3 iPhone Tricks to Silence Notifications for Specific People

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An easy-to-follow guide for silencing notifications on iPhone for a specific contact
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Is a certain person calling or texting you too much? We all have that one friend who manages to send us text after text while we're working or in class. Fortunately, it's easy to silence notifications for one person on your iPhone. If you don't want to hear a sound or vibration when a certain person calls you, you can disable vibration and choose a silent ringtone in the Contacts app. You can also quickly mute text notifications by long-pressing a conversation and choosing "Hide Alerts," or create a Focus Mode that silences one or more contacts. This wikiHow article teaches you the easiest ways to mute notifications for one person on your iPhone.

Things You Should Know

  • To silence text notifications for one person, long-press a text conversation, then tap Hide Alerts.
  • To silence call notifications, open the Contacts app, select a contact and tap Edit, disable the contact's text tone and vibration, then choose a silent ringtone.
  • With iOS 15 and later, you can silence specific contacts in Focus Mode so their texts and calls don't bother you.
Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Silencing in Messages

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  1. Tap the app icon that looks like a chat bubble on a green background. [1]
  2. A menu will appear. [2]
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  3. You will no longer receive notifications if that person sends a message in Messages. [3]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Using a Focus Mode

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  1. Tap the app icon that features a set of gears on a grey background. If you don't want to be notified when a certain person tries to contact, you create a Focus Mode specifically for muting that person. Once you silence notifications for one or more contacts in a Focus, you can turn on that Focus each time you don't want to be bothered by that person (or those people. [4]
    • You can use Focus to temporarily mute notifications from anyone on your contact list. If the person you want to silence isn't in your contacts, you'll need to add them first.
    • If they aren't in your contacts and always use a different number, these might be spam calls and you'll need to block them instead.
    • You'll need to be using iOS 15 or later to use Focus Modes. If needed, update iOS .
  2. This is next to an icon that looks like a crescent moon on a purple background. [5]
  3. This creates a new custom focus that you can use to block notifications from a certain person.
  4. You can name the Focus something like "Block (name)" so you can recognize it, or choose something else as needed. [6]
  5. You'll see this purple bar at the bottom of the screen.
  6. This opens the Choose People to Allow screen.
  7. A checkmark next to the option means it's active.
    • Tap + .
    • Select the contact(s) you want to mute while the Focus mode is active.
    • Tap Done to add the contact(s) to the list.
  9. You've now created a Focus mode that silences all notifications from a specific person or people, including on-screen notifications.
  10. Now that notifications are blocked for a certain person in Focus Mode, you can turn on that Focus each time you want to block notifications from that person. To enable the Focus: [7]
    • Open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of your Home screen (if you have Face ID) or from the bottom (if you have Touch ID).
    • Press and hold Focus .
    • Tap the Focus you created.
    • Once a Focus Mode is on, you'll see a crescent moon icon in the notification bar. Notifications from the selected person will remain blocked until you disable this Focus Mode in Control Center.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Silencing in Contacts

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  1. Tap the app icon that looks like an address book with multicolored tabs. [8]
    • This method will prevent your phone from vibrating and playing text alerts from a specific contact. However, you'll still see a notification on your screen.
    • It's not possible to silence a ringtone for a single contact. If your phone isn't on silent mode, you'll still hear a ringtone when that person calls you. The best way to silence calls from one person is to use a Focus Mode .
    • Another option for silencing calls for one person is to download a silent ringtone and set it for a specific person . Still, that's not as easy as using a Focus Mode.
  2. Their details will load.
  3. It's in the top right corner of your screen. [9]
  4. You'll see this at the bottom of your screen. [10]
  5. Now, any text that this person sends you will send you a silent notification. You will not hear it, but you'll still see a banner or any other type of notification that you've set up.
    • The text tone may be silent, but your phone will still vibrate whenever that person texts you. If you don't want your phone to vibrate, tap Vibration at the top of the Text Tone page, select None , and tap the back button.
  6. Now that you've silenced text tones, you'll probably want to silence their ringtone as well.
  8. You've changed the settings for a contact so that you won't hear a noise or be alerted by a vibration when they text you.
    • Tap Done to finish editing that contact.
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I know if my friend silenced my notifications?
    Naseem Speach
    Tech Expert
    Naseem Speach is a Tech Expert based in Los Angeles, California. Naseem started his tech reviews YouTube channel in 2020 and has since gained a following of over 34,000 subscribers. He specializes in sharing information about the latest smart home tech, Apple, Samsung, Google, PlayStation, Microsoft, and gaming devices.
    Naseem Speach
    Tech Expert
    Expert Answer
    Once you send them a message or a text, there will be a message beneath your text that says this person's notification has been silenced. Keep in mind that their Focus Status should be turned on in order for you to see this.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notifications-iph62faab6a4/ios
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notifications-iph62faab6a4/ios
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notifications-iph62faab6a4/ios
      4. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-a-focus-iphd6288a67f/ios
      5. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-a-focus-iphd6288a67f/ios
      6. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-a-focus-iphd6288a67f/ios
      7. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-a-focus-iphd6288a67f/ios
      8. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118402
      9. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118402
      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118402

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