iPhone owners have spotted an unusual scissors icon in their phone's status bar and struggled to work out where it came from, according to The Sun.
The small symbol appears near the battery indicator, and it turns out to be tied to a feature designed to help users cut down on distractions.
One user asked about the mysterious icon on Reddit, and the post drew hundreds of votes. Other Apple device owners said they had never seen the symbol before either.
One commenter wrote that it was new to them as well. Another said they had never come across the icon and could not find an explanation for it.
What the scissors icon means
The symbol is actually an emoji that a user has assigned to a specific Focus mode. Focus is a built-in iPhone feature that lets people temporarily change how their phone behaves depending on the situation, such as separate modes for work, sleep, personal time, exercise or rest.
Apple says Focus is meant to help reduce distractions and set boundaries. When a Focus mode is switched on, the iPhone can silence certain notifications or allow through only the ones relevant to that situation. Users can also set up a dedicated home screen page with specific apps and widgets for that mode.
Users choose the icon themselves
The scissors symbol is not a hidden standard iPhone feature. Instead, users pick their own icon when they set up a Focus mode.
For example, someone could choose a scissors emoji for a mode they switch on while doing crafts or cutting hair. Once that mode is active, the chosen symbol appears at the top of the screen.
To create a custom mode, users go to Settings, then Focus, and tap the plus sign in the top right corner. From there, they can name the mode, pick a color and emoji for it, and set rules for which notifications are allowed and when the mode should be active.
