The quickest way to screenshot on iPhone 7
On iPhone 7, press the Side button (the power button on the right edge) and the Volume Up button at the same time. Hold both for a fraction of a second — you do not need to hold them down. You will see a white flash on the screen and hear a camera shutter sound, then a thumbnail appears in the bottom left corner of your screen.
That thumbnail is your screenshot. It stays on screen for a few seconds, then disappears. The full image saves to your Photos app automatically, in an album called Screenshots.
The timing takes practice. If you press and hold too long, your iPhone will show the power-off menu instead. If you tap too quickly, nothing happens. Aim for a quick, simultaneous press of both buttons — think of it as a single motion rather than holding.
Key Takeaways
- Press the Side button and Volume Up button at the same time to take a screenshot on iPhone 7.
- The screenshot saves automatically to your Photos app in a folder called Screenshots.
- A thumbnail appears in the bottom left corner for a few seconds after you capture; tap it to edit or delete before it saves.
- If the power-off menu appears instead, you held the buttons too long — try a quicker, simultaneous press next time.
- Screenshots capture exactly what is on your screen at that moment, including any notifications or status bar information.
What happens to your screenshot after you take it
The thumbnail that appears in the bottom left corner gives you a few seconds to act. You can tap it to open an editing menu where you can crop, draw on, or add text to the screenshot before it saves. You can also swipe it away to delete it without saving.
If you do nothing, the thumbnail disappears and the unedited screenshot saves to your Photos app. You can find it later by opening Photos, tapping the Albums tab at the bottom, and scrolling down to Screenshots. All your screenshots appear there in the order you took them, newest first.
Editing your screenshot right after capture
When the thumbnail appears, tap it to open the editing interface. You will see tools at the bottom: a pen for drawing, a highlighter, an eraser, and a text tool. You can also crop the image by dragging the corners inward.
The color picker at the bottom left lets you change pen and highlighter colors. When you finish editing, tap Done in the top left corner. A menu appears asking whether you want to Save Only or Save and Share — choose Save Only to keep it in your Photos app, or Save and Share to send it to Messages, Mail, or another app immediately.
Finding and managing screenshots later
Open the Photos app and tap Albums at the bottom. Scroll down past your camera roll and other albums until you see Screenshots. Tap it to see all screenshots you have taken, with the newest ones at the top.
From the Screenshots album, you can tap and hold any screenshot to delete it, share it, or copy it. You can also open any screenshot and tap Edit to crop or adjust it later, even if you did not edit it when you first took it.
Why your screenshot might not work
If you press the buttons and nothing happens, the most common reason is timing. The Side button and Volume Up button must be pressed at almost exactly the same moment. Try again with a quicker, more deliberate motion — imagine snapping your fingers rather than holding a button.
If the power-off menu appears (the one that says "slide to power off"), you held the buttons down too long. Tap Cancel to close it and try again with a faster press. If you are in an app that restricts screenshots — some banking apps or streaming services do this — the screenshot will not save, though you usually will not see an error message.
Sharing a screenshot without saving it first
When the thumbnail appears in the bottom left corner, you can tap it and choose Save and Share instead of Save Only. This opens a menu with options to send the screenshot to Messages, Mail, Notes, or other apps on your phone. The screenshot still saves to your Photos app, but you can send it immediately without opening Photos first.
Alternatively, you can take the screenshot normally, then open Photos, find it in the Screenshots album, tap it, and tap the Share button (the box with an arrow pointing up) to send it anywhere you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take a screenshot of just part of my screen?
No, iPhone 7 screenshots always capture the entire screen. However, you can crop the screenshot after you take it. Tap the thumbnail that appears, then tap Edit, and drag the corners inward to remove the parts you do not want. Tap Done and Save Only to keep the cropped version.
Where do my screenshots go if I do not edit them?
They save automatically to your Photos app in the Screenshots album. Open Photos, tap Albums, scroll down, and tap Screenshots to see them all. They stay there until you delete them manually.
What if I accidentally delete a screenshot?
Check your Recently Deleted album in Photos. Open Photos, tap Albums, scroll down, and tap Recently Deleted. Your screenshot will be there for 30 days before it is permanently removed. Tap it and choose Recover to put it back in your Screenshots album.
Can I take a screenshot of something that is scrolling down the page?
iPhone 7 does not have a built-in scrolling screenshot feature. You would need to take multiple screenshots of different parts of the page and crop them together, or use a third-party app from the App Store that offers this feature.
Why does my screenshot include the time and battery at the top?
The status bar at the top of your screen — which shows the time, signal strength, and battery — is part of what is on your screen, so it appears in every screenshot. You can crop it out after you take the screenshot if you do not want it in the final image.