The game-changing Apple iPhone hack hiding in plain sight

Okay, so nine out of ten times an iPhone 'hack' does the rounds online, we get to enjoy that smug feeling of 'yeah, we already knew it could do that'. But every now and then, something comes along that genuinely takes us by surprise – like this brilliant feature that has been sitting (quite literally) under our noses all along.

Along with thousands of Twitter users, we were today years old when we discovered that the iPhone can take a full-page screenshot in just a couple of taps, with no extra apps or software required. Just when we think we knew everything about the best camera phones, a new (and embarrassingly obvious) feature pops up to surprise us.

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A TikTok video has gone viral on Twitter (now there's a confusing sentence), showing how easy it is to capture a full web page. All you have to do is take a screenshot as normal, then, while viewing the screenshot preview, toggle across to 'Full Page'. The full page screenshot can then be saved as a PDF – which means it doesn't have to clog up your camera roll.

'Full Page' only appears as an option for screenshots of Safari or Apple's in-built Mail app, which could go some way to explain why so few users were aware of it – anyone who uses Chrome, Gmail or any other third party apps won't have access to the feature. For now, those users will have to carry on taking seven screenshots to save that new recipe (or there's always, you know, bookmarks).

Much like Back Tap and the incredibly powerful braille keyboard, this is a super-useful tool that Apple hasn't made much of a song and dance about. While most iOS 14 users are aware of headline features like widgets and customised homescreens, the iPhone is full of lesser-known hacks that could seriously speed up your workflow.  Indeed, it seems we're by no means the only ones who hadn't thought to try tapping 'Full Page':

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While there are some genuinely impressive iPhone 13 rumours doing the rounds, it's always nice to have our minds blown by a (blatantly obvious, yes, we know) feature on the device that's actually in our hand/pocket. What's next? Are we going to discover you can do the same thing on a MacBook? (Only joking – here's how to take a screenshot on a Mac.)

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Daniel John
Senior News Editor

Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.