Karui
More powerful than Apple’s Focus modes. Your VIP contacts always get through your Focus, from any app. And every app’s notifications land in one inbox, even messages that were unsent.
Join the Beta (version 0.1.0, build 21)Features:
- Your VIP contacts always get through your Focus, from any app
- Wake Me: people you choose can ring an alarm in an emergency, even when your iPhone is silenced
- See messages people unsend
- Spam and promotions are silenced, judged by the actual message, not the app
- Recognizes one-time codes and lets them through
- Several quick messages from one person arrive as one notification
- Every app’s notifications in one searchable history
- Automatically translate notifications into your language
How it works:
Karui evaluates notifications privately, entirely on device, using your important contacts and calendar info, and decides whether to show them or hide them.
Privacy:
Karui runs privately on your iPhone with Apple Intelligence. It uses an on-device model from Apple, so your private notifications never leave your device. Karui has no server, does not require an account, and sends zero analytics.
Requirements:
Requires an iPhone running iOS 26 or newer and Apple Intelligence enabled.
Limitations:
Tapping a Karui notification opens the original app, but does not jump directly to the message. Just open the original notification for that.
Changelog
0.1.0 (21)
September 23, 2026- Improved on-device categorization.
0.1.0 (20)
September 23, 2026- Added a "Missed calls ring immediately" setting for Wake Me.
- A second missed call from a Wake Me contact now rings an alarm.
- Added a "Check My Shortcut" diagnostic. It needs the updated Karui Shortcut, which you can add again from Settings → Help & Troubleshooting or the Support Guide.
- Fixed taps firing while scrolling on Test It.
0.1.0 (19)
September 23, 2026- Added Wake Me: people you choose can ring an alarm in an emergency, even when your iPhone is silenced or in a Focus.
- Added Combine Rapid Messages: several messages in a row from the same sender now arrive as one notification.
- Improved the daily summary: it now highlights the notifications worth a look.
0.1.0 (18)
September 22, 2026- Karui now rechecks notifications that Apple Intelligence was too busy to evaluate, and tells you if any were Important.
- Added filtering in the history.
0.1.0 (17)
September 22, 2026- Added support for more apps.
0.1.0 (16)
September 22, 2026- Added repeat sender breakthroughs.
- Added a daily digest for neutral notifications.
- Added contact avatars for VIPs.
- Added one-time code detection.
- Added high performance filtering and grouping for list views.
0.1.0 (14)
September 22, 2026- Added a notification translation feature.
0.1.0 (12)
September 22, 2026- Improved the Japanese UI.
0.1.0 (11)
September 22, 2026- Added a way to enter important apps and your own name.
0.1.0 (10)
September 21, 2026- Added a manual reclassification option.
0.1.0 (9)
September 21, 2026- Fixed a fuzzy matching bug in the classifier.
0.1.0 (8)
September 21, 2026- Improved classifcation when an email body includes your own name.
0.1.0 (6)
September 21, 2026- Added support for Japanese.
0.1.0 (5)
September 21, 2026- Improved VIP matching.
0.1.0 (4)
September 20, 2026- Made various improvements and fixed some bugs.
0.1.0 (3)
September 20, 2026- Initial release.