How to Enable the Hidden Tap Gesture on iPhone or Android

crosscut and gestures can avail do more with your headphone in less fourth dimension — you just need to know the good ones to use . Thanks to the rollout of iOS 14 and the efforts of third - party developers on Android , you’re able to now get at a very helpful Modern crosscut : rap the back of your earpiece to set up apps , take screenshots , start the camera , and much more .

Back tap on an iPhone

If you ’re using an iPhone , then the setup process is more straightforward , because the back tap feature is built intoiOS 14 . You do require an iPhone 8 or by and by and a phone that sustain Tap to Wake , though , because of the sensor required . You do n’t get the back rap option on theiPhone SE , for object lesson .

If you ’re using a compatible French telephone , from stage setting go to Accessibility , then Touch , then Back tip to activate the crosscut and determine how they ferment . you may enable and configure both Double Tap and Triple Tap if you want to , gift you two dissimilar shortcuts that can be enabled in an instant .

There are mountain of system cutoff you may assign to a twofold or treble tap , include assume a screenshot , waking Siri , mute your phone , interlace the CRT screen , and opening up Control Center . you may also set up various handiness shortcuts , admit the VoiceOver and Magnifier characteristic .

Photo: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo

Further down the tilt you ’ll see a pick of Siri shortcuts , including custom ace that you ’ve previously set up . Any Siri shortcutcan be assigned to a back tap , which means the possibility are almost endless . The back taps can deepen the constellation of your phone , shape with file , phonograph record picture and video , rip information from the web , and much more . Thanks to Siri shortcuts , you’re able to expend back rap with just about any app you like .

A double or three-fold tap launching your choose action , and ( where applicable ) a 2d two-fold or triple tap unwrap it again . In the case of muting your earphone , for example , the back rap shortcut acts as a mute and unmute on/off switch shift ; if you ’ve set it to spread out Control Center , then the back rap show and then shroud it .

There are quite a fewiPhone gesturesbeyond the normal one that you might have never let on or forgotten about . Swiping down on the text input box to hide the keyboard , for instance , or swiping left and right to delete digits in the Calculator app , or double tapping to soar in on Apple Maps . you’re able to read about some more gestureshere .

Screenshot: iOS

Screenshot: iOS

Back tap on an Android phone

Back tap is a small bit more complicated for Android users , because it ’s not a feature that comes built into the package on your handset . There were signs that it might appear inAndroid 11 , at least for Pixel phone , but at long last Google decided to rive the functionality — whether or not it shows up in a future update remain to be seen .

Third - party developer have stop up the disruption , specifically Kieron Quinn over at theXDA Developerscommunity . His app is called Tap , Tap , and it should work on most Android phones . It ’s still in beta , though , so you might detect a few glitch or a few inconsistencies with your own exceptional gadget .

Tap , Tap is n’t useable on the Google Play Store at the time of writing , so you need to visitthis forum threadfrom your sound , follow the download link in the first post , and then tap through the security measure warnings that Android show you about installing unknown software ( it ’s OK , you may intrust this app ) .

Screenshot: iOS

Screenshot: iOS

Once you start the app , you ’ll be able to position and test the tap sensitivity , and get the app working with Android ’s accessibility service so that it can always be ‘ listen ’ for your tap . You ’ll also take to make certain that Android does n’t shut the app down to try and husband battery life , but again knock , wiretap run you through this process .

When you get to the app ’s main screen , you’re able to configure it further : Pick Double Tap Actions and Triple Tap Actions to clean what you desire to happen with a back tap . you may plunge apps , take screenshots , activate Google Assistant , and much more . The app also lets you place “ gate ” for when the taps do and do n’t work — you could disable them when the display is off , for example , or when you ’re on a call .

Tap , Tap is still beta software , and can be strike by the casual microbe , but it actually give you much more control than Apple ’s build - in solution . It ’s gravid for launching the camera , running a World Wide Web hunt , viewing your notifications , and much more . As on iOS , Android digest a miscellany of other gestures that you might not be aware of , and we ’ve collected some of themhere .

Screenshot: Android