iPhone Focus Status Sharing Guide

[nerdslife_team]

Okay, so you’ve probably heard about Focus Status on iOS 15 and later. If you’re scratching your head, it’s basically a cool feature that lets people know when you’ve silenced notifications using Focus Mode on your iPhone. It’s a handy way to manage expectations when you’re busy!

Focus Status works with Focus Mode to let people know that you’ve silenced notifications. They still have the option to push through if it’s urgent. If someone chooses to notify you anyway, your Focus Mode will temporarily ignore your settings and treat the message as important.

Also, if you use multiple Apple devices, turning on Focus Mode on one device will sync it across all devices, along with Focus Status.

Keep in mind that Focus Status works only in the Messages app and only with contacts using iOS 15 or later. Also, to share your Focus Status, you need to have Focus Mode enabled first.

Turning On Focus Mode

Let’s get started with how to turn on Focus Mode. It’s actually pretty easy!

From Control Center

You can quickly turn on Focus Mode from the Control Center.

1. Access the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen (or up from the bottom for older models).
   

   

2. Find the ‘Focus’ button, tap, and hold to see all Focus Modes.
   

   

3. Tap your preferred Focus Mode to turn it on. It’ll stay on until you manually turn it off.
   

   

Using Siri

You can also use Siri to turn on a specific Focus Mode. Just say, “Hey Siri, turn on focus". Remember that it will remain on until manually disabled.

Scheduling Deactivation

To schedule the Focus Mode to turn off automatically, tap the ellipsis icon (three dots) on the Focus Mode selection screen and choose a deactivation time or trigger.

Now that you know how to enable Focus Mode, let’s ensure you’re also sharing your Focus Status correctly.

Sharing Focus Status in iMessage

If your Focus Mode is on, but contacts don’t see that you’ve silenced notifications, the Focus Status sharing may be off for that mode. Here’s how to fix that.

1. Open the Settings app.
   

   

2. Tap on ‘Focus.’
   

   

3. Select the Focus Mode you want to adjust.
   

   

4. Scroll down and tap ‘Focus Status’ under the ‘options’ section.
   

   

5. Toggle ‘Share Focus Status’ to the ‘on’ position.
   

   

You’re now sharing the Focus Status for that specific Focus Mode. Remember, you need to do this for each Focus Mode you want to share. Your contacts will see that you have notifications silenced, but not the specific mode you are using.

Allowing Apps to Access Focus

To share your Focus Status, each app needs your explicit permission. Here’s how to grant it.

1. Go to the Settings app.
   

   

2. Select the app you want to allow Focus Status sharing for.
   

   

3. Find the ‘Allow to access’ section and toggle the ‘Focus’ option to ‘on.’
   

   

That’s it! The selected app can now share your Focus Status. Also, keep in mind that Focus Status won’t immediately pop up when someone sends you a message. It only appears if they send multiple messages. They also get an option to ‘Notify you Anyway’ if the matter is urgent.

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Focus Status helps to politely let people know that you won’t be able to answer right away. It also allows them to bypass the barrier for urgent communications.