Apple’s iOS 15 introduced Focus mode, a feature that aims to help you disconnect from apps and notifications, only interact with who or what you choose to at set times of the day, and establish a better life/work balance. I’ve found it useful, and my colleague Tom Bridge has documented how well it’s worked for him. The trouble is that it can work too well: some notifications are “buried” if you don’t configure their importance correctly or update your apps list.
Late last year, the JumpCloud Protect™ app launched push prompts to simplify multi-factor authentication (MFA). It offers a secure, user-friendly system that’s designed to increase security. Unfortunately, app notifications like those from JumpCloud Protect don’t “surface” immediately unless you explicitly whitelist the app in Focus’s settings. As a result, it’s possible that your end users will scratch their heads and ask for support if JumpCloud Protect isn’t whitelisted in their “work” profile.
How To Whitelist JumpCloud Protect From Focus
The JumpCloud Protect app is instrumental in cutting through MFA complexity, so ensure that Focus permits it to work as it should. Apple provides more detailed instructions on its website. The basics are:
- Go to Settings > Focus.
- Tap a provided Focus option — like Do Not Disturb, Personal, or Sleep — then turn on the Focus.
- After you choose a Focus, select options like Allowed Notifications, Time Sensitive Notifications, and Focus Status.
JumpCloud Protect asks for notification privileges on the first run, but that won’t carry through to Focus. It’s important to take this additional step so that notifications are always visible. Mobile device management (MDM) payloads cannot preconfigure this setting, yet.
Try JumpCloud Protect
JumpCloud considered the human side of MFA implementations when JumpCloud Protect launched with a push capability; other methods can be less secure or befuddle end users who aren’t tech-savvy across the board. JumpCloud is much easier to deploy than the security keys I used in my previous role as an IT director. Whitelisting the app ensures that your rollout goes smoothly.
It’s important for IT departments to become familiar with and address this recommendation, but it’s even more pressing to deploy MFA (if you aren’t already). JumpCloud Protect is available to all users at no additional cost and provides push notifications and TOTP MFA codes, and user enrollment can be mandated from the console. Try JumpCloud Protect today.