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Previously, we covered creating keyboard shortcuts to help you quickly type commonly used phrases. Did you know you can also create shortcuts for emoji characters (those cute emoticons that go way beyond your average smiley face)? This is handy if you use a lot of emoji characters and don't want to switch back and forth between keyboards all the time.

Siri is great, but there are some things Siri can't do, like take screenshots. Plus, if you have low cell coverage and no Wi-Fi access, then Siri turns off entirely. Turning on voice commands is a great way to navigate your iPhone, open apps, browse the web, and send texts, all without relying on Siri. You can enable your iPhone's Voice Control in the Accessibility menu of your Settings app. Let's dive in with how to turn on Voice Control for the iPhone.

You can save a ton of money on an iCloud storage plan, Apple Music subscription, and purchases from Apple Music, Books, TV, Game Center, and the App Store. How? By using Apple Family Sharing, a money-saving program that allows up to six family members to share Apple Music and much more. The whole family can access the same content across multiple devices without sharing accounts. Once you've set up Family Sharing and started your family group, it's simple to add a family member; you can invite new members at any time. We've already gone over how to set up Family Sharing and how to share an Apple Music family plan with Family Group members. Now, here's how to send and accept family sharing invitations, so more family members can save money by sharing Apple purchases. 

Many Apple Watch users love the Start and End Workout reminders because, like me, they forget to properly track their workouts. However, other users are irritated be the constant reminders, and since they already know how to end a workout on the Apple Watch, they don't want to deal with the additional notifications. We'll show you how to change your Apple Watch settings to stop these reminders.

If you've set up Screen Time on an iPhone or iPad for your child and have blocked or limited social media and other apps, those apps' services may still be accessible via their URL websites, providing kids with a way to get around your parental controls. Here's how to block a website on Safari, Chrome, or any browser on an iPhone or iPad. Whether it's Facebook, YouTube, or any other website that's too mature for your kids, you'll be able to fully block an app's website and not worry about kids finding a way to use them. This tip can also be used by adults who are trying to limit their own social media use, or don't want adult content unexpectedly popping up on their devices.

The Apple Notes app is a convenient way to keep track of lists, ideas, and more. You can choose to start a new note from your Lock screen every time you need to jot something down, or to continue with the last note you were working on. We've already shown you how to write a note directly from your iPhone's Lock screen, and how to organize your notes by transferring them to a folder. Now, let's learn how to set whether to continue a previous note or start a new note when opening Notes from your Lock screen. 

Location Services on your iPhone lets Apple apps (like the Camera app) and third-party apps (like your banking app) figure out where you're located while using your phone. When iPhone Photo Location Services is turned on and you take a photo, it'll tag your photo with your current location. This way, you can search through the photos that you took on your vacation to Bora Bora or in your own hometown. Location Services uses Wi-Fi or cellular data plus GPS services to find your location. If you're connected to data or Wi-Fi but your photos aren't being tagged, we have a few simple fixes for you to try. Here's how to get Photos Location Services working again.

In Apple's Safari browser on your iPhone and iPad, you can add an article or web page you want to save to your Reading List. The Reading List on your iPhone and iPad is a Safari feature that makes it easy to come back later and read all your saved articles. With iOS 11 and later, iPhone and iPad owners can tell Safari to save articles to read later, even offline, without internet access. This is an easily overlooked feature that’s actually really cool. We've already shown you how to enable Safari Reader mode, so you can look at web pages without ads. Now, here’s how to save web pages and articles on your iPhone and iPad with the Safari browser for online or offline reading. We'll also cover how to find your Reading List, so you can keep reading no matter what your location.

The default mail app in the iPhone and iPad has always been Apple Mail. While it is a great email app, users who prefer Outlook, Gmail or something else have been at a disadvantage. The new iOS 14 update, however, allows users to pick the default mail app of their choice. Changing your mail app will make it auto-open when you click on an email link while browsing the internet. This can make managing your personal and work email accounts easier, allowing you to easily navigate incoming and outgoing email.

If your recent iOS 14 update came with orange or green dots at the top of your screen, you’re not alone. But don’t worry, these indicators on the iPhone status bar are there to safeguard your security and privacy. They let you know when apps use your microphone or camera, and are especially helpful when you’re not aware that your microphone or camera is in use. Let’s take a look at what each dot means and how you can monitor which apps accessed your iPhone microphone or camera recently.

A hilarious function of modern devices is the extra sounds we have to mimic the sounds older technology used to make. Two such sounds are the Keyboard Clicks and Lock Sounds on the iPhone. When the function is turned on, you’ll hear a sound similar to a door closing when pressing your side button (Sleep/Wake button) that lets you know you’ve locked your phone without needing to look. Or, when you’re typing on the iOS keyboard, you’ll hear clicking sounds letting you know you haven’t missed a letter. However, a lot of people find this unnecessary or even annoying and want to turn off the typing sounds, the locking sound, or both. Here’s how to turn off Lock Sound and Keyboard Clicks on your iPhone.

Customizing which photos individual apps can access is a great security feature. Now, you do not have to allow every app to access all of your photos. You can grant access to a few photos or even just one depending on what you are using the app for. In this article, you will learn how to customize the photos an app can access on your iPhone. This is a feature new to iOS 14. You must have iOS 14 on your iPhone in order to utilize this setting.

Some iPad and iPhone apps require mic and camera access to function properly, and some don't. Apple has introduced new app privacy settings with iOS 14, which allow users to customize access to personal data like photos and videos, app by app, choosing to allow full access, partial access, or no access at all. There's also a way to check microphone and camera access in your Settings app. This way, you can change camera and microphone settings for any app, all in the same place, so apps that don't need to listen to you or see you can't. Let's learn how to allow camera access on your iPhone and iPad or turn it off, and how to allow microphone access, or turn off access to your iPhone or iPad microphone.  

Learn how to protect your data and limit your iPhone's Lightning port to charging only with USB restricted mode. If you lose your iPhone, or even lose sight of your phone in a public place, like plugged into the wall of the coffee shop, your data is susceptible to USB hacking tools such as keyloggers, even if it's locked. USB Restricted Mode is an iPad and iPhone security setting that can help secure your data by disabling access to the Lightning port after your device has been locked for an hour. After USB Restricted Mode turns on, your iPhone's USB/Lightning port is disabled, and you'll have to use Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to unlock your iPhone so you can use USB accessories. Let's go over how to enable restricted mode, and how to turn off or disable restricted mode.

When I’m going on a longer bike ride or one in an unfamiliar area, I always consult Apple Maps to plan my cycling route. A new feature from Apple Maps makes this even easier, and more personalized; users can now avoid hills and busy roads! This is excellent news for those of us who are a little out of shape, and who would rather avoid excessive encounters with cars when possible. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to planning a cycling route with no hills and no busy streets in Apple Maps.

If you’re wondering how to block a website on Safari, never fear. In this tutorial, we’ll explain how to block websites on iPhone and how to block websites on an iPad running iPadOS. Most smartphone users keep their devices to themselves and have no real need to share their phones except to share pictures or lend it to a friend to make a call. There are times, however, when restricting website access is necessary. Say your kids or grandkids are over, and they want to check out your apps. You’ll want to be sure to block explicit content. Or maybe some malware or ransomware is circulating. Knowing how to block a website or sites on your iPhone or iPad will keep things safe and blocking content will automatically apply to all installed browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Opera Touch.

Learn how to keep your podcasts from deleting themselves from your iPhone. If you’re wondering why your podcasts keep getting randomly deleted from the Podcasts app, you’re in the right place! What you’re likely dealing with is a setting that was designed to help keep your iPhone storage from getting too full. You can keep your podcasts from being deleted with a quick change to your settings, and the steps to get back deleted podcast episodes are pretty simple as well.

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