Theres a 'secret' sleep timer hidden in your iPhone and iPad here's how to unlock it for Netflix

Date:
Mon, 29 Dec 2025 20:00:00 +0000

Description:
Some iOS and iPadOS apps like Netflix don't have built-in sleep timers, but fortunately this lesser-known feature lets you create your own.

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If youre anything like me, watching shows in bed at the end of a long day is
a great way to unwind.

However, when Im spark out and Netflix is still running sometimes for hours on end its a pain the next day having to trying to find my place again. Some apps have built-in sleep timers, but many (like Netflix) still don't.

Thats where a handy hidden feature in the iOS and iPadOS alarm comes in handy
so, if youre watching shows or listening to podcasts/audiobooks on your iPad or iPhone, you can happily fall asleep knowing your device soon will, too.

I had a new baby six months ago, and Ive also got a two-year-old, so its safe to say that at the end of most days Im pretty exhausted. Last thing at night, Ill feed my baby (watching a show on my iPad, propped up on my bedside
table), then lie down for a bit waiting for her to fall asleep and for me to get some much-needed shut-eye, too.

As you can imagine, it doesnt actually take me that long to go to sleep, but, I like the comfort of the screen playing while I drift off. However, after consistently falling asleep within 10-20 minutes, but finding my shows continued to play for sometimes hours on end, I went looking for a solution. Find the sleep timer You can set a custom sleep timer for the likes of
Netflix in the Clock app (above) it's the same process on iPadOS if you have an Apple tablet. (Image credit: Apple)

Its not an obvious setting, so youll be forgiven for having missed this. Go
to your devices Clock app , and tap the Timers setting. Im sure youll have used this for other things, such as cooking or as a reminder to do something.

Tap on 'When Timer Ends' and scroll all the way down to the bottom past all the ringtone options, and youll see 'Stop Playing' is listed.

Tap this and when your Timer ends, your Netflix show (or other streaming service) will stop, and your iPad/iPhone will lock. Youll need to tap 'Set' the first time you do it youll know if youve done it right as when you go back to the main timer screen, it will say 'Stop Playing' next to 'When Timer Ends' now.

Depending on how sleepy I am, I set the timer for anything between 5 and 20 minutes Ive usually got a pretty good idea of how long Ill need. Then, the next day when I come back to watch/listen to the show again, I know Ill only have a maximum of the timer setting to rewind to keep playing from where I left off.

Until I get a device which recognizes exactly when my eyes have closed, its the next best thing. More timer tweaks (Image credit: Apple)

A few more timer tweaks can help make your life easier. A quick way to flip between different alarm lengths say you want 5 minutes one night, 20 minutes another night, and 10 minutes on a different one is to use the ' Recents' .

Scroll past the 'When Timer Ends' section and you should see a list of all your recently used alarms. Now you can simply tap on the one I want without having to adjust the timer at the top. Precious seconds saved!

This is also useful if youre using the Timer for other things during the day, such as while cooking. Ive labelled my Timers 'Bedtime' to make sure its got the 'Stop Playing' function set. You can set a Label when youre originally making a timer, changing it from 'Timer' to whatever you like. Control Center and Siri You can create a shortcut to your custom sleep timer settings in Control Center it's the same process on iPadOS for iPads. (Image credit: Apple)

You can also make use of Control Center and Siri the latter is quite useful if you need to stay hands free, perhaps if your iPad is resting on a cabinet just slightly out of reach.

For Control Center which are the set of options that appear when you swipe down from the top right-hand corner you can add a Timer control here. After youve swiped down, press and hold in an empty area of the screen and tap 'Add a control' and find Timer within the list of options.

Once its added youve got two options. Tap once and youll be taken to the regular Timer options, but you can also tap and hold the timer icon then
swipe up and down on the screen to add or remove time a bit like you do with adding or reducing torch brightness. Note, with this you must have already
had your Timer setting to 'Stop Playing' before.

Finally, you can of course also use Siri. Youll need to either hold down the Side/Home button or say, Hey Siri followed by, set a 10 minute Sleep Timer
for the Stop Playing function to activate. Make sure you include the word Sleep before Timer, or youll get a rude awakening when it elapses.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/ios/theres-a-secret-sleep-timer-hidden-in-you r-iphone-and-ipad-heres-how-to-unlock-it-for-netflix


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