Understand certain differences in Assistive Access on iPhone
Assistive Access apps have been redesigned for cognitive accessibility and include larger text and icons, more focused features, and customizable options. In addition, some features work differently in Assistive Access—this page explains certain important aspects of the Assistive Access experience.
Contacting Emergency Services on iPhone
You can place an emergency call from an iPhone in Assistive Access by triple-clicking the side button (on an iPhone with Face ID) or Home button (on other iPhone models), or by holding the Sleep/Wake button and one of the volume buttons (on any iPhone model), then tapping Emergency and dialing your local emergency number using the Emergency keypad. Alternatively, you can add the Calls app and turn on Show Dialer Keypad when you set up Assistive Access.
If Crash Detection is available and enabled on the iPhone, it will continue to work in Assistive Access. Emergency SOS via satellite isn’t available, but can be used on supported iPhone models when you exit Assistive Access. All other automatic dialing to Emergency Services isn’t available in Assistive Access. To text Emergency Services (not available in all countries or regions), you must either exit Assistive Access or add the applicable emergency services number to the Contacts app and add it as an allowed contact to send messages to in Assistive Access.
It’s recommended that you set up your Medical ID in the Health app so critical medical information is available to first responders. This information can be accessed without a passcode from the Emergency keypad. See the Apple Support article Set up your Medical ID in the Health app on your iPhone.
App access permissions
To minimize pop-ups while using iPhone, apps won’t ask for permission to access information such as location, photos, and contacts. Instead, you have the option to set access permissions for apps when you set up Assistive Access. To review or change an app’s permissions, you must exit Assistive Access and go to Settings > Accessibility > Assistive Access or Settings > [app name]. You also need to exit Assistive Access and return to Settings in order to install new Software Updates, because there is no Settings app or notifications in Assistive Access that indicate whether an update is available.
Privacy and device information
Certain app privacy information, status icons, and symbols aren’t available in Assistive Access, including those that indicate network availability, Airplane Mode, Focus, or Bluetooth®, or when an app or website is using Location Services. You can exit Assistive Access to view this information.
Calls and messages
When you set up Calls for Assistive Access, you can choose to allow incoming calls from everyone, from all contacts in the Contacts app, or from selected contacts only. If you allow calls only from the contacts in the Contacts app or specific contacts, you must exit Assistive Access to receive calls from anyone who’s not an allowed contact. For outgoing calls, you must select the specific contacts to allow calls to. To make a call to a number not in the list of selected contacts, you can add the dialer keypad to the Calls app or exit Assistive Access.
When you set up Messages for Assistive Access, you can choose to allow incoming messages from everyone, from all contacts in the Contacts app, or from selected contacts only. If you allow messages only from the contacts in the Contacts app or specific contacts, you must exit Assistive Access to receive messages from anyone who’s not an allowed contact. For outgoing messages, you must select the specific contacts to allow messages to. You must exit Assistive Access to send a message to anyone outside the list of selected contacts.
Note: The option to receive calls and messages from everyone is available in iOS 17.1 or later.