Hidden Built-In Features on Your Phone and PC: The 2026 Guide

This guide brings together and replaces our earlier short posts on hidden built-in phone and computer features, published in 2023 and early 2025, rewritten and expanded in October 2026 with current steps for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac.

Phones and computers ship with a surprising number of tools that most people never open: a translator that works offline, a document scanner, a proper screenshot editor, batch photo tools and a lost-device tracker. Many people install separate apps for these jobs, often ad-supported ones that ask for broad permissions, when the built-in version is already there, free and maintained by the company that makes the operating system.

Some of these features are worth setting up today rather than when you need them. Device finders are the clearest example: Apple says its Find My network is a crowdsourced network of more than a billion Apple devices, and Google's Find Hub network can help locate Android phones even when they are offline. Neither helps unless it was switched on before the device went missing. This guide covers each feature in turn, with steps for every major platform where the feature exists.

In this guide

• Use your phone's built-in translator for conversations
• Scan documents without installing a scanner app
• Take and mark up screenshots with built-in tools
• Batch-edit and resize photos for free
• Use widgets to see information without opening apps
• Set your default apps
• Turn on Find My and Find Hub before you need them
• Lesser-known iPhone features worth knowing
• Where to find each feature
• Quick-start checklist
• FAQ

Use your phone's built-in translator for conversations

Both major phone platforms include a translator that can handle a back-and-forth conversation, not just single phrases. On iPhone it is Apple's Translate app, which comes preinstalled. On Android it is Google Translate, which is preinstalled on many phones and free on Google Play (it is also available for iPhone). Both can work without an internet connection once you download the languages you need, which matters when you are traveling or have a weak signal.

iPhone: Translate app

1. Open the Translate app and tap the language buttons to choose the two languages.
2. For a single phrase, tap Enter text to type, or tap the microphone and speak. Translations appear as you go, and you can tap the play button to hear them read aloud.
3. For a two-way conversation, tap Conversation. Each person speaks in turn, and the translated text appears in chat bubbles. Under the options button you can turn on Auto Translate, so you don't have to tap the microphone each time, and Detect Language.
4. When you are sitting across a table from someone, tap View, then Face to Face, so each person reads the conversation from their own side of the screen.
5. To translate a sign or a menu, tap Camera in the Translate app and point it at the text.

For offline use, download languages in Settings > Apps > Translate > Languages, and set On-Device Translation to Always if you'd rather nothing is processed on Apple's servers. Apple also offers Live Translation through recent AirPods models paired with an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, in selected languages and regions (not the EU).

Android: Google Translate

1. Open Google Translate and make sure the app is up to date.
2. At the bottom, tap live translate, then pick the mode and the two languages.
3. Choose Conversation to have translations play out loud as you take turns speaking, Listening to hear translations through headphones, or Text only to read them silently. Google says the microphone detects when one language stops and the other starts.

To download a language for offline use, connect to Wi-Fi, open the app, select the language at the bottom and tap Download next to it.

Tips: download languages on home Wi-Fi before you travel, speak in short complete sentences, and check the language pair before you start. For medical, legal or financial conversations, ask for a professional interpreter instead.

Scan documents without installing a scanner app

Receipts, signed forms, handwritten notes and school letters can all be turned into clean PDFs with the phone you already have. The built-in scanners detect the page edges, straighten the image and save a multi-page PDF, which is most of what a paid scanner app does. They also avoid the ads, subscriptions and broad photo-library permissions that some third-party scanner apps ask for.

iPhone: Notes or Files

1. Open Notes and create a new note (or open an existing one).
2. Tap the Attachment button, then tap Scan Documents.
3. Hold the page in view of the camera. In Auto mode the iPhone captures the page by itself; otherwise tap the shutter button or press a volume button. In iOS 26 and later you can also choose flash and image filter options here.
4. Drag the corners if the crop is off, tap Keep Scan, add more pages if needed, then tap Done.

The Files app has the same scanner (tap More, then Scan Documents) if you want the PDF saved straight to a folder. To sign a scanned form in Notes, tap Markup, then Add, then Signature.

Android: Google Drive or Files by Google

1. Open the Google Drive app and tap the Camera button at the bottom right.
2. Point the camera at the document. A blue outline shows where the image will be cropped. Choose Auto or Manual capture.
3. Use the editing options before saving: Crop & Rotate, Filter (for example grayscale), Clean to erase stains or fingers, and Add for another page.
4. Tap Done, name the file, choose PDF or JPG, choose a Drive folder, and tap Save.

Drive saves scans as searchable PDFs, so you can later search for a word printed on a receipt. If you scan often, add the Drive scan widget to your home screen and point it at a folder such as "Receipts". If you'd rather keep scans on the phone instead of in the cloud, Files by Google has a Scan button at the bottom right with the same crop, filter and clean tools, and saves PDFs to a "Scanned" folder inside Downloads.

Tip: put white paper on a darker surface so edge detection works, and remember that scans of ID cards and tax forms are stored wherever the app saves them, so delete what you no longer need.

Take and mark up screenshots with built-in tools

You do not need to paste a screenshot into a paint program to circle something. Every major platform now has a capture tool with cropping and annotation built in, and most can capture a selected area, a single window or a whole scrolling page.

Windows 11 and 10: Snipping Tool

• Press Windows logo key + Shift + S to open the snipping overlay. Choose Rectangle, Window, Full screen or Freeform, then select the area.
• Press Windows logo key + Shift + R to record a short video of part of the screen.
• Press Print Screen (PrtSc) to copy the whole screen to the clipboard.
• The capture opens in the Snipping Tool window, where you can draw, highlight, crop, save and share.

Mac: keyboard shortcuts and the Screenshot app

• Shift-Command-3 captures the entire screen.
• Shift-Command-4 turns the pointer into a crosshair so you can drag to select an area. Hold the Space bar while dragging to move the selection.
• Shift-Command-4, then Space bar captures one window or menu. Hold Option while clicking to leave out the window's shadow.
• Shift-Command-5 opens the Screenshot app, with an Options menu for a timer, the save location, whether to show the pointer, and screen recording.

Click the thumbnail that appears in the corner to crop and annotate. Screenshots save to the desktop by default.

iPhone

1. Press the side button and volume up together (on models with a Home button, press the Home button and side button).
2. Tap the thumbnail in the lower left. Tap Full Page to capture an entire webpage in Safari, drag the handles to crop, or tap the Markup button to draw and add text.

If button combinations are awkward, Apple lets you take screenshots with Siri, AssistiveTouch or Back Tap (covered in the iPhone section below).

Android

1. Press the Power and Volume down buttons together. If that doesn't work, press and hold Power for a few seconds and tap Screenshot.
2. On Android 12 and later, tap Capture more to grab a scrolling screenshot, then use the crop guides.

Privacy check: before sharing a screenshot, crop out notifications, email addresses and account numbers. Blur and translucent highlighters don't reliably hide text.

Batch-edit and resize photos for free

Resizing fifty photos for a website, rotating a folder of scans or applying the same color fix to a whole shoot doesn't require Photoshop or Lightroom. The built-in photo tools can copy edits across many images, and Microsoft publishes a free batch resizer for Windows.

iPhone: copy and paste edits

1. In Photos, edit one picture the way you like and save it.
2. Open that photo, tap the More button, then tap Copy Edits. Turn off any adjustments you don't want to copy and tap Copy.
3. Go back to the library, tap Select, choose the photos you want to change, tap the More button again and tap Paste Edits.

Apple notes that Photos automatically adjusts white balance and exposure on the pasted photos so the set looks consistent.

Mac: Photos and Preview

• Same look on many photos: in Photos, select an edited photo and choose Image > Copy Edits, then select the other photos and choose Image > Paste Edits. Retouch, red-eye and crop changes can't be copied this way.
• Resize many images at once: open all the images together in Preview, select them in the window's sidebar, then choose Tools > Adjust Size. Keep Scale proportionally on so nothing gets stretched. The same window can rotate or flip a whole selection from the Tools menu.

Windows: PowerToys Image Resizer

The Windows Photos app is fine for editing one picture at a time, but for bulk resizing Microsoft's free PowerToys utility set is the better tool.

1. Install PowerToys from Microsoft (it is available from the Microsoft Store or Microsoft's GitHub page).
2. In File Explorer, select the images, right-click and choose Resize with Image Resizer.
3. Pick a preset size or enter a custom one. Fit scales the image proportionally without cropping, Fill scales and crops to fill the exact size, and Stretch distorts the image to fit.
4. Choose whether to resize the originals or create copies, then run it.

Pitfall: downsizing loses detail you can't get back, so always work on copies.

Use widgets to see information without opening apps

A widget is a small live panel from an app that sits on your home screen, lock screen or desktop: today's calendar, the weather, a to-do list, a package tracker. A good rule is to keep only widgets for things you'd otherwise open an app to check several times a day, such as your calendar, tasks or the weather.

iPhone

1. On the Home Screen, touch and hold the background until the apps jiggle, tap Edit, then tap Add Widget.
2. Search or scroll to the widget you want, swipe through the sizes, then tap Add Widget. Drag it into place and tap Done.
3. To edit a widget (for example, choose which calendar or weather location it shows), touch and hold it and tap Edit Widget.

Two features save space: a Smart Stack holds several widgets in one slot and shows the most relevant one at different times of day, and in current iOS you can touch and hold an app icon and pick a size to turn that icon straight into a widget. Lock Screen widgets are added by touching and holding the Lock Screen, tapping Customize, then Add Widgets.

Android

1. On a Home screen, touch and hold an empty space and tap Widgets.
2. Find the app, touch and hold the widget you want, and drag it into place.
3. To resize, touch and hold the widget, lift your finger, and drag the dots on its outline.

Exact steps vary slightly between phone makers.

Mac and Windows

• Mac: Control-click the wallpaper and choose Edit Widgets to place widgets on the desktop or in Notification Center. With an iPhone on iOS 17 or later signed in to the same Apple Account, you can use iPhone widgets on the Mac too.
• Windows 11: press Windows logo key + W or select the widgets area on the taskbar to open the Widgets board, where you can add, remove, resize and rearrange cards. The news feed is a separate Discover dashboard, so you can keep useful widgets without the headlines.

Set your default apps

If tapping a link opens the wrong browser, or an email address launches a mail app you never set up, the fix is to change your default apps. This tells the operating system which app should handle web links, email links, maps, phone calls and file types.

iPhone and iPad

1. Update to the latest iOS, then go to Settings > Apps.
2. Tap Default Apps at the top of the list.
3. Tap a category and pick the app you want.

Categories include Browser App, Email, Messaging, Calling, Passwords & Codes, Keyboards and Translation, plus others such as Navigation in some regions. An app only appears if its developer supports being a default.

Mac

• Browser: install the browser you want, then go to Apple menu > System Settings > Desktop & Dock, scroll down and choose it from Default web browser.
• Email: open Mail, choose Mail > Settings > General, and pick an app from Default email reader. Apple notes Mail may need an account set up first; some other email apps offer their own "make default" option instead.

Android

1. Open Settings and tap Apps.
2. Under General, tap Default apps (on some phones, Choose default apps).
3. Tap a category such as Browser app, Phone app or SMS app, and choose your app.

Android also lets each app claim the links for its own website. If links for a particular site keep opening in an app instead of the browser, or the other way round, open that app's settings page from Settings > Apps and look for the option that controls opening supported links.

Windows 11 and 10

1. Open Settings > Apps > Default apps.
2. To change one file or link type, type the extension or protocol (such as .pdf or mailto) in the search box, select it and choose an app.
3. To change everything an app can open, select the app under Set defaults for applications. Browsers usually show a Set default button at the top.

Turn on Find My and Find Hub before you need them

A lost-device service can ring a phone hidden in a sofa, show a laptop's last location on a map, lock it with a message for whoever finds it, or erase it if it is gone for good. Each platform has one built in, but some of the most useful parts, such as finding a device that is offline, have to be switched on in advance. Five minutes now saves a lot of stress later.

iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings, tap your name, then tap Find My.
2. Tap Find My iPhone (or iPad) and turn it on.
3. Turn on Find My network, which lets your device be located even when it is offline, and Send Last Location, which sends its location to Apple when the battery is nearly flat.

To find a lost device, use the Find My app on another Apple device or sign in at iCloud.com.

Mac

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click your name, then iCloud.
2. Click See All, scroll to Find My Mac, click Turn On, and allow it to use your Mac's location when asked.

Android: Find Hub

Google renamed Find My Device to Find Hub. It is turned on automatically when you add a Google Account, but it is worth checking:

1. In Settings > Passwords, passkeys and accounts, confirm the right Google Account is signed in.
2. In Settings > Location, make sure Use location is on.
3. In Settings > Security > Find Hub, check that Allow device to be located is on.
4. For offline finding, go to Settings > Google > All Services > Find Hub > Find your offline devices and choose a setting. The Find Hub network uses end-to-end encrypted location reports from other Android devices, and it needs a screen lock PIN, pattern or password on your phone.

Some steps need Android 14 or later, and menu names vary by manufacturer. To find a lost phone, use the Find Hub app on another Android device or Find Hub in a browser, where you can Play sound (full volume for five minutes, even on silent), Mark as lost or erase it.

Windows

Windows 10 and 11 have their own Find my device feature. It needs you to sign in with a personal Microsoft account that is an administrator on the PC, and location must be on. Search Settings for "Find my device" and turn it on. If the laptop goes missing, sign in at account.microsoft.com/devices, open the Find My Device tab, select the PC and choose Find, then Lock if needed.

Practice once: sign in to the finder from another device, check your phone or laptop appears, and play a sound. If your two-step codes only arrive on that phone, save backup codes somewhere safe. If a device is stolen, report it to the police and your insurer rather than trying to recover it yourself.

Lesser-known iPhone features worth knowing

Older "hidden iPhone tricks" lists include features that have moved or disappeared: 3D Touch is gone and the level left the Compass app years ago. These work on current iOS.

Use the built-in level

Open the Measure app (it lives in the Utilities folder if it isn't on your Home Screen) and tap Level. Hold the iPhone against a picture frame or shelf and adjust until the screen turns green. Tap the screen to capture one slope and match it on another object. Apple notes the readings are approximate, which is fine for hanging pictures but not for structural work.

Set up Back Tap

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap, then choose actions for Double Tap and Triple Tap. A double tap on the back of the phone can take a screenshot, open Control Center, run one of your Shortcuts, or open Magnifier. It works on iPhone 8 and later.

Create custom vibrations

Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, tap Ringtone (or another sound such as Text Tone), tap Haptics, and choose Create New Vibration to tap out your own pattern. You can assign a different ringtone and text tone to particular people from their card in the Contacts app (tap Edit), so you know who is calling while the phone is still in your pocket.

Let iPhone manage battery for you

On iPhone 15 Pro and later, Adaptive Power (Settings > Battery > Power Mode) adjusts performance on heavy-use days and can switch on Low Power Mode at 20%. Low Power Mode turns itself off once the phone charges to 80%.

Use StandBy as a bedside or desk display

Turn on StandBy in Settings, then put the iPhone on its side on a charger. It becomes a clock, photo frame or widget display that you can read from across the room. Night Mode tints the screen red in a dark room.

Where to find each feature

Paths are for current versions; if your screen differs, use the search box in Settings.

Feature	iPhone	Android	Windows	Mac
Offline translation	Settings > Apps > Translate > Languages	Google Translate: tap a language > Download	Not built in (use a translator app or browser translation)	Not covered here
Document scanner	Notes: Attachment > Scan Documents, or Files: More > Scan Documents	Google Drive: Camera button, or Files by Google: Scan	Use your phone and sync the PDF	Continuity Camera from iPhone
Screenshot	Side button + volume up	Power + volume down	Windows + Shift + S	Shift-Command-3, 4 or 5
Batch resize or edit	Photos: More > Copy Edits / Paste Edits	Varies by gallery app	PowerToys Image Resizer (right-click)	Preview: Tools > Adjust Size
Widgets	Touch and hold Home Screen > Edit > Add Widget	Touch and hold Home screen > Widgets	Windows + W	Control-click wallpaper > Edit Widgets
Default apps	Settings > Apps > Default Apps	Settings > Apps > Default apps	Settings > Apps > Default apps	System Settings > Desktop & Dock
Lost-device finder	Settings > [your name] > Find My	Settings > Security > Find Hub	Settings: search "Find my device"	System Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Find My Mac

Quick-start checklist

Do these in order this weekend; the first two protect you, the rest save time.

Priority	Task	Time needed	Impact
1	Turn on Find My or Find Hub, including offline finding, on every phone, tablet and laptop	10 minutes	High: makes lost devices findable and lockable
2	Test it from another device and save account backup codes	10 minutes	High: confirms recovery actually works
3	Set your default browser, email and maps apps	5 minutes	Medium: stops links opening in the wrong app
4	Download translation languages for your next trip	5 minutes	Medium: works without a signal
5	Scan one stack of paperwork into a "Receipts" or "Documents" folder	15 minutes	Medium: clears paper and makes it searchable
6	Add two or three widgets you actually use and remove the rest	10 minutes	Low to medium: fewer app opens each day
7	Install PowerToys (Windows) or try Preview batch resizing (Mac) on a copy of a photo folder	15 minutes	Low: saves hours when you next need it

FAQ

Are built-in scanner tools as good as dedicated scanner apps?

For receipts, forms and letters, yes. The built-in scanners detect edges, flatten the page and save PDFs. Dedicated apps mainly add extras for people who scan large volumes for work.

Do the phone translators work without internet?

Yes, once you download the languages. On iPhone, download them in Settings > Apps > Translate > Languages; in Google Translate, tap a language and choose Download. Some features, such as certain live or camera modes, may support fewer languages offline, so test the pair you need before you travel.

Can I find my phone if it's switched off or offline?

Often, if you set it up beforehand. Apple's Find My network and Google's Find Hub network use nearby devices to report an encrypted location for offline phones, and both can show a last known location. That only works if Find My network or offline finding was turned on before the phone was lost.

Is PowerToys safe to install?

PowerToys is a free utility set published and documented by Microsoft. Download it only from the Microsoft Store or Microsoft's official GitHub or Learn pages, not from third-party download sites that bundle extra software.

Sources

• Apple: Translate words and phrases on iPhone
• Apple: Translate in-person conversations with iPhone
• Apple: Change your Translate settings on iPhone
• Google: Live translate in Google Translate
• Google: Download languages to use offline
• Apple: How to scan documents on your iPhone or iPad
• Google: Scan documents with Google Drive
• Google: Scan documents with Files by Google
• Microsoft: Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots
• Apple: Take a screenshot on Mac
• Apple: Take a screenshot on iPhone
• Google: Take a screenshot or record your screen on Android
• Apple: Edit photos and videos on iPhone
• Apple: Editing basics in Photos on Mac
• Apple: Crop, resize, or rotate an image in Preview on Mac
• Microsoft Learn: PowerToys Image Resizer
• Apple: Add, edit, and remove widgets on iPhone
• Google: Add apps, shortcuts and widgets to your Home screens
• Apple: Add and customize widgets on Mac
• Microsoft: Stay up to date with Widgets in Windows
• Apple: Change your default apps on iPhone and iPad
• Apple: Change the default web browser or email app on Mac
• Google: Change your default browser on Android
• Microsoft: Change default apps in Windows
• Apple: How to turn on Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
• Google: Be ready to find a lost Android device
• Google: Find, secure, or erase a lost Android device
• Google: How Find Hub protects your data
• Microsoft: Find and lock a lost Windows device
• Apple: Use iPhone as a level
• Apple: Use Back Tap on your iPhone
• Apple: Change iPhone sounds and vibrations
• Apple: Save battery life with Power Modes on iPhone
• Apple: Use StandBy on iPhone

Top image: "Swiss army knife open 20050612 (cropped)" by Jonas Bergsten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (resized). Charts by Thank You Robot.