Taking a screenshot of what’s showing on your iPhone’s or iPad’s is easy with iOS and iPadOS. A screenshot is an image that shows exactly what is on your devive’s display–particularly useful for sending and sharing information to others or sharing your latest gameplay scores! Screenshots are great tools to quickly save something so you can reference it later.
Press the Side button and the Volume up button at the same time. Quickly release both buttons
You see a brief white flash and may hear a camera shutter sound effect
A thumbnail of your screenshot appears in the lower-left corner of your iPhone
Tap the thumbnail to edit, press and hold the thumbnail to share, or swipe left to dismiss it
On an iPad with no home button
Press the Top button and the Volume up button at the same time. Quickly release both buttons
You see a brief white flash and may hear a camera shutter sound effect
Tap the thumbnail to edit, press and hold the thumbnail to share, or swipe left to dismiss it
On iPads that support Apple Pencil
Draw an imaginary line from one of the bottom corners of the screen with your Apple Pencil
Using an iPad and an external keyboard? There are more ways to take screenshots in iPadOS!
Choose Command+Shift+4 or Command+Shift+3 on an external keyboard (Bluetooth, Smart, or USB)
Command+Shift+4 places your screenshot in Markup Edit mode
On iPhone, iPad, or iPod with a home button (iPhone 8 or earlier, iPad, and iPod touch)
Press the Top or Side button and the Home button at the same time. Quickly release both buttons.
You see a brief white flash and may hear a camera shutter sound effect
A thumbnail of your screenshot appears in the lower-left corner of your device
Tap the thumbnail to edit, press and hold the thumbnail to share, or swipe left to dismiss it
Got just one hand available? Yes, you can still take screenshots with your iPhone!
The major drawback of all these methods is you need two hands (unless you are very dexterous!)
The good news is that you can set-up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to take screenshots with just one hand and just one touch using an accessibility feature called AssistiveTouch. Learn how in our article The One-Handed Way to Capture iPhone/iPad Screenshots.
Where do I find all my screenshots on my iPhone, iPad, or iPod?
It’s easy to find all your screenshots in the Photos app.
Open the Photos app
Choose Albums
Tap Screenshots
Why we love taking screenshots!
At AppleToolBox, we use screenshots all the time–most of our articles include them for step-by-step demonstration purposes.
Screenshots are FAST, EASY, and get the job done without much effort!
There are tons of ways screenshots can be used. Here are some of our favorites:
Collaborate with co-workers, friends, or family. Take a screenshot of something you are working on and get feedback that’s easy to understand!
Show a problem. If your device (or computer) or anything isn’t acting as it should, a screenshot is a great way to show someone in the know what’s going on. We love screenshots for documenting bugs!
Make your own movie or tv show stills. Capture some great moments from your favorite movies or shows
Provide evidence. If someone is sending you texts, pictures, or something else that’s funny or even not-so-funny, taking a screenshot is a good way to document it
Prove your gameplay scores or feats. Enough said! Showcase and memorialize your gameplay with screenshots that give you bragging rights!
Create your own wallpaper from anything you find in an app, online, or sent to you.
Provide useful and easily digestible instruction. Yup, screenshots show us how to do things, rather than tell us. And that’s why we love them!
What’s your favorite reason to take a screenshot? Share your story in our comments section.
For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!
Her clients include Edutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Big Picture Alliance.
Elizabeth received her Master of Fine Arts degree in media making from Temple University, where she also taught undergrads as an adjunct faculty member in their department of Film and Media Arts.
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