How to Add, Remove, and Rearrange iPhone Control Center Buttons

You can customize Control Center on iPhone with Apple’s built-in controls—no jailbreak or Cydia tweak is required. On current iOS versions, open Control Center, enter edit mode, and use the controls gallery to add, remove, resize, or rearrange buttons.

The older PowerSelector method was designed for jailbroken iPhones running much earlier iOS releases. It is not needed for standard customization and can expose the device to compatibility and security problems.

Open Control Center

• iPhone with Face ID: swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen.
• iPhone with a Home button: swipe up from the bottom edge.

To close Control Center, swipe up from the bottom center on a Face ID model or press the Home button on a model that has one.

Add a control

1. Open Control Center.
2. Tap the Add button at the top left to enter edit mode. On some layouts, touching and holding an empty area also enters editing.
3. Tap Add a Control at the bottom.
4. Browse or search the controls gallery.
5. Tap the control you want to add.
6. Repeat for any other controls, then close Control Center when finished.

The gallery can include Apple features and controls supplied by compatible apps. The available choices depend on the iOS version, installed apps, device model, and region.

Move, resize, or remove controls

Open Control Center and enter edit mode again. Then:

• Move: drag a control to a new position.
• Resize: drag the handle at the lower-right corner of a resizable control.
• Remove: tap the minus button at the upper-left corner of that control.

Removing a button from Control Center does not delete its app or erase its data. It only removes that shortcut from the panel.

Create another group of controls

Current versions of Control Center can contain multiple groups or pages. In edit mode, tap the bottommost group icon on the right edge, then tap Add a Control. You can also drag a control below the existing page to create another section.

Use separate groups for activities that do not need to share the first screen—for example, put Home accessories together and keep the first group focused on flashlight, timer, camera, screen recording, and connectivity.

Add a Shortcut to Control Center

If the action you want is not a standard control, create it in Apple’s Shortcuts app and add a Shortcut button:

1. Open Control Center and tap Add.
2. Tap Add a Control.
3. Select Shortcut.
4. Tap Choose and select the shortcut to run.

Review what a downloaded shortcut does before running it. A shortcut can open apps, access files, send messages, or perform other actions depending on the permissions it requests.

Useful controls to consider

• Screen Recording: records the screen after a short countdown.
• Low Power Mode: quickly reduces some background activity.
• Text Size: changes supported apps’ text size.
• Hearing: opens compatible hearing and audio features.
• Code Scanner: opens a dedicated QR-code scanning view when available.
• Home: provides quick access to selected scenes or accessories.
• Notes or Voice Memos: starts a fast capture workflow.

Touch and hold many controls to reveal more options. For example, holding the camera control can show shortcuts for different capture modes, while holding the connectivity group exposes additional network choices.

Control Center access and privacy

To stop Control Center from opening over other apps, go to Settings > Control Center and turn off Access Within Apps. Lock-screen access is managed separately in the passcode or Face ID settings.

Think carefully before allowing sensitive shortcuts from the Lock Screen. A control that opens a home accessory, note, recording action, or automation may reveal information or perform an action before the phone is fully unlocked, depending on its design.

If a control is missing

1. Update the app that is supposed to provide it.
2. Restart the iPhone and reopen the controls gallery.
3. Check whether the feature is supported on the device and in the current region.
4. Search the gallery using a shorter term, such as “record,” “scan,” or the app name.
5. Check Screen Time or device-management restrictions on work and school phones.

Apple’s current Control Center guide shows the latest interface and gestures. If your main goal is reading a code already saved as an image, see TipsMake’s guide to scanning QR codes from photos.