To silence text messages on your iPhone without blocking them, you can use the Focus feature introduced in iOS 15. This feature allows you to customize your notifications based on different contexts like work, sleep, personal time, and more. Here’s how you can use it to silence text messages from specific people:
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Focus” (it should be below “Sounds & Haptics”).
3. You’ll see a list of pre-set Focus modes like Do Not Disturb, Personal, Sleep, and Work. Choose the one that suits your needs or create a custom Focus mode by tapping “Customize.”
4. Once you’ve selected a Focus mode, you can further customize it by tapping on “People” under the Focus Name section.
5. Tap on the “+” icon to add specific contacts whose messages you want to silence during this Focus mode.
6. You’ll be presented with a list of your contacts. Select the people whose messages you want to silence by tapping on their names. You can select multiple contacts if needed.
7. After selecting the contacts, tap “Back” to save your changes.
8. Now, whenever you enable the chosen Focus mode, you won’t receive notifications from the selected contacts. However, their messages will still be delivered to your Messages app, and you can view them later.
It’s important to note that while this feature silences notifications from selected contacts, it doesn’t block them completely. The messages will still be accessible in your Messages app, and you can reply to them at your convenience. This can be helpful when you want to focus on something important without being constantly interrupted by notifications.
I personally find this feature quite useful, especially during work hours when I need to concentrate on tasks at hand. By silencing text messages from specific people, I can avoid distractions and maintain my productivity. It allows me to prioritize my time and respond to messages when it’s more convenient for me.
In addition to silencing text messages, the Focus feature can also be used to customize notifications from other apps and services. You can choose which apps are allowed to send you notifications during a particular Focus mode, ensuring that only important ones get through.
To summarize, you can silence text messages on your iPhone without blocking them by using the Focus feature. By customizing a Focus mode and adding specific contacts to the “People” section, you can silence notifications from those contacts while still receiving their messages in the Messages app. This feature helps you stay focused and avoid interruptions when you need it most.