WhatsApp notifications still sound with Mac in Focus mode

I don't think Apple can do anything about this.

The current (App Store version) of WhatsApp is essentially a web wrapper app, and not native.

Because of this, I think this app does not use the MacOS notification system but instead uses it's own.

There is a beta version of a native MacOS WhatsApp app available for download on their website.

I'm currently using that one, and with that app notifications are muted in Focus mode (like they should) and this version is finally a universal app.

Hi there, Achillx,

Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities.

If you are still receiving WhatsApp notifications while your Mac is using a Focus, even though you've not added it to the "Allowed Apps" list, we would recommend the following steps. Try each in order, testing before moving onto the next:

1. Quit open apps: Quit apps on Mac - Apple Support and restart your Mac: Shut down or restart your Mac - Apple Support. Restarting the computer can often solve minor issues that arise during normal use of your computer.
2. Update to macOS Monterey version 12.3: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support. Updating to the latest macOS can sometimes resolve issues as fixes and other small changes are made.
3. See if the issue continues in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support. Safe mode can be helpful in isolating issues, as it disables some processes that may be causing a conflict. It also runs a scan of your system startup disk during boot and makes repairs where it can (similar to how Disk Utility First Aid works), so booting to safe mode often can resolve an issue on its own.
4. See if you can duplicate the issue in a new user account: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support. Doing this will help us determine if the issue is related to something specific within your user account, or if it's more system-wide.

Should you still have trouble with the Focus options, please don't hessite to respond back.

Cheers!

We apologize for the confusion, Achillx. We've re-read your original post to find that WhatsApp wasn't included under "Allowed Notifications From:" which indicates that WhatsApp shouldn't be providing notifications.

Since WhatsApp didn't notify you while in safe mode, have you had the chance to test this again since exiting safe mode? If it's still notifying you, please test in a new Administrator account following the steps here: New user or group setup - Apple Support

This will isolate the issue further for us. This will demonstrate if the problem is in your own account or if it’s system-wide.

Please let us know the results when you're able by replying to this post.

All the best.

Thanks for the update, Achillx!

If you've gone through the steps here to set up Focus for an app, and its not listed: Set up a Focus on Mac - Apple Support Then you'll need to contact the app developer for further help. Not all apps are supported in Focus and needs to be implemented by the app developer: How to contact an app developer - Apple Support

Regards.

Open the Settings in the WhatsApp application and mute all notifications. This will stop the notification sound.

Is this EVER going to be solved....

on focus mode on ventura, the only way to disable the sound is to manually disable it on the WhatsApp app. It is inconvenient cause I want to have the sound when I am not on focus mode... so its annoying that I have to manually turn the sounds off when I am going into focus mode to avoid the sound, and then manually turn them on when I get out of focus mode...

Have had same issue since Focus became an option on my macbook. Nothing I do resolves issue. Muting sound on macbook doesn't affect it, whatever I do Wahstapp notificaitons comes through unless I mute all my individual groups. Very distracting. please resolve this! Thanks.

I have switched off sound for notifications of Whatsapp from settings -> Notification and Focus and I still get the sound playing when not in Focus mode.

I am facing the same issue as mentioned by Achillx.

Kindly help. I am on so may zoom meeting and during screen sharing with sound this becomes an issue since people can hear my whatsapp notifications.

I’m having the same issue on my iPhone 13 Mini (iOS 15.4.1). I get WhatsApp notifications in the middle of the night while Sleep focus is on, and neither WhatsApp nor the contact sending the message are on my Sleep focus exceptions list.

The only way for me to avoid being woken up at night is to flip the silent switch, which I don’t always remember to do.

I have the same issue. Every time I look it up, there's an Apple specialist suggesting an improvised workaround, like disabling sound notifications for whatsapp desktop, for example. I had to do it, because the sound notifications were annoying the bejesus out of me. At the end of the day, I can only conclude that focus/dnd are literally good for nothing.

I don't think Apple will do anything, which is a bit crazy as everybody uses whatsapp. It is super disruptive to purposely put the computer on sleep mode and get notifications. It's also frustrating to get answers "reboot your computer", "update iOS". I feel really disrespected as a customer, specially considering that the post with the complaint is quite old already. We spend time and energy reporting issues and we get nothing.

edit: I made a mistake commenting here. Unable to delete this comment .