6 Hidden Apps You Didn’t Know About on Your iPhone

Every iPhone has a number of hidden Apple apps installed by default, most of which work behind the scenes and do things like SMS filtering, computer trust, and payment processing. However, there are some secret apps that you can access right here and now, but it takes a bit of effort to unlock them.

Siri is technically an app; the same goes for Setup (which sets up the iPhone after a restore), Screen Time (which lets you manage how you use your iPhone), and Spotlight (aka Search, the home screen search tool). But you should already know how to use them. In fact, hidden apps are those that you might never find if you don’t know where to look, and they include but are not limited to the following.

Code Scanner

The Camera app on your iPhone can scan QR codes seamlessly, and it’s also easy to open web links in Safari, add someone to Contacts, connect to a Wi-Fi network, and do anything else with a quick reply code. It also works great with App Clip codes which opens the corresponding App Clip.

However, there is another tool to scan QR codes called “Code Scanner”and it automatically opens URLs with the in-app browser so you can close the webpage and get back to scanning. Sometimes embedded URLs will redirect you to Safari or a third party app, depending on the design of the QR code, but most web links open in a code scanner.

The UI of Code Scanner is much more thoughtful than its integration into the Camera app. For example, when you scan the App Clip code in Camera, you get a tiny link that you can click on to open the App Clip. The code scanner shows a neat animation when it scans the App Clip code and then opens the App Clip straight up.

The code scanner can be added as a control in the Control Center, and you can also find it using the home screen search. You can even ask Siri to “open the code scanner.”However, you can’t add it to your home screen, it has no settings in settings, and it’s missing from the app library.

Print Center

Your iPhone has AirPrint technology, and the app that does all the work is called Print Center. Unlike the two apps above, there’s no option to open the Print Center directly, but you can open it from the app switcher if a print job is queued or in the process of being printed.

To find the Print Center, you must select “Print”on the share sheet of a document, image, or other file to print, select print options, and click “Print.”

Whenever the printer starts up, you can open the app switcher and see the Print Center; tap it to open it. You will see a list of all queued print jobs in the application, and you can tap each one to see more details about it or cancel printing. When all print jobs are completed, the order page will simply say “No Documents Pending”.

Diagnostics

When you enter the diags:// or Diagnostics:// URL scheme in Safari and click Go, you open the Diagnostics app, which Apple uses to read diagnostic data to help troubleshoot any issues you might have. your iPhone. However, without Apple’s ticket number to place after the URL scheme, this won’t do you much good.

There is another way to open Diagnostics. Turn off your iPhone first and then plug it into a power source. Immediately afterwards, hold down both volume buttons until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Shortly after that, “Diagnostics”will open, where you can “Start Diagnostics”. It is similar to the diagnostic tool available on Mac computers, only it will not run any tests without first being asked by Apple.

You can press the info button (i) to view your iPhone’s serial number, MEID and IMEI, but all this information is easily accessible in Settings -> General -> About.

Field test

There are many secret dialing codes that you can play with on your iPhone, but only one of them opens a hidden app called “Field Test”. The main reason to use this secret program is to check your iPhone’s cellular reception strength in numerical dBm (decibel-milliwatt) digits rather than the signal bars in the status bar. To open the Field Test app, enter *3001#12345#* in the Phone app, then press the call button.

Field test mode in iOS 14 (center) and iOS 15 (right).

Feedback Assistant

If you install the iOS public beta or developer beta on your iPhone, you will unlock a hidden app called Feedback Assistant. Beta testers use this tool to submit detailed reports of any issues they encounter with the software, helping Apple get it ready for prime time. But you don’t actually need to install the beta to access the feedback tool.

Using the applefeedback:// URL scheme used in Safari or another web browser, or using the shortcut, you can open the Feedback Assistant. You must then sign in with your Apple ID and submit feedback, which Apple can use to improve iOS and iPadOS. The URL scheme seems to be the only way to access the app without running the iOS beta, which is why you can’t access Feedback Assistant from the home screen, app library, search, or Siri.

magnifying glass

Magnifier, your iPhone’s accessibility tool, can be used to magnify everyday objects like door signs or small print on documents to help you see things more clearly (or at all). It’s been around since iOS 10, but iOS 14 really increased its presence, iOS 14.2 added people detection capabilities, and iOS 15 made searching easier.

Prior to iOS 14, you could only open Magnifier using the Accessibility shortcut (triple-clicking the Home button or Side button) or the Control Center toggle. You can still use these two methods to open Magnifier, but you can now also open it from the app icon on the home screen, by tapping on the back of your iPhone (when set up with Back Tap), via Siri, and from the custom menu. built-in shortcut, to name a few. And in iOS 15, it’s unlocked in the App Library, Search, and Siri by default, so it’s only hidden if you’ve never encountered it.

In addition to adding new ways to find the magnifier, iOS 14 also gave the tool a new interface, hidden controls, a customizable toolbar, improved filter management, and multiple image capture. If you haven’t tried Magnifier yet, it’s definitely worth diving into it ASAP so you know how it works when you need it on the go.

Believe it or not, there are many more hidden apps. When I find more, I will definitely add them to this list. If you know of any, please share them below so they can be added here!