How to Customize Individual Apps on iPhone Using Per-App Settings

Your iPhone is packed with accessibility tools, but most of them affect the entire system. If you increase text size, every app gets bigger, even the ones you don’t want. That’s where Per-App Settings come in. This feature lets you fine-tune how individual apps look and behave without touching the rest of your phone.

Imagine Messages with bold text and high contrast while Instagram stays clean and minimal. That’s the magic of Per-App Settings.

What Are Per-App Settings on iPhone?

Per-App Settings is an accessibility feature in iOS and iPadOS. It lets you apply specific visual and motion settings to individual apps, rather than system-wide. Apple first introduced this feature with iOS 15, and over time, it’s only gotten better with more customization options. In iOS 18, Apple even added new tweaks like controlling cursor blink and showing hidden apps.

Think of it as your personal toolkit. You can:

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• Increase text size in Mail, but keep it standard in X (Twitter).
• Force Smart Invert in apps that don’t support Dark Mode.
• Add shapes to buttons so they’re easier to spot.
• Reduce animations in just one app without slowing down your whole device.

Why Use Per-App Settings?

The power lies in personalization. Everyone uses their iPhone differently. With Per-App Settings, you can:

• Personalize reading apps: Make Kindle text larger, but keep Notes clean and compact.
• Boost accessibility: Adjust contrast or enable bold text for just the apps that feel hard to read.
• Stay productive: Work apps can be set up with sharper text and less motion, while entertainment apps stay visually rich.
• Help family members: Kids or elderly users can have apps tuned for readability without altering the whole device.

It’s all about giving you the control Apple usually keeps locked down.

How to Enable Per-App Settings on iPhone

Getting started is simple. Here’s how:

1. Open Settings and tap Accessibility.
2. Scroll down and select Per-App Settings.
3. Tap Add App and pick the app you want to customize.
   
4. Once added, tap the app’s name in the list.
5. Choose the settings you want to adjust (like Bold Text, Larger Text, Smart Invert).
   

That’s it. Open the app, and you’ll see the changes instantly. If not, force-quit the app or restart your iPhone. Just remember: some apps (like Spotify) don’t support all options.

Customization Options in Per-App Settings

When you add an app to Per-App Settings, you’ll see a list of options you can adjust. Not every app supports all of them, but the variety is impressive:

Text and Font Adjustments

• Bold Text: Makes all text in the app thicker and easier to read.
• Larger Text: Adjust font size with a slider just for that app.
• Prefer Horizontal Text: Displays vertical text horizontally in some languages.
• Prefer Non-Blinking Cursor (iOS 18+): Stops the text cursor from blinking, so it’s always visible.

Button and Toggle Options

• Button Shapes: Adds outlines or underlines to text buttons so they look more like real buttons.
• On/Off Labels: Puts clear “I” and “O” symbols on toggles.

Color and Contrast

• Reduce Transparency: Cuts down on blurry backgrounds, improving legibility.
• Increase Contrast: Boosts color separation between foreground and background.
• Differentiate Without Color: Adds alternatives for elements that normally rely only on color.
• Smart Invert: Flips colors like a pseudo-Dark Mode, but leaves images and videos untouched.

Motion and Animation

• Reduce Motion: Tones down UI animations and parallax effects.
• Prefer Cross-Fade Transitions: Smooths out transitions instead of sliding motions (only shows up when Reduce Motion is enabled).

Media Playback

• Auto-Play Animated Images: Lets GIFs and Live Stickers play automatically.
• Auto-Play Video Previews: Enables video previews in apps like the App Store.

Some settings can even affect performance or battery life. For example, disabling video previews may save data, while enabling them can drain it faster. It’s worth experimenting to see what works best for you.

Tips and Best Practices

• Don’t overdo it. Pick apps that genuinely need extra readability or a custom look.
• Combine with Focus Modes to create powerful setups (like work mode with toned-down animations).
• Perfect for accessibility: kids, the elderly, or visually impaired users.
• Remember, these settings sync with iCloud backup, so you don’t lose them when switching devices.

Troubleshooting Per-App Settings

• Settings not showing: Make sure your iPhone is updated to the latest iOS.
• Changes not applying: Close and reopen the app, or restart your iPhone.
• Some apps ignore settings: Not all apps support every tweak (e.g., Spotify won’t bold text).
• Reset easily: Go back to Per-App Settings, select the app, and hit Default or delete it from the list.

Personalization That Actually Works

Per-App Settings may not sound flashy, but it’s one of the smartest ways to make your iPhone fit you. Whether it’s making text easier to read in Mail, forcing dark mode in your favorite reader, or calming animations in one app without slowing down others, it’s all possible. Experiment with different tweaks, see what works for you, and enjoy a more personal iPhone experience.

Read more:

• How to use the Accessibility Shortcut on Apple Watch
• How to use the Accessibility Shortcut on iPhone and iPad