How to Stop Notifications on Facebook: A Complete Guide

Facebook notifications can pile up fast — likes, comments, friend requests, event reminders, marketplace messages, and more. Whether you're drowning in alerts or just want to cut the noise, knowing how to control Facebook notifications gives you back your focus. The good news: Facebook offers granular controls across its app, website, and even your phone's system settings. The less obvious news: which steps you take depends entirely on what you're using and what you actually want to silence.

What Facebook Notifications Actually Are

Facebook sends notifications through two distinct channels, and understanding the difference matters before you start adjusting anything.

In-app notifications appear inside Facebook itself — the bell icon on the top nav bar fills up with activity from your friends, pages, groups, and ads you've interacted with. These exist within the platform and only appear when you open Facebook.

Push notifications are the alerts that reach your phone or browser even when Facebook isn't open. These come through your device's operating system — iOS or Android — or through your web browser if you've granted Facebook permission to send them.

Silencing one doesn't automatically silence the other. That's why people sometimes turn off notifications inside Facebook but still get pinged on their phone — or vice versa.

How to Stop Facebook Notifications Inside the App

On the Facebook Mobile App (iOS and Android)

1. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines or your profile picture, depending on your version)
2. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy, then Settings
3. Tap Notifications
4. Select Notification Settings

From here, you'll see a full list of notification categories: Comments, Tags, Reminders, Friend Requests, Birthdays, Events, Pages, Groups, Marketplace, and more. Each category can be toggled on or off individually, or adjusted to show fewer alerts.

This is where most people get the most control. You can, for example, keep friend request notifications on while turning off every group notification entirely.

On Facebook.com (Desktop Browser)

1. Click the bell icon in the top navigation bar
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) in the notifications panel
3. Select Notification Settings

You'll land in the same category-by-category settings interface, just in a desktop layout. The options mirror what's available on mobile.

How to Stop Facebook Push Notifications on Your Device 📱

If you want to stop Facebook from interrupting you on your phone entirely, you need to go through your device's system settings — not just Facebook's own settings.

On iPhone (iOS)

1. Open the Settings app
2. Scroll down and tap Facebook
3. Tap Notifications
4. Toggle Allow Notifications off — or customize by banner type, sounds, and badges

Alternatively: Settings → Notifications → Facebook follows the same path.

On Android

Android varies slightly by manufacturer (Samsung, Google Pixel, OnePlus, etc.), but the general path is:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Apps or Application Manager
3. Find and tap Facebook
4. Tap Notifications
5. Toggle off All notifications, or manage by notification category

Android also lets you long-press a notification when it arrives and immediately mute or disable that notification type — a fast shortcut if you're reacting in the moment.

In a Web Browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)

If you use Facebook in a browser and it's sending desktop notifications, you can revoke that permission:

Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Site Settings → Notifications → find facebook.com → Block

Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Notifications → find facebook.com → Block or Remove

Safari: Settings → Websites → Notifications → find facebook.com → Deny

Muting Without Fully Turning Off 🔕

Full silence isn't always the goal. Facebook has a few middle-ground options worth knowing about:

Snooze notifications — You can temporarily pause notifications for 15 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, or 24 hours from within the app's notification panel. Useful during meetings or focus time without committing to a permanent change.

Mute push notifications — In Facebook's notification settings, you can turn off push notifications while keeping in-app notifications active. This way you only see activity when you choose to open the app.

Notification preferences per group or page — Inside any Facebook Group or Page you follow, there's typically a Notifications button that lets you choose between All Posts, Highlights, or Off. This is more surgical than blanket muting.

Do Not Disturb (system level) — Both iOS Focus modes and Android's Do Not Disturb can block all incoming notifications from Facebook (or any app) during specified times without changing any settings inside Facebook itself.

The Variables That Determine What You Should Change

Here's where the right answer starts depending on your specific situation:

Someone who uses Facebook mainly on a desktop browser needs to go through browser permissions and the website's notification settings. Someone who checks Facebook only on their phone and wants zero interruptions needs to change both the in-app settings and the iOS or Android system permissions. Someone who runs a Facebook business page might only want to quiet social noise while keeping customer message alerts active.

The settings exist to be specific — but that specificity means what works cleanly for one setup can leave gaps in another. Your actual combination of devices, access habits, and what you use Facebook for is the piece that determines which of these paths you actually need to follow.