Turn On Screen Distance to Reduce Eye Strain on iPhone
About This QuickTip
Do you hold your iPhone closer to your face than you realise? Screen Distance is a built-in Screen Time feature that uses the Face ID camera to spot when your phone's been too close for a while and reminds you to move it back, helping to reduce eye strain. I'll show you how to switch it on, which devices it works on, and how to make your text bigger so you're not tempted to lean in.
Transcript
I don’t know about you, but when I’m using my phone, quite often I’ll be using it quite close to my face, probably closer than I should, and I start getting eye strain. Well, Apple’s actually built a feature into your devices called Screen Distance that should alert you to this, in the hope of stopping you getting eye strain. Let me show you how it works. And, more importantly, I’ll show you how you can make your phone easier to see if you find that you’re often holding it close to your face.
Before we do, though, if you’re new around here, then hi, I’m Jacob, and this is one of hundreds of QuickTips on my channel. So, if you want to learn more about your devices and get the most value from them, please do press subscribe.
Okay. To turn on the Screen Distance feature to begin with, I’m going to go into the Settings app, and then we’re going to scroll down until we find Screen Time. And then, on the Screen Time page, you’ll find the option for Screen Distance at the top. It’s a simple toggle switch to turn this on. If the device belongs to someone under the age of 13 in a Family Sharing group, it might be on by default.
The idea here is, when you’re using your phone, if it’s close to your face, after a little while you’ll get a message that pops up, and it will remind you to move your phone further away. The actual distance is about 12 inches, or 30 cm, which is about the length of a standard ruler.
And I guess, if you are often holding it that close, you might be finding it hard to read the screen, so let me help you with that as well. While you’re here, I’m going to go back on to the main page of the Settings app, and I’m going to tap on Appearance. From here, we have the option for Text Size. If you’re finding it hard to read, move this slider up a little bit, and your text will get bigger. That should mean that even holding it at a distance, it’s easy and comfortable for you to read.
So, give it a try. And if you want some more QuickTips, I think you’re going to really enjoy this one next.
Technical details: This QuickTip was recorded on an iPhone 17 Pro Max running iOS 27 in October 2026.
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