Tired of toggling your iPhone's Orientation Lock for certain apps? Keep reading to learn how you can make iOS do it for you automatically.

orientation lock
In iOS, many apps display a different view when you rotate your iPhone from portrait to landscape orientation. Depending on the app and the way you use it, this behavior isn't always desirable, which is why Apple includes the Orientation Lock option in Control Center.

However, certain apps work more usefully with Orientation Lock disabled – in the Photos app for example, where rotating your device to landscape orientation makes for a better fullscreen viewing experience.

If you tend to keep the lock on, you have to disable it in Control Center each time you open these kinds of apps to get the fullscreen experience. Then when you close the app, you have to remember to enable Orientation Lock again, which isn't ideal. Fortunately, there is a simple personal automation you can create that will take over this process for you for specific apps, so you don't have to keep going in and out of Control Center any more.

The following steps show you how it's done.

  1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone and select the Automation tab.
  2. Tap the plus symbol in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Scroll down and select App in the list.
  4. Make sure Is Opened and Is Closed are both checked, and select Run Immediately, then tap the blue Choose option.
    shortcuts

  5. Select the apps that you want the automation to work with (Photos in our example), then tap Done.
  6. Tap Next in the top-right corner.
  7. Start typing "Set Orientation Lock" into the search field, or swipe along the "Get Started" row to reveal the script, then tap to choose it.
  8. Tap Done in the top-right corner to finish.
    shortcuts

Your automation will now be saved in the Shortcuts app, and will be activated the next time you open or close any of the apps you selected for it to work with. Bear in mind that if Orientation Lock is already disabled when you open one of the selected apps, the lock will be turned back on, which is probably the reverse effect that you intended.

Popular Stories

Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
fortnite apple featured

Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by
As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...
airpods pro purple

Apple's Camera Equipped AirPods and Apple Watch Could Launch as Soon as 2027

Thursday May 8, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple is working on versions of the AirPods and Apple Watch that incorporate a camera, and the devices could be ready to launch sometime around 2027, reports Bloomberg. Apple has developed a chip codenamed "Nevis" that will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch, while a chip codenamed "Glennie" will be incorporated into the AirPods. Apple is aiming to have the chips ready "by around...