iOS 16: How to Stop Focus Modes From Sharing Your Status - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 16: How to Stop Focus Modes From Sharing Your Status

by

In iOS 16, Apple has made it easier to control whether apps can let people know that you have a Focus mode activated and are silencing notifications. Keep reading to learn how it works.

iOS 16 Focus Feature
Focus mode is an expansion of Do Not Disturb that allows you to set up different permissions for apps, contacts, and more depending on what you're doing. For example, you can have separate focus modes for when you're at work, when you're studying, when you're at home, and so on. It's a handy way to filter out distractions and give all your attention over to something.

With a Focus on, your apps can display to people who message you that you have notifications silenced. Alternatively, you can block a Focus mode from sharing that information, so people won't be informed that your notifications are off if they try to message you. In iOS 16, Apple has made it easier to control which Focus modes are permitted to share this information by bringing the option for individual profiles into a unified menu. Here's how it works.

  1. Launch Settings on your iOS device.
  2. Tap Focus.
  3. Turn on Share Across Devices (required), then tap Focus Status.
  4. If it's not enabled already, turn on Share Focus Status.
  5. Now you can control which Focus profiles are able to share that you have notifications silenced by using the individual switches.

focus

That's all there is to it. Note that the Settings -> Focus -> Focus Status menu shown above replaces the Focus Status control option that appeared in individual Focus profiles in previous versions of iOS.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple to Launch These 15+ New Products Later This Year

Friday March 27, 2026 2:03 pm PDT by
March has been an incredibly busy month for Apple, with the company unveiling more than 10 new products and accessories. We said hello to the MacBook Neo at the start of the month, and we bid farewell to the Mac Pro at the end of it. Nevertheless, there is still a lot more to come this year. Beyond the usual annual updates to iPhones and Apple Watches, Apple's all-new smart home hub is...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Mac Pro Feature Teal

Apple Confirms Mac Pro Is Dead, No Future Models Planned

Thursday March 26, 2026 2:04 pm PDT by
Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and has removed the machine from its website, reports 9to5Mac. Apple said it does not plan to design a new version of the Mac Pro, and no new model will be coming in the future. The Mac Pro was last updated in 2023, which was when Apple added an M2 Ultra Apple silicon chip, but the chassis has not been refreshed since 2019. Apple redesigned the Mac Pro to...