A communication apparatus includes a communication device (130) and an activity monitoring device (120). The communication device (130) includes an alert device (275) for notifying a user (110) of an incoming call. The communication device (130) further includes a controller (210) for selecting a mode of the alert device (275). The controller (210) judges, based on data from the activity monitoring device (120), whether the user can be disturbed, and, if the user (110) can be disturbed, the controller (210) selects an audible mode of the alert device (275). If the controller (210) determines that the user (110) cannot be disturbed, then the controller (210) selects a silent mode of the alert device (275). The activity monitoring device (120) produces data representing a biometric characteristic of the user (110), which is used by the controller (210) to judge whether the user (110) can be disturbed. A corresponding method (FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) selects an appropriate alert mode based user biometrics.