Home indicator
/HOME IN-dih-kay-tur/ · noun · SYSTEM pattern · #081
The thin line at the bottom of iPhones without a Home button. It is not decoration: swipe it up to go home, up and hold for the app switcher, sideways to jump between apps.
Also called: home bar, gesture bar, swipe bar.
You might call it
- “the line at the bottom of iPhone”
- “the white line at the bottom of the screen”
- “the bar at the bottom of my iPhone”
- “the swipe-up bar”
- “the little line you swipe up on”
…its name is Home indicator.
Common questions
What is the line at the bottom of iPhone called?
Apple calls it the home indicator. It appears on iPhones without a Home button: swipe up from it to go to the Home Screen, swipe up and pause to open the app switcher, and swipe left or right along it to switch between recent apps.
Can I get rid of the line at the bottom of my iPhone?
Not on the Home Screen or in ordinary apps — it is how you get home. Full-screen video and games may fade it out after a few seconds without touches; it comes back as soon as you touch the screen.
In code
| SwiftUI | .persistentSystemOverlays(.hidden) |
|---|---|
| UIKit | prefersHomeIndicatorAutoHidden preferredScreenEdgesDeferringSystemGestures |
| Android | WindowInsetsCompat.Type.navigationBars() Gesture navigation on Android shows a similar handle |
| Flutter | SafeArea SystemUiMode.immersiveSticky |
| Web (CSS) | env(safe-area-inset-bottom) viewport-fit=cover |
Prompt for your AI coding tool
Keep this screen clear of the home indicator: pad the bottom of the layout by the bottom safe-area inset so no button, tab or text sits on the line, and make sure bottom-edge swipes in the app do not fight the system’s swipe-up-to-go-home gesture. Only auto-hide the indicator in full-screen video or games, never on ordinary screens.
More UI words to use when vibe coding →
Related patterns
All the parts of a phone and computer screen, named →