How to Allow or Silence People & Apps in a Focus Mode

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You can specify which contacts and apps you wish to allow or not allow notifications from while your Focus is on. By going into your Focus settings, you can choose to silence calls and notifications from certain contacts and apps or allow them instead. I’ll explain how this works and why you would want to do this!

Why You’ll Love This Tip:

• Creating a list of contacts or apps to allow or silence can help create boundaries between work and free time.
• It can be easier to silence certain contacts and apps when customizing a Focus mode.

How to Silence a Contact on iPhone with a Focus Mode

I’ll go through setting up allowing or silencing calls on iPhone first and then apps. You can skip to step 15 to jump to app customization steps. For more productivity-boosting iPhone Focus mode tutorials, sign up for our free Tip of the Day! Now here's how to silence a contact on iPhone:

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1. Open the Control Center on your iPhone by swiping down from the top-right corner of your screen.
   
   
2. Tap Focus.
   
   
3. Here you will see some preset Focus modes such as Do Not Disturb. Tap the three dots.
   
   
4. Tap the Settings button to customize the respective Focus mode.
   
   
5. Tap People in the Focus customization menu.
   
   
6. Depending on what’s easier, you can either silence notifications from certain contacts or allow them by tapping either Silence Notifications From or Allow Notifications From.
   
   
7. Next, select the contacts by tapping Add People.
   
   
8. Tap the circle(s) next to the contacts you wish to add. You can use the Search bar and type their name to save you time.
   
   
9. Once you have all your contacts selected, tap Done. You will now see the contacts you selected.
   
   
10. If you wish to remove someone you accidentally added, tap the minus icon, and they will disappear.
    
    
11. Depending on whether you decide to Silence or Allow notifications, you'll see different options for customizing phone call permissions. If you selected to Silence certain contacts, you can toggle Allow Calls from Silenced People on or off.
    
    
12. If you select to allow notifications from certain contacts, you'll be able to select who you wish to allow calls from.
    
    
13. Tap Allowed People Only and make your selection between Everybody, Allowed People Only, Favorites, or Contacts Only.
    
    
14. Below that, you can toggle if you wish to Allow Repeated Calls, which means that you won't be notified the first time someone calls, but if they call back again within three minutes, their second call won't be silenced. I recommend toggling this on so that someone can reach you in case of an emergency. 
    
    
15. Next, tap Apps in the Focus customization menu.
    
    
16. Depending on what’s easier, you can either silence notifications from certain contacts or allow them by tapping either Silence Notifications From or Allow Notifications From.
    
    
17. Next, select the apps by tapping Add Apps.
    
    
18. Tap the circle(s) next to the contacts you wish to add. You can use the Search bar and type their name to save you time.
    
    
19. Once you have all your apps selected, tap Done.
    
    
20. You will now see the apps you selected. If you wish to remove an app, you accidentally added, tap the minus icon, and it will disappear.
    
    
21. At the very bottom, decide if you want to toggle Time Sensitive Notifications on or off. I recommend toggling this on in case there is an emergency, such as a hacker attempting to log into your social media or email.
    
    
22. Any changes you make will be saved automatically; just tap Back to return to the Focus customization menu.
    
    

That's how to add contacts to Focus, as well as apps. I really like that we now have the option to pick which contacts can't notify you instead of only being able to select those who can. For example, if the only person who contacts you during work hours outside of colleagues is your spouse, and you want to set up a Work Focus, you may want to select Silence Notifications From, then select your spouse in the next step. You can also set specific contacts to receive an iMessage auto reply when they text you. Next, find out what Share Focus Status means and how you can customize it.