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: July 28, 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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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.
2
Tap

"Share". This will be at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your browser.
- A pop-up menu will open.
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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.
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.
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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1
Open the Messages app . This looks like a white text bubble with a green background. ^{[1]
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- By default, your list of conversations will open. If you're in a conversation, tap the back arrow to return to this page.
This will open the search field.
Results will load as you type.
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.