iOS 14 lets you direct mention someone in an iPhone Messages group chat — here's how to do it

• You can now direct mention someone in a Messages group chat on an iPhone running iOS 14, if all participants in the chat are using iMessage.
• All you need to do to mention someone is type their name and tap it to select their pop-up name icon.
• If you turn off alerts for a group conversation, you will only be notified when you are mentioned by name.

Apple's iMessage app delivers a better messaging experience than standard texting, and with Apple's iOS 14 update, iMessage gained some new capabilities.

Chief among them is the ability to directly mention a specific person in a group conversation. That means if you want to cut down on distracting notifications, you can customize a group so that you only get notifications when you are mentioned by name.

This feature only works if every member of the group is using iMessage; if it's a mixed group with non-iMessage participants, you can't send direct mentions.

How to direct mention in Messages on iPhone

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone and either open an existing group message or create a new one. Every member needs to be an iMessage user.

2. Start writing a message. In the message, include the name of a member of the group. As you finish typing the person's name, you should see it change color to a light gray.

3. Tap the name. A pop-up should appear with the individual's name and photo, if they have one.

4. Tap the pop-up. The name should turn blue in your text composition box.

5. Finish the message and send it as usual. Once sent, the name will appear in bold type.

How to only get notified when direct mentioned in a group chat

You can adjust a group chat's alerts so that you only get notifications for new messages when someone in the conversation includes a direct mention of you.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone and open an existing group message.

2. Tap the names in the group at the top of the screen.

3. Tap "info."

4. Scroll down and turn on "Hide Alerts" by swiping the button to the right and then tap "Done."

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