UK Edition
How the iPhone's Do Not Disturb While Driving feature works - and how to turn it off
Apple has introduced a safe driving mode for the iPhone for the first time in iOS 11. The feature prevents owners from receiving messages and calls when driving and lets their contacts know they're occupied.
Called Do Not Disturb While Driving, the safety addition will be added to all phones running iOS 11.
Police and road safety advocates have welcomed the new mode, which they say could help prevent accidents caused people being distracted when driving.
Using a phone at the wheel is a factor in hundreds of road deaths a year and almost a third of Britons have admitted to using their mobile while driving.
But some users have been critical of the feature, complaining that it is inconvenient and, in some cases, disables their phone when they're not actually driving.
Here's everything you need to know about Do Not Disturb While Driving, including how it works and how to turn it off.
When is Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on?
The strongest indication that someone is in their car is if their iPhone is connected to a a car Bluetooth network. But since not everybody has Bluetooth in their car, Apple uses other signs that you might be driving.
The driving mode uses a number of signals, such as the iPhone's accelerometer, the rate at which it finds and loses nearby Wi-Fi networks, and GPS to try to detect when it thinks you are driving.
Because it is turned on by default and is activated automatically, it may affect public transport users and passengers. The feature is likely to get more accurate over time as Apple gets more data about who is and is not driving.
Do Not Disturb While Driving can also be activated automatically from iOS 11's new control centre. First you have to add the option via Settings > Control Centre > Customise Controls and add Do Not Disturb While Driving, then you can turn it on by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and selecting it.
What happens when it is turned on?
iOS 11's safe driving mode can detect when iPhone owners are driving and silence notifications so as not to disturb them. It also turns the phone's screen dark and makes it more difficult to unlock the device.
Users can set up automatic iMessage replies to send to their contacts when they're driving and choose to receive notifications for messages that could be urgent.
The app also stops users from receiving phone calls, although they can choose to take calls from certain contacts and receive an alert if the same number tries again within three minutes. Calls are still able to go through in-car Bluetooth systems if Do Not Disturb While Driving is activated.
Siri works in Do Not Disturb While Driving mode, but can only answer voice commands with audible responses. Apple Maps has the same lock screen appearance as it does when the mode isn't activated.
How to turn it off
If your phone says it is in driving mode when you unlock it, waking up the phone will simply display the Do Not Disturb driving notification, with everything else blocked. Swiping or pressing on the notification will allow you to say you are not driving if you need to turn it off once.
To stop it turning on when you don't need it, you can change the feature by going to Settings > Do Not Disturb. Here you can control whether the safety mode is activated automatically, when connected to car Bluetooth or manually.
Choosing the manual setting lets users control whether or not they want to use the feature - thereby turning any automatic activation off.