How to Take a Screenshot on an iPhone SE (1st, 2nd, 3rd Gen)

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Press buttons or tap the screen to take a quick screen capture

Written by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: December 17, 2025 Fact Checked

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Using Buttons

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Using Double Tap

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Video

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Tips

Whether you have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation iPhone SE, taking a screenshot is easy. In this article, we’ll teach you how to do it using a simple button combo or an Assistive Touch shortcut. If you have an iPhone SE 2nd or 3rd generation, you can also take a screenshot with a double or triple back-tap. Read on to learn how to capture your screen and where to find saved screenshots on an iPhone SE.

How do you take a screenshot on iPhone SE?

On all iPhone SE models, you can take a screenshot by pressing the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time.
Use your iPhone’s accessibility settings to take screenshots with a double-tap the screen using Assistive Touch.
If you have a 2nd or 3rd-gen iPhone SE, you can enable a triple or double back-tap shortcut in your accessibility settings.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Pressing Buttons

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This can be in an app, like Facebook Messenger, or your web browser.
On a 1st-generation iPhone SE, the Sleep/Wake button is located at the top of your phone. If you have a 2nd or 3rd generation iPhone SE, it’s on the side of the phone. On all models, the Home button is the round button on the bottom center of the phone below the screen.^{[1]
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Quickly release both buttons. You'll hear a shutter noise that indicates you've taken a screenshot, and the captured image will appear on your screen.^{[2]
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- If you’re using a 1st-generation iPhone SE (or a later model running iOS 15 or earlier), you’ll see a thumbnail of the screenshot in the lower left corner instead.
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Save your screenshot. Tap the check mark (⎷) at the top right corner of the screen to save the screenshot. Save it in your gallery by selecting Save to Photos, or choose another option (such as Save to Files or Save to Quick Note).
- To crop the screenshot before saving it, drag the brackets around the corners and sides of the image.
  - You can also mark up the screenshot by tapping the
    Markup button at the top of the screen, or share it by tapping the
    Share icon.
- If you saved the screenshot to Photos, you can find it by opening the Photos app and going to the Library tab.
  - To see all your screenshots in one place, tap the Albums tab and scroll down to Media Types, then select Screenshots.
- If you’re using a 1st-generation iPhone SE (or a later model running iOS 15 or earlier), all this will look a little different:
  - Tap the Screenshot thumbnail in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  - Select Save to Photos, Save to Files, or Delete Screenshot.
  - Find your saved screenshot in the Screenshots album in your Photos app. If you have iCloud Photos enabled, you can also find it in the All Photos album.
  - You can edit your screenshot in the Photos app.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Double Tap (Assistive Touch)

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Open Settings. This app icon features gears on a light grey background.^{[3]
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- If you have Siri enabled on your iPhone, you can also simply say, “Hey Siri, turn on AssistiveTouch.”
You may need to scroll down the menu to see this option next to an icon of a person inside a circle.
It's under the "Physical And Motor" header next to an icon of a finger.^{[4]
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A green switch will indicate that the feature is enabled. When you turn on AssistiveTouch, a grey dot will appear on your screen that you will be able to tap for more options, like taking a screenshot.^{[5]
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Tap Double-Tap and select Screenshot. This allows you to take a screenshot of your screen when you double-tap the AssistiveTouch icon.
- When you see something that you want to screenshot, double-tap the AssistiveTouch button (which appears as a large grey dot on your screen). You'll find your screenshots in Photos > Collections > Screenshots (or Photos > Albums > Screenshots in earlier versions of iOS).
  - Even if you’re using the latest version of iOS, this technique will cause a screenshot thumbnail to appear in the lower left corner of the screen rather than immediately opening it full-screen. Tap the thumbnail to open and edit the screenshot before saving it.
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Enable back-tap instead (optional). If you have an iPhone SE 2nd or 3rd generation, you can take a screenshot by tapping on the back of your phone two or three times. This won’t work on the original iPhone SE. To enable this feature:^{[6]
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- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap.
- Select Double Tap or Triple Tap, depending on your preferences.
- Scroll down and select Screenshot. It’s under the System header.
- Navigate to the screen you want to capture, then tap the back of your phone two or three times, depending on which option you selected. You’ll see a banner telling you a back tap was detected, and your phone will make a shutter sound to indicate that you took a screenshot.
  - Even if you’re using the latest version of iOS, this technique will cause a screenshot thumbnail to appear in the lower left corner of the screen rather than immediately opening it full-screen. Tap the thumbnail to open and edit the screenshot before saving it.

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Tips

You can also quickly capture a screenshot on any iPhone model using Siri. Press and hold the Home button on your iPhone SE to activate Siri, then say “Take a screenshot.” If you have Siri set up to activate with a voice command, say “Hey Siri, take a screenshot.”

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