Detect people around you using Magnifier on iPhone

On iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max with iOS 14.2 or later, you can use Magnifier to detect people and help you maintain a physical or social distance from others. When iPhone detects people nearby, you’re notified with sounds, speech, or haptic feedback. The feedback is more frequent when a person is closer to you.

Important: Don’t use People Detection for navigation or in circumstances where you could be harmed or injured.

Customize the settings for People Detection

Use accessibility shortcuts to turn on Magnifier.
Tap , tap next to People Detection to add it as a secondary control, then tap People Detection (below Filters) to customize any of the following:
- Units: Choose Meters or Feet.
- Sound pitch distance: Tap or to adjust the distance. When people are detected within this distance, the pitch of the sound feedback increases.
- Feedback: Turn on any combination of Sounds, Speech, and Haptics. If you turn on Speech, iPhone speaks the distance between you and another person.
Tap Done.

Set up shortcuts for People Detection

Accessibility shortcut: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut, then select People Detection.
VoiceOver gesture: By default, the four-finger triple-tap gesture turns People Detection on or off. To assign a different gesture, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Commands > Touch Gestures.

Detect people near you

Use accessibility shortcuts to turn on Magnifier, then tap .
Position iPhone so the rear camera can detect people around you.
If you can’t hear the sound or speech feedback, make sure silent mode is turned off.
When you’re finished, tap End to return to the Magnifier screen or swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.

Helpful?

iPhone User Guide

Detect people around you using Magnifier on iPhone

Customize the settings for People Detection

Set up shortcuts for People Detection

Detect people near you