Smartphones have made our lives easier, but they can be a nuisance when you’re working. Checking your iPhone’s notifications regularly when you need to focus on a task can affect your productivity. Fortunately, a Focus Status on your iPhone tells other users when you’re busy.
The Focus Status feature is a subsetting in Focus Mode, which allows other iPhone users to see that your Focus Mode is on. Having this prevents disruptions and ensures you only get emergency notifications, while also notifying others. However, it only works on certain iPhone apps.
Let’s look at what the Focus Status Feature does in Focus Mode, how to turn it on and off and how to use other Focus Mode features to prevent unnecessary disruptions.
What is “Focus Mode” on the iPhone?
Focus Mode is an advanced version of the “Do Not Disturb” feature available on iPhones. It’s an upgrade and will work on iPhones running the latest iOS version.
Focus mode allows you to filter which notifications you want to receive for a specific period. For example, you can block all notifications from friends and non-contacts during work hours, so you only have to check your phone for work-related tasks.
Focus mode also allows you to choose how you want to restrict notifications from certain contacts and for how long. There are various “Focus Modes” to choose from on the iPhone, and each is meant to prevent distractions on different tasks.
For instance, “Work Mode” allows you to block notifications from all non-work contacts, while “Sleep Mode” can block non-emergency notifications from all contacts while you sleep. You can also set up a timer for when the iPhone should activate Focus Mode and edit the settings to receive notifications from emergency contacts.
Unlike the Do Not Disturb feature, Focus Mode can restrict notifications from several apps. You can choose which apps to receive notifications from based on time restrictions, so you don’t have to look through unnecessary notifications when trying to focus on a particular task.
How to Turn on “Focus Mode” on Your iPhone
Turning on Focus Mode is easy, but you’ll have to spend time editing it according to your needs. You’ll also have to choose which “mode” of Focus Mode you want to activate. Follow these steps to activate Focus Mode on your iPhone:
- Open the Settings app.
- Under General Settings, select Focus.
- Choose which purpose you want to use Focus Mode for. You can choose Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, and Sleep. Depending on your device and location, these modes may differ, so don’t worry if you see a Driving, Gaming, or other option.
- Click Next when you see the different customization features included in the Focus Mode.
- Click on Add Contacts to select which contacts you want to receive notifications from, even when the Focus Mode is on.
- Select Add Apps to choose which apps you can receive notifications from in Focus Mode. You can leave this blank if you want to block notifications from all apps.
Other Features
You can also set up other features of the Focus Mode, including:
- Time Sensitive Notifications: When this is on, you’ll allow users to bypass the focus mode if they have to send an emergency notification. This can be helpful if you need to receive a delivery or in emergencies.
- Turn On Automatically: This feature will automatically switch Focus Mode on when you’re performing a certain activity. For instance, if you set up Focus Mode for driving, you allow this feature to activate whenever your phone detects that you’re driving.
- Customized Home Screen: If you habitually click on apps that decrease your productivity during work, you can customize your home screen to only show important apps when the iPhone is in Focus Mode.
Focus Mode has many other features, such as setting notification timers and device sharing and can even send an automated message to contacts when you receive notifications. This brings us to an advanced feature in Focus Mode, which is Focus Status.
What is “Focus Status” on the iPhone?
Focus Status is a feature of Focus Mode on the iPhone that informs people that your focus mode is enabled when they try to contact you. The sender will get a notification that you’ve silenced notifications and don’t want to be disturbed at the time.
While it only works on iPhones running the latest iOS and certain messaging apps, it’s still helpful at informing your contacts not to disturb you unless there’s an emergency.
Focus Status can be overridden, and you can still receive notifications if users want to send you an emergency message. When someone sends you two or three messages, they’ll get an option to “notify anyway.” When they choose this option, they may get the notification immediately or when the Focus Mode duration is over.
Focus Status is still being developed further; it may take time before it’s introduced across other apps. However, it helps inform contacts with iPhones not to disturb you unless it’s an important message.
How to Turn Your Focus Status On and Off
Focus Status is turned off by default. However, you can turn it on in the Focus Mode settings after you choose a specific Focus Mode. Follow these steps to turn on Focus Status:
- First, select Focus under General Settings.
- Next, choose a specific Focus Mode and select Focus Status.
- Move the slider next to Share Focus Status to switch it on. Then, anyone with the latest iOS on their iPhone will see a notification that you’re busy when they message you.
- Repeat the same steps if you want to switch on Focus Status for several Focus Modes.
- To turn Focus Status off, switch off Focus Mode or only the Focus Status slider by following the same steps as above.
Currently, Focus Status notifications will only show on other iPhone devices and in the iMessaging app. Some other messaging apps may also have a “Focus” or “Busy” feature, but you’ll have to enable it from the app settings.