Your iPhone has multiple ways to silence notifications, from silent mode to Do Not Disturb and Focus modes. Silent mode stops sounds but notifications still appear. Do Not Disturb, introduced in iOS 6, fully silences all notifications — no banners, calls, or alerts.

Focus modes, added in iOS 15, are highly customizable versions of Do Not Disturb for specific situations like Work, Sleep, or Personal time. You can allow notifications from selected apps and people while silencing others, and enable Time Sensitive Notifications for critical alerts. Focus modes live in Control Center (swipe down from top-right) and can be customized via Settings > Focus.

Apple also offers automatic triggers: Sleep Focus activates based on your Health app schedule, Driving Focus turns on when connected to CarPlay, and Reduce Interruptions uses Apple Intelligence to filter important notifications. Do Not Disturb is now its own Focus mode, meaning it can also be customized — for example, allowing calls from a spouse. Users can create custom Focus modes from scratch with unique names and icons.