How to Trigger Actions and Shortcuts By Tapping the Back of Your iPhone - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Trigger Actions and Shortcuts By Tapping the Back of Your iPhone

by

In iOS 14 and later, Apple includes an accessibility feature called Back Tap that lets you assign an action to be triggered when you double-tap or triple-tap the back of your iPhone. This article explains how it's done.

iphone 11 pro hands on
There are numerous actions that you can assign to a Back Tap on iPhone. You could use it for quick access to something –- launching a specific app or invoking the Control Center, for example. You could set a Back Tap to turn Rotation Lock on/off, activate Zoom, bring up the Camera, or even trigger a shortcut.

To assign an action to a double-tap or triple-tap of the back of your iPhone, follow the steps below. Note that Back Tap requires an iPhone 8 or newer model running iOS 14 or later.

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Under "Physical and Motor," tap Touch.
    settings

  4. Scroll down and tap Back Tap.
  5. Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap to set an action to trigger.
  6. Select the action from the list that you want to trigger when you double or triple-tap the back of your iPhone.
    settings

After assigning an action to a Back Tap using the above steps, the Back Tap is immediately ready to use. Try it out, and see just how convenient it can be for performing a variety of actions.

Popular Stories

iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Tuesday June 9, 2026 11:29 am PDT by
If you pay for extra iCloud storage on your iPhone, beyond the 5GB included for free, you might receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. First, Apple said there will be daily usage limits for some of the new and enhanced Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27, including image generation. However, the company noted that "increased access" is available with "most" iCloud+ storage ...
WWDC26 MR Live Coverage Article

WWDC 2026 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 27, Revamped Siri, and More

Monday June 8, 2026 9:15 am PDT by
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day. We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements today, headlined by a reset on Apple's push into AI that should see a significant overhaul...
macOS Golden Gate Mac

Apple Announces macOS 27 Golden Gate With New Siri and 'Tons' of Refinements

Monday June 8, 2026 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today announced that macOS 27 is named macOS Golden Gate. Much like Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009, Apple said it focused on improving macOS's performance and dozens of underlying technologies this year. Apple says macOS Golden Gate offers quicker AirDrop transfers, faster network file browsing, improved syncing in the Messages app, better Spotlight search suggestions, and other...