“Enabling the freaks”: TikToker catches iPhone user “licking” phone in public—turns out it’s a lesser known feature

A TikToker claims to have seen an iPhone user utilizing a hidden feature at a cafe. Some viewers questioned the reason behind the man’s odd behavior in public, but others explained that it was a feature, not a bug.

Why was a man “licking” his iPhone?

In a video with over 261,000 views, TikToker Mark Roberts (@mmarkroberts) says he was waiting for his coffee at a local cafe when he noticed a man sitting in the corner.

The man stares at his iPhone, making continuous licking motions in the air with his tongue. Roberts says he was confused and decided to investigate after he got his coffee.

He walks outside to where he can see the man’s iPhone screen and realizes what he was doing.

“I see this guy using his tongue to scroll videos on TikTok,” Roberts says. “I was absolutely flabbergasted.”

@mmarkroberts ios 26 scrolling is useful for hands free when I think about it more lol it’s just I looked into the apple ios 26 feature and apparently you could also choose to scroll with any head tracking movement like a nod or a head shake so this guy just wildin lol. and yes I did have to look up an apple ios 26 scroll tutorial to find all this out #ios26 ♬ original sound – Mark Roberts

This feature is part of the iPhone’s accessibility settings, which allow users to enable “head tracking” and “tongue out” scrolling. For users with mobility issues, the feature can help them use their device more easily.

How did viewers react to the new feature?

In the comments of Roberts’ video, viewers suspect that “freaky” users will use the accessibility setting for other reasons.

“It’s an accessibility feature, but yeah, weird,” one comments.

“Mind you, he was HOLDING the phone, which means he could have EASILY used his THUMB to scroll the videos….Dude was doing this in public AT A COFFEE SHOP,” another points out.

“You could do it on the old iOS, too. People just aren’t normally that weird,” a third adds.

“I’m assuming the feature is there for someone who is paralyzed. That doesn’t mean you HAVE to be paralyzed in order to use the feature,” remarks another.

Others share ways they use the iPhone’s accessibility settings.

“I have my phone set up to scroll when I double-tap the back of my phone! It’s so helpful,” a commenter suggests.

“I used to snowboard. Couldn’t use my fingers because of the gloves. You’ve been able to do this since TikTok came out,” another says.

How to set up the feature

The news that the iPhone features such customizations for the head and face begs the question of how to try it for yourself. First, update your phone to the latest operating system.

On your iPhone, go to Settings, then Accessibility. From there, select Head Tracking and switch it on.

There, you can choose from actions like scrunching your nose, blinking, puckering your lips, and smiling. To see the setup in action, watch a demo below.