How to set up an iPhone Focus that allows only messaging apps (and what happens to Instagram DMs)
An iPhone Focus filters notifications by person and by app. To let only messaging through, go to Settings › Focus, pick or create a Focus, tap Apps › Allow Notifications From and add Messages and the chat apps you use. Instagram is a single app to a Focus: if you add it, every kind of Instagram notification comes through, not only DMs, and if you leave it out, DM notifications are silenced too. To get only DMs, allow Instagram in the Focus and then turn off the other notification types inside Instagram. A Focus filters notifications. It does not stop you from opening Instagram.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Facts about Focus come from Apple's iPhone User Guide (iOS 27), checked on 2026-10-25. We could not load Instagram's help pages that day, so the Instagram steps link to our own guide, which was checked against Instagram's help on 2026-10-24. Menu names can change with app and iOS updates.
| Method | What it does | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Focus › Apps › Allow Notifications From | Only the apps you add can notify you while the Focus is on. | Works per app. Instagram is all or nothing. |
| Focus › People | Allows notifications and calls from chosen contacts. | Apple describes it with your contacts, calls and Messages. We could not confirm how it treats Instagram DMs. |
| Time Sensitive Notifications | Lets all apps send time-sensitive notifications immediately. | Turn it off if you want only the apps you chose. |
| Home Screen page for the Focus | Switches to a Home Screen page you choose while the Focus is on. | Apps are still in App Library and search. |
| Instagram notification settings | Turn off notification types that are not about messages. | No single DMs only switch. |
| minulo (free) | Opens Instagram with Reels and Explore hidden, so replying to a DM does not lead into Reels. | minulo sends no notifications. A blocked official app sends none either. |
Set up a messages only Focus
- Open the Settings app and tap Focus.
- Tap an existing Focus such as Personal or Work, or tap + and then Custom to make a new one. Give it a name, a color and an icon, tap Next, then Customize Focus.
- Tap Apps (or Choose Apps), tap Allow Notifications From, tap +, and pick Messages and the chat apps you need, for example WhatsApp or LINE. Add Instagram only if you want its DMs (see below).
- On the same screen, turn off Time Sensitive Notifications if you don't want other apps breaking through.
- Tap People (or Choose People) and add anyone whose calls and messages should always reach you.
- Optional: choose a Home Screen page without social apps, or tap Add Schedule so the Focus turns on at a set time, place or while using a certain app.
Apple notes that if you turn on Share Focus Status, people who try to contact you, in Messages for example, may see that you have notifications silenced. You can change this in Settings › Focus › Focus Status.
What a messaging only Focus does to Instagram DMs
A Focus decides app by app. Apple's guide lets you allow or silence an app, and does not describe a way to allow only some notifications from one app. That gives you two outcomes:
- Instagram not in the allowed list: Instagram DMs are silenced along with likes, comments and everything else from Instagram while the Focus is on.
- Instagram in the allowed list: DMs come through, and so does every other notification Instagram sends.
To get close to DMs only, allow Instagram in the Focus and then turn off the notification types that are not about messages inside Instagram, under your profile › Menu › Notifications. Our guide to Instagram notifications for messages only walks through it. Those Instagram settings apply all the time, not only during the Focus.
Focus filters let apps change what they show during a Focus, for example which mail account is used. We could not confirm that Instagram offers a Focus filter.
A Focus doesn't block apps
Apple describes Focus as a way to silence or allow notifications and to let people know you're busy. Nothing in the Focus settings stops an app from opening, so you can still open Instagram and end up in Reels. The Home Screen option helps by moving the icon you tap out of habit out of sight. To actually block an app, use Screen Time, or the block in minulo below.
Where minulo fits, and where it doesn't
minulo is an iPhone app that opens Instagram's official website inside the app with the Reels and Explore tabs and suggested posts hidden, so you can read and reply to DMs without landing in Reels. With Every tab but DMs on, only DMs and notifications stay. Hiding is free.
minulo sends no notifications of its own, so adding minulo to a Focus doesn't give you DM alerts. If you want Instagram DM alerts, keep the official Instagram app unlocked and allowed in the Focus. If minulo locks the official app with Screen Time, its notifications don't arrive while it is locked, and a Focus can't change that. Locking is free for up to 2 hours per block. minulo Pro adds schedules by day and time, longer blocks, Hard Mode and multiple block lists. minulo is iPhone only, and the official Instagram app itself does not change.
Can an iPhone Focus allow only messaging apps?
Yes. In Settings › Focus, choose a Focus, tap Apps, tap Allow Notifications From and add only Messages and your chat apps. Turn off Time Sensitive Notifications if you don't want other apps to break through.
Will Instagram DMs come through a messages only Focus?
Only if Instagram is in the Focus's allowed apps. A Focus allows or silences an app as a whole, so allowing Instagram lets all of its notifications through. To keep just DMs, also turn off the other notification types inside Instagram.
Does a Focus block Instagram?
No. A Focus filters notifications. You can still open Instagram while it is on. You can link a Home Screen page without Instagram to the Focus, and use Screen Time or an app blocker if you want the app itself blocked.
What does Time Sensitive Notifications do in a Focus?
Apple says it lets all apps send time-sensitive notifications immediately. If you want only the apps you chose to reach you, turn it off on the Apps screen of that Focus.
Does minulo send Instagram DM notifications during a Focus?
No. minulo sends no notifications. While minulo locks the official Instagram app, that app's notifications don't arrive either. For DM alerts, keep the official app unlocked and allowed in your Focus.
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