With Head Tracking, you can control iPhone using just your head. An onscreen pointer follows the movement of your head, and when you look at an item and hold your head steady, or dwell, you perform an action, such as a tap.
Head Tracking uses the front-facing camera, so iPhone should sit on a stable surface about 18 inches from your face, with your face adequately lit. When your head points toward an item, an outline appears around it.
Note: Head Tracking is available on iOS 26 and later.
Before you begin
Head Tracking works with the built-in, front-facing camera on iPhone. To get the best results, the camera needs a clear view of your face, and your face should be adequately lit. Set iPhone on a stable surface, about 18 inches from your face.
Turn on Head Tracking
- Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap Accessibility, tap Head Tracking, and turn on Head Tracking.
Use Head Tracking
Once Head Tracking is on, an onscreen pointer follows the movement of your head, and an outline appears around any item on the screen your head is pointed toward. Wherever you face, the pointer always moves with your head, and the faster you move, the faster it goes.
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, there’s the AssistiveTouch menu.
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 iPhone.
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Do any of the following:
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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.
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Actions: Select a facial expression (like Raise Eyebrows or Open Mouth). Then choose an action from the list (like Open Menu or Single-Tap).
