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Hidden iPhone keyboard shortcuts to raise your texting and typing game

Nbcwashington · · 600 words · By Kelvin Chan; The Associated Press
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What to know about Hidden iPhone keyboard shortcuts to raise your texting and typing game

Texting friends, replying to a business email, tapping out some text for a social media post.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left12%
Center88%
Right0%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Texting friends, replying to a business email, tapping out some text for a social media post.

Why it matters

We do a lot of writing on our smartphones, which are increasingly essential for our work and personal lives.

Common ground

But did you know about the many keyboard tips and tricks that can help raise your smartphone skills?

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/tech/hidden-iphone-keyboard-shortcuts-texting…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
info Single Source 4
info
Claim 1: “While holding your thumb down on the space bar, tap anywhere on the keyboard. Now you can select text by moving your finger.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While multiple sources confirm the space bar creates a trackpad for cursor movement, the specific claim about 'tapping anywhere on the keyboard' while holding the space bar to initiate a selection mode is not explicitly corroborated by the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — While typing on Apple's built-in keyboard, press and hold the space bar, and the keys will disappear. Now you can move your finger around this new, empty surface to precisely move the cursor around th…
https://mashable.com/article/ios-12-precise-text-selection-k…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — I just learned that if you deep-press on the #IOS keyboard space bar, the keyboard works like a trackpad, so you can insert text without using your finger on the screen. Apparently, works on any iPhon…
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ios-keyboard-as-trackpa…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Gboard already supports caret movement by tapping and dragging the insertion handle or by sliding across the space bar horizontally. Microsoft’s SwiftKey offers similar horizontal gestures, and Apple’…
https://www.findarticles.com/gboard-tests-cursor-mode-turnin…
info
Claim 2: “But when writing in chat apps like iMessage or WhatsApp or typing in some app text windows, it only allows you to select text but not deselect it if you've highlighted more than you wanted. So use a slightly different method: hold a finger down on the shift key and hold down the space bar.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results provided for this claim are irrelevant (referring to a TV series and holding companies) and do not address keyboard shortcuts for deselecting text.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Holding is a four-part television series based on the debut novel of the same name by Graham Norton. It premiered on ITV on 14 March 2022 and on Virgin Media More in Ireland on 12 April 2022. Easy-goi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holding_(TV_series)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Holding companies reduce risk for the shareholders, and can permit the ownership and control of a number of different companies. They can be subsidiaries in a tiered structure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holding_company
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The meaning of HOLDING is land held especially by a vassal or tenant. How to use holding in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holding
info
Claim 3: “You probably know you can tap twice on a word to highlight it, or three times to highlight a whole paragraph.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about the iPhone and Apple's sales page, none of which mention text highlighting gestures (double-tap or triple-tap).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed by Apple that use the iOS operating system. Introduced by then-CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, the iPhone revolutionized the mobile phone industry with…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iPhone_models
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — When you’re ready to buy a new iPhone, you can trade in your current iPhone or Android device and apply any credit toward your purchase. If your device isn’t eligible for credit, we’ll recycle it for …
https://www.apple.com/iphone/
check_circle
Claim 4: “Use three fingers to pinch closed the highlighted selection to copy.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Ben Stegner/Web Search, Benzinga, TikTok) confirm that a three-finger pinch gesture is used to copy text or photos.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Three-finger pinch to copy, cut, and paste. 03a iPhone Highlighted Text to Copy. Screenshot by Ben Stegner; no attribution required.
https://www.makeuseof.com/iphone-gestures-apple-doesnt-tell-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Step III: Make a three-finger pinch gesture on a photo (as demonstrated in the video below) and switch to the other device you want to share the image with. Step IV: Make the three-finger pinch gestur…
https://www.benzinga.com/news/23/02/30761305/apple-users-mag…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — To copy, pinch inward with three fingers.. and to paste, pinch outward with three fingers. 2 BONUS TIPS: This works between all your Apple devices as long as you’re signed into same Apple account on t…
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/how-to-do-the-pinch-the-scre…
check_circle
Claim 5: “To paste somewhere else, do the opposite gesture by pinching or spreading three fingers open.”
CORROBORATED
Although the specific evidence section for claim 8 is empty, the evidence provided for claim 7 (Benzinga and TikTok) explicitly mentions that the 'opposite gesture' (pinching outward/spreading three fingers) is used to paste.
check_circle
Claim 6: “Apple’s Quickpath feature lets you write by sliding your finger around the screen's digital keyboard, instead of tapping and lifting your fingers on the electronic letters.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (MacRumors, CNET, and other web results) confirm that Apple's QuickPath/Slide to Type feature allows users to type by sliding their finger across the keyboard.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A new iOS 13 feature called QuickPath is going to change the way you type on your iPhone, including the new iPhone 11. Even after Apple began to allow third-party keyboard apps on the iPhone and iPad,…
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/how-to-use-the-iphones-new-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — QuickPath allows you to type a word without removing your finger from the keyboard when entering individual letters.You can also toggle the switch next to Delete Slide-to-Type by Word to enable or dis…
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/use-quickpath-swipe-keyboar…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Instead of hitting individual keys on the onscreen keyboard, you can drag your finger over them to quickly type words. Apple calls this feature QuickPath or Slide to Type, but others may refer to it a…
https://www.idownloadblog.com/2023/06/20/how-to-fix-quickpat…
check_circle
Claim 7: “If it's not already activated, turn it on by going into Settings, General, and Keyboard, and toggle on Slide to Type.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the path to enable the feature is Settings > General > Keyboard > Slide to Type.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows the input of characters without the need for physical keys. Interaction with a virtual keyboard happens mostly via a touchscreen interface, but c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_keyboard
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual, or functional arrangement of key switches, legends, or key mapping (respectively) of a keyboard. Layouts are used on computer keyboards, for virtual…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — QWERTY ( KWUR-tee) is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets; the name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: QWERTY. The design evolved for the quick …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 8: “This can also be used with photos.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence from Benzinga and TikTok explicitly states that the three-finger pinch and spread gestures work for sharing/pasting photos.
check_circle
Claim 9: “To move the cursor to the part of the text you want to modify, hold your thumb down on the space bar until the letters disappear, or hold it down inside the text bubble.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (ZDNET, Liverpool Echo, and others) confirm that holding the space bar transforms the keyboard into a trackpad for cursor movement.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Get the convenience of a trackpad on your iPhone (or iPad) when working with a lot of text.There is an easier way, and that way is to activate the built-in trackpad. And it's an easy, one-step process…
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-transform-your-iphones-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — While typing on iPhone, hold down the spacebar until all the letters on the keyboard disappear. Drag your finger around to move the cursor between your text on-screen. It’s as easy as that! The trackp…
https://www.cultofmac.com/how-to/turn-iphone-keyboard-into-t…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — If you hold down the space bar on your iPhone and slide to the left or right, it moves the flashing cursor to wherever you need it to go, similar to a trackpad on a laptop.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/iphone-k…
info
Claim 10: “Pressing delete right away will erase the entire word you've typed this way, instead of just a letter.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one specific source (One Tech Tip) mentions that pressing delete immediately erases the entire QuickPath word; other sources mention the existence of a 'Slide-to-Type by Word' toggle but do not explicitly describe the immediate delete behavior in the same way.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Pressing delete right away will erase the entire word you've typed this way, instead of just a letter. Turn the keyboard into a trackpad. You wrote a sentence and realized you forgot a word and want t…
https://www.thetelegraph.com/living/article/one-tech-tip-hid…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Galaxy S25 Ultra/S25+ Warning: Unplug Charger Immediately on Samsung?Follow along using the transcript.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJSnwbOyWw
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Slide to Type feature on the Floating Keyboard makes it easier than ever to write lengthy emails, take notes, or draft documents on the iPad.
https://cellularnews.com/mobile-accessories/how-to-slide-to-…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.