{"id":17744136,"url":"https://github.com/extratone/underdocumented","last_synced_at":"2026-01-11T05:11:09.660Z","repository":{"id":107854559,"uuid":"504908863","full_name":"extratone/underdocumented","owner":"extratone","description":"Methodologies, functions, and behaviors within iOS and iPadOS that are not adequately covered in public-facing documentation. 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The site may not work properly if you don't update your browser ! If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit old reddit .](bear://x-callback-url/open-note?id=3180806F-B004-492B-98A4-41A92D43D1BD-15867-000001F2E122993A)\n\n\n## Social\n\n- [Help (Twitter)](https://twitter.com/NeoYokel/status/1533639506422792192)\n\n***\n\n- [ ] Merging contacts.\n- [ ] Clearing RAM.\n- [ ] Showing timestamps in iMessage.\n- [ ] Reduce Motion.\n- [ ] User Guide iBook.\n\n- - - -\n- [ ] The [GitHub Issue](https://github.com/extratone/bilge/issues/56).\n- [ ] [Post on r/iphone](https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/l5ofja/underdocumented_functions_in_ios_stuff_you_wish/?utm_source=share\u0026utm_medium=ios_app\u0026utm_name=iossmf)\n- [ ] How to clear your iPhone’s RAM. ([Tweet](https://twitter.com/neoyokel/status/1344866358333472772))\n- [ ] Timestamps in iMessage\n- [ ] [iPhone Users Guide](https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=1515995528)\n- [ ] [[iPhone, iOS, and The Magic Keyboard: A Guide]]\n- [ ] Merging contacts ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/hide-duplicate-contacts-iph2ab28320d/ios))\n- [ ] Reduce motion\n- [ ] Close all tabs in Safari\n\n## [Reddit Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/l5p7ly/underdocumented_ios_functions_stuff_you_wish/)\n\n1. Tap Top Status Bar to Scroll to Top\n   + (In Apollo, Tweetbot, and others, tapping again will take you back to where you started.)\n2. [iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/welcome/ios)/[iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=1515995528) User Guides\n3. Press and hold spacebar to freely navigate text\n4. Apple's [Tips App](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tips/id1069509450)\n5. [Back Tap](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211781)\n6. [Spotlight Search](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201285)\n7. Holding an app within Share Sheet to prompt \"Share with app\" and \"Open in app\" options\n8. Tap and hold on a contact within Share Sheet to prompt \"Suggest Less\" option.\n9. [Adding captions to photos and videos](https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/add-captions-photos-iphone-ipad/)\n\n---\n\n# Underdocumented iOS Maneuvers\n\u003cu\u003e\u003c/u\u003e\n- [Notes-Underdocumented iOS Maneuvers](drafts://open?uuid=464F92D4-5A63-4447-BBF7-CB1B0D885568)\n\n![Underdocumented iOS Maneuvers](https://i.snap.as/vYlsxofN.jpg)\n\n## Peep this dope listicle of iPhone Pro Tips\n\nIf you hadn't noticed, I've somehow managed to be truly capital-R Radicalized in the past year or two by something I never would have expected: [external keyboard support on iPhone](https://uikeycommand.com). In that time, I've started and discarded many drafts for this Post, about the \"hidden\" \"hacks\" that make iOS - an operating system I definitely *do not* \"love\" - actually *usable*.\n\n===\n\nIt became most apparent during my research for [my iPhone 12 Pro Max Review](https://github.com/extratone/bilge/issues/45) that Apple’s mobile operating system and all that it entails has changed profoundly over the course of its history even moreso than is immediately obvious. The operating system that thwarted the very idea of the Power User currently has numerous features that were added explicitly for them. (One might suggest this really began in iOS 12, with [Siri Shortcuts](http://bilge.world/siri-shortcuts-ios12-review).) The trouble is that many of these features overlap into what the most average user might use in their day-to-day operation of their handsets and tablets. **Showing timestamps in iMessage**, for instance, is a function which one should not have to stumble upon or take to an internet search to find. (\u003cu\u003eSwipe from right to left in a conversation\u003c/u\u003e.) Little functions like this are incredibly poorly documented, considering iOS is maintained by the most valuable company in the history of the world.\n\nApple does make an effort to educate new users, mainly through the [Tips app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tips/id1069509450), which has indeed become more useful and insightful over time, but still leaves a whole lot to be desired. They also publish an owner’s manual-esque *[iPhone Users Guide](https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=1515995528)*, which is unfortunately completely inaccessible in any format outside of the native Books app. (I made a not-insignificant effort to convert the volume to a PDF for your sake, but found myself completely defeated by DRM, hilariously.) Some of the functions listed in this post are accompanied by links to Apple Support web pages, but far too many have no such entries, which - from my perspective - is absolutely inexcusable on Apple’s part. Inexcusable, but perhaps not inexplicable. \n\nIt would seem that the vast ecosystem of both professional and amateur technology media which reports on iOS has inadvertently filled in for Apple in the role of documentarian. Search YouTube for “iPhone Tips” and you’ll manifest a multitude of results with titles like *[16 ACTUAL iPhone Tricks You Didn’t Know Existed!](https://youtu.be/YKOY6-ZdUo8)* which haphazardly (and often distastefully) do the company’s job for them. Scrolling through said search results, I am compelled to reflect on all the *largely unpaid labor* for Apple, Inc. found there, but I will spare you such reflection for this Guide Post and promise to do my best to stick to function.\n\n## Syntax\n\nFor this \"guide,\" I think it's worth establishing a sort of micro-styleguide to begin with. When referring to a *function* or *task* I'm about to show you how to accomplish, its name will be in **bold text**. (Ex. **Close all Tabs in Safari**.) The *action(s)* or *input(s)* required to complete said task \u003cu\u003ewill be underlined\u003c/u\u003e. (Ex. \u003cu\u003eLong press on Tabs Icon\u003c/u\u003e.)\n\n## From the Community\n\nMy suspicion regarding the general sentiment among iOS users was largely validated by the response to [**a thread I posted in r/iOS**](https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/l5p7ly/underdocumented_ios_functions_stuff_you_wish/). \n\n1. \u003cu\u003eTap top status bar\u003c/u\u003e to **scroll to top**\n   + (In Apollo, Tweetbot, and others, tapping again will take you back to where you started.)\n2. [iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/welcome/ios)/[iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=1515995528) User Guides\n3. \u003cu\u003ePress and hold spacebar\u003c/u\u003e to **freely navigate text**\n4. Apple's [Tips App](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tips/id1069509450)\n5. [Back Tap](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211781)\n6. [Spotlight Search](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201285)\n7. \u003cu\u003eTap and hold an app within Share Sheet\u003c/u\u003e to **prompt \"Share with app\" and \"Open in app\" options**\n8. \u003cu\u003eTap and hold on a contact within Share Sheet\u003c/u\u003e to **prompt \"Suggest Less\" option**.\n9. [Adding captions to photos and videos](https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/add-captions-photos-iphone-ipad/)\n\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet tw-align-center\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\"\u003e\u003cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003ewhile I’m thinking about it...\u003cbr\u003ehere’s how to clear your iPhone’s RAM.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou need to get to the Settings➯General➯Shut Down screen and the hold down the home button. (Pre-iPhone X just use the physical button instead of AssistiveTouch.) \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/DUgnoOwtEr\"\u003epic.twitter.com/DUgnoOwtEr\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u0026mdash; ※ David Blue ※ (@NeoYokel) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NeoYokel/status/1344866358333472772\"\u003eJanuary 1, 2021\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e\n\n`https://twitter.com/NeoYokel/status/1344866358333472772`","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fextratone%2Funderdocumented","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fextratone%2Funderdocumented","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fextratone%2Funderdocumented/lists"}