Buried within Apple's accessibility settings sits one of iOS's most underused features: a way to turn the back of your iPhone into a programmable control surface. Back Tap, available in iOS 14 and later, lets you assign an action to be triggered when you double-tap or triple-tap the back of your iPhone. Most users never discover it, yet it can streamline daily phone use by reducing the number of screen taps and swipes required for common tasks.
Back Tap is only available on iPhone 8 or newer devices, and the feature remains deliberately hidden from marketing materials and prominent menu placement. Apple doesn't include it anywhere on its iOS Overview pages and you'll need to hunt it down to find it in the Settings app. This design choice prioritises accessibility while avoiding cluttering the interface for casual users.
The practical appeal of Back Tap centres on reducing friction. Using a Back Tap command is potentially much quicker and more intuitive than unlocking your iPhone and identifying the appropriate function in the usual manner, and it can also replicate common gestures and inputs that you find fiddly, awkward, or even impossible to execute. Photographers frequently assign the camera app to a double tap, making it faster to capture moments when the phone is already in hand. Others set their flashlight to a triple tap, eliminating the need to swipe down the Control Centre.
Setting up Back Tap requires a few simple steps. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap, then choose Double Tap or Triple Tap and choose an action. Inside you'll find options for double tap and triple tap with 16 system actions, 10 Accessibility actions, two scroll gestures, and any Shortcuts you've created. The feature works reliably through phone cases, making it practical for regular users rather than requiring special handling.
While originally designed as an accessibility tool, Back Tap appeals to anyone interested in personal productivity. Back Tap is a very clever accessibility feature, and while it's intended to help those with physical disabilities, it has potential applications for pretty much everyone. Users can assign shortcuts for taking screenshots, toggling mute, opening the app switcher, or enabling Reachability on larger phones that make top-of-screen functions difficult to access one-handed.
The feature's flexibility extends further through the Shortcuts app. You'll find that any shortcuts you've set up in the Shortcuts app are available for the Back Tap treatment, and using Shortcuts and a bit of creativity, Back Tap has the potential to initiate a frankly dizzying range of command combinations. This means users can create complex automations and trigger them with a simple tap.
Despite its utility, Back Tap remains a classic case of valuable functionality hidden in plain sight. Back Tap is still one of the most underappreciated features in iOS, and Apple doesn't include it anywhere on its iOS Overview pages and you'll need to hunt it down to find it in the Settings app. For anyone seeking to reduce unnecessary screen interaction and speed up routine tasks, spending five minutes exploring this feature may well prove more worthwhile than most software updates combined.