If you’ve activated Focus on your iPhone, Share Focus Status lets apps and contacts know that you’ve silenced notifications temporarily and prefer not to be disturbed.
Hi, I’m Devansh. I have a habit of time-blocking parts of my day, so I use Focus to keep distractions away and let me get things done. I’ll talk about Focus and the Share Focus Status feature in this article. I’ll also answer some common questions about this feature.
If you want to learn more about Share Focus Status on iPhone or aren’t able to use it, keep reading!
Contents
What is Focus?
Apple upgraded the Do Not Disturb feature to Focus in iOS 15. In a nutshell, Focus lets you silence calls and notifications so you can put your mind to another activity without distractions. To activate it, open Control Center and tap on Focus.
Now, select the Focus option that you wish to activate. There are four default ones, Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, and Sleep. You can also tap the ellipses beside each one to specify an ending point. You’ll be asked to set it up if you’ve never used Focus before.
The biggest benefit of Focus is that it is highly customizable. You can specify which apps and contacts you want notifications from, select a custom home and lock screen, and set a schedule. If you need further guidance in setting up a Focus, check out this Support page.
To keep your Focus settings synced across all your Apple devices with the same Apple ID, open Settings, go to Focus and toggle on Share Across Devices. Now, let’s talk about Share Focus Status!
To enable Share Focus Status, open Settings, Focus, and Focus Status. Here, toggle on Share Focus Status. You can also toggle each individual Focus option below it.
When a contact messages you, your iPhone will notify them that you’ve silenced notifications. This can let them know that you’d prefer not to be disturbed. However, they can tap on Notify Anyway if their message is urgent.
While Focus is activated, your silenced notifications will be sent to Notification Center, where you can check them later.
FAQs
Here are three common questions about Share Focus Status on the iPhone.
First, ensure your iCloud Drive is enabled. Open Settings, tap on your account name, iCloud, iCloud Drive, and toggle on Sync this iPhone. Also, scroll down to Messages in Settings and ensure Focus is toggled on under Allow Messages to Access. If it still doesn’t work, it’s possible that your contact is using an old version of iOS.
Can You Automate Focus?
Yes. In fact, iOS might give you smart suggestions like these. Feel free to enable them if you want.
You can also enable Smart Automation or set a schedule for Focus based on time, location, and app usage. Open Settings, Focus, tap on the Focus option you want to automate and scroll down to Set a Schedule.
How to Create Custom Focus on iPhone?
Open Settings, Focus, and tap the ‘+’ button. Here, you’ll find additional options, like Driving, Fitness, Gaming, Mindfulness, and Reading. Tap on Custom if you want to create your own, and follow the onscreen instructions.
Conclusion
All in all, Share Focus Status is a feature to let your friends and family know that you’re busy and prefer not to be disturbed. If their message is urgent, they can tap the Notify Anyway button to ensure it reaches you.
Do you find Focus helpful in increasing your productivity? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
