Among several other things, phone’s have also replaced the use of torch or flashlights in daily life. Though using the flashlight on your phone may not be something that you do regularly, but you should know to turn how to turn your phone’s flashlight on and off in case of emergencies. Below we’ve mentioned five ways using which you can enable or disable your phone’s flashlight in a jiffy. It is to be noted that Android users have more ways as compared to iPhone users.

Opening the flashlight using quick settings

Android didn’t have that flashlight toggle until 2014 when Android 5.0 was launched. But now to turn on the flashlight all you need to do is pull down the notification drawer from the top of the screen twice or once with two fingers, which will open the quick settings menu. Here you will see the flashlight icon, tap on that to switch on the flashlight. Once you are done using the flashlight, you can switch it off by tapping on the same torch icon from the notification drawer menu. The flashlight will stay on when you use other apps. If you don’t notice the flashlight icon, then you might have to swipe left or right so that you can access more icons.

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Using “Ok Google, Turn on the Flashlight” on Android

If you’re occupied elsewhere and can’t use your phone’s display, you can also switch on your phone’s flashlight using Google Assistant. When you say Ok Google turn on my flashlight, the Assistant will toggle your flashlight. You can later tap on the toggle to switch off the flashlight button on the Assistant’s screen or say Ok Google turn off the flashlight.

You can press and hold the home button to activate the Google assistant. If you want a complete total hands-free experience, then you can modify your phone’s settings so that Google Assistant is activated whenever you say ‘Ok, Google’.

Gestures to enable the flashlight

Some Android phones have built-in gestures that allow users to switch on the flashlight. These gestures may include shaking, twisting or double chopping your phone. You can try these and see if anyone of them works for you. If your phone manufacturer has embedded these settings in your device, you’ll find options for them too. For example, you can enable or disable the double-chop gesture to toggle the flashlight on your Motorola smartphones. The Play Store also offers several third-party apps available with gesture-control options to toggle your phone’s flashlight; however, it is recommended to use the inbuilt feature.

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How to switch on the flashlight in iPhone?

The best and the quickest way to turn on the flashlight on the iPhone is to use the control centre.

iPhone X or later have to swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen to access the control centre. Those with iPhone 8 or earlier have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen. You will see the flashlight icon, which can be used to turn the flashlight on or off. If you don’t see the torch option, then you can add it to the control centre by going to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls. If you have iOS 11 or later then you can adjust the brightness of the flashlight by 3D on the icon.

You can also ask Siri to activate the flashlight using the Hey Siri voice command. The built-in features for the torch are enough for iOS users, so there is no need to download third-party apps.

Using a Flashlight app

You can resort to using a third-party flashlight app if none of the options mentioned above works for you. Turning on the flashlight is a pretty simple task; however, the third-party apps usually ask for unnecessary permission like your location, contacts, and similar. If you want to play safe, then you can download the Icon Torch app which lets you switch on the flashlight with a simple toggle. This app requires minimum permission and contains no ads or in-app purchases.