Apple has introduced a new “Focus” mode with iOS 15, increasing the Do Not Disturb options to better manage distractions on your iPhone or iPad. In addition, you might have noticed the “Share Focus Status” toggle if you have been navigating the Settings and Messages app.
What is Share Focus Mode?
“Share Focus Mode” only affects focus modes, for example, Do Not Disturb, Work, Personal, Sleep, and any others you have set up. If you do not use these modes, you do not have anything to worry about this setting since it will not affect anything.
The point of the Focus modes is to silence non-urgent notifications and contacts. You can allow notifications from certain apps and contacts when setting up Focus mode under Settings > Focus. Tap on a Focus mode; then you will see an option for “Focus Status,” which is how you can manage whether your current status is shared or not.
If you turn on the “Share Focus Mode” option, apps will be able to see that you have notifications silenced. However, they will not be able to know why you have your alarms silenced; they will not be able to share the name of the current focus mode you are using.
When you share your status in a particular mode, contacts that try to message or call you using apps such as Messages will be able to spot a “<Name> has notifications silenced” with an option to “Notify Anyway” if the message is important enough.
You do not need to share everything.
It is unclear how many apps support it. iMessage: Focus status features beyond Apple’s Messages app and iMessage. There does not appear to be an option to share focus status in WhatsApp or Slack.
Messages allow you to choose whether to share your Focus status on a contact-by-contact basis. If you wish to access this setting, open a conversation with a contact, then tap on the name or contact photo at the top. Scroll until you find the “Share Focus Status” toggle, then decide if you wish to enable or disable it.
Focus is useful after you set it up.
The focus mode can help prevent distractions by grouping notifications and hiding distracting apps from your home screen. In addition, your Settings will sync between iPhone, iPad, as well as macOS so you can stay focused regardless of which devices you are using.
If you are having trouble staying focused on your computer, you can go one further and block distracting websites such as Facebook on macOS, Windows, or Linux.
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