Articles on: iPadOS

I'm accidentally erasing my notes with my palm or Apple Pencil.

Accidentally erasing notes usually has one of two causes: your palm is touching the screen, or your Apple Pencil's gesture shortcut is switching to the Eraser. Both are quick fixes in iPad Settings.

Stop palm touches from drawing or erasing

Turn on Only Draw with Apple Pencil so iPad ignores everything except the Pencil tip:

Open the Settings app on your iPad;
Tap Apple Pencil;
Toggle Only Draw with Apple Pencil to ON.

📝 NOTE: With this setting on, your finger can still scroll, zoom, and tap toolbar buttons — it just can't draw or erase.

Stop the Pencil from switching to the Eraser by itself

Newer Apple Pencils have a gesture that toggles between drawing tools. By default, it's set to swap between your last tool and the Eraser — which is the most common cause of "I drew, then suddenly I was erasing."

Apple Pencil Pro — Squeeze action

Open Settings → Apple Pencil;
Under Squeeze, change it from Show Tool Palette to Off (or to another action that isn't the Eraser).

Apple Pencil (2nd Generation) — Double-Tap action

Open Settings → Apple Pencil;
Under Double Tap, select Off (or change it to Show Color Palette instead of Switch Between Current Tool and Eraser).

📝 NOTE: Double-Tap and Squeeze settings only appear when an Apple Pencil Pro or 2nd Generation Pencil is paired. Apple Pencil 1st Gen and USB-C don't have these gestures.

✅ TIP: Still erasing accidentally? Switch Scriptation's Annotation Toolbar to a non-Eraser tool (like the Pen or Highlighter) before lifting the Pencil — that way an accidental gesture won't catch the Eraser.

What's Next

Using the Apple Pencil on iPad
My Apple Pencil icon is gone or the Pencil no longer works
An Overview of the Annotation Toolbar

Updated on: 25/06/2026

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