How To Stop Calls and Messages Syncing Between Devices?

gingagal wrote:

Thank you LotusPilot. I followed the steps you outlined. Can you also tell me how to fully delete from my iPad home screen the green phone and message icons. I need these icons gone for security reasons so no one will click on them. The icons just appeared on my iPad for the 1st time this evening. Thank you in advance for any info you can provide.

Are you sharing your iPad with other people?

Be aware that outside of managed Education or Enterprise environments, iPad and iPhone are essentially single-user devices - with no means to effectively hide personal or sensitive information or account credentials. Anyone with physical access to the unlocked iPad has unrestricted access to all your data.

As for removing the Phone and Messages App icons from your iPad, this is easily accomplished by deleting them from your Home Screen(s) and Dock. Simply touch-and-hold the respective App icon to expose the associated action menu - then select Remove App from the menu - and follow any prompts.

The iPad User Guide provides additional guidance. Here is a direct link to the relevant section of the Guide:

https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/ipad0aed1df8/ipados

If signed-in to both devices using the same Apple Account (previously known as your AppleID), devices are designed to synchronise data and share services. If you don't wish to use/share specific services, they can be explicitly disabled.

To disable access to cellular calling and messaging features of your iPhone from your iPad, the settings that you need to change/verify on your iPhone and iPad are:

On your iPhone

Settings > Mobile Data >WiFi Calling > Add WiFi Calling for Other Devices - set to OFF

Settings > Mobile Data > Calls on Other Devices > 

• Allow Calls on Other Devices - set to OFF
• [Allow Calls On] - explicitly disable your new iPad from the list of devices.

On your iPad

Settings > FaceTime > Calls from iPhone > Calls from iPhone - set to OFF

Additional information about Continuity and the relevant Cellular services can be found here:

Continuity

Work across all of your devices seamlessly – Apple Support

SMS/MMS Messaging

Forward SMS/MMS text messages from your iPhone to your Mac or iPad - Apple Support

WiFi Calling

Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling – Apple Support

Making and receiving calls on iPad

Make and receive phone calls on iPad - Apple Support

When configured to do so, the iPad FaceTime App provides access to Cellular Voice Calling features - whilst Messages App supports SMS/MMS messaging services.

Some native Apps cannot be entirely removed from the iPad - and will remain accessible from the App Library, itself accessed by swiping past the final Home Page.

That said, many Apps can be hidden - such that they can only be accessed using FaceID (for iPad Pro models) or TouchID (other models of iPad and iPad Air). For these Apps, as FaceID/TouchID use biometric authentication, you have assurance that only you can access Apps that are hidden in this manner.

Other Apps, such as the Phone App, can't be completely hidden, but can still be configured to require FaceID/TouchID for access.

You're very welcome.