How to Control F on iPhone: Spotlight Search 101

By Conner Carey Updated 10/31/2021

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A fast search using Spotlight can help you find anything on your iPhone. It is equivalent to pressing the Control and F keys on a computer. Spotlight Search can help you find apps, text messages, and even photos. I’ll walk you through doing a quick search to find anything that’s on your phone!

Spotlight Search iPhone Step by Step

People often wonder, "can you Ctrl F on iPhone?" While there is no equivalent keyboard shortcut on iPhone, Spotlight Search does the exact same thing! The Spotlight app lets you do a quick search to help you find anything on your iPhone:

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Swipe down on your Home Screen.
You can also use the Search bar in Today View.

Type your search term. You will see the results in Messages, Apps, and even Photos as long as your phone is running iOS 15 or newer operating systems.
If you tap on an app, you will be taken to the search results within that app.

If you tap Show More Results, you will see more relevant apps and results.

Pro Tip: The live text function available on iOS 15 and newer operating systems makes it possible for text in photos to appear in Spotlight Search. This applies to screenshots, downloaded images, and regular photos. To learn about more new iPhone features, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

Doing an iPhone search is easy with Spotlight! It can be used to find lost text messages, locate screenshots, and even look up words in the Apple Dictionary. You may have to tap Show More Results to see the definition. Next, learn how to do quick math using Spotlight Search. Also, check out other ways to saerch Messages on your iPhone and iPad.

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Topics

How-To

iPhone

Spotlight/Search

Productivity & Business

Author Details

Conner Carey

Conner Carey's writing can be found at conpoet.com. She is currently writing a book, creating lots of content, and writing poetry via @conpoet on Instagram. She lives in an RV full-time with her mom, Jan and dog, Jodi as they slow-travel around the country.

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