How to Share Focus Status on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Apple devices come with Focus Mode, which includes Do Not Disturb (DND) and other modes to help reduce distraction. You can turn these modes on and off based on events, and even share modes to let others know you’re busy.
You can set different focus modes to turn on or off automatically based on a schedule or specific events. These events include things like launching an app or connecting a phone to a Bluetooth speaker in a car. Sharing Focus status modes with others lets them know you’re busy (driving or whatever).
This guide shows you how to share your Focus status with other iPhone, iPad, and Mac users.
What Is Focus Status on iPhone?
Focus status is a type of Do Not Disturb mode that you can manually set on your Apple device. This was among the new features introduced in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey. You will not be able to use this feature if you are running older versions of these operating systems on your Apple device.
The key benefit of using the Focus Status feature is to turn off notifications and minimize distractions. For example, let’s say people keep calling you while you’re in school. In this case, you can set up a focus mode that automatically silences all calls and hides notifications when you launch an educational app.
What Does Share Focus Status Mean?
Once you’ve set your Focus status, you can choose whether or not to let others know that you’ve turned off notifications. If your contacts are using Apple devices, they will see this in the Messages app if they try to send you an iMessage. They will also see a moon icon (sometimes called a sleep icon) next to your profile picture in the Contacts app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Once you set your Focus status, you can activate it on any Apple device, including your Apple Watch. This will automatically set the Focus status on all your Apple devices to the same iCloud account. If you don’t want to set up Focus status sharing between your devices, you can set that up as well.
Go to Settings > Focus on your iPhone or iPad and turn off Cross-Device Sharing. This will stop sharing your Focus status with other devices associated with the same Apple ID. On a Mac, this setting is on the Focus tab in System Preferences > Notifications & Focus.
How to Set Up and Use Focus Mode on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Let’s quickly set up the Focus status first, and in the next section, we’ll learn how to share it with others. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap Focus and tap the + icon in the top right corner. Select Custom, name the new focus mode, and click Next. Now you can choose if you want to allow notifications from specific contacts in your custom focus mode. Select “Allow Nothing” if you don’t want anyone to bother you.
Then choose whether you want to allow any apps to send you notifications when you enable this focus mode. You can click Remove All and select Time Based to allow urgent notifications if you wish. Alternatively, select Allow Nothing again. Click “Done” and you’ll be ready to start customizing.
You can now click Add Schedule or Automate and choose when you want to run this Focus status. After that, return to the Focus settings and select “Home Screen”. Select “Hide notification icons” to keep another distraction from prompting you to open certain apps.
Return to previous page. Select Screen lock and lock screen dimming. If you want to see disabled notifications on your lock screen, turn on Show on lock screen.
On a Mac, click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your desktop, go to System Preferences > Notifications & Focus, , and select the Focus tab. Now you can press the + button to set up a new focus mode.
How to Share Focus Status on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
On your iPhone or iPad, you can go to Settings > Focus, tap Focus Status and turn on Share Focus Status if you want to share them with other people. . This will work with Apple apps like Contacts and Messages.
When you share a Focus status, apps can only show that you’ve turned off notifications. They will not be able to show which focus mode is enabled. Keep in mind that other Mac and iPhone users will see the Notify Anyway option to send you a notification, even if you’ve enabled Focus Mode.
On a Mac, you can go to System Preferences > Notifications & Focus. Select the Focus tab and check the Share Focus Status box to share it with others, or uncheck it to not share it.
The activation trigger for this disabled notifications message is your Focus status. Just turn it on via the Control Center, an automation trigger, or by manually going into focus mode in the settings, and the message will be displayed.
You can stop sharing Focus status entirely by going to Settings > Privacy > Focus and turning it off for various apps on your iPhone or iPad.
Enable DND Everywhere
By customizing focus modes on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, you can also turn on Do Not Disturb on other platforms. Here is how to configure DND settings on Android. You can also mute messages on your Mac and set up DND on Windows.
How to Share Focus Status on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
How to Share Focus Status on iPhone, iPad, and Mac