- When “Share Focus Status” is enabled on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll be automatically told you’re using focus mode if someone is texting you.
- Focus (also known as Do Not Disturb) is a mode that mutes notifications and calls.
- To turn on “Share focus state,” go to the focus settings page and tap “Focus state.”
The Focus feature (also known as Do Not Disturb) on your iPhone and iPad mutes all of your notifications and incoming calls, so you can do exactly what it says: focus. But that won’t stop other people from messaging you—unless you tell them you’re in focus mode.
‘Share Focus Status’ warns people you’re using Focus
You can constantly tell people that you are in focus mode through the share feature. When it’s on, compatible apps will track when you’re in focus, and automatically notify anyone who tries to message you.
For example, in Messages, anyone who opens a conversation with you will see a warning that says you’ve “muted notifications.” They can then send you a text message knowing it will be muted, or choose to bypass your focus and notify you anyway.
This means that enabling Share also gives people a way to ignore your focus mode. Keep this in mind if you definitely need to keep all your notifications on mute.
You might see this message if the person you’re messaging has focus mode on. Apple; William Antonelli / Insider
Apple claims that the feature works across multiple apps, but the only app we’ve seen working with it is Messages, the standard texting app. Additionally, this only works if the person sending you the message is also using iMessage – if they’re on Android, they won’t see the warning.
How to Share Your Focus Position on iPhone and iPad
To turn on the share feature, you have to go to the focus settings menu.
1. Open the Settings app and tap hub,
2. Select the focus mode for which you want to enable sharing, and tap focus position on the page that appears.
3. tap share focus status Switch on the top of the page to enable it. When it is flicked to the right, it turns on.
Toggle the Share focus position switch to the right. Apple; William Antonelli / Insider
From now on, anyone who sends you an iMessage when you have Focus on will be told that you’re not going to see their notifications.
William Antonelli
Tech Reporter for Insider Review
William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped Tech Reference (now part of Insider Review) grow from humble beginnings to a juggernaut that attracted over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications such as Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku and others. He is also a well-known source for technical analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. you can find him on twitter @DbsRewatcher, or reach him by email at [email protected] read more read less