A personal iPad has no user profiles, but Focus can give one iPad separate work and personal setups. Each Focus controls which notifications arrive, which Lock Screen and Home Screen page appear, and which accounts show up inside apps like Mail and Calendar.
The steps below work the same in iPadOS 26 and iPadOS 27. They cover notifications, screens and app filters, and they do not create separate accounts, purchases or passwords.
Each Focus Can Control Notifications, Screens and App Filters
Focus arrived in iOS 15 as an expansion of Do Not Disturb, and each one you create acts like a named profile.
- Open Settings and tap Focus. Tap the Add button, then choose a Focus such as Work or Personal, or choose Custom to name your own and pick a color and icon.
- Choose who and what can notify you during that Focus under People and Apps. You can switch the list from Allowed to Silenced if you would rather block specific contacts and apps and allow everything else.
- Tap Customize Focus, then tap Add Filter below Focus Filters. A Mail filter can limit which accounts show, a Calendar filter can limit which calendars show, and a Messages filter can limit conversations to allowed people. App filters arrived in iOS 16.
- Tap the Lock Screen preview to choose a Lock Screen for this Focus, and tap the Home Screen preview to choose a Home Screen page.
- Tap Add Schedule or Automation to turn the Focus on by time, location or app, so a Work Focus can start when you arrive at the office.
Apps that are not on the linked Home Screen page stay hidden while that Focus is on. They are not deleted or restricted.
Control Center and Shortcuts Switch Focus Quickly but Filters Stay on the iPad
Open Control Center, tap Focus and pick the one you want, or ask Siri to turn on Work Focus. Shortcuts automations can also switch Focus for more granular control.
Turning on Share Across Devices under Settings > Focus applies your Focus to the iPhone and Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. Focus filters do not sync across devices when Share Across Devices is on, so each device needs its own filters.
Focus Cannot Create Separate Accounts, Purchases or Passwords
Focus changes what appears and not who is signed in. Every Focus shares the same Apple Account, App Store purchases and saved passwords, and hidden apps remain installed. Safari can keep work and personal browsing apart with its own profiles.
Separate user accounts on an iPad exist only through Shared iPad, which lets more than one person sign in with a Managed Apple Account on iPads that an organization manages through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.
