How Tos - Page 50

Messages don't always arrive on your iPhone or iPad at the most convenient time. Fortunately, iOS allows you to mute conversations conducted over the stock Messages app, so you don't have to silence your device or turn it off completely to press pause on those constant message alerts. Using the mute feature in Apple's Messages app, you can silence group conversations and conversations with...

In iOS 14, Apple has added several new features to its native Messages app, including the ability to set a group photo for a multi-person chat. Setting a photo for a group conversation brings a neat bit of customization to the Messages app and it lets you identify the chat in your conversations list more easily. You can also give group chats a custom name, which combined with a group...

In iOS 14, Apple has added several new features to its native Messages app, including the ability to mention people in a group conversation. When that person is mentioned, their name gets highlighted in the message text, and they'll be notified that someone mentioned them. The neat thing about Mentions is that you can get alerted to them even if they appear in a group chat that you’ve...

In iOS 14, Apple has added several new features to its native Messages app, including the ability to send inline replies to specific messages that appear in the conversation thread of a group chat. The neat thing about inline replies is that it allows you to respond to a particular person's message in the thread, and then view all the responses to the message in either the full group...

In iOS 14, Apple has added several new features to its native Messages app, including the an improved interface for filtering incoming messages. Message filtering sorts messages from people who are not in your contacts into a separate list, which makes it easier to view messages from friends, family, or colleagues in their own special Known Senders list. All other messages, from OTP codes ...

In iOS 14, Apple has made it easier to keep track of conversation threads in Messages by allowing users to pin threads in the app. Pinned conversations live at the top of the main messages list and appear as large contact circles. You can have a maximum of nine pinned threads. You can pin both one-on-one conversations and group chats in Messages, and threads can include both SMS texts...

If you've installed iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 through Apple's developer program or the public beta after it's been released, you may decide you want to downgrade because of issues. Keep reading to learn how it's done. Compared to betas of previous years, iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are relatively stable. That said, Apple's beta versions of its major software updates can be notoriously buggy, especially...

Knowing how to take a screenshot on your Apple Watch can come in handy for all sorts of reasons. Whether you want to capture a snapshot of a bug, or give someone a preview of your activity, taking a picture of your screen is extremely easy to do. Before you take an Apple Watch screenshot though, you need to enable a setting on your iPhone. The following steps show you how it's done. How...

If you're keen to try out the new features and improvements in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, you can test beta versions of the software today. Keep reading to learn how to download and install it on your device, or you can watch our walkthrough video: With iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple is introducing several new features and improvements, including Home screen widgets and an App Library, updates for...

In iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple has added an accessibility feature called Sound Recognition that enables iPhones and iPads to listen for certain sounds, like a doorbell or a baby crying, and alert the user if they're detected. The feature is designed to help people that are hard of hearing, but Apple cautions that it shouldn't be relied upon in circumstances where the user may be harmed or...

In iOS 13.6, Apple added more granular control over the downloading and installing of iOS software updates. In earlier versions of iOS, new software updates were downloaded automatically in the background and then installed through an Automatic Updates feature. In iOS 13.6, toggles have been included to let you customize Automatic Updates more selectively. The new toggles provide you with...

Apple's 31st Worldwide Developers Conference will be a digital-only event in 2020, with no physical gathering planned due to the ongoing global health crisis. The virtual event starts a little later in the month than usual, on June 22, and is free for anyone. As with previous years, Apple is kicking off WWDC with a keynote on the first day, offering a look at some upcoming products and...

On iPhone and iPad, Apple allows you to set a custom alert tone for text messages received from a specific person in your contacts. Setting a special message alert tone for someone in your Contacts app enables you to recognize when that particular person has sent you a text, without you even having to look at your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ screen. To know instantly when someone specific has sent you...

On iPhone, Apple allows you to set custom ringtones for specific contacts, so if you assign one to a person you know, you'll be able to identify them straight away the next time they call you. Setting a special ringtone for someone in your Contacts app enables you to recognize when that particular person is calling you, without you even having to look at your ‌iPhone‌'s screen. To know...

In WhatsApp, you can set a custom alert tone for messages and calls from a specific person in your contacts, just like you can in the Contacts app on iPhone. Setting a special alert tone for a WhatsApp contact enables you to recognize when that particular person is calling you or has sent you a message, without you even having to look at your phone's screen. To know instantly when someone...

If you're concerned about people reading the contents of notifications that appear on the Lock screen of your iPhone or iPad when you're not around, you'll be happy to learn that Apple's mobile software provides a quick solution. In iOS, you can set your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ to never show notification previews, or to show them only when the device is unlocked. The following steps show you how it's...

Facebook's free WhatsApp instant messaging app uses end-to-end encryption so that messages exchanged over the platform can only be read by the intended recipient. If you use WhatsApp for important conversations and you want to further ensure your privacy, you can prevent WhatsApp messages from showing previews on your iPhone. When you receive a WhatsApp message on your ‌iPhone‌, the...

WhatsApp on iPhone includes an option to lock the app with your device's Face ID or Touch ID authentication. This article explains how to enable the feature. Locking WhatsApp is a neat way of doubling the security and privacy of your messages, and especially useful if your ‌iPhone‌ isn't set up to automatically lock after a few minutes of idle time, because even you leave your ‌iPhone‌ unlocked,...

Gmail for iPhone and iPad now offers users the ability to schedule emails to be sent at a later time and date. If you don't need to send an email right now, but don't want to forget to send it later, it's a useful trick to have in your mail app. Scheduled emails are also handy if you want time to reflect on what you've written before it's sent, or when you're emailing someone in a different...

If you've ever used Safari on Mac to search an open webpage for a specific word or phrase, you've probably selected the Edit -> Find command in your browser's menu bar or used the Command-F shortcut. On iPhone and iPad, the way you search within a webpage in Safari isn't so obvious. There are two different methods you can use in Apple's browser, both of which are described below. Once you've...