Freeform

You can add any photo or video to a Freeform board, generate an image, or take a new photo with your iPhone camera. You can also add different types of files to your board by scanning, linking, or inserting them.

You can create original images with Image Playground and paste items from your Clipboard, too. Anyone can use premium Content Hub images. With a subscription to Apple Creator Studio, though, you’ll be able to remove their watermarks.

Available with subscription: Some features require a subscription to Apple Creator Studio.

Add a photo, video, sticker, link, or other file

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Tap the Media button, tap an option, then tap the Done button when you’re finished.
   • Copy the item to your Clipboard, tap an empty space, then, when a menu appears, tap Paste.
   • To add premium images from the Content Hub to your board, tap the Content Hub button in the toolbar, tap an object category at the top of the dialog, then tap a premium image to add it to the board. Anyone can use premium Content Hub images, but you need to subscribe to Apple Creator Studio to remove their watermarks.

Important: Premium images from Content Hub are subject to usage restrictions.

Double-tap any media item—photo, video, or other file—to preview it.

Note: Files saved on your iPhone or in iCloud Drive can be inserted, and for most file types, Freeform makes a copy. Links work differently when they point to a collaborative Keynote presentation, Numbers spreadsheet, or Pages document. In that case, participants in your Freeform board can tap the card and jump straight to the shared file in iCloud. Remember to save the file in iCloud if you want others to collaborate on it.

Create original images with Image Playground

With Apple Intelligence, you can create one-of-a-kind illustrations from a mix of photos of people from your photo library, text descriptions, and more.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 model or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Create a new image: Tap the Insert Media button in the toolbar, tap Image Playground, and then follow instructions to create an image.
   • Replace an existing image with an image created in Image Playground: Select an image, then tap the Modify Image button. Tap Replace and tap Image Playground. Then follow instructions to create an image.
   • Use elements from your board: Select up to six images, drawings, text boxes, sticky notes, or shapes that you want to use, tap the More button in the formatting tools, tap Add to Playground, and follow the onscreen instructions to create an image.
4. Tap the Done button or Insert to add the image to your board.

Screen Time settings let you block access to image creation features, like Image Playground.

Generate new images with Apple Creator Studio

If you subscribe to Apple Creator Studio, generative models can transform your existing images, and advanced tools let you create and edit high-quality ones.

Note: This feature is not available in all countries and regions.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Tap the Content Hub button in the toolbar.

   Note: If this is your first time using Image Generation in Freeform, follow the onscreen instructions to share your age range with the app. Image Generation is not available for all ages, so a parent or guardian must enable this feature for children and teens in their family group.

4. Tap Generate Image, then follow the onscreen instructions.

   If you’re asked to send an image, select Allow Once or Always Allow. To reset this option, tap the More button, tap Intelligence Features, then tap Reset Permissions.

5. Tap Insert to add the image to your board.

   Important: Image Generation is subject to usage limitations. To check your usage status, tap the More button, tap Intelligence Features, then tap Show Usage Status.

Scan and add a document

Without leaving Freeform, a paper document you scan can go straight onto your board as a PDF.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Tap the Media button and then tap Scan Documents.
4. Position the iPhone camera so the document appears on the screen.

   iPhone automatically captures the page. To capture the scan manually, tap the Auto Shutter button, tap the Take Picture button or press a volume button, drag the corners to select the area you want in the scanned document, then tap Keep.

5. Scan additional pages, then tap the Done button when you’re done.

Your board then shows a card with an image of your scan’s first page.

Quick tip: You can save your scan to iCloud Drive or keep it on your iPhone. Select the card and tap the Preview button, then tap the Share button and tap Save to Files.

Format a photo or video

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with a photo or video in it.
3. Tap a photo or video to open its formatting tools and then do any of the following:
   • Crop or mask the photo: Tap the Crop Mask button.
   • Remove the photo’s background: Tap the Modify Image button and then tap Remove Background. If the background of the photo can’t be made transparent, Remove Background isn’t available.
   • Tip: You can also paste an image without a background.
   • Add a shadow, round the corners, add a description, and more: Tap the More button and then choose an option.
   • Replace the photo or video: Select the photo or video, tap the Modify Image button or the Modify Movie button, tap Replace, and then select a replacement.
   • Preview the photo or video: Tap the Preview button, or double-tap the photo or video.

To preview a movie in full screen, double-tap it.

Auto Crop a photo

Subscribe to Apple Creator Studio, and Auto Crop can intelligently generate suggestions that improve image composition.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with an image, double-tap the image to view the mask controls. Tap Auto Crop to preview cropping suggestions.
3. Tap a suggestion to update your image and tap Done.

Increase resolution with Super Resolution

You can also use Super Resolution to increase the resolution of photos and make them clearer, if you subscribe to Apple Creator Studio.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with an image, tap the image, and tap the Image Inspector button.
3. Tap Super Resolution.

Put an image inside a shape

A shape can work as a mask or frame for an image, so you can put your photo inside a circle, for example.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Add a photo or other image to the board.
4. Tap the Content Hub button and tap the Add Shape button. Then choose a shape.
5. Position the shape over the image. Select both it and the image.
6. Tap the More button in the formatting tools and tap Mask with Shape.

Or drag an image onto a shape to use it as a frame.

To remove it from the shape, select the masked image, tap the More button in the formatting tools, then tap Reset Mask.

Quick tip: You can also send a photo, video, file, or link to a Freeform board straight from supported apps such as Notes, Photos, and Safari. In the other app, select the item and tap the Share button. Tap the Freeform app icon, then either tap New Board or the name of a board you already have. If you want others to add items to your board, save it in iCloud.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

You can set up scenes, saved views of your board, to organize your boards into sections, then quickly navigate and present those parts of your board to others. You can also use scenes to identify the parts of your board you want to print or export as a PDF.

Scenes are easy to change, too. You can edit them and rearrange the order in which you present or print them.

Here’s how to navigate and present scenes in your Freeform boards on iPhone.

Set up different parts of your board as scenes

With scenes, you can identify and label content, then present or print parts of your board section by section, and change the order you present or print them in.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with content.
3. Zoom and scroll until you frame the part of your board you want on the screen for your first scene.
4. Tap the More button and tap Add Scene.

The Scene Navigator opens at the bottom of your board.

5. Repeat these steps until you capture all the scenes you want: Frame your next scene, tap the Scene Navigator button in the Scene Navigator or tap the More button. Then tap Add Scene.

Quick tip: Don’t stress about saving scenes in order, because you can edit their sequence after you capture them.

Navigate scenes

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with saved scenes.
3. Tap the More button, tap Scene Navigator, and then do any of the following:
   • Tap the Scene Navigator button, then tap the scene you want to go to.
   • Tap the Back button and the Forward button to move between scenes.

Note: Scenes can look different depending on your device or view. If someone captured a scene on a Mac, for example, it may be framed differently when you view it in portrait orientation on an iPhone.

Edit scenes

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with saved scenes.
3. Tap the More button and then tap Scene Navigator.
4. Tap the Show Scene List button. Do any of the following:
   • Change the name of a scene: Touch and hold the scene whose name you want to change, tap Rename Scene, enter a new name, and then tap the Done button.
   • Reframe a scene: Move to another part of the board, touch and hold the scene you want to reframe, and then tap Replace Scene.
   • Rearrange the view order: Tap Edit, touch and hold the Reorder button, and then drag the scene up or down.
   • Delete a scene: Swipe left on the scene, then tap Delete.
5. Tap the Close button, then tap the Done button.

Print or export scenes

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with saved scenes.
3. Tap the More button, then do one of the following:
   • Print all scenes: Tap Print and tap Scenes. Then tap Print.
   • Export all scenes: Tap Export as PDF, tap Scenes, and then choose how you want to share the file or tap Save to Files.

To see Print or Export as PDF, you may have to scroll down.

Printed and exported scenes default to the size of the device you’re on. To print the scenes as they were originally framed, tap Freeform Options, then select Capturing Device.

Quick tip: Touch and hold a scene’s name in the Scene Navigator, then choose an option to print or export that single scene.

All participants can access any scenes saved in a board.

You can add tables to a Freeform board to organize content, lay out sections of your board, and more. After you add a table, you can customize it however you like.

You can change the table style, add a last column or row, specify a number of rows and columns, resize the entire table or one row or column, and keep the same proportions as you resize. Here’s how to add tables to a Freeform board on iPhone.

Create a table

1. Start the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Tap the Media button and tap Add Table.
4. With the table selected, do any of the following:
   • Change the table style: Tap the Table Style button in the formatting tools and then use the controls to make changes.
   • Add a last column or row: Tap the Add Column button or Add Row button in the top-right or bottom-left corner.
   • Insert or delete a column or row within the table: Select a cell, column, or row, tap the More button in the formatting tools, and choose an option, such as Add Column After.
   • Specify a number of rows and columns: Tap the Table Layout button in the formatting tools. Adjust the numbers.
   • Resize the entire table: Drag a blue dot. Corner dots resize both rows and columns proportionally.
   • Resize one row or column: Drag a cell border.
   • Tip: To always keep the same proportions for a table as you resize it, tap the More button in the formatting tools. Then tap Constrain Proportions.
   • Move the table: Drag the Table Mover handle in the top-left corner of the table.

Select a cell, column, row, or table

1. Start the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. In a board with a table, tap to select the table and then do one of the following:
   • Select a cell: Tap the cell once.
   • Select a column: Tap to select a cell. Tap the Column Reference tag at the top of the table.
   • Select a row: Tap to select a cell. Then tap the Row Reference tag on the left side of the table.

When a row, column, or cell is selected, tap the Table Mover handle in the top-left corner of the table to select the whole table.

Add and format table text

1. Start the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. In a board with a table, double-tap a cell. Enter text.
3. To change font, style, size, color, and alignment, select the table, a row, a column, or a cell. Then tap the Modify Text button in the formatting tools.

Quick tip: To give another cell the same look, you can also copy and paste the same style and formatting.

Attach an item to a table cell

Attach items like images, scans, or links to your table cells, and they’ll move along with the table.

1. Start the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board with a table and other items.
3. Do any of the following:
   • Drag an item from your board to a cell until a highlight appears.
   • Copy and paste an item in a cell. It’s centered in the cell.

To make cells automatically expand to fit anchored objects, tap the Table Mover handle to select the table, tap the Table Layout button in the formatting tools, then turn on Autogrow Cells.

You can sketch or jot a handwritten note with your finger. You can edit and work with handwritten text just as you do with typed text, and you can solve handwritten math problems.

As you draw in the Freeform app, your strokes are grouped together. You don’t have to keep them that way: you can separate or merge them, or delete, resize, or straighten parts of a drawing. You can even fill a closed shape with color.

Draw or handwrite

Your strokes are grouped when you draw in the Freeform app. You can break a drawing apart by separating your strokes, or merge them, and you can also delete, resize, or straighten parts of a drawing.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Tap the Drawing and Handwriting Tools button and then draw with your finger.

   Tip: Hold your finger still for a moment when you finish the drawing to smooth or straighten its shape.

   

4. Do any of the following:
   • Switch tools: Tap a tool. Swipe to see other tools, such as Fill, Crayon, Fountain Pen, Reed Pen, or Watercolor Brush.
   • Change a tool’s qualities (such as angle, thickness, or opacity): Tap any tool a second time.
   • Fill a shape with color: Tap the Fill tool (the paint tube) and tap within a closed shape.
   • Draw a straight line: Tap the Ruler tool. Rotate the ruler by placing two fingers on it and turning your hand.
   • Select, edit, and straighten parts of your drawing: Tap the Lasso tool (between the Eraser and Ruler) in the drawing tools and tap or circle the part of the drawing you want to select. Tap an option or tap the More button to see other options.

   Tip: Choose Snap to Shapes to smooth or straighten hand-drawn lines.

5. Tap the Done button when you’re finished drawing.

Work with handwritten text

Handwriting in the Freeform app is recognized as words, so you can search text you handwrite the same way you search typed text. And you can select your handwriting, straighten it, translate it, or copy and paste it as text.

1. After you draw or write on your Freeform board with the drawing tools, tap the Lasso tool (between the Eraser and Ruler) in the drawing tools.
2. To select text, tap, double-tap, or circle the words, tap the More button, and then do any of the following:
   • Make text more legible, smooth, and straight: Tap Refine.
   • Make your writing more level: Tap Straighten.
   • Correct spelling: Tap an underlined word and choose how you want to correct it. The fix appears in your own writing style.
   • Move handwritten text: Touch and hold the selected text and then drag it to a new position.
   • Drag and drop: Touch and hold the text.
   • Erase text: Strike through the writing. Then hold down your finger on your iPhone. (Supported when using a markup tool such as Pen, Mono line, or Marker.)

To see other options, tap the Forward button in the menu that appears above the selected text.

When you tap a handwritten link, address, phone number, or date, it may open a menu or another related app.

Solve handwritten math problems

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Tap the More button, tap Math Results, and choose how you want your iPhone to respond to the math problems you enter:
   • If you want it to solve them: Choose Insert Results. (The answer appears in writing that matches your own.)
   • If you want suggestions to appear: Choose Suggest Results. (A Solve button appears that, when tapped, adds the answer in writing that matches your own.)
4. Tap the Drawing and Handwriting Tools button. Then start writing a math equation.
5. Write an equal sign or draw a horizontal line below a stack of numbers and then do one of the following:
   • In Insert Results mode: Tap the answer to open the equation. You can tap the Close button to delete the answer. Tap the expression to show the hint again, or draw the equal sign again.
   • In Suggest Results mode: Tap Solve to add the answer in writing that matches your own.

Pick whichever mode you want to use, or turn off math hints.

You can also use variables, edit equations, and update results, the same as in the Calculator app.

Any text in sticky notes, shapes, and text boxes can include equations to be solved.

You can sign up for a monthly or annual subscription to Apple Creator Studio using your Apple Account. You can cancel your subscription at any time, and you can share your subscription with up to five other family members.

In Freeform, you can subscribe when you use an Apple Creator Studio feature, such as Auto Crop, or when you remove the watermarks from a premium image. And if you cancel, you still have full access to premium content and features until your billing period ends.

Available with subscription: These features require a subscription to Apple Creator Studio.

Subscribe to Apple Creator Studio from Freeform

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Use an Apple Creator Studio feature, such as Auto Crop.
   • Tap the Content Hub button, tap a premium image to add it to the board, then tap Remove Watermarks.

   Note: If you currently subscribe to Apple Creator Studio but still see an option to subscribe, scroll down, click Already Subscribed? and follow the onscreen instructions.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Cancel or change your Apple Creator Studio subscription

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap your name, tap Subscriptions, and tap Apple Creator Studio.

   Note: If you don’t see your subscriptions, make sure you’re signed in to your Apple Account in the App Store.

3. Do one of the following:
   • Modify your subscription plan: Tap See All Plans and select a new plan. Tap Subscribe.
   • Cancel your subscription: Tap Cancel Subscription and then follow the onscreen instructions.

Even if you cancel, you keep full access to premium content and features through the end of your billing period.

It’s best to subscribe to Apple Creator Studio with the same Apple Account you use for iCloud, because some Apple Creator Studio apps rely on iCloud to sync projects, documents, and content between devices.

You can use the Freeform app to create boards for brainstorming and collaborating. For example, propose a trip with friends and let everyone take part in the planning, adding text, sticky notes, photos, videos, and other types of files as you go.

There’s no page to fill. The canvas expands as you add content, so you’re never constrained by space limits or page formatting, and your board is saved automatically as you work.

Here’s how to create a Freeform board on iPhone.

Create a new board

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the New Board button.

   If you don’t see the New Board button, tap the Back button.

3. Tap one of the options, such as the Add Text Box button or the Media button, to start building your board.

   

4. Move around your board by dragging your finger, and zoom in or out by pinching open or closed.

   Tip: To magnify more precisely, tap the More button, tap View Options, then tap a percent.

5. Your board is saved automatically as you work. To name it, tap the More button and tap Rename.

Create a board from another app

To start a new Freeform board, you can use content from another supported app, such as Safari, Notes, Maps, Photos, Files, and more.

1. On your iPhone, go to the app whose content you want to use on a new Freeform board.
2. Open the item you want to place on the Freeform board (for example, a note, map, webpage, PDF, or screenshot).

   To share just one part of a file to a board (rather than the entire webpage or note), select what you want to share. If your selection includes text, only the text is shared.

3. Tap Share or the Share button and then tap the Freeform app icon.
4. Tap New Board, name the board and tap the Done button.

In the board, you’ll see either the item or a link.

Open a board

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the board you want to open, or do one of the following:
   • If you’re in a board: Tap the Back button, then tap a board.
   • Find a board you opened recently, shared with others, or marked as a favorite: Tap the Back button in the top-left corner, tap a category, and then tap a board.

Note: Check the Invitations section on the Shared Boards screen for any collaborations you get invited to in the Messages app. They stay there until you accept them.

Duplicate a board

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. While browsing All Boards, tap the More button. Tap Select.

   If you’re in a board, tap the Back button to browse All Boards.

3. Tap the boards you want to copy. Then tap Duplicate.

Or touch and hold the thumbnail or name of the board, then tap Duplicate.

Note: If you duplicate a shared board, the copy isn’t shared.

Add a board to Favorites

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Do one of the following:
   • While browsing All Boards: Touch and hold the thumbnail or name of the board, then tap Favorite.
   • If you’re in a board: Tap the More button and then tap Favorite.

You can search all your Freeform boards for text in handwriting, sticky notes, text boxes, shapes, and filenames. You can search within a board, or search all boards from the All Boards screen, and any board that contains the text appears in the search results.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Do any of the following:
   • Search within a board: Tap the More button, then tap Find.
   • Search all boards: Tap the search field (or the Search button) on the All Boards screen.

Any board that contains the text appears in the search results. (If you’re in a board, tap the Back button to access Search in All Boards.)

When you want the text in your sticky notes, shapes, or text boxes to have a consistent look in Freeform, for example, font, size, and color, you can copy the style from one item and paste it in another. You can also save styles.

A saved style goes further: every time you add another item like that, it uses the saved style. And when you paste a style, Freeform matches what fits the item, like fonts, line weight, or color, or the corners and shadows of linked or placed files.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Tap an item on a board and make any adjustments to the formatting—so it has the style you want to copy.
3. When you have an item that’s formatted in a style you like, tap it to show its formatting tools.
4. Tap the More button in the formatting tools, tap Style, and then tap Copy Style.
5. Tap to select and show the formatting tools for an item whose style you want to change.
6. Tap the More button, tap Style, and then tap Paste Style.

Fonts, line weight, or color are matched, depending on the item you paste a style into.

Pasted styles update the corners and shadows of linked or placed files.

Quick tip: When you like how an item looks, save its style, and every item like that you add to your board afterward uses it. Tap to select the text box, then tap the More button in the formatting tools. From there, tap Style and choose Save as Insert Style.

In the Freeform app, you can organize your boards into folders. You can create a subfolder, move a folder inside another folder, and rename a folder. You can also move boards into or out of a folder, several at the same time if you like.

Create a folder

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Back button until you see a list of categories (All Boards, Recents, Shared, and Favorites).
3. Tap the New Folder button, name your folder and tap OK.
4. Do any of the following:
   • Create a subfolder: Tap a folder to open it, tap the Folder Actions button, and tap New Folder.

     You can also move a folder inside another folder.

   • Rename a folder: Touch and hold a folder, tap Rename, enter a new name, and then tap OK.

Move boards into or out of a folder

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPhone.
2. While browsing All Boards or the folder list, do one of the following:
   • Move several boards at the same time: Tap the Folder Actions button, tap Select, and tap each board you want to move. Tap Move and then choose a folder to move them to.
   • Move a board or subfolder to another folder: Touch and hold a board or subfolder, tap Move, and then choose a folder to move it to.
   • Remove a board or subfolder from a folder: Touch and hold a board or subfolder and tap Move. Choose Move to Top Level.

A removed board moves to All Boards, while a removed subfolder moves to the top level of the folder list.