Your iPhone has multiple touch and gesture capabilities that can enhance how you interact with apps. Some, like pinch and zoom, are well known enough to be considered second nature, but others are less obvious, like the one we're about to explain.

multiple select gesture

Two-Finger Drag to Select Items

If have apps where you habitually tap on each individual item in a list to select them – emails in your Mail inbox, for example – it's time to dial in some efficiency and embrace this faster method.

This gestural feature allows you to easily select (or deselect) multiple items in apps like Contacts, Mail, Messages, Voice Memos, Notes, and indeed any Apple app that lists multiple items. Here's how it works.

  1. Open an app where multiple item selection is supported.
  2. Touch and hold the screen with two fingers at the same time.
  3. While keeping both fingers on the screen, drag them down (or up) to select multiple items. As you drag, items will be highlighted to indicate they are selected.
  4. Once the desired items are selected, you can perform actions such as moving, deleting, or organizing them.

two finger select gesture

That's all there is to it. This simple yet powerful feature streamlines your workflow, saving you time and effort when handling multiple items. Looking to speed up your ‌iPhone‌ text editing skills? Check out our favorite hidden trick by following the link.

Top Rated Comments

vabello Avatar
5 weeks ago
My life is changed. This is wonderful. :)
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elopedthought Avatar
5 weeks ago
Whoa, didn't know that – absolute gamechanger for me! Thanks!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigjay33 Avatar
4 weeks ago
This tip was shared from Stephen Robles yesterday. Probably should reference this

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vertsix Avatar
4 weeks ago
These little trinkets are why I love MacRumors.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JapanApple Avatar
5 weeks ago
I want this, been waiting TY!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
5 weeks ago
yet this ? is still not available to select multiple attachments (mainly photos) from Messages to delete them easily. Reason #1 why I may just give up and go back to WhatsApp. iOS 18 was my last "hope" but looks like they still have not implemented it. You literally have to click on each photo manually one by one to select them! like WHY. Even in the Photos app you can at least swipe down to select multiple photos. Talk about inconsistency
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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