How to set up a Focus on iPad

Focus is a feature that helps you concentrate on a task by minimizing distractions. You can customize one of the provided Focus options, like Work, Personal, or Sleep, or create a Custom Focus.

A Focus can temporarily silence all notifications, or allow only the ones that apply to your task, and let other people and apps know you’re busy. You choose which people and apps can still notify you, and you can add Focus filters, too. You can turn a Focus on or off in Control Center, or schedule it to turn on automatically.

Quick tip: Open Control Center, tap Focus, and turn on Do Not Disturb to quickly silence all notifications.

The Reduce Interruptions Focus is another option, using Apple Intelligence to show you only the most important notifications. See our article, Use the Reduce Interruptions Focus.

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.

Set up a Focus

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus. Then tap a Focus—for example, Do Not Disturb, Personal, or Work.

   For your Focus, you can set up the options described in the steps below, but you don’t have to set up all of them.

   

3. Specify which people and apps to allow notifications from during your Focus:
   • People: Tap People, then tap Allow Notifications From. Tap the Add People button, select contacts, tap Done, and tap the Back button at the top of the screen. You can also silence specific people by tapping Silence Notifications From instead.
   • Apps: Tap Apps, then tap Allow Notifications From. Tap the Add Apps button, select apps, tap Done, and tap the Back button at the top of the screen. You can also silence specific apps by tapping Silence Notification From instead.
4. Tap Options and then do any of the following:
   • Show silenced notifications in Notification Center instead of on the Lock Screen: Turn off Show On Lock Screen.
   • Darken the Lock Screen during this Focus: Turn on Dim Lock Screen.
   • Hide notification badges on Home Screen apps: Turn on Hide Notification Badges.
   • Dim the Lock Screen during this Focus: Turn on Dim Lock Screen.
   • Use Apple Intelligence to allow important notifications to interrupt you: Turn on Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing. Any notifications specifically allowed or silenced will always be allowed or silenced.
5. When you’re finished selecting options, tap the Back button at the top of the screen.
6. Specify the Lock Screen and Home Screen options:
   • Choose the Lock Screen for this Focus: Tap the Lock Screen preview below Choose a Lock Screen, select a Lock Screen, and tap the Done button.
   • Choose the Home Screen for this Focus: Tap the Home Screen preview below Choose a Home Screen Page, select a Home Screen page, tap Done, and then tap the Back button at the top of the screen.

     Note: To make changes to the Home Screen to customize it further for your Focus, see Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen.

After setting up your Focus, you can go back to the Settings app, tap Focus, then change any of the options you chose earlier.

Turn a Focus on or off

You can turn a Focus on or off manually in Control Center or schedule the Focus to turn on automatically.

Add Focus filters

When you set up a Focus, any app filters you add determine what information apps will show during the Focus, such as which mail account or which calendar to use.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus. Then tap the Focus you want to add filters to.
3. Tap Customize Focus and then tap Add Filter (below Focus Filters).
4. Tap an app, tap Choose, and select the information from that app you want to see during the Focus:
   • Calendar: Choose which calendar you want to show during the Focus.
   • Mail: Choose which mail accounts you want to use during the Focus.
   • Messages: Choose which message conversations you want to see during the Focus—for example, only conversations from people you’ve allowed notifications from during this Focus.
   • Safari: Choose which Tab Group you want to use during the Focus.
5. Tap Add to add the filter to the Focus.

Note: When Share Across Devices is on, Focus filters don’t sync across devices. To turn it off, go to the Settings app and tap Focus.

Create a custom Focus

Create a custom Focus if the activity you want to focus on is different from any of the provided Focus options.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus and tap the Add button at the top right. Then tap Custom.

   

3. Enter a name for your Focus and tap Return.
4. Choose a color and an icon to represent your Focus. Tap Next.
5. Tap Customize Focus. Then set up the options for your custom Focus, following the instructions in Set up a Focus.

Keep your Focus settings up to date across all your Apple devices

The same Focus settings can apply on all your Apple devices that are signed in to the same Apple Account.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Focus and then turn on Share Across Devices.

   Note: When you turn on Share Across Devices and turn on Share Focus Status, your Focus can show that you have notifications silenced. For example, if you silence notifications when you set up a Focus, people who text you will see that your notifications are silenced. You can change this setting for specific people on their contact card.

*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

• Turn on or schedule a Focus on iPad
• Link a Focus to your Lock Screen
• Move apps and widgets on the iPad Home Screen