A buzzing phone is the last thing you want on two wheels. You start navigating, and halfway through a junction a group chat lights up, an app wants your attention, and your eyes leave the road. The good news is that your iPhone can handle this for you: with a small shortcut, it goes quiet the moment you open Urban Rider and comes back to normal when you are done.
I build Urban Rider, a navigation app for scooters and mopeds, so I like anything that keeps a rider's eyes up and hands off the phone. This trick does not need anything special from the app. It uses two of iPhone's own tools, Shortcuts and Focus, and just points them at Urban Rider. Urban Rider is independent and not affiliated with Apple.
The idea in one line
When Urban Rider opens, iPhone switches on the Driving Focus so messages and app alerts stay silent. When you close Urban Rider, the Focus switches off and everything comes back. You set it up once, and from then on it is automatic.
iPhone does not have a single "while this app is open" setting, so you build it as two small automations: one that turns the Focus on when the app opens, and one that turns it off when the app closes. It takes about three minutes.
What you need
- An iPhone on iOS 15 or later.
- The Shortcuts app (it comes with iOS; if you deleted it, re-download it free from the App Store).
- Urban Rider installed.
- A Focus to turn on. The Driving Focus is built into iPhone and is the natural one here, since it is made for being in traffic. Do Not Disturb, or a custom Focus you make in Settings, works in exactly the same way, so use whichever you prefer.
Step 1: turn the Focus on when Urban Rider opens
- Open the Shortcuts app and tap Automation.
- Tap the + in the top corner, then Create Personal Automation.
- Scroll to and choose the App trigger. Tap Choose, select Urban Rider, and tap Done.
- Tick Is Opened (and untick Is Closed, if it is on), then tap Next.
- Tap Add Action, search for Set Focus, and add it. Change the Focus to Driving, leave it set to On, and tap the duration so it reads until Turned Off. The action should read: Turn Driving On until Turned Off.
- Tap Next, then turn off "Ask Before Running" so it runs on its own. Confirm, then tap Done.
That is the "quiet down" half. Opening Urban Rider now switches the Driving Focus on by itself. If you like, rename the automation (tap its name at the top) to something like "Driving Focus on when Urban Rider opens" so it is easy to find later.
Step 2: turn it back off when you close Urban Rider
- Back on the Automation screen, tap + and Create Personal Automation again.
- Choose the App trigger, select Urban Rider, this time tick Is Closed, and tap Next.
- Tap Add Action, add Set Focus, change the Focus to Driving, and set it to Off. The action should read: Turn Driving Off.
- Tap Next, turn off "Ask Before Running", and tap Done.
Now the pair works together: Urban Rider open means quiet, Urban Rider closed means back to normal. Give it a test, open the app, send yourself a message from another device, and watch it stay silent, then close the app and see notifications return. You will see the Driving icon in the status bar whenever the Focus is on.
A no-shortcut alternative with CarPlay
Urban Rider now works with Apple CarPlay, and that opens an even simpler path if you ride with a CarPlay display on the bars. iPhone's Driving Focus can turn itself on whenever CarPlay connects, with no shortcut at all:
- Go to Settings, tap Focus, then Driving.
- Under Turn on Automatically, choose Activate With CarPlay (or When Connected to Car Bluetooth).
From then on, the moment your bike's screen connects, your phone goes into Driving Focus. The Shortcuts method above is the one to use when you navigate from the phone itself in a handlebar mount.
Good to know
- Choose who still gets through. In Settings under Focus you can allow calls from favourites, let urgent messages break through, or set an auto-reply, so silencing notifications never means missing something that truly matters.
- Is Closed also fires when you switch apps. If you leave Urban Rider for another app, the Focus turns off. That is usually what you want, since you are no longer navigating, but it is worth knowing.
- Driving Focus or Do Not Disturb. Both work with the shortcut. The Driving Focus is purpose-built for being on the road, which is why the steps above use it. If you would rather not use Driving, pick Do Not Disturb or a custom Focus in the Set Focus action instead, the steps are identical.
- It is all reversible. To change or remove it, open Shortcuts, tap Automation, and edit or delete either automation.
On Android
Android can do the same thing, just with different names. Samsung phones have Modes and Routines ("When Urban Rider is opened, turn on Do Not Disturb"), other phones use Rules or Bixby Routines, and an app like a routine manager can cover the rest. The goal is identical: open your navigation app, and the phone quiets down on its own.
Eyes up, phone quiet, routed for your scooter
Urban Rider keeps your moped or scooter off roads it cannot use, times the trip at real scooter speed, and now works with Apple CarPlay. Pair it with this shortcut and your phone stays quiet while you ride. Free 7-day trial, no account needed.
Why it is worth the three minutes
The whole point of a navigation app built for two wheels is to keep you looking at the road, not the screen. A route that avoids roads you cannot ride does half of that. Silencing the notifications that pull your eyes down does the other half. Once this is set up you never think about it again: open Urban Rider, the world goes quiet, and you ride.
For the rest of the setup, see our guide to phone navigation on two wheels (mounts, glare and vibration), and if you want a car-style screen on the bars, CarPlay displays for scooters and mopeds.
Frequently asked questions
Does this silence messages and app notifications while I navigate?
Yes. The shortcut turns on a Focus, such as the Driving Focus, the moment you open Urban Rider, and a Focus is what actually silences incoming messages and app alerts. You decide how strict it is: a Focus can still let calls, favourites or specific apps through, so you are never fully cut off, just free of the constant buzzing while you ride.
Do I have to tap anything each time I start navigating?
No, once you turn off Ask Before Running on the automation. With it off, the Focus switches on by itself the instant Urban Rider opens, with nothing to confirm. If you leave Ask Before Running on, iPhone sends you a notification to tap first, which is safer to set up but slower in daily use.
Will phone calls still come through while the Focus is on?
That is up to the Focus you choose. In Settings under Focus you can allow calls from everyone, from favourites, or from no one, and let specific people or apps break through. Set it once to match how reachable you want to be on the road, and the shortcut simply turns that Focus on and off for you.
Does it turn notifications back on when I finish?
Yes, that is what the second automation does: when Urban Rider is closed it turns the Focus off. One thing to know is that Is Closed also fires when you switch away from Urban Rider to another app, so the Focus lifts if you leave navigation to check your phone. For most riders that is the behaviour you want.
Is there a way to do this without building a shortcut?
Yes. If you run Urban Rider on a CarPlay display, you can set the Driving Focus to turn on by itself: Settings, Focus, Driving, Turn on Automatically, then Activate With CarPlay (or When Connected to Car Bluetooth). The Focus then comes on whenever your bike's screen connects, no shortcut needed. The shortcut method is the one to use when you navigate from the phone itself.