It was the middle of a Friday congregational prayer. The mosque was silent, save for the soft rhythm of the Imam’s voice. Suddenly, a familiar, high-pitched ringtone pierced the quiet. Every head turned. The owner of the phone scrambled to silence it, visibly flustered and embarrassed. I watched them, but I didn't judge. I had been that person too many times—in boardrooms, in classrooms, and in clinics. We live in a world of constant digital interruption, and our manual efforts to manage our sound profiles simply aren't keeping pace with our busy schedules.

Most of us have tried the standard solutions: manually toggling the silent switch, using basic calendar alerts, or simply hoping we remember to mute the device before an appointment. The friction here is subtle but constant. If you forget to mute, you risk a social faux pas. If you remember to mute but forget to unmute, you miss important calls or notifications later.…