Apple’s new ‘Share Focus Status’ feature can let other people tell you that you’ve silenced notifications.
Currently, this is only supported in the company’s Messages app.
It lets compatible apps display a tiny blurb to other people who try to contact you, telling them that you’re in Focus mode and aren’t answering now.
What is it?
What is share focus status on an iphone?
Focus mode on an iPhone allows you to silence notifications, calls and other types of alerts when you’re doing something that requires your attention like driving, or sleeping. Using this mode also helps you concentrate on your work or hobbies and get stuff done without being distracted by phone notifications.
The good thing about this feature is that it’s a simple way to let people know that you’re busy at the moment and are not able to respond immediately to their message or call. It’s also a great way to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings and make sure that everyone is aware that you are busy.
In fact, the Focus Status feature is so useful that it’s on by default on all Focus modes, predefined or custom ones, as long as you turn it on. When this feature is enabled, compatible apps will show a little blurb on the screen when they see that someone has notifications silenced and a Notify Anyway option to try to reach them.
However, there are some restrictions with this feature. While it does allow third-party apps to reveal the Focus mode, they will only be able to do so if you have given them permission to do so.
Another restriction is that whitelisted contacts won’t be able to see your Focus Status. They will still be able to contact you as normal, but they won’t be able to know whether or not you’re in Focus mode.
If you want to disable this feature, it’s easy enough to do on the iOS device. All you have to do is open the Settings app and navigate to Privacy & Security.
You’ll then find a section labeled “Focus.” Here, you can enable or disable the different Focus Modes that are available to you. Once you’ve done this, you can then share the Focus mode with other people to help them know that you are busy and that they shouldn’t contact you right away.
As a final note, be aware that when you’re sharing your Focus mode with other people, your notifications will remain silent on your device until they are reactivated. If you want to reactivate your notifications, all you need to do is unlock your device and return to the Focus mode you were using.
How to turn it on
If you’re a big fan of getting into the zone while working, or don’t like office alerts messing up your personal time, Focus status is an iOS feature that lets you turn off notifications while ensuring you can keep in touch with others. It can also tell people if you’re unavailable and if they should notify you immediately, or wait until you can get back to them.
To turn on this feature, open your iPhone’s Settings app and navigate to Privacy & Security > Focus. From there, toggle the “Share Across Devices” switch to the “On” position to allow your Focus mode status to be shared with other devices on your Apple ID.
Once you’ve done that, you should see a button labeled “Share Focus Status” next to each of your Focus modes. You can tap this to enable or disable it, and it’ll show up in Messages if you’re using iMessage or a third-party app that supports Focus status sharing.
While it can be nice to let people know you’re busy or unavailable, there’s a small downside to enabling this feature. Specifically, it tells anyone who tries to text you that they can’t reach you because your phone is in Focus mode. That’s something you can proactively revoke from contacts who need to be aware of your current mode, but it’s worth considering if you have sensitive conversations with friends and family that might otherwise be disrupted by your sporadic Focus.
You can also opt to share Focus status only with certain contacts, provided they’re using iMessage or a compatible app that supports this feature. To turn off this option for them, you can open the Messages app with them and tap on their profile image on top of the screen.
Another way to stop people from seeing your Focus status is by manually disabling it for each individual Focus mode on a contact-by-contact basis. To do that, open a conversation with the person and tap on their name or photo at the top of the screen.
Currently, only the built-in Messages app supports this feature, but it seems to be expanding over time. It’s unclear how many other apps support it, but there are a few that are available in the Apple Store.
How to turn it off
iOS 15 offers a lot of great new features, including Focus Mode. This feature transforms Apple’s old Do Not Disturb mode into a more robust notifications filtering solution, and it’s perfect for people who need to limit unwanted interruptions while working, driving or sleeping.
One of the best aspects of Focus Mode is that you can share your Focus status with selected contacts. This means that they can see when you’re busy without it being obvious, and they can push through a notification if they feel it’s important enough.
If you’re not happy with this feature, or if you have friends who constantly abuse it by sending you texts that you don’t answer, there’s a simple way to turn off the shared Focus status option on your iPhone. First, you’ll want to ensure that iCloud is added to your device and that Two-factor authentication is enabled for your iCloud account.
Once you’ve iCloud set up, you can open the Settings app and tap Focus. Next, select the mode you want to share your Focus status with (Do Not Disturb, Driving, Sleep or Work), and toggle off the ‘Share across devices’ switch at the bottom of the screen.
For every Focus mode you use, you can also choose who to share the Focus status with by tapping ‘People’ and selecting the contacts you want to do this for. Once you’ve done that, each contact will receive an alert when you’re using a Focus mode with your notifications temporarily silenced.
The only catch is that these messages will only be visible to other Apple users if they have an iOS device. That’s because a feature called ‘Share across devices’ is used to notify people that you have notifications silenced, which can only be displayed in compatible apps like Messages.
The feature is available for Messages on iOS 15 and can be turned off for each Focus mode individually, which can be useful if you only want to share a particular Focus status with certain contacts or disable it altogether. You can even create your own custom Focus modes to further customize your notifications and keep you focused.
Conclusion
The share focus status feature is one of the best features Apple has ever introduced to the iPhone. It allows you to custom tailor your notifications to your exact needs, be it the time of day, your mood or how busy you are.
The big draw is that you can turn on the feature as needed, and it will be active on all your iPhones as long as you have an iCloud account. To get started, open the Settings app and tap Focus. Next, select the Focus mode that you’d like to tweak.
After that, it’s a matter of selecting the contacts you’d like to share your new found notifications with.
You’ll need to be a bit more selective about whom you’re sharing your new Focus mode with, but the results will be well worth your while. You’ll be rewarded with better quality of life and more time to do the things you love most. So what are you waiting for? Get started with our free Tip of the day. We’ll show you the tricks of the trade in one minute and you’ll be a master of your newest smartphone in no time.
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