Where to find and disable accessibility settings
Accessibility features on iPhone live in one place: the Settings app under Accessibility. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Accessibility, then you'll see every feature you've turned on. Each one has a toggle switch next to it — tap the switch to turn it off. The feature stops working immediately.
Some accessibility tools are nested inside subcategories. Vision features like Magnifier and Zoom live under Vision, hearing features like Captions and Audio Descriptions live under Hearing, and motor control features like Switch Control live under Motor. Tap into each category to see what's active and disable what you don't need.
If you've forgotten which features you turned on, scroll through the Accessibility menu and look for green toggles — those are the ones currently active. Tap any green toggle to turn it off.
Key Takeaways
- All accessibility features are controlled from Settings > Accessibility, where each feature has an on/off toggle switch.
- Vision, Hearing, and Motor features are organized into separate categories within Accessibility, but all toggles work the same way.
- Turning off a feature takes effect immediately — you don't need to restart your iPhone or confirm the change.
- Some features like Siri Shortcuts or AssistiveTouch may have created custom controls that remain on your home screen even after you disable the feature itself.
Disabling specific features you might have enabled
If you turned on VoiceOver (which reads text aloud), go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision > VoiceOver and tap the toggle. The screen will stop reading to you. If you used the three-finger triple-tap shortcut to turn VoiceOver on, that shortcut will no longer work after you disable it.
If you enabled Zoom (which magnifies the screen), go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision > Zoom and tap the toggle. Your screen returns to normal size. If Zoom was active, you may see a brief flash as the magnification disappears.
If you turned on AssistiveTouch (the floating button that appears on screen), go to Settings > Accessibility > Motor > AssistiveTouch and tap the toggle. The button disappears from your screen. If you created custom gestures or shortcuts in AssistiveTouch, those are deleted when you turn off the feature.
Captions, audio descriptions, and hearing aid settings all turn off the same way: find them in Settings > Accessibility > Hearing and tap their toggles. Turning off Live Captions stops the real-time captioning that appears during calls and media playback.
What happens to shortcuts and custom controls
Some accessibility features create buttons or shortcuts on your home screen or lock screen. Turning off the feature in Settings doesn't automatically remove these shortcuts — you have to delete them separately.
If you added an Accessibility Shortcut button to your home screen (the circle with a person icon), tapping it will no longer open the accessibility menu. You can delete it by long-pressing the icon and selecting Remove App. If you added accessibility features to your Control Center, swipe down from the top-right corner, tap the three dots, find Accessibility Controls, and tap the minus sign next to any you want to remove.
If you created a custom gesture or action in AssistiveTouch before disabling it, that customization is gone once you turn off the feature. You can't recover it — you'd have to recreate it if you turn AssistiveTouch back on later.
Turning off accessibility for specific apps
Some apps have their own accessibility settings separate from iPhone's system-wide settings. For example, if an app has captions turned on, disabling Captions in iPhone Settings won't turn off captions in that app.
To turn off accessibility features within a specific app, open the app and look for Settings or Preferences (usually a gear icon or three horizontal lines). Look for an Accessibility or Captions section. The exact location varies by app — there's no single place where all app-level accessibility settings live.
If you can't find the setting in the app itself, go to Settings > Apps (or the app's name if it appears there), scroll down, and look for Accessibility or Caption options. Not all apps expose these controls in iPhone Settings, so checking inside the app first is usually faster.
Restarting accessibility features if you change your mind
If you turn off an accessibility feature and later want to use it again, go back to Settings > Accessibility, find the feature, and tap its toggle to turn it back on. Your previous settings are usually saved — for example, if you had Zoom set to 200 percent magnification, it returns to 200 percent when you turn it back on.
The exception is AssistiveTouch: if you turn it off and back on, any custom gestures or shortcuts you created are permanently deleted. You'll have to set them up again from scratch.
If you can't remember what settings you had before, take a screenshot of the Accessibility menu before you turn features off. That way you have a record of what was enabled and what the settings were.
Accessibility features that run in the background
Some accessibility features continue to use battery or processing power even when you're not actively using them. Turning them off can improve battery life and performance.
VoiceOver, Zoom, and Switch Control are the most resource-intensive. If your iPhone feels slow or your battery drains quickly and you have these features on, disabling them may help. Live Captions and audio descriptions use less power but still consume some resources while active.
If you only need an accessibility feature occasionally, you can use an Accessibility Shortcut to turn it on and off quickly without going into Settings each time. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut, select the features you want to toggle, then triple-press the side button (or home button on older iPhones) to turn them on or off instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off accessibility features delete my saved settings?
Most features save their settings when you turn them off, so if you turn them back on later, they return to how you had them configured. AssistiveTouch is the main exception — custom gestures and shortcuts are permanently deleted when you disable the feature.
Can I turn off accessibility features from the lock screen?
No, you must go into Settings > Accessibility to disable features. However, if you set up an Accessibility Shortcut, you can use it to toggle certain features on and off quickly without opening Settings.
What if an accessibility feature won't turn off?
If a toggle won't respond, try force-closing the Settings app and reopening it. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or down from the top-right on newer iPhones), find Settings, and swipe up to close it. Then open Settings again and try disabling the feature.
Does turning off accessibility affect other users on my iPhone?
If you have multiple user accounts or Family Sharing set up, each person's accessibility settings are separate. Turning off a feature for your account doesn't affect other users' settings.
Can I disable accessibility features for specific apps only?
iPhone's system-wide accessibility settings apply to all apps. To control accessibility in individual apps, check that app's own settings menu. Some apps let you turn captions or audio descriptions on or off independently of your iPhone settings.