How to measure your height with a phone
On an iPhone that supports it, the Measure app shows a person’s height on screen when you frame them head to toe. Apple calls its readings approximate, and it measures to the top of the hair or a hat. For a number you can keep, use the phone as the level instead: lay it flat on your head against a wall, mark under it and measure the mark with a tape.
1Stand barefoot against a wall
Heels, back and head against a wall with no baseboard, on a hard floor, looking straight ahead. Take off shoes and anything in your hair.
2Lay your phone flat on your head and mark the wall
Open a level (on an iPhone, the Measure app has one) and lay the phone flat on the top of your head with its long edge against the wall. When it reads level, mark the wall under it with a pencil. A helper makes this easier.
3Measure from the floor to the mark
Step away and run a tape from the floor straight up to the mark. Read it to the nearest 1/8 in or 0.1 cm, then measure once more.
Using the iPhone Measure app
Open Measure and hold the iPhone so the person appears on screen from head to toe. After a moment a line appears at the top of the head with the height under it; tap the shutter button to keep a photo of the reading. It can also measure someone sitting down.
Apple’s guide says Measure works best on things 0.5 to 3 m (2 to 10 ft) from the phone and that its readings are approximate. It measures to the top of the hair or a hat, so flatten hair and take hats off. To read again, turn the phone away for a moment and back.
Apple: measure a person’s height with iPhone · Apple: measure dimensions with iPhone · Apple: use iPhone as a level
Which reading to keep
Check the app against a tape once. If the two disagree, keep the tape’s number: the tape measures from the floor to a mark you set level on your head, while the app estimates where your head and the floor are from the camera.
Measure at the same time of day each time. Most people are a little taller in the morning than in the evening.
Other phones
Measuring apps on Android phones differ from one phone maker to another; check any of them against a tape before you rely on it. Every phone works as the flat edge in the steps above, with or without a level app.
Try the same example
Enter your measured height. The names, units and values carry into the editable chart.
For the arithmetic alone, use the height difference calculator. For a different unit, use the height converter.
The next useful step
- How to measure your height at home, step by step
- Are you taller in the morning? Height changes explained
How the charts work explains the shared scale, source precision and custom inputs.