How to use and customize Control Center on iPhone Open it, edit it, and add controls from other apps.
Control Center is the panel of switches you pull down from the top-right corner of an iPhone. Here is how to open it, how to change what is in it, and how to put the same controls on the Lock Screen and the Action button.
I build Driftto, an iPhone app, and it has a Control Center button, so I read how Apple says to set one up. Most people searching for this just want the panel to do what they need. If you also like widgets, I wrote about those in the best iPhone widgets.
In October 2026 I went through Apple's iPhone User Guide pages for Control Center, the Lock Screen and the Action button, and Apple's iOS 18 announcement. The guide's version picker opens on iOS 27. Its steps for opening and editing Control Center are the same in the iOS 26 text. Where Apple's pages don't say something, I say so.
The short answer
On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center. Tap the plus at the top left to edit: drag controls to move them, tap the minus to remove one, drag the corner handle to resize one, and tap Add a Control to add one. Swipe up from the bottom to close it.
How to open and close Control Center
On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On an iPhone SE, or another iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen instead.
To close it, swipe up from the bottom center of the screen. On an iPhone with a Home button you can also press the Home button.
Many controls do more when you touch and hold them. Apple's examples: hold the top left group of connectivity controls and tap the AirDrop button for AirDrop options, and hold the camera control to choose a selfie, a video or a photo.
Swipe between groups
Control Center has more than one page. If you keep swiping down after it opens, you see more groups of controls. You can also jump to a group with the icons on the right edge of the screen. Swipe up through the icons to go back to the first group.
Add, remove, move and resize controls
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01
Open Control Center
Swipe down from the top-right corner.
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02
Start editing
Tap the plus at the top left of Control Center.
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03
Move a control
Drag it to a new position.
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04
Remove a control
Tap the minus at the upper left of the control. This also works on a whole set of controls.
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05
Resize a control
Drag the handle at the lower right of the control.
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06
Add a control
Tap Add a Control at the bottom of the screen to open the controls gallery, then tap a control to add it.
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Finish
Swipe up from the bottom center of the screen to close Control Center.
Make your own group
A group is a page in Control Center. In edit mode, tap the bottom icon on the right edge of the screen, the little circle. Then tap Add a Control and pick what goes in the new group.
In the iOS 27 text, Apple adds a second way: drag a control off the bottom of the page and it starts a new section. The new group works like the others. You can move, remove and resize what is in it.
Add controls from other apps
Since iOS 18, apps can offer their own controls. Apple's announcement says you can add controls from supported third-party apps to Control Center, for example to unlock a car or to start capturing content for social media.
Apple's Control Center page gives no separate steps for this. The route is the same: edit mode, then Add a Control, then tap the control you want. An app only shows up in the gallery if it ships a control, and Apple's pages don't say how the gallery sorts them.
Put a control on the Lock Screen
The buttons at the bottom of the Lock Screen are controls too. Since iOS 18 you can swap them, or remove them, using the same controls gallery. Apple lists the steps in its Lock Screen page.
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01
Open the Lock Screen editor
Press the side button, then touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Customize button appears. If you don't see it, touch and hold again and enter your passcode.
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Pick the Lock Screen
Tap Customize on the one you want to change.
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Swap the control
Tap the minus on one of the controls at the bottom, then tap the plus and choose another one.
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Save
Tap Done.
Put a control on the Action button
On models that have an Action button, it can run a control. Apple's page lists Controls as one of the actions.
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01
Open Settings
Go to Settings, then Action Button.
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Choose Controls
Swipe through the actions until Controls shows under the dots.
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Pick the control
Tap the button below the action and choose a specific control. Apple warns that without this the Action button does nothing.
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Use it
Press and hold the Action button.
| Control Center | Lock Screen | Action button | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many | As many as fit, in groups | The ones at the bottom | One |
| Where you set it | Edit mode in Control Center | Customize on the Lock Screen | Settings, then Action Button |
| How you use it | Swipe down, tap | Tap the button | Press and hold |
| Needs | iOS 18 for controls from apps | iOS 18 to swap the controls | A model with an Action button |
Controls worth adding
Apple's page names the ones most people use: Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb, flashlight, volume and screen brightness. Hold the connectivity group for AirDrop, and the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth buttons turn the connection off for now without turning the radio off.
Beyond those, open the gallery and read it. It is the full list for your iPhone, and it grows when you install apps that ship a control. The useful test is simple: add a control you reach for more than once a week, and remove one you never touch. Size matters too. Make the ones you use most the biggest.
If Control Center opens by accident
If you pull it down by mistake inside apps, go to Settings, then Control Center, and turn off Access Within Apps. Apple's page doesn't say more about what that setting changes, so try it once to see.
A Driftto control
Driftto has one control, called New capture. Tapping it opens Driftto on the capture screen with the keyboard already up. It does nothing in place: it doesn't send or save anything from Control Center. It needs iOS 18, like every control from an app. Add it the usual way: edit mode, Add a Control, then look for New capture. Widgets do a similar job from the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and the best iPhone widgets covers those.
Questions
How do I open Control Center on an iPhone?
On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On an iPhone SE or another model with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom. Swipe up from the bottom center, or press the Home button, to close it.
How do I add controls to Control Center?
Open Control Center and tap the plus at the top left. Tap Add a Control at the bottom of the screen, then tap a control in the gallery. Drag controls to move them, drag the lower right handle to resize them, and tap the minus to remove one.
Can I add controls from other apps to Control Center?
Yes, on iOS 18 and later. Apple says you can add controls from supported third-party apps. Use Add a Control and look for the app's control in the gallery. If the app has no control, nothing is there to add.
Can I put a control on the Lock Screen or the Action button?
Yes to both. On the Lock Screen, tap Customize, tap the minus on a control at the bottom, then tap the plus to choose another. For the Action button, go to Settings, then Action Button, choose Controls, and pick one. Without a pick the button does nothing.
Why does Control Center open inside an app when I don't want it?
It opens from the top-right corner everywhere. To stop that inside apps, go to Settings, then Control Center, and turn off Access Within Apps.
Driftto is in the App Store now. The yearly plan starts with a free week.
