How to allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPad

When you set up a Focus, you can select people and apps you want to receive notifications from. For example, set up a Work Focus and allow only notifications from your coworkers and the apps you use for work.

You can also silence specific people or apps, and allow repeated calls, which are two or more calls from the same person within 3 minutes.

Here’s how to allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPad.

Allow or silence notifications from specific people during a Focus

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus. Then choose a Focus—for example, Do Not Disturb, Personal, Sleep, or Work.
3. Tap People (or Choose People) and then do any of the following:
   • Allow specific people: Tap Allow Notifications From, tap the Add People button, and then select from your contacts.

     You can also turn on options to allow calls from certain groups of people and allow repeated calls (two or more calls from the same person within 3 minutes).

   • Silence specific people: Tap Silence Notifications From and tap the Add People button. Select from your contacts.

     You can also turn on Allow Calls From Silenced People.

Note: Regardless of your Focus settings, you can allow calls from your emergency contacts to come through. See Allow calls from emergency contacts when notifications are silenced, below.

When Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing is on, Apple Intelligence lets important notifications interrupt you and silences those it decides aren’t important. See our article, Summarize notifications and reduce interruptions with Apple Intelligence.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.

Allow or silence notifications from specific apps during a Focus

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus. Then choose a Focus—for example, Do Not Disturb, Personal, Sleep, or Work.
3. Tap Apps (or tap Choose Apps) and then do one of the following:
   • Allow specific apps: Tap Allow Notifications From and tap the Add Apps button. Select apps.
   • Silence specific apps: Tap Silence Notifications From, tap the Add Apps button, and select apps.

   Note: You can allow or silence notifications from specific web apps you’ve added to your Home Screen. (See Add a website icon to your Home Screen.)

There’s also Time Sensitive Notifications, which you can turn on so all apps can send time-sensitive notifications immediately.

Share your Focus status

A Focus limits the notifications you get from people and apps, based on the settings you chose when you set up the Focus.

If others try to contact you while you’re using a Focus with Focus Status turned on, they may see that your notifications are silenced. But the name of your Focus stays hidden.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus and tap Focus Status.
3. Turn on Share Focus Status. Then select the Focus options you want to share your Focus status from.

Control what Focus Status you share

You can decide whether to share your Focus status for each Focus option you set up (Personal, Work, Do Not Disturb, and so on). If Focus status is on for the Focus you’re using, people who try to reach you (in Messages, for example) may see that you have “notifications silenced.”

You can prevent messages about your Focus status from appearing in apps.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus, then Focus Status.
3. Turn off Share Focus Status.

   Alternatively, you can turn off the Focus options you don’t want to share your Focus status from (below Share From).

Allow calls from emergency contacts when notifications are silenced

Sounds from emergency contacts can still come through when your iPad or notifications are silenced, if you allow it.

1. Open Contacts.
2. Select a contact, then tap Edit.
3. Tap Ringtone or Text Tone. Then turn on Emergency Bypass.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

• View and respond to notifications on iPad