How to get rid of that gray dot on your iPhone screen

One of the most underrated benefits of having an iPhone is the hidden backspace feature and all the accessibility options it offers. The smartphone line has a number of features that can help individuals navigate the device more easily; there’s even a hidden iOS feature to help people with eye strain. Accessibility options can be useful for those who need them, but one feature can cause a gray dot to appear on your screen when you don’t want it to.

If you see a gray dot on your iPhone screen, it’s most likely Apple’s Assistive Touch feature. This helps users navigate their iPhone by simplifying some functions for easier access via the gray dot menu. As beneficial as it may be, this feature can be intrusive for some. Fortunately, removing the gray dot can be done through the iPhone’s Settings menu or by asking your smartphone’s Assistant, and there’s even a way to change the opacity of the gray dot for those who need options.

An iPhone can offer the full range of useful features you need to get started using, although not all of them will be suitable for everyone. If you find that you’re better off without this feature, there’s no problem turning it off. However, if you find that changing the opacity makes things easier to see, be sure to experiment with the rest of the Assistive Touch menu options, as the functionality is rather extensive.

Available since iOS 5, Assistive Touch adds a gray dot to a user’s screen that allows them to more easily access certain features and controls that may be difficult or inaccessible for some users. This includes the ability to use Assistive Touch rather than physical buttons, like locking the screen or adjusting the volume, up to replicating certain gestures like accessing the Control Center or Notification Center simply by tapping the gray dot to access a menu.

There are several options for turning it off, and one of the easiest ways is to simply ask the voice assistant Siri to do it. Users can say something like “Hey Siri, turn off Assistive Touch,” and it will happily oblige. However, it is also possible to deactivate Assistive Touch from the Settings menu:

1. Open the Settings menu.

2. Select Accessibility.

3. Choose Touch.

4. Tap Assistive Touch and make sure the toggle is turned off.

You can follow these same steps to turn the feature back on, although asking Siri nicely is also an option. If you find the feature useful but aren’t a fan of the prominence of the gray dot on your screen, there’s an Idle Opacity slider option under the Assistive Touch menu that you can adjust to give it the look you want. Just follow steps one to three above, then find Idle Opacity, then tap it and adjust the slider.