How to Manage and Turn Off Notifications on iPhone and Android

4 min read  ·  iPhone · Android

Notifications interrupt your day — but you're fully in control of which apps can interrupt you and how. You can silence specific apps, mute all alerts during certain hours, or turn off notifications completely. Here's how to do all of it.

Manage Notifications for Individual Apps on iPhone

1

Open Settings and tap Notifications

Open Settings, then scroll down and tap Notifications. You'll see a list of every app that has notification permissions.

2

Tap any app to change its settings

Tap the name of the app whose notifications you want to adjust. You'll see all the options available for that app.

3

Toggle off Allow Notifications to silence the app completely

Toggle off Allow Notifications at the top to stop that app from showing any alerts, sounds, or badges. This is a complete silence — the app cannot notify you at all.

4

Fine-tune with individual controls

If you want to keep some notifications but not others, leave Allow Notifications on and adjust individual toggles: Lock Screen (show on lock screen), Notification Centre (show in the pull-down list), Banners (pop-ups at the top), and Sounds. Turn off Sounds to keep visual alerts but lose the chime.

Tip — turn off badges: The red number badge on app icons can be distracting even when you have sounds off. Scroll down in the app's notification settings and toggle off Badges to remove the number dot.

Turn On Focus / Do Not Disturb on iPhone

1

Swipe down from the top right to open Control Centre

On iPhone X and later, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen to open Control Centre. On older iPhones, swipe up from the bottom.

2

Tap the Focus (crescent moon) icon

Tap the Focus button — it looks like a crescent moon or a partially filled circle. Tap it once to enable Do Not Disturb, which silences all notifications immediately.

3

Set a schedule for automatic Do Not Disturb

Go to Settings → Focus → Do Not Disturb. Tap Add Schedule to set times (like 10pm–7am every night) when the phone automatically silences all notifications. Calls from your Favourites list can still come through if you choose.

Manage Notifications for Individual Apps on Android

1

Open Settings and tap Notifications

Open Settings. Tap Notifications (on Samsung, this may be under Notifications & status bar). You'll see your recently active apps and a full app list.

2

Tap App notifications

Tap App notifications to see a list of all apps installed on your phone and their current notification status.

3

Tap an app and toggle off notifications

Tap any app in the list. Toggle off Allow notifications (or "All Notifications") to block that app from sending you any alerts. Some apps offer granular categories below — you can leave some on while turning others off.

Turn On Do Not Disturb on Android

1

Pull down the notification shade

Swipe down from the top of your screen once or twice to reveal the quick-settings tiles.

2

Tap Do Not Disturb

Tap the Do Not Disturb tile (it looks like a circle with a minus sign or a bed icon). All notifications are silenced immediately. Tap it again to turn it off.

3

Set a schedule in Settings

Go to Settings → Sound & Vibration → Do Not Disturb (path varies by manufacturer). Tap Schedules to create automatic silent periods — for example, every weeknight from 11pm to 7am.

Silence a Notification as It Arrives (iPhone shortcut)

1

Swipe left on a notification banner

When a notification appears at the top of the screen, swipe left on it to reveal quick options.

2

Tap Options to manage that app's notifications instantly

Tap Options. Choose Turn Off → to silence that app for an hour, today, or forever — right from the notification itself, without going into Settings.

Notification Summary (iPhone): Instead of silencing apps completely, go to Settings → Notifications → Scheduled Summary. This bundles low-priority notifications and delivers them all at once at times you choose — so you're not interrupted, but you don't miss anything.

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