I can’t live without iPhone shortcuts. These 7 are my favorites that you should try, too.

The iPhone Shortcuts app reminds me of Minecraft. It might be easy to jump into, but it offers almost unlimited potential, allowing you to build whatever you want. The same is true for the Shortcuts app, and the endless possibilities are what many iPhone users may find intimidating. But it is not necessary.

If you’re new to iPhone shortcuts, think of them as little automatic assistants. You can build your own or find ones built by others and use them. And that’s the beauty of shortcuts. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, you can find shortcuts created by others and adapt them to your needs.

That being said, let’s check out my favorite shortcuts. These aren’t the top shortcuts on everyone’s list, but they’re the ones I use every day to get things done quickly and efficiently.

Settings app: stop digging through the settings app

Anyone who has spent more than five minutes hunting for app permissions within the Settings app knows how frustrating it can be. You have to open the Settings app, scroll down, open the apps section, scroll down again to find your app, only then can you enter its settings.

This shortcut fixes that perfectly. It uses the Current App actions and URLs opened in the Shortcuts app to find out which app you’re currently in and jump straight to its settings page. Once you’ve set it up and added it to your control center, all you have to do is open the app, swipe down from the top, and tap the shortcut.

It will automatically open the settings of the current application. It’s one of the most effective shortcuts I’ve ever made, and you can download it using the link below.

Find the app settings shortcut

Apple Frames 4: make your screenshots look professional

If you’re sharing screenshots on social media, in a blog post, or a presentation, this shortcut is for you. Apple Frames 4 is a free shortcut by Federico Viticci of MacStories, which can wrap your screenshots in the appropriate device frame.

The latest version is noticeably faster, supports all the latest Apple devices, and allows you to choose frame colors and scale images proportionally. What I like most about this shortcut is that it can take multiple screenshots as input and merge them into one image.

All images in this article were created using the same shortcut. If you also take screenshots regularly, I would highly recommend this shortcut. I would also recommend you check out my favorite screenshot utility for Mac. It offers all the missing features of a built-in screenshot tool for Mac and then some.

Get the Apple Frames shortcut

Scan a document: your pocket scanner is already in your hand

You don’t need a third-party app to scan documents on iPhone. You don’t even need to open the Notes or Files app normally. With this shortcut, you can quickly open the document scanner and scan and save documents without additional steps.

I have it on my home screen and use it whenever I need to quickly scan a receipt, letter, or any paper document. It’s one of those shortcuts that sounds simple until you realize how much time it saves you every week.

Find the Scan Documents shortcut

Resize and convert: resize images without downloading a third-party app

How many times have you shared an image only to find it was too big, or in the wrong format where you needed it? Since the iPhone Photos app doesn’t let you resize a photo or change its format, I found a simple shortcut to do it.

The steps are very simple, too. You select an image, set the size, and the shortcut handles the rest. I use this a lot when I need to post images for articles or posts that require a certain size.

It handles work that I would otherwise have to do on my Mac or download a third-party app to my iPhone to complete.

Find a new size and change the shortcut

Extract PDF pages: extract only what you need

I deal with a lot of PDFs, and sometimes I need to extract a few pages to share or save. So I downloaded a shortcut that allows you to select specific pages from a PDF and extract them to a new file.

It sounds like a small thing, but if you’ve ever sent someone just two pages from a 40-page PDF, you know how this works. You don’t need to download any app, pay a subscription, or unlock your Mac. Your iPhone handles it in seconds.

Get the Extract PDF shortcut

Clipboard history: because you always lose what you copied

This is one of the most underrated shortcuts on this list. While macOS finally added a clipboard history feature with the macOS Tahoe update, the iPhone still doesn’t have a clipboard history. That means that every time I copy something to my iPhone, it deletes all previously copied items.

So I created a shortcut to make it work. Now, every time I copy something to my iPhone, it saves a note, creating an active clipboard history that I can refer to whenever I need it. The only problem is that I have to use the shortcut manually for it to work.

So that’s why I added it to Tap Back (go to Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Tap Back) on my iPhone. Once I’ve copied something I want to keep, I just triple-click the back of my iPhone to trigger a shortcut and save the copied item to a pre-assigned note.

When you download the shortcut, be sure to edit it by tapping the three-dot menu and selecting the note you want to use as your clipboard history.

Get a clipboard history shortcut

Turn off mobile data when iPhone connects to Wi-Fi

To balance the manual activation of the last shortcut, I offer you a pure automatic one. Once you set it up, you don’t need to think about it again. Shortcut uses the Automatic Shortcuts feature to detect when your iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi network and automatically turns off your mobile data.

I also set up a friendly automation that turns on mobile data again when you leave Wi-Fi. It saves battery life and prevents your phone from unnecessarily using mobile data when it doesn’t need to. Since this is the default, there is no way to share the download link, but you can learn how to create this shortcut. The screenshot should give you the basics on how to do it.

My 7 Favorite iPhone Shortcuts

I know the Shortcuts app can feel intimidating at first, but most of them require very little setup, and the benefits are immediately apparent. Start with one that solves your current problem, and before long, you’ll be building your own.

If you have an iPhone and don’t use Shortcuts, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful tools Apple has ever created. So, try this, and your life will never be the same.