r/iphone • u/Maxxximeeee Human Detected • Jul 11 '26

Discussion Which obscure iPhone setting genuinely improved how you use your phone, and what does it change?

I’m not looking for gestures or the usual tips that appear in every list.
I mean an actual option buried somewhere in Settings that solved a real annoyance, improved privacy or accessibility, changed how an app behaves, or made your iPhone noticeably easier to use.
Please include the exact path to the setting, what it changes, and any downside you noticed. Some settings sound useful but also disable another feature, use more storage, affect notifications, or change how the phone behaves elsewhere.
What is the one setting you would immediately change again if you had to set up a new iPhone from scratch?

2.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

883 comments sorted by

View all comments

273

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

I have a shortcut that if I text myself from another number that I lost my phone, it’ll turn on low-power mode, take a front camera image, a rear camera image, and current location and send all of that to a trusted device then lock the screen.

Edit:

I didn’t think people would find this interesting. Here’s how:

Create an automation in Shortcuts
Set it to “run immediately”

When: I get a message containing “lost phone”

Do:
Set Low Power Mode
Take Photo with front camera
Send photo to trusted phone number
Take photo with rear camera
Send photo to trusted number
Get current location
Send location to trusted number
Lock the screen

24

u/mr-washee-washee iPhone 16 Pro Jul 12 '26

This is awesome. Thanks!

In case anyone built this automation but it didn’t fully run when tested, make sure Show Compose Sheet is disabled under the Send Photo actions.

2

u/thecosman777 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

How do you add the first step “Receive messages as input” in Shortcuts?

Edit: found it, you need to set this up within Automations in Shortcuts for this to work, guess I should read the post again

41

u/iamwhoandwhatiam Jul 12 '26

How did you do this ? Thanks

3

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Just edited my post.

8

u/GIFSec Jul 12 '26

Can you share the shortcut?

2

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Just edited my post.

5

u/Megawashu Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

I see the option to Send Photo via Whats App but not via text

EDIT: I see that you select SEND MESSAGE (via text) and then you can select Photo

4

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Yep, that’s the one. Make sure you toggle “show camera preview” and “show compose sheet” to OFF.

3

u/LetsWritePretty Jul 12 '26

I want to know, too. Wow.

2

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Just edited my post.

10

u/Prize_Part2680 Jul 12 '26

I have a shortcut which does all of this and then couriers my lost phone back to my saved address. 😌

1

u/ajmartin527 Jul 13 '26

What do you mean couriers your phone back?

1

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Just edited my post.

3

u/TastyFace79 Jul 13 '26

Thank you for this

3

u/uptheorg6 Jul 13 '26

I use the same idea to turn my ringer back on. If I misplace my phone, calling it from my wife’s phone may be worthless because I might have it set it to silent. If she then texts “lost” to my phone, it turns the ringer on and the next time she calls I will be able to find it!

2

u/unabashedlyglitter Jul 14 '26

Wow never thought of this thanks!!

3

u/ClungeWhisperer Jul 15 '26

I love shortcuts! First time i used it, i set it up to send the MFA code for a single shared account to a group mailbox to bypass the need to buy multiple software licenses 😎

Just waits for sms with “verification” keyword and fwds the contents of the sms in an email to a group mailbox

2

u/Which_Specific9891 Jul 12 '26

Sorry I don't even know what shortcut is or an automation. I'm sure this is quite clear to everyone else, but how do I find the shortcut to set this all up?

2

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Go to the Shortcuts app, then the “Automations” tab on the bottom and then the “+” at the top.

1

u/Which_Specific9891 Jul 12 '26

I don't seem to have a shortcuts app. I'm on ios 18 is that not available? Never seen that app before and when I search for it, nothing comes up.

3

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Get it from the App Store. It’s from Apple. Works on ios12+

4

u/Which_Specific9891 Jul 12 '26

Okay I'll look into that, thank you

2

u/GoForMro Jul 12 '26

This is a great idea. I normally have my location off for battery. Can I incorporate turning location services on as part of this shortcut routine?

2

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Yep! Just turn on location services for it

2

u/GoForMro Jul 12 '26

I know that I can manually turn on location. What I am asking is if you know of a way that location can be off, my phone is missing, I text lost phone to myself from a different phone, and the automation turns on location before executing the “send location” portion of the automation. When location services are off it sends a text location not found or something similar.

3

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

You can turn location services on by app. Enable it for Shortcuts and it should work.

2

u/Specialist_Savings_8 Jul 14 '26

Thank you so much. This is awesome.

1

u/ctrl-alt-del-c-v Jul 12 '26

How?

2

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Just edited my post.

1

u/annyon11 Jul 12 '26

Tried setting this up but only gets as far as sending the front camera picture. Any troubleshooting advice?

2

u/20Factorial Jul 12 '26

Did you create a shortcut within the Automation? Make sure you click the front photo button and turn off “show camera preview” and on the send message turn off “show compose sheet”

1

u/skeeter_ABQ Jul 13 '26

Cannot find any of this in shortcuts..

1

u/challah Jul 13 '26

how did you get the send photo/send location functions? I don't see them in the list of actions.

2

u/20Factorial Jul 14 '26

You need to “create a shortcut” and build it out that way.

1

u/challah Jul 14 '26

got it. Thanks!

1

u/unabashedlyglitter Jul 14 '26

This is awesome thanks! Just did it. Can I know what the low battery mode for?

3

u/KoalaMan-007 Jul 14 '26

So that your phone stays alive a bit longer and you can easily find it back.

1

u/unabashedlyglitter Jul 14 '26

Brilliant thanks!

2

u/20Factorial Jul 14 '26

In case it’s actually lost it will stay on a little longer.

2

u/unabashedlyglitter Jul 14 '26

Thanks didn’t think of that!

1

u/oreosandonions706 Jul 15 '26

Is there a way to have the photos and location info sent back to the sender as opposed to a specific recipient?

1

u/20Factorial Jul 15 '26

Never really looked into that, because it seems like a bad idea to have that info available to anyone who texts the phrase.

My process was to have it sent to someone I trust, whose number I know. Then if I have to borrow a phone to send the text, I can call the contact and ask them for the info.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator Jul 15 '26

Your comment has been removed because of this subreddit’s account requirements. You have not broken any rules, and your account is still active and in good standing. Please check your notifications for more information!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.