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

A handy trick for apps that don't have sleep timers

29 Dec 2025, 20:00 · TechRadar

News By Amy Davies published 29 December 2025

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

However, when I’m spark out and Netflix is still running – sometimes for hours on end – it’s 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.

That’s where a handy hidden feature in the iOS and iPadOS alarm comes in handy – so, if you’re 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 I’ve also got a two-year-old, so it’s safe to say that at the end of most days I’m pretty exhausted. Last thing at night, I’ll 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 doesn’t 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)

It’s not an obvious setting, so you’ll be forgiven for having missed this. Go to your device’s Clock app, and tap the Timers setting. I’m sure you’ll 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 you’ll see 'Stop Playing' is listed.

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