iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

What Does It Mean When Someone Has Notifications Silenced

Have you been wondering what "Notifications Silenced" means? Sometimes, when you text someone via Messages, you might notice that it says the person has notifications silenced. Don't panic! It means exactly what it says: the user has their notifications silenced. It doesn't mean you're blocked. You can usually choose to notify the person anyway. Here's how it works.

How to Stop Random Adding of Widgets to Smart Stacks (iOS 17)

Widgets are a great way to organize your iPhone and iPad's Home and Lock Screen. The Smart Rotate feature can also be a great way to make more of your Home Screen's precious real estate by stacking multiple widgets that automatically rotate based on use, time of day, and other factors. However, you may have noticed random widgets you didn't add popping up instead. Here's how to fix random apps popping up in stacked widgets.

How to Organize Your Calendar in 2025

(Sponsored Post) By Amy Spitzfaden Both on Thu, 10/31/2024

Apple is pretty good about updating its products, but it seems to have forgotten about the Calendar app and its many downsides. The makers of Informant 5, on the other hand, do not forget to regularly improve their app based on user experience. The latest updates to this calendar and task-management app are a productivity game-changer.

The New iPad Will Have Apple Pencil Support

Apple unveiled a new 9.7 inch iPad for 2018 with lower educator pricing and an expansive package of classroom-management and curricular apps at its recent "Let's Take a Field Trip" event. The new hardware and applications are designed to launch teachers, students, administrators, and the classroom itself into an integrated, streamlined future where educational and creative opportunities are expanded, organized, and optimized. 

Is it possible to delete an Apple ID account permanently? The answer is yes, but it does come with some complications, such as losing access to your iCloud storage and iMessages. We'll cover some less extreme options for solving problems with your Apple ID, then learn how to deactivate and delete an Apple ID permanently if that's the right step for you.

Apple releases a new version of iOS every year of late and iPhone owners are encouraged to download the update as soon as possible. This is because new versions of iOS contain not only convenient new capabilities, but also repairs for glitches, and new security features that keep our devices safe from viruses and other malware. The Apple Watch is no different from the iPhone in its need to have regular software updates, so let's get started learning how to update watchOS so your device can deliver its full potential of features and capabilities! 

Kids love iPad time as much as the rest of us, but am I the only one who can almost see my iPad cringe at my child's enthusiastic appreciation? My standard protective iPad case can handle the wear and tear of adult and teenage use, but isn't up to the task of drops, bangs, and spills that a younger child dishes out. Therefore, I've set about to find the very best iPad cases for young children so that I can safeguard my iPad and my nerves from the perils of our preschooler in residence. I'm looking for three key features in my search for the best iPad case for kids: it must be drop proof, easily cleaned, and cute. Let's get started on our review of my findings so you can decide which of these iPad-saving cases you'd choose!

When you make a call on your iPhone, Caller ID reveals your phone number to the person you're calling. If you want to know how to make a private call on your iPhone so your Caller ID doesn't show up, there are a few ways to accomplish this. Here are three ways to hide your phone number, as well as who can still see your number even with these methods, and a simple way to make your phone number visible again on a call-by-call basis, even if you've blocked your number. Let's get started learning how to block your phone number on your iPhone. 

Apple Cash doesn't need any extra app downloads or new accounts to work; all you have to do is set up Apple Pay in Settings. Once set up, Apple Cash will allow you to request and receive payments quickly and conveniently through your Messages app, and even cancel payments if needs be. Not everyone will want to receive payments automatically, though. Some people may want to approve each payment that gets sent to them, and there is a setting in Apple Cash that allows for manual rather than automatic payment acceptance. Let's get started learning how to change your Apple Pay settings from automatic to manual receipt of payments. Please note that there is no Apple Cash for Android; only iMessage users can send and receive Apple Cash.

Organizing your life so that it works for you instead of against you is a great way to lower overall stress and free up some brain power. Wunderlist is a to-do list and task manager that allows you to easily keep track of any area of life, get reminders about what you need to do, and collaborate with others from right within the app. I also use Wunderlist to make lists of random things I want to remember, such as movies I want to watch or books I want to read. On the surface, it’s easy to look at Wunderlist and see just a to-do app, but the plethora of features make it an incredible tool for staying organized and on top of things without having to remember it all yourself. We’ll go over more on what Wunderlist does and why we love it below.

Facebook Privacy: How to Delete Facebook Apps

  1. Tap on the x to the right of the app you want to delete.
  2. Choose Delete App or Delete App & Activity from the pop-up menu. I recommend Delete App & Activity.
  3. After deleting your chosen app, you'll receive a notification telling you the app may still keep data you've previously shared.
  4. After you tap Close, you'll see a screen like this:

The next time your Facebook app refreshes, the apps you deleted will completely disappear. 

How to Turn On Automatic App Updates (iOS 17)

When you enable automatic updates for your apps, the iPhone will update all your apps at once instead of requiring you to manually update each app individually. To enable automatic updates for all your apps, open Settings and enable Updates inside the Automatic Downloads menu. Let's learn how to save time by setting all your iPhone apps to update automatically. 

Apple Pay Cash gives iPhone users a convenient way to send and receive money right from the Messages app on the iPhone. Apple Cash doesn't need any new accounts or app downloads to work; it functions within your normal iMessages as long as you already have Apple Pay set up. While Apple Pay is a super convenient way to receive money, not everyone will want to keep their entire balance on their Apple Cash card. We've already gone over how to use Apple Pay in the Safari browser on your iPhone, and how to send money with Apple Pay. Now, if you've been wondering, "how do I transfer money from Apple Pay to my bank account?" we'll show you how to use the Wallet app to transfer money from Apple Cash to your bank account of choice, instantly, or in one to three days. 

If your credit or debit card is lost or stolen, you'll want to suspend it in your iPhone's Wallet & Apple Pay app. If your phone is lost or stolen, you'll also probably want to remotely erase your device. Better safe than the sorry victim of credit card fraud or identity theft! So how do we go about suspending lost or stolen credit cards to prevent someone else from using them? And how can we suspend our cards if our iPhone is also gone? Don't panic; in just a few easy steps you can suspend credit cards in Apple Pay on your iPhone, or  remotely if your iPhone's been lost or stolen and you have access to another smartphone or computer.

One of the best features of digital books, besides their incredible helpfulness in saving space, is their ability to be updated. When corrections and changes need to be made, Amazon can simply send the updated content to your Kindle. But how can Kindle owners manage their Kindle settings to make sure these automatic updates happen? We've already gone over how to buy Kindle books on your iPhone or iPad and how to delete them on the Kindle app or a Kindle device. Now, let's go over how to manage your Kindle settings to make sure your e-books are automatically updated so you can have all the most current versions of your Kindle content! 

We've teamed up with StackCommerce to bring you iPhone Life Deals, showcasing unique discounts on some of the top gadgets and software from around the web. This post does not constitute editorial endorsement, and we earn a portion of all sales.

It’s frustrating when your iPhone dies on you when you’re nowhere near an outlet.  Maybe you were expecting an important call while out for the day, or perhaps you were on a long hike about to reach the ideal spot for a beautiful photo—and then your phone dies. It’s situations like these that reveal the utility of a portable battery charger.

Pages