I took my iPhone lock screen to the next level with these shortcuts

There are so many things you can do to make your iPhone’s lock screen and home screen truly your own. Replacing the default camera and flashlight shortcuts with something else is just one of them.

One frustration with the look of your lock screen might be settling for the two default actions: flashlight and quick access to the camera app. The good news is that you can now replace these actions with something that may be more useful to you.

To replace these default widgets, long press on the lock screen. Click Customize and tap Lock Screen.

Now you can click the “-” (minus) sign on the flashlight and camera icons to remove them.

Click the “+” (plus) signs that appear and search for your favorite control from a list of connectivity, clock, display, and other controls.

Click “Done” at the top right to exit editing mode.

The camera app shortcut is unnecessary as you can access the camera app at any time with a left swipe gesture on your lock screen. If you get into the habit of doing this whenever you want to take a quick photo, you won’t necessarily lose functionality by replacing the icon. The flashlight can be controlled from the Control Center, where you can also adjust its brightness and (on some iPhones) beam intensity.

While you can only add two of these controls on either side of your lock screen, you can also add up to three widgets that open your favorite apps just below the time and date display.

Add shortcuts to your lock screen

Aside from the display and connectivity controls, an alternative is to add a shortcut of your choice directly from the Shortcuts app. Until iOS 18, you could only add shortcuts to your home screen by bookmarking them.

To add a shortcut of your choice, return to edit mode for your lock screen and click one of the empty corner slots after removing the flashlight and camera icons. In the menu that appears, look for the Shortcuts app icon.

Tap “Shortcut” and then tap “Select” in the next menu that appears. Find and tap the shortcut action you want to add. Now click “Done” to exit editing mode.

Another way to customize your lock screen is to go to Settings > Wallpaper and select Customize from the minimized version of your lock screen. I’ve found this useful when I can’t choose between shortcuts directly on the lock screen, which I think is a minor issue that rarely occurs.

To add a new shortcut to your options list, go to the Shortcuts app and tap the + sign on the Shortcuts tab. Now search for an action, adjust the variables for the action, and then save it. You can now add it to your lock screen, greatly expanding the number of features you can access from there.

My favorite shortcut to add to my lock screen is Start Pomodoro, a quick way to start a custom timer. You can choose how many minutes you want the timer to run, which will automatically trigger a focus mode until it expires.

Another shortcut I like to add is Send Message, which allows you to send a custom message to one or more contacts of your choice. When adding this shortcut through the app, be sure to specify the recipients and custom message if necessary. The shortcut automatically takes you to your message history with the contact you selected, giving you quick access.

The beauty of it is that your options are limitless. You can even add third-party app icons to your lock screen and Control Center.

Change shortcut icons

You may have noticed that when you add shortcuts to your lock screen, the default icon for each action is the shortcut app icon. This can be confusing if you want to add two shortcuts or regularly switch which shortcut appears on your lock screen.

To fix this, open the Shortcuts app and navigate to the shortcut you want to add. Click the three dots next to the shortcut and then tap the drop-down menu. Here, tap “Select Icon” to customize the icon display.

You can choose from different icons and colors, or stick to the app icons that include some app-specific shortcuts (e.g. Journal shortcuts).

Alternatively, you can remove the shortcuts completely

If you value a clean look and avoid lock screen widgets, consider removing these two controls altogether. You can do this by tapping and holding the lock screen, then selecting “Customize” and then “Lock Screen.”

Now tap the “-” minus buttons next to the flashlight and camera app shortcuts (or whatever you replaced them with), then tap the “Done” button at the top of the screen. Keep in mind that you can always access the iPhone Camera app by swiping left anyway, so you don’t necessarily need a dedicated button to do this.

Shorcuts is a powerful app that lets you create custom workflows and create useful automations to make tasks easier to complete. Get started with the Shortcuts app by adding pre-built workflows from the gallery.