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Focus Filters let each Apple Focus change how Cleft looks and behaves. Keep work notes out of Personal time, quiet Cleft during a meeting, or begin a voice note when a capture Focus turns on.
Focus Filters for Cleft are available on iPhone and iPad in Cleft 1.15.0 or later.

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Add Cleft to a Focus

1

Choose a Focus

Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap Focus, then choose the Focus you want to change.
2

Add the Cleft filter

Scroll to Focus Filters, tap Add Filter, then choose Cleft.
3

Choose what changes

Turn on the options that suit this Focus, then tap Add.

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What a Cleft Focus can do

  • Hide Notes With Tags. Keep notes with selected tags out of view while this Focus is active.
  • Favorites Only. Show only notes you have marked as favorites.
  • Quiet Mode. Silence Cleft’s in-app sounds and haptics.
  • Auto-Start Recording. Begin one voice note when the Focus turns on.
  • Recording Quality. Choose the audio quality Cleft uses during this Focus, including recordings started from CarPlay.
Changes take effect as you enter or leave the Focus, so you do not need to relaunch Cleft.

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When Auto-Start Recording fires

Auto-Start Recording starts a voice note at the moment the Focus turns on, and only then. If you open Cleft while that Focus is already on, you land on your notes rather than in another recording, so reopening Cleft after an interrupted capture picks up where you left off. If CarPlay is already connected, the recording starts there. To use Favorites Only, open a note’s more menu and choose Favorite Note. Choose Remove from Favorites there whenever you want to take it out of that Focus view.
Try a Work Focus that shows favorites and hides personal tags, or a Capture Focus that starts a voice note and uses your preferred recording quality.

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Edit or remove a filter

Return to Settings → Focus, choose the Focus, then tap Cleft under Focus Filters. Change your choices, or tap Delete Filter to stop that Focus from changing Cleft. Turning off a Focus restores your normal note list, sounds, haptics, and recording quality.
Last modified on September 27, 2026