What are Critical Alerts on iPad and iPhone, and How Can I Enable Them?

What are Critical Alerts on iPad and iPhone, and How Can I Enable Them?

Critical alerts are important notifications that appear even when your iPad or iPhone is in Do Not Disturb mode or silenced. These alerts include notifications with crucial information about weather emergencies or important health alerts from connected devices.

How Do Critical Alerts work on iPhone and iPad?

Apple’s iOS 12 has introduced the critical alerts along with several other notification enhancements. They cannot be made silenced because they contain essential information you need to be aware of. Weather, Security apps and Health might generate a critical alert notification, for example - Like standard notifications, you have to opt in to receive them.

All apps are not allowed to send critical alerts. The developer needs to apply for an entitlement from Apple before an app can send critical alerts,. Apple manually vets apps to make ensure the information is critical.

These Critical alerts are different from standard notifications. They  will work even if you do not allow other notifications from the app. You may not have any apps that can send the critical alerts, but if you do, there a couple of ways to enable those notifications.

How to Turn On Critical Alerts on Apps

Several apps with critical alerts will prompt you to enable them the first time you open the app. You will see a message saying the app that “would like to send you critical alerts.” Tap “Allow” to activate critical alerts from that app. You may be able to customize - what the app alerts you about from within the app itself.

If you do not enable critical alerts when the app is first launched (or just you need to change the setting), you can tweak it in Settings > Notifications.

Open the Settings app and Tap on Notifications

You have to Tap the app for which you want to adjust Critical alerts settings and then toggle the “Allow Critical Alerts” switch.

Please select the app to enable critical notifications toggle the Critical alert

That’s it! If you have enabled the feature, critical alerts will ring through on your iPad or iPhone even if Do Not Disturb is on.

Why should You Enable Critical Alerts

Every app does not includes critical alerts. You  will find this feature in apps designed to keep you safe, including weather,  health,  and security apps.

There may be times that you want to disconnect or minimize your interruptions. But, when there’s a tornado (problem) in your area, you can’t afford to be disconnected. It’s what critical alerts are for—the alert that breaks you out of your disconnection might just save your life.

Apple does  not want apps to abuse this powerful feature, that's why app developers have to apply and argue their case to Apple before including this feature. Apple also knows it’s essential to disconnect sometimes, but if you might still want to receive notifications that protect you from danger. That's being said, critical alerts are an opt-in service. You do not have to get them, but if an app you are using offers them, it’s probably a good idea to accept.