Turn off notification requests in Google Calendar settings

Google Calendar sends you notification requests when someone invites you to an event — these are the pop-ups or emails asking if you want to be notified about the meeting. You can turn these off entirely in your Calendar settings, or you can manage them per event. The fastest way is to disable them globally so you never see them unless you change your mind later.

Open Google Calendar in your web browser and click the gear icon in the top right corner. Select Settings from the dropdown menu. On the left sidebar, click Notifications. Scroll down to the section labeled Event notifications and look for the option that says Notify me about new events. Uncheck this box. Google Calendar will stop sending you notification requests for new invitations.

If you want to keep notification requests but just reduce how many you see, you can instead change the notification type. In that same Event notifications section, click the dropdown next to Notify me about new events and select No notification or choose a different timing like On the day of the event instead of immediately.

Key Takeaways

  • Notification requests are the pop-ups Google Calendar sends when someone invites you to an event, and you can turn them off in Settings under Notifications.
  • Disabling Notify me about new events stops all notification requests from appearing, but you can still see invitations in your calendar.
  • You can change when notifications arrive instead of turning them off completely — for example, getting notified only on the day of the event.
  • These settings apply to your entire Google Calendar account, not individual calendars or people.

Disable notifications for a single calendar

If you want to keep notification requests for most of your calendars but turn them off for one specific calendar — like a work calendar or a shared family calendar — you can do that separately. This is useful if you're added to a calendar that sends too many invitations.

In Google Calendar, find the calendar name in the left sidebar under My calendars or Other calendars. Hover over the calendar name and click the three-dot menu icon. Select Settings and sharing. Scroll to Notifications and uncheck Notify me about new events for just that calendar. Invitations will still appear in your calendar view, but you won't get pop-up or email notifications about them.

Stop email notifications for calendar invites

Google Calendar can send notification requests as pop-ups in the app or as emails to your inbox. If you're getting too many emails about new events, you can turn off email notifications while keeping pop-up notifications, or vice versa.

Go to Settings and click Notifications. Under Event notifications, look for Notify me about new events. Click the dropdown and select Email or Notification depending on which type you want to change. If you select Email, that setting controls only email notifications. If you select Notification, that controls only pop-ups in the Calendar app. You can have different settings for each type — for example, email notifications off but pop-up notifications on.

Handle notification requests you've already received

If you have notification requests sitting in your calendar that you want to clear out, you can dismiss them without responding to the invitation itself. Open Google Calendar and look for the notification request — it usually appears as a banner at the top of your calendar or in a sidebar on the right side of the screen.

Click the X or Dismiss button on the notification request. This removes the notification without accepting or declining the event invitation. The event itself will still be in your calendar in a tentative or pending state, depending on how the organizer set it up. You can respond to the invitation later if you want, or leave it pending.

Manage notifications on mobile devices

If you use Google Calendar on your phone or tablet, notification requests work differently than on the web. On Android, open the Google Calendar app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left. Tap Settings, then select your Google account. Scroll down to Notifications and toggle off Event notifications. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings on your device itself, scroll to Google Calendar, and toggle off Allow Notifications.

Keep in mind that turning off notifications on your phone does not turn them off in your web browser or on other devices. You need to change settings on each device separately if you want to stop notifications everywhere.

Understand the difference between notifications and invitations

A notification request is not the same as an event invitation. When someone invites you to an event, Google Calendar sends you a notification asking if you want to be reminded about it. You can turn off the notification without declining the invitation — the event stays in your calendar, you just won't get reminded about it.

If you want to stop seeing invitations from a specific person or calendar entirely, that is a different step. You can mute a calendar by clicking the three-dot menu next to its name and selecting Mute notifications, or you can decline invitations one by one. Declining an invitation removes the event from your calendar, while turning off notifications just silences the reminders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off notifications stop me from seeing calendar invitations?

No. Turning off notifications means you won't get pop-ups or emails about new events, but the invitations will still appear in your calendar. You can see them and respond to them whenever you open Google Calendar.

Can I turn off notifications for invitations from one person but keep them for others?

Google Calendar does not have a built-in way to filter notifications by person. Your best option is to mute the calendar that person is using to send invitations, or to decline their invitations so they stop appearing in your calendar altogether.

What happens if I dismiss a notification request?

Dismissing a notification removes the pop-up or email, but the event invitation stays in your calendar. You can still respond to it later. Dismissing is different from declining — declining removes the event from your calendar entirely.

Do notification settings sync across my devices?

Web browser settings sync across devices when you are signed into the same Google account. Mobile app settings are separate — you need to change them on each phone or tablet individually. Check your settings on each device to make sure they match what you want.

How do I turn notifications back on if I change my mind?

Go back to Settings, click Notifications, and check the box next to Notify me about new events. You can also choose when you want to be notified — immediately, on the day of the event, or at a specific time before the event starts.