Turn off notifications entirely, or let only the ones you want through
You can silence your Apple Watch in three ways: mute all notifications for a set time, turn off notifications from specific apps, or change how your watch alerts you when something arrives. The fastest option is to swipe up from the bottom of your watch face and tap the bell icon with a line through it — this silences everything for one hour. If you want finer control, you can go into Settings on the watch itself and turn off notifications app by app, or use your iPhone to manage which notifications reach your wrist.
The method you choose depends on what you're doing. If you're in a meeting and need silence now, the one-hour mute is quickest. If you're tired of notifications from a particular app — say, email or a game — turning off that app's notifications is permanent until you change it back. If you want to keep notifications but just stop the sound and vibration, you can switch to silent mode instead.
Key Takeaways
- Swipe up from the watch face and tap the bell icon to silence all notifications for one hour.
- Go to Settings > Notifications on your Apple Watch to turn off notifications from individual apps permanently.
- Use your iPhone's Watch app to manage notifications for multiple apps at once without touching your watch.
- Silent mode stops sound and vibration but still shows notifications on your screen; mute mode silences everything.
- Notifications that come through during mute mode will still appear when the hour is up, so you won't miss them.
Mute all notifications for one hour
The quickest way to silence your watch is the one-hour mute. Swipe up from the bottom of your watch face — the same gesture you use to see battery and connectivity — and you'll see the Control Center. Tap the bell icon with a line through it. Your watch will now ignore all notifications for the next 60 minutes.
When the hour ends, notifications come back on automatically. Any alerts that arrived while your watch was muted will still be there waiting for you. This is useful if you're in a meeting, at a movie, or just need a break without having to dig into settings. If you need to unmute before the hour is up, swipe up again and tap the bell icon once more.
Turn off notifications from specific apps on your watch
If you don't want notifications from a particular app at all, you can disable them in the Notifications settings on your watch. Open Settings on your Apple Watch, scroll down to Notifications, and tap it. You'll see a list of every app that can send you alerts. Tap the app you want to silence, then toggle off "Allow Notifications."
This change is permanent — the app won't bother you until you turn notifications back on. You can do this for as many apps as you want. Email, Messages, Reminders, third-party apps like Slack or Instagram — they all appear in this list. If you change your mind later, just go back to the same spot and toggle the app back on.
Manage notifications from your iPhone instead
If you have a lot of apps to silence, it's faster to do it from your iPhone. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to Notifications, and you'll see every app that can send alerts to your watch. Tap an app and toggle off "Allow Notifications on Apple Watch." You can turn off notifications for multiple apps without ever picking up your watch.
This method also shows you which apps are currently sending notifications to your wrist, so you can spot ones you forgot about. The changes sync to your watch automatically, usually within a few seconds. If you want to be more selective — keeping notifications but changing how they alert you — you can also adjust settings like "Mirror iPhone" or "Custom" for each app in this same menu.
The difference between mute, silent mode, and turning off notifications
These three options do different things, and which one you need depends on your situation. Mute (the one-hour bell icon) silences all notifications completely — no sound, no vibration, no alerts at all. Silent mode (accessed through Control Center, looks like a speaker icon) stops sound and vibration but still shows notifications on your screen. Turning off notifications in Settings means the app won't send anything to your watch at all, though it may still notify your iPhone.
Use mute when you need total silence and don't want to see anything pop up. Use silent mode when you want to stay aware of what's coming in but don't want to disturb people around you. Turn off notifications when you never want to hear from an app on your watch. You can also use Do Not Disturb mode (also in Control Center) to silence everything except calls and messages from your favorites — useful if you're sleeping but want to stay reachable for emergencies.
How to change how your watch alerts you without silencing it
If you want to keep notifications but change the way they reach you, you can adjust the alert style for each app. On your watch, go to Settings > Notifications, tap an app, and you'll see options like "Prominent," "Quiet," or "Silent." Prominent gives you a full alert with sound and vibration. Quiet shows the notification but with less interruption. Silent just adds it to your notification center without any alert at all.
You can also set notifications to mirror your iPhone — meaning if your iPhone is unlocked and in your hand, your watch won't alert you because your phone already did. This cuts down on double notifications. All of these settings can also be managed from the Watch app on your iPhone if you prefer to adjust them there.
What happens to notifications while your watch is muted
When you mute your watch for one hour, notifications still arrive — you just don't see or hear them as they come in. They stack up in your notification center, and when the mute period ends, they're all there waiting for you. You can also check them manually by swiping down from the top of your watch face at any time, even while muted.
This is different from turning off notifications entirely in Settings, where the app simply doesn't send anything to your watch. Mute is temporary and reversible; turning off notifications is permanent until you change it back. If you're worried about missing something important, mute is the safer choice because you can always check manually or unmute early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I mute notifications for longer than one hour?
The one-hour mute is the only built-in quick option. For longer periods, use Do Not Disturb mode (also in Control Center), which you can set to stay on until you manually turn it off. Alternatively, turn off notifications for specific apps in Settings if you want them silenced indefinitely.
Will my watch still vibrate if I turn on silent mode?
No. Silent mode turns off both sound and vibration. Notifications will still appear on your screen, but your watch won't alert you. If you want vibration without sound, you'll need to use your iPhone's Watch app to adjust individual app settings, as the watch doesn't have a "vibrate only" option in Control Center.
If I turn off notifications for an app on my watch, will it still notify my iPhone?
Yes. Turning off notifications on your watch only affects your watch. The app will still send alerts to your iPhone unless you disable notifications for that app on your phone separately. You can manage iPhone notifications in Settings > Notifications on your iPhone.
How do I know if my watch is muted or in silent mode?
Look at the bell icon in Control Center. A bell with a line through it means mute (all notifications silenced). A speaker with a line through it means silent mode (notifications visible but no sound or vibration). The icon will be highlighted or filled in to show which mode is active.
Can I set up notifications to only come through for certain contacts?
For Messages and Phone calls, yes. On your iPhone's Watch app, go to Notifications and tap Messages or Phone. You can set it to allow calls or messages only from your Favorites. For other apps, you can only turn notifications on or off entirely — there's no way to filter by contact.