iPhone Pre-App Setting – How To Customise Your iPhone Apps Using The Pre-App Setting

iPhone Pre-App Setting – How To Customise Your iPhone Apps Using The Pre-App Setting

When you don’t know how to use the iPhone Pre-App setting, navigating your iPhone can be disconcerting, especially if you don’t like the settings or have trouble identifying apps because of their sizes.

With Per-App Settings (introduced in iOS 15), you avoid the one-size-fits-all trap: Mail can use larger text while Instagram stays at the standard size. With this setting, you can customise your apps beyond the default settings.

With iOS 18, you get two updates: hidden apps aren’t left out in the cold, and you can fine-tune the cursor’s blinking behaviour in every text-enabled app.

Below, you’ll learn how to seamlessly use the Per-App Settings and tweak every available preference.

How To Add Apps From Per-App Settings

Follow the steps below to customise your apps. 

1. In the Settings app, navigate to Accessibility » Per-App Settings.
2. Once an app is listed under Per-App Settings, tap its name to reveal all available options. If it’s an app you’ve hidden, tap “Show Hidden Apps,” then authenticate to have it appear in the list.
3. Each option offers Default, On, and Off choices, except for Larger Text, which shows a slider with an option to “Reset Font Size to Default,” and Auto-Play Animated Images, which is just a toggle switch.

4. While all options will be available across all apps, not all will apply to the app you’re customising. 

5. When you choose Default for an option, it uses the system-wide default preference.

Always test changes by opening (or force-quitting and reopening) the app after you toggle a setting. Some apps may require a relaunch before you see any of the adjustments you’ve made.

What Each Pre-App Setting Does 

Here’s what each setting does:

• Bold Text: When on, it bolds most text visible on the screen.

• Larger Text: You can increase or decrease text on the screen to your preferred reading size. It’s tied to the Text Size control in Control Centre, where you can adjust text size for just the app you’re currently in. Changing the size in Per-App Settings updates the slider in Control Centre, and vice versa.

• Button Shapes: When on, it adds shapes around tappable text-only elements to make them appear more like buttons.

• On/Off Labels: When on, it adds universal symbols for “on” and “off” to toggle switches — a vertical line for “on” and a circle for “off”.

• Reduce Transparency: When on, it improves contrast by reducing the transparency and blurring on some backgrounds to increase legibility.

• Increase Contrast: When on, it increases colour contrast between the app’s foreground and background colours.

• Differentiate Without Colour: When on, it replaces the user interface elements that rely on colour to convey information with alternatives.

• Prefer Horizontal Text: When on, vertically displayed texts, which are common in some languages, will appear horizontally.

• Smart Invert: When on, it reverses most colours on your display, including in some apps that use dark colour styles. It will not affect photos, videos, or other visual media, including app icons.

• Reduce Motion: When enabled, it reduces motion in the user interface, including the parallax effect seen for Home Screen icons.

• Prefer Cross-Fade Transitions: When enabled, it reduces motion for user interface controls that slide in when appearing and out when disappearing. This setting only appears when Reduce Motion is enabled system-wide or just in the app you’re customising.

• Auto-Play Animated Images: When on, the Messages app automatically plays animated images, such as GIFs and Live Stickers.

• Auto-Play Video Previews: When on, it automatically plays any video previews shown in apps like the App Store.

• Prefer Non-Blinking Cursor: The cursor indicator in text fields will not blink when enabled, so you can always see it. This option has been available since iOS 18.

After you toggle a setting, always test changes by opening (or force-quitting and reopening) the app. Some apps may require a relaunch before you see any of the adjustments you’ve made.

How To Remove Apps From Per-App Settings

If you decide you no longer need customisation — or if an app update resets things unexpectedly — remove it to revert to system defaults:

1. Go to Settings> Accessibility> Per-App Settings.

2. Tap “Show Hidden Apps” and authenticate if necessary.

3. Long-swipe left on the app name you want to delete or short-swipe left and tap “Delete” when it appears.

4. Alternatively, tap “Edit” at the top, then tap the minus (–) icon next to the app and confirm with “Delete.”

Removing the app resets every preference (text size, bold text, contrast, etc.) to the defaults, which is much faster than manually changing each option in the app.

Conclusion

You can always customise your iPhone settings to your taste using the Pre-Apps setting.