iOS 18 feature request: Send quietly in Messages without Focus mode

I’m sure it’s been said countless times before, but—now that would be a good name for a column!—iMessage could use a send quietly option that’s always available. Send quietly is a feature today, but it’s only available when the recipient is in a Focus mode.

Sometimes messaging can flow in real time like a phone call or an in-person conversation. The conversation then reaches a natural or necessary conclusion, and it’s understood that the chat session is over for now.

And then I have one more thing to say. Or four more things. Wait, I’m sorry, last message, I promise!

Yeah, ever happen to you? It’s not a big deal. Sometimes saving an idea for the next conversation in a note is a good idea.

This happened to me recently, though, and I wondered if there was a way to send those fleeting thoughts in context without sending a notification to the recipient. For now, the answer is not really, no.

Some will say adding scheduled messages would work. While I think that’s a popular feature request, it doesn’t quite fit here.

Sending messages quietly without requiring a Focus mode might seem minor, but it could often be a courteous gesture. Receiving quietly sent messages would also be nice sometimes. They could say “Hey, I was thinking of you and wanted to reach out without demanding your attention right now,” but without literally saying it and demanding your attention right now.

Apple has spent years fine tuning your own notifications. There may be an opportunity to consider how we as the sender control notifying others as well.

What do you think? Too specific or possibly useful? Would you like to see this feature in Messages for iOS 18 with WWDC 2024 on June 10? Quietly sound off in the comments!

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