Do you want to undo your last iPhone text without shaking it like mad? This hidden trick makes removing changes super easy

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Holding backspace to delete every word of a wall of text can get super annoying. You could opt to highlight the entire paragraph and remove it but not only is this fiddly, there’s a much better way — and it doesn’t require shaking your iPhone around.

Yes, you can shake your iPhone side to side to redo or undo something you’ve been writing but vigorously shaking your iPhone at your local cafe can be a bit of a nuisance, unless you crave the attention of strangers. Instead, you can undo and redo any text you’ve written in just a single swipe with this simple trick.

How to quickly undo and redo on iPhone

To quickly undo a line of text you have been writing, simply use three fingers, put them on the screen, and swipe to the left. Just make sure you don’t do it over the virtual keyboard. This will remove the last line you’ve written or, more importantly, put the text back if you’ve accidentally deleted it all.

If you ever undo an action by accident, which isn’t hugely likely given it requires all three fingers, you can redo it all again by simply using your three fingers and swiping to the right. 

These aren’t the only actions you can do with three fingers. By pinching the screen out with three fingers, you can copy any text. If you want to paste that text into a different space, you can paste it by simply zooming in with three fingers.

For a menu of all the quick shortcuts accessible with three finger gestures, tap the screen with all three fingers and a menu will pop up. This will allow you to copy, cut, paste, redo, and undo at will without having to remember the specific gesture.

If you find yourself prone to mistakes while typing or just want to quickly copy and paste something, these three touch gestures will change the way you type on your best iPhone.

James Bentley

James is a staff writer and general Jack of all trades at iMore. With news, features, reviews, and guides under his belt, he has always liked Apple for its unique branding and distinctive style. Originally buying a Macbook for music and video production, he has since gone on to join the Apple ecosystem with as many devices as he can fit on his person. 

With a degree in Law and Media and being a little too young to move onto the next step of his law career, James started writing from his bedroom about games, movies, tech, and anything else he could think of. Within months, this turned into a fully-fledged career as a freelance journalist. Before joining iMore, he was a staff writer at Gfinity and saw himself published at sites like TechRadar, NME, and Eurogamer. 

As his extensive portfolio implies, James was predominantly a games journalist before joining iMore and brings with him a unique perspective on Apple itself. When not working, he is trying to catch up with the movies and albums of the year, as well as finally finishing the Yakuza series. If you like Midwest emo music or pretentious indie games that will make you cry, he’ll talk your ear off.