can do a different thing. Before you open the settings, decide what you reach for most often. A screenshot is the most popular choice for double tap. For triple tap, people usually pick something they use less often, such as the torch, the Control Centre, or a favourite shortcut. Having a plan stops you from setting it to something random and forgetting about it.
Turn On Back Tap and Choose Your Actions
Turning Back Tap on takes about a minute. The setting is a simple list, and you pick one action for double tap and one for triple tap.
Step 6: Open Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch. Open the Settings app and tap Accessibility. Scroll down to the Physical and Motor section and tap Touch. This is the same screen that holds settings like AssistiveTouch and Haptic Touch, so it may look familiar if you have ever adjusted how your phone responds to touch.
Step 7: Tap Back Tap at the bottom of the Touch screen. Scroll to the bottom of the Touch settings and tap Back Tap. You will see two rows: Double Tap and Triple Tap. Both will say “None” if you have never set them up. Tap Double Tap first.
Step 8: Choose an action for Double Tap. You will see a long list of actions, grouped into System actions, Accessibility actions, Scroll Gestures, and, at the bottom, Shortcuts. For a first setup, pick “Screenshot” under System. It is the most immediately useful action, and it is the one that will convince you the feature is worth keeping. Tap Screenshot, and a tick appears next to it. Tap Back at the top left to return to the Back Tap screen.
Step 9: Choose an action for Triple Tap. Tap Triple Tap and pick something different from your double tap. Good choices are “Control Centre”, which saves a swipe from the top right corner, “Lock Screen”, which locks the phone without the side button, or “Torch”, which turns the flashlight on and off. Pick one, tap it, and go back. You can change either choice at any time, so do not worry about getting it perfect on the first try.
Step 10: Test both taps on the back of your phone. Go to your home screen and double-tap the back of the phone firmly, twice, with one finger. If you set it to Screenshot, the screen should flash and a screenshot thumbnail should appear in the bottom left corner. Then triple-tap the back for your triple tap action. If nothing happens, tap a little harder, and tap near the centre of the phone rather than near the top or the bottom. The sensor is most sensitive around the middle.
What Each Built-In Action Does
The list of actions in Back Tap is long, and the names are not always self-explanatory. Here is what the useful ones actually do, so you can pick the right ones instead of guessing.
Step 11: Learn the System actions. The System group includes App Switcher, Control Centre, Home, Lock Screen, Mute, Notification Centre, Reachability, Screenshot, Shake, Siri, Spotlight, and Volume Up and Down. App Switcher opens the recent-apps view. Home goes to the home screen. Lock Screen locks the phone. Mute silences the ringer. Reachability pulls the top of the screen down so you can reach it with one hand. Shake does the same thing as shaking the phone, which in most apps means undo. Spotlight opens search. These are the actions you already use every day, now available from a tap on the back.
Step 12: Learn the Accessibility actions. The Accessibility group includes AssistiveTouch, Background Sounds, Classic Invert, Colour Filters, Magnifier, Smart Invert, VoiceOver, and Zoom. These are genuinely useful if you use any of them. Magnifier, for example, turns your phone into a magnifying glass for reading small print, and putting it on a triple tap means you can open it in one second instead of digging through Settings. If you do not use these features, you can ignore this group entirely.
Step 13: Learn the Scroll Gestures. The Scroll Gestures group has just two actions: Scroll Up and Scroll Down. They scroll the page you are looking at, which is handy in Safari or a long article, because you can scroll without moving your thumb to the screen. They are a niche choice, and most people get more value from Screenshot or Control Centre, but if you read a lot on your phone, try Scroll Down on a triple tap and see if it suits you.
Connect Back Tap to Your Own Shortcuts
The built-in actions are only the beginning. The real power of Back Tap is that it can run any shortcut you have built in the Shortcuts app, which means it can do almost anything your phone can do.
Step 14: Open the Shortcuts app and check what you have. Open the Shortcuts app, which comes pre-installed on every modern iPhone. Look at the shortcuts you already have. If you have none, that is fine, because the next steps build one from scratch. If you have some, note their names, because they will appear in the Back Tap list by name.
Step 15: Make a simple shortcut to test with. If you have no shortcuts yet, tap the plus button in the Shortcuts app, tap Add Action, and search for something simple, such as “Set Brightness” or “Play Music” or “Open App”. Pick one, set it to something you want, and give the shortcut a short name, such as “Evening Mode”. Tap Done. You now have a shortcut that Back Tap can run.
Step 16: Assign the shortcut to a Back Tap gesture. Go back to Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch, then Back Tap, and tap Double Tap or Triple Tap. Scroll to the bottom of the list, past the built-in actions, to the Shortcuts section. Your shortcut’s name appears there. Tap it. Now that gesture runs your shortcut. Test it by tapping the back of your phone and watching it work.
Step 17: Try a genuinely useful shortcut idea. Once the basic connection works, here are the shortcuts people actually keep. A shortcut that turns on Do Not Disturb and sets a timer, for a focus session. A shortcut that opens your most-used app directly, skipping the home screen. A shortcut that starts a voice memo, so you can capture an idea before you forget it. A shortcut that toggles Low Power Mode when your battery is low. And a shortcut that sends your location to a family member, which is worth setting up even if you hope you never need it.
Step 18: Keep your shortcut list tidy. Every shortcut you create appears in the Back Tap list, so a cluttered Shortcuts app makes a cluttered Back Tap list. Delete shortcuts you no longer use, in the Shortcuts app, by long-pressing them and tapping Delete. If you delete a shortcut that Back Tap is using, that gesture quietly stops doing anything, so check your Back Tap settings after a clear-out and reassign anything that went blank.
Fix the Two Problems Everyone Hits
Back Tap is reliable, but two issues come up again and again. Both have simple fixes, and both are worth knowing before you decide the feature does not work.
Step 19: If taps do nothing, check your case. A thick, heavy, or metal case can absorb the taps before the sensor feels them. Take the case off and try again. If Back Tap works without the case and not with it, the case is the problem, and you have three choices: use a thinner case, tap harder, or accept that Back Tap is not practical with that case. Most silicone and leather cases work fine. Battery cases and very rugged cases are the ones that usually cause trouble.
Step 20: If taps do nothing, tap harder and in the right place. Back Tap needs a firm tap, not a gentle touch, and it needs to land near the centre of the phone’s back, around the Apple logo. Tapping near the top, near the camera, or near the bottom edge often does nothing, because the sensor is tuned to the middle of the device. Use the pad of one finger, not your fingernail, and tap twice in quick succession, about as fast as you would double-click a mouse.
Step 21: If Back Tap fires by accident, change the gesture or the action. Accidental taps are the most common complaint. They usually happen when you put the phone down on a table, pick it up from a pocket, or tap the phone against something. If it happens often, switch the action to something harmless, such as Spotlight or Control Centre, instead of Screenshot, so an accidental tap does not fill your photo library with screenshots. Or switch from Double Tap to Triple Tap for the important action, because three accidental taps in a row are far rarer than two.
Step 22: If Back Tap fires when the phone is in your pocket, turn it off for a while. If your phone is triggering actions while it is in your pocket or bag, the taps are being caused by movement against the fabric. You can turn Back Tap off temporarily by setting both gestures to None, in Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch, then Back Tap, and turn it back on when you take the phone out. Or use a triple tap for your most important action, which almost never fires by accident.
Step 23: If Back Tap stops working after an iOS update, re-check the setting. Occasionally, an iOS update resets accessibility settings, and Back Tap is one of the settings that can be affected. If Back Tap suddenly stops working after you update, open Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch, then Back Tap, and check that your actions are still assigned. If they have been reset to None, set them again. It takes thirty seconds and it fixes the problem completely.
Ideas Worth Trying Once You Are Set Up
Back Tap earns its place when it replaces something you do often enough that the shortcut actually saves time. Here are the combinations people tend to keep.
Step 24: Set double tap to Screenshot and triple tap to Control Centre. This is the most popular combination, and it is the best starting point. Screenshots are something you take often, and reaching for two side buttons at once is awkward with one hand. Control Centre is something you open often, and swiping down from the top right corner is awkward on a large phone. Together, they cover the two most common gestures, and you will feel the benefit within a day.
Step 25: Set double tap to Lock Screen if you use your phone one-handed. If you often hold your phone in one hand and want to lock it without reaching for the side button, Lock Screen on a double tap is a good choice. It is also useful if your side button is stiff or hard to press, because it gives you a way to lock the phone without touching it at all.
Step 26: Set triple tap to Shazam or a music shortcut. If you hear a song you like and want to identify it, triple-tapping the back of your phone to start Shazam is faster than unlocking the phone, opening the app, and tapping the button, and by the time you have done all of that, the song may be over. You can assign the Shazam shortcut from the Shortcuts app, as in Step 16, or use a shortcut that starts playing your favourite playlist instead.
Step 27: Set a tap to open your most-used app. If there is one app you open fifty times a day, a shortcut that opens it directly, assigned to a Back Tap gesture, saves you the trip to the home screen every time. This works best for apps you open in a hurry, such as your camera, your notes app, or your banking app, where the seconds genuinely matter.
Step 28: Do not assign both gestures to destructive actions. Avoid putting anything on Back Tap that you would regret triggering by accident. Do not assign a shortcut that sends a message, makes a call, deletes something, or posts to social media. An accidental double tap should at worst open the Control Centre or take a screenshot, not send a message you did not mean to send. Keep the powerful shortcuts on a triple tap, and keep the safe ones on a double tap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Back Tap work when the screen is off? No. Back Tap works when the screen is on, including on the Lock Screen, but it does not work when the screen is off and the phone is asleep. Tap the screen or press the side button to wake it first, then use Back Tap. This is by design, to stop the phone from triggering actions in your pocket while it is asleep.
Does Back Tap work through a case? Usually yes. Most thin and medium cases, including Apple’s own silicone and leather cases, work fine. Very thick, rugged, or metal cases can muffle the taps, and battery cases often block them entirely. If Back Tap stops working after you change cases, the case is the first thing to check.
Does Back Tap drain the battery? No, not in any measurable way. The tap detection uses the phone’s accelerometer, which is already running all the time for features like raise to wake and step counting. Back Tap adds no meaningful battery drain, and you will not see it in the battery usage list.
Can I use Back Tap to open a specific app directly? Yes, but not from the built-in list. Make a shortcut in the Shortcuts app that opens the app, using the “Open App” action, and then assign that shortcut to a Back Tap gesture, as described in Steps 15 and 16. The app’s name will appear in the Shortcuts section of the Back Tap list.
Why does my phone take screenshots by itself? This is the most common accidental Back Tap problem, and it almost always means Double Tap is set to Screenshot and the phone is being tapped against something, such as a table, a pocket, or another object. Change the action to something harmless, switch to a triple tap, or turn Back Tap off when you are not using it, as described in Steps 21 and 22.
Is Back Tap available on iPad? No. Back Tap is an iPhone-only feature, available on iPhone 8 and later. It does not exist on iPad, even on iPads running the same version of iOS, because iPads do not have the tap-detection hardware in the same form.
Can I have different Back Tap actions for different apps? No. Back Tap actions are global, which means the same double tap does the same thing no matter which app you are in. You cannot set one action for Safari and a different one for the Camera app. If you need app-specific shortcuts, the Shortcuts app can check which app is open and behave differently, but that is an advanced setup and most people do not need it.
Final Thoughts
Back Tap is a small feature with an outsized payoff, because it takes the things you do most often and moves them to a gesture that costs you nothing. Two taps on the back of the phone for a screenshot, three for the Control Centre, and suddenly the side buttons and the top of the screen feel like a long way away. Set it up once, give it a day of real use, and adjust it if it fires too often or not often enough. The right setup is the one you forget about, because it simply works every time you need it, and stays quiet the rest of the time. That is what a good shortcut feels like, and Back Tap is one of the best shortcuts your iPhone has.
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