With Head Tracking, you can control iPad using just your head. An onscreen pointer follows the movement of your head, and when you hold your head steady on an item—or dwell—you perform an action, such as a tap.
It uses the built-in, front-facing camera, so the camera needs a clear view of your face. You can also set options for Head Tracking.
Here’s how to control iPad with the movement of your head.
Note: Head Tracking is available on iPadOS 26 and later.
Before you begin
Head Tracking relies on the built-in, front-facing camera on iPad. Results are best when your face is adequately lit and the camera has a clear view of it, with iPad on a stable surface roughly 18 inches from your face.
Turn on Head Tracking
- Start the Settings app on your iPad.
- Tap Accessibility, tap Head Tracking, and turn on Head Tracking.
Use Head Tracking
With Head Tracking on, an onscreen pointer follows the movement of your head. Point your head toward an item on the screen, and an outline appears around it. Wherever you’re facing, the pointer always moves with your head, and it moves faster when you do.
When you hold your head steady at a location on the screen, the dwell pointer appears where you’re looking and the dwell timer begins (the dwell pointer circle starts to fill). When the dwell timer finishes, an action—tap, by default—is performed.
For additional onscreen gestures or physical button presses, open the AssistiveTouch menu. See our article, Use AssistiveTouch.
Set options for Head Tracking
You can customize actions like a Single-Tap or Double Tap to different facial movements, like smiling, blinking, or scrunching your nose. You can also set options for how the Head Tracking pointer responds to your head’s movement.
- Start the Settings app on your iPad.
-
Do any of the following:
-
Actions: Select a facial expression (like Raise Eyebrows or Open Mouth). Then choose an action from the list (like Open Menu or Single-Tap).
Sensitivity: Choose the amount of expressiveness needed to perform the expression.
- Pointer: Select an option to have the pointer move with face movements, when facing screen edges, or based on head position.
- Pointer Speed: Select the Increment button or Decrement button to adjust how quickly the pointer moves with head movement.
- Snap to Item: Have the pointer automatically move to the item on the screen that’s closest to where your head is pointing.
- Dwell Control: Turn Dwell Control on or off. To adjust settings for Dwell Control, such as the default dwell action and the duration of the dwell timer, see Set up Dwell Control.
-
Actions: Select a facial expression (like Raise Eyebrows or Open Mouth). Then choose an action from the list (like Open Menu or Single-Tap).
To change the size or color of the Head Tracking pointer, go to Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control. See Make the pointer easier to see.
See also
