This new feature prevents you from accidentally turning off the flashlight

If you use your iPhone’s flashlight often, you may find that it accidentally turns off every now and then – this new feature in iOS 26.1 prevents that.

This function prevents you from turning off the flashlight

Accidentally turning off the flashlight happens when you turn on the flashlight via the lock screen. It’s because the slightest touch of the screen is interpreted by your iPhone as a swipe to the right. And with that you open the camera, which immediately turns off the flashlight. That can be very annoying, especially if you have no idea what is causing it. But with iOS 26.1, you can finally do something to fix this.

When you use your iPhone’s flashlight, it’s usually because it’s dark and you’re looking for something. It is then very easy to accidentally swipe your fingers across the iPhone screen. A small movement is enough to start the action. If you want to cancel the promotion again, you are always too late. It is therefore better to prevent it. We’ll show you how that works.

This way you prevent it from switching off

To start, make sure you have iOS 26.1 installed. That’s the latest update that Apple released on November 3. This includes a new setting that lets you disable the camera swipe gesture on the lock screen for the first time. This function prevents you from accidentally turning off the flashlight. This is how you set it:

Once you disable this setting, it will no longer be possible to accidentally open the camera with a horizontal swipe from the lock screen. Thanks to this function, the flashlight of your iPhone will remain on, even if you accidentally touch the screen. Plus, chances are you won’t miss the swiping motion at all. After all, there are plenty of other ways to quickly launch the camera.

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