How to strikethrough text on iPhone

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Strikethrough text on an iPhone can be tricky at times. With small screens and finger-based input, it can be hard to select text accurately or cross out text. It’s even more frustrating when you need to underline, strikethrough, or bold a text. That’s because the standard apps on your iPhone/iPad do not allow this. Luckily, there is an app you can use to cross out text on your iPhone.

Pages App

The Apple’s Pages app is the easiest way to strikethrough text on your iPhone or iPad. It’s a free app that comes included with most Apple devices. It offers a powerful document editor that’s similar to Microsoft Word. To use the Pages app:

Step 1

Tap and hold to select the text you wish to strikethrough and tap the “Paintbrush” icon in the top menu.

Step 2

Tap the “Strike Through” button in the pop-up window. A line will now strike through your chosen piece of text.

Step 3

From here, you can choose to export the documents as a PDF, Pages, or Word file. You can also email documents directly from the Pages app.

Third-party apps

You can also strikethrough text on an iPhone by using alternative third-party apps. One of the easiest options is Documents (Office Docs). Another free option is Microsoft Word. However, you cannot copy and paste a strikethrough text from these apps into the default Apple apps.

Google Drive

Google Drive is another impressive option you can use to strikethrough on your iPhone, to do so:

Step 1

Open Google Drive on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2

Tap the “Docs” button to create a new document, then tap the “Desktop” shortcut at the bottom of the screen to switch to the Desktop editor.

Step 3

Tap the “Format” menu at the top of the screen. From the drop-down menu that appears, select “Strikethrough.” Any text you now enter will be crossed out with a line through its center.

iOS rich text limitations

Apple’s iOS operating system does not support rich text. This means your iPhone or iPad cannot copy-paste a cross-out text from the Pages app into another app such as your mail or message app. If you try to copy a strikethrough text and paste it into any default Apple apps, it will appear unformatted without a strikethrough. When you edit rich text such as underline, italics, bold format, or strikethrough, your best option is to export the document as a Pages, Word file, or PDF.