This is Harry Potter next-level stuff.
If you live in the Apple ecosystem, you’ve probably grown to appreciate the small things, like unlocking your Mac with your Watch or getting those little taps on your wrist when a password needs approval. This by itself is awesome and saves you time and hassle.
But there’s one friction point in this workflow I never thought could be handled differently: the side button double-click.
I discovered this while messing around in Settings. It’s a small thing but it makes a big difference. At least for me, I like automating things.
Picture this: You’re deep in a workflow on your Mac. A password/passkey prompt appears. You reach over with your other hand to double-click the Watch. It works, sure. But there’s a faster way. You can approve it with one hand gesture.
The same hand wearing the Watch. Feels like magic.
The “Trick”
Apple’s AssistiveTouch lets you assign hand gestures to trigger actions. Things like a double pinch or a fist clench. What I didn’t know is that you can use those gestures to confirm the side button prompt.
That means approving a saved password or passkey becomes a single, subtle movement of the hand wearing the Watch.
Think of it as your wand hand. The digital door swings open. No second hand required. This is built natively in watchOS.
How to Set It Up
Follow these steps on your Apple Watch:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch.
- Make sure AssistiveTouch is toggled ON.
- If you haven’t already, head into the Hand Gestures section to configure what feels natural to you (a double pinch is usually the most intuitive).
- Scroll to the very bottom of the AssistiveTouch screen.
- Under Side Button Confirmation, toggle ON “Confirm with AssistiveTouch”.
I often have password prompts pop up on my Mac, like when I’m logging into apps, approving passkeys, filling in saved credentials.
Being able to clear them with one hand is a nice quality-of-life improvement.
Word of Caution
You have to be attentive though, as this gesture will also be used for confirming prompts for Apple Pay.