To zoom out in Safari on an iPhone, tap the Page Menu button on the left side of the search field, tap Page Zoom, then tap the small A until the page is the size you want. To zoom out on every website at once, open Settings > Apps > Safari > Page Zoom and pick a percentage below 100%.
The steps for a single page follow Apple’s Customize your Safari settings on iPhone guide for iOS 27, with the iOS 26 and iOS 18 differences noted where they matter. Apple’s guide does not walk through the all-websites screen in Settings, so that section describes what you should see and tells you what to do if your iPhone looks different.
What You Need to Know First
- Page Zoom is Safari’s own control. It makes the content of a webpage larger or smaller, and 100% is the default size.
- Page Zoom only changes webpages in Safari. It does not change other apps, the Home Screen, or the keyboard.
- The Page Menu button is the small button at the left edge of Safari’s search field (the bar where the web address appears). Apple called it the Page Settings button in iOS 18.
- The search field can sit at the bottom or the top of the screen, depending on your Safari layout. The button stays on its left side either way.
How to Zoom Out on One Webpage in Safari (iOS 27)
- Open the Safari app and go to the page you want to shrink.
- Tap the Page Menu button on the left side of the search field. A menu of page options opens.
- Tap Page Zoom.
- Tap the small A to zoom out. Each tap makes the content one step smaller. Tap the large A to zoom back in.
- Stop when the page is the size you want, then go back to reading.
The text and other content on the page get smaller, so more of the page fits on the screen. Apple says an indicator briefly appears when the size is back at the 100% default, which is an easy way to tell that you have returned to normal.
On iOS 26 and iOS 18
Older versions skip the Page Zoom step. Tap the button on the left side of the search field, and the small A and large A appear right in the menu. Apple’s guide for these versions describes the same two buttons as decreasing and increasing the font size. If you are not sure which version you have, tap the button and look for whichever of the two layouts appears.
How to Zoom Out With a Pinch
Place two fingers on the page and move them together to zoom out, or spread them apart to zoom in. Apple’s Zoom in on the iPhone screen guide also mentions double-tapping to expand a column on a webpage.
A pinch is temporary and works differently from Page Zoom. It is best for getting a closer look at one part of a page and then going back. Many mobile sites are built to fit the screen exactly, so you often cannot pinch out any farther than the size the page loaded at. When that happens, use Page Zoom instead.
How to Zoom Out on All Websites in Safari
Safari has a default zoom level that it applies to sites you have not adjusted individually. Apple’s iPhone User Guide does not document this screen, so the labels below may vary slightly on your iPhone.
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Apps, then tap Safari. On versions before iOS 18, Safari is in the main Settings list.
- Scroll down and tap Page Zoom.
- Under Other Websites, tap a percentage lower than 100% to zoom out. The choices generally run from 50% to 300%.
- Open Safari and load a page to check the result.
Websites you have already zoomed with the Page Menu button are usually listed separately above Other Websites, each with its own percentage. The default you choose does not replace those, so a site in that list keeps its own level until you change it or remove it.
Start with one step below 100%. Small percentages make text hard to read and links hard to tap accurately.
How to Reset Zoom to Normal
Nothing here is permanent. Use whichever of these matches what you changed:
- One page: open the page, tap the Page Menu button, tap Page Zoom, and tap the large A until the 100% indicator appears.
- All websites: go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Page Zoom and set Other Websites back to 100%.
- Saved sites: on the same Page Zoom screen, tap a listed website to give it a new percentage. If the screen has an Edit button, it should let you delete single sites or clear all of the saved levels at once.
Clearing the saved levels only removes zoom choices. Even so, read the confirmation before you tap it, because you will have to set up any site you liked again.
Page Zoom vs. Display Zoom vs. Accessibility Zoom
The iPhone has three features with “zoom” in the name, and they are easy to mix up. If a fix in Safari does nothing, you may be looking at one of the other two.
| Feature | What it changes | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Page Zoom | Webpage content in Safari only | Page Menu button in Safari, or Settings > Apps > Safari |
| Display Zoom | The entire screen in every app | iOS 27: Settings > Appearance > Display Zoom. iOS 26: Settings > Display & Brightness > Display Zoom |
| Zoom (accessibility) | A magnifier for the whole screen or a movable lens | Settings > Accessibility > Zoom |
Troubleshooting
Everything on the iPhone looks too big, not only Safari
That points to Display Zoom. According to Apple’s Adjust iPhone display and text settings guide, the Larger Text option under Display Zoom magnifies the entire screen. In iOS 27, open Settings > Appearance > Display Zoom. In iOS 26, open Settings > Display & Brightness > Display Zoom. Choose the standard option instead of Larger Text and confirm the change.
The screen is magnified and you can only see part of it
The accessibility Zoom feature is probably on. Apple says to double-tap the screen with three fingers to turn Zoom off. To stop it from coming back, go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom and turn off Zoom.
You do not see Page Zoom in the menu
On iOS 26 and earlier, there is no Page Zoom item. The small and large A buttons sit directly in the menu. In iOS 27, Apple lets you customize the Page menu, so look for a Customize Menu option if the action seems to be missing.
The Page Menu button or search field is gone
You may have used Hide Toolbar. Apple says to tap the bottom of the screen to get the search field back.
The page ignores the zoom level
Some pages have fixed layouts that do not shrink neatly. Try Show Reader in the Page Menu, if it is available, for a streamlined view of an article. You can also tap Request Desktop Website, if available, to load the computer version of the page, which usually shows more content at a smaller size. Our guide on how to request the desktop site in Safari on iPhone has the full steps.
Safari text is a different size than you expect
Check whether Safari has its own accessibility settings. Apple says you can go to Settings > Accessibility > Per-App Settings and tap Safari to adjust them. If Safari is not listed there, no per-app settings are applied to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does one website always open zoomed out?
That site most likely has its own saved zoom level. Open it in Safari, tap the Page Menu button, tap Page Zoom, and tap the large A until you are back at 100%. You can also look for the site in Settings > Apps > Safari > Page Zoom.
Does Page Zoom change text size in other apps?
No. Page Zoom only affects webpages in Safari. To make things larger across the iPhone, see how to make apps bigger on iPhone or how to make text bigger on iPhone.
Does this work in Chrome or other browsers on iPhone?
No. The Page Menu button and the Page Zoom setting belong to Safari. Other browsers have their own zoom controls in their own menus, and the Safari setting does not carry over to them.
Is zooming out the same as hiding the toolbar?
No. Zooming out makes the content smaller. Hide Toolbar keeps the content the same size and removes the search field so the page has more room.
More Safari Guides
- How to move the Safari address bar to the top
- How to open, find and close tabs in Safari on iPhone
- How to use Reader mode in Safari on iPhone
- How to change the Safari background on iPhone
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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