How to clean iPhone camera lens

Matthew James Oxlade
Updated on

iPhone photography is becoming one of the most popular photography mediums. That means knowing how to clean iPhone camera lenses. But if we’re always carrying a camera with us everywhere we go, we need to make sure the lens is clean and ready to go at a few seconds notice if you’re going to capture that great moment.

If your iPhone camera is anything like mine, you’ll often find fingerprints, dust or event scratches on the lens. Keeping your lens clean is important, so check out these tips and tricks for keeping your iPhone’s camera lens clean as a whistle.

Use a microfibre cloth, not tissue

Tissue might work well on your desk when you spill your coffee, but it’s not the same with your iPhone camera. You’re not trying to absorb the moisture, so a tissue won’t be much help.

I use the microfibre cloth that Apple uses in their store. What they sell is not anything special – just a standard microfibre cloth and some general glass spray. Use a soft, link-free cloth. Stay away from towels, paper towels, tissues and anything else that isn’t a soft, lint-free cloth.

If you’re not a fan of carrying around a cloth, some genius invented a Lens Pen. The Lens Pen is something I always have in my camera bag and something I recommend anyone needing to know how to clean iPhone camera lens. What is good enough for my $2,000 lenses is good enough for my iPhone’s camera lens! One end of the pen is a detractable brush that you can use to wipe away any dust, and the other end has a graphite tip that is perfect for cleaning the lens of grime. Make small, slow, circular motions on the lens and you’ll see the dirt disappear within a few swipes. I swear by the Lens Pen for cleaning any lens.

how to clean iPhone camera lens

Look after your front like you do your back

If you’re anything like 99% of the population, you’ll have a selfie or a thousand in your camera roll. Don’t be embarrassed – it’s an important lens on your iPhone and is important enough to be looked after just as much as the lens on the back. So here’s more information on how to clean iPhone camera lenses.

Fortunately, the front lens is behind the main glass panel. This makes it a little easier to clean than the back. I clean my iPhone’s front camera lens with the same microfibre cloth as the back lens. The only thing I do differently is to use a dedicated microfibre cloth.

The reason I use a different cloth for the front is because the front panel is touched all day long and has heaps of grease, sweat and general grime on it. A simple wipe off your front screen will clean much of that away, but it sits on your microfibre cloth, meaning the next time you go to clean your back lens, some of that grime is going to wipe off onto the lens.

Always use a dedicated microfibre cloth for the front and back – or at least a dedicated cloth for the rear lens.

Don’t neglect your iPhone’s camera lenses and know how to clean iPhone camera lenses

Last but not least – always clean your camera lenses. It’s one of the most important parts of your camera to keep fresh if you want the iPhone cameras to be as impressive as they were when you first took them out of the box. If you give your iPhone camera lenses a solid clean every few days, you’re going to prevent a lot of long term damage.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to eat something greasy, since it doesn’t matter with the above tips!