About Do Not Disturb while driving
Do Not Disturb while driving can automatically detect that you might be driving, and silences incoming notifications and keeps your iPhone screen dark. To keep you from waking your iPhone while you drive, notifications will not appear on the lock screen. You can configure a custom automatic reply in Messages for a group of people you define - your Favorites by default - so that you won’t feel pressured to immediately answer text messages. They also have the ability to mark a message as “urgent” on the chance that the notification needs to be let through.
Detection
A Bluetooth connection to a car provides the clearest indication that you are in a vehicle. When iPhone connects with your car’s handsfree system, Do Not Disturb while driving will start automatically, and will end when Bluetooth is disconnected. If your car does not have Bluetooth, iPhone uses other sources of information such as nearby Wi-Fi networks and the accelerometer to try to detect that you’re in the car. This does not provide the same level of accuracy as a Bluetooth connection, and may result in delays in starting or ending Do Not Disturb while driving.
In Do Not Disturb settings you can choose to activate automatically, only when connected to Bluetooth, or manually. You can start the feature manually from Control Center before your drive.
Since iPhone can only determine when you are in a vehicle and not whether you are a driver, there may be situations when Do Not Disturb while driving still becomes active when you happen to be a passenger, riding a bus, or other such situation. If that is the case, you can unlock your iPhone by telling it you are not driving, and iPhone will remain out of Do Not Disturb while driving until the end of the journey you are currently on.
Messages and alerts
Just like regular Do Not Disturb, some alerts will still activate normally even when Do Not Disturb while driving is active, such as emergency alerts, timers, and alarms. Messages on a thread marked as “urgent” from your predefined set of contacts will also be allowed for the duration of your drive.
You can customize who will receive automatic replies when they message you while Do Not Disturb while driving is active. Your Favorites will be selected by default. Choosing Recents will send auto replies to anyone you may have sent a message to that day or the day before - regardless of whether they are in your contact list. Contacts sends a message to any of your contacts, and you can disable the feature by choosing No One.
Phone calls
Phone calls follow the same behavior as standard Do Not Disturb; you can allow calls from your Favorites, and even enable Repeated Calls so that a second call from the same person within three minutes will not be silenced. If your car has a Bluetooth call kit, incoming phone calls will be routed through your car’s system, and will not be silenced. Use your steering wheel or car controls to complete your call when it is safe to do so.
Other features
When routing with Apple Maps, you will still have the same great lock screen experience on iPhone as before. If your car supports CarPlay and your iPhone is connected, Do Not Disturb while driving will not be activated.
Siri is a great way to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. If you say “Hey Siri” to activate Siri while Do Not Disturb while driving is activated, Siri will provide you with information in such a way that you will not need to look at iPhone. Siri will read out all responses to you, and your iPhone will not display any text on it.
About Do Not Disturb and Privacy
Do Not Disturb While Driving uses Location Services to help determine if you may be driving or if you are near your home, work or a predicted destination. You can turn off Location Services for Do Not Disturb While Driving. To do so, open Settings, tap Privacy, tap Location Services, tap System Services, and slide the Location-Based Alerts switch to “off”.
