This hidden iPhone feature changes the way you take a screenshot
I write about phones for a living and have used an iPhone as my personal device for over a decade, but even I, in my infinite (read: very limited) mobile wisdom, occasionally fall victim to discovering a ‘how to’ didn’t I fucking know that?” iPhone feature.
This phenomenon is especially frustrating when it relates to something I do always on my iPhone, which in this case are screenshots. And boy, do I love a good screenshot. Whether it’s memes, outfits, Maps directions, shopping lists, social media profiles, or group chat interactions, my camera roll is full of one-off images that I’m either too lazy to delete or feel compelled to save from fear of needing them again in the future (that obscure Wallace and Gromit meme shall will come in handy someday!).
But I digress. We have a detailed guide to taking a screenshot on an iPhone elsewhere on Ny Breaking, but did you know you can also screenshot entire pages using almost the same method? Yes, you read that right: whole pages. Not just the portion of a page visible within the confines of your iPhone’s 6.1-inch (or 6.7-inch) screen. No, dear reader. Whole. Pages.
This function only applies to web pages – so pages you view in Safari, Chrome, etc. – but it’s still a useful tool that I wish I knew about sooner. Essentially, you can capture long-form content, such as recipes and articles, in a single image or document, eliminating the need to scroll through multiple screenshots when you want to read that content offline.
To screenshot entire pages on iPhone, follow the usual screenshot procedure – i.e. press the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time – then tap on the captured image and toggle the option ‘Screen’ to ‘Full Page’. You will then be given the choice of saving that entire page in your gallery, or as a PDF in the file section of your iPhone.
And voila! You can now zoom in on absolutely enormous images in your camera roll, or happily scroll through PDF files as if they were live web pages (for what it’s worth, the latter is the much sleeker option of the two).
But there’s more! You can also sign your screenshots (images or PDFs) by tapping the little pen icon at the top of the page, then the ‘plus’ icon, then the ‘Add Signature’ button. This is especially useful if you want to process official documents from the convenience of your iPhone.
It’s worth noting that Android users have been able to take full-page screenshots (and digitally sign them) for years, and in fact, these full-page screenshots aren’t limited to web pages on the top Android phones either.
Still, that doesn’t stop the ability to take full-page screenshots on an iPhone from being extremely useful, and given the sheer number of iPhone users in the world, it’s perhaps not surprising that this feature is still available. not widely known in 2024.
For more features that improve iPhone, check out our overview of the five hidden iOS tricks that will help you navigate your iPhone faster, as well as our guide to the hidden iOS 17 feature that will make your iPhone feel twice as fast.