Use AssistiveTouch on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can use AssistiveTouch to adjust volume, lock your screen, use multi-finger gestures, restart your device, or replace pressing buttons with just a tap.

Turn on AssistiveTouch

When you turn on AssistiveTouch, you see a button appear onscreen. You can drag the button to any edge of the screen, where it stays until you move it again. By default, tapping the button once opens the AssistiveTouch menu. Tapping once anywhere outside of the menu closes the AssistiveTouch menu.

There are a few ways to turn on AssistiveTouch. You can:

  • Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch, then turn on AssistiveTouch
  • Use "Hey Siri" to say, "Turn on AssistiveTouch"
  • Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut, then turn on AssistiveTouch

AssistiveTouch can also be added to the Accessibility Shortcut for quick access from Control Center, or you can use the Side or Home button. And if you have an Apple Watch Series 4 or later, you can turn on AssistiveTouch on your Apple Watch.

iPhone Home Screen showing AssistiveTouch turned on

Use AssistiveTouch instead of gestures

Access menus and controls that require onscreen gestures like:

  • Control Center
  • Notification Center
  • Spotlight
  • Home
  • App Switcher
  • Speak Screen

Use AssistiveTouch instead of pressing buttons

The AssistiveTouch menu gives you access to functions that you would otherwise control by pressing physical buttons or moving the device. With AssistiveTouch, you can:

  • Activate the Accessibility Shortcut
  • Lock the screen
  • Adjust the volume
  • Summon Siri
  • Restart the device
  • Capture a screenshot
  • Simulate shaking the device

Use AssistiveTouch for multi-finger gestures

  1. From the AssistiveTouch menu, select Device > More.
  2. Select Gestures.
  3. Choose between 2, 3, 4, or 5 finger input.

After you make your selection, multiple dots appear on the screen that indicate where the virtual fingertips touch the screen. Moving one finger around the screen or performing taps control all virtual fingertips at the same time. The virtual fingertips automatically go away after a few moments of inactivity.

iPhone Home Screen showing the AssistiveTouch menu

Customize the AssistiveTouch menu

To change the order, number, and contents of the buttons in the menu:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
  2. Tap Customize Top Level Menu, then tap an icon to reassign a different function to its position.
  3. Use the + and - buttons to change the number of buttons that appear in the menu.

Use the Reset button to erase your changes and restore the default menu settings.

Use custom actions

To assign an AssistiveTouch function to a single-tap, double-tap, or long press of the button:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
  2. Under the Custom Actions heading, choose Single-Tap, Double-Tap, or Long Press.
  3. Choose an action from the list to assign to the gesture.
  4. Use the AssistiveTouch button to go back to Settings.

You can adjust the amount of time the actions can perform a double-tap, or how long the button must be held for a long press.

Create new gestures

You can record custom taps and swipes using the touchscreen and save them to the AssistiveTouch menu.

To create a new gesture:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch.
  2. Tap AssistiveTouch, then tap Create New Gesture.
  3. Recording starts automatically when you touch the screen, so you can tap or swipe whenever you're ready.
  4. When you're finished, tap Stop.

To review your recorded gesture, press Play. If you want to re-record your gesture, tap Record. Press Save to name your gesture when you're ready.

If you're unable to perform a multi-finger gesture by using multiple fingers at the same time, you can record individual movements, and they group together. For example, draw two horizontal dots on the top half of the screen, and a half circle on the bottom of the screen, then press Stop. When you press play, all dots and lines play at once.

Connect a pointer device with AssistiveTouch

Learn more

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