2 Simple Ways to Use Control F on an iPhone

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Learn how to search text on Safari or Chrome using an iPhone

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Rain Kengly

Last Updated: February 21, 2024 Fact Checked

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Using the Share Button

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Searching Messages

Are you reading through a long webpage or PDF document? Similar to the control + F function on a computer (or Command F on a Mac), you can search for a word on an iPhone using the Share button. Here's how to Control F on an iPhone or iPad.

Quick Steps

Open a webpage in Safari or another mobile browser.
Tap the Share icon at the bottom.
Pull up the menu and tap Find on Page .
Enter a word or phrase into the field.
Tap Done when finished.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using the Share Button

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/db\/14279420-1.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/db\/14279420-1.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

1
Open a webpage in Safari. You can also use another mobile browser, such as Google Chrome .
- You can also search PDFs , but they must be open in Safari or Chrome.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/9f\/14279420-3.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/9f\/14279420-3.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

2
Tap

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/4\/49\/Iphoneshare.png","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/49\/Iphoneshare.png\/23px-Iphoneshare.png","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":600,"bigWidth":23,"bigHeight":30,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>I edited this screenshot of an iPhone icon.\n<\/p><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a><br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

"Share". This will be at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your browser.
- A pop-up menu will open.
Advertisement
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a8\/14279420-4.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a8\/14279420-4.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

3
Tap Find on Page . You may need to drag the menu upwards to see this option.
- This can also look like Find in Page or similar depending on your browser.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/35\/14279420-5.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-5.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/35\/14279420-5.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-5.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

4
Enter a word or phrase. Make sure to spell things correctly.
- If needed, you can tap the magnifying glass icon and select Whole Words and/or Match Case to narrow down your search.
- Results will load as you type.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/0f\/14279420-6.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-6.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/0f\/14279420-6.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-6.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

5
View the results. Tap the down-arrow to go to the next result, and tap the up-arrow to go to the previous result.
- When you're finished, tap Done to return to the webpage.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Searching Messages

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{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/4e\/14279420-7.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-7.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/4e\/14279420-7.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-7.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

1
Open the Messages app . This looks like a white text bubble with a green background. ^{[1]
X
Research source}
- By default, your list of conversations will open. If you're in a conversation, tap the back arrow to return to this page.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c6\/14279420-8.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-8.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c6\/14279420-8.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-8.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

This will open the search field.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/9a\/14279420-9.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-9.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/9a\/14279420-9.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-9.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

Results will load as you type.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/23\/14279420-10.jpg\/v4-460px-14279420-10.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/2\/23\/14279420-10.jpg\/v4-728px-14279420-10.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>Image by: Uploader<br>\nLicense: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

4
View your results. You'll see them listed from newest to oldest.
- If needed, tap See All to view all results containing the words or phrases.

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2 Simple Ways to Use Control F on an iPhone

Quick Steps

Steps

Using the Share Button

Searching Messages

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