Turn off message notifications on your phone or computer

You can silence notifications from Messages without deleting the app or turning off your phone. Most phones and computers let you mute notifications for the entire app, for specific conversations, or for certain times of day. The steps differ depending on whether you use an iPhone, Android phone, Mac, or Windows computer.

The fastest way is usually to long-press (or right-click) the Messages app itself and look for a mute or notification option. If that does not work, you can dig into your phone's settings to turn off sounds, badges, and pop-ups for Messages alone, while keeping notifications on for everything else.

Key Takeaways

  • On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Messages and turn off Sound, Badges, or Banner Style to stop alerts without closing the app.
  • On Android, open Settings > Apps > Messages > Notifications and toggle off the notification channels you want to silence.
  • You can mute individual conversations by opening the chat, tapping the contact name at the top, and selecting Mute Notifications or Do Not Disturb.
  • On Mac and Windows, right-click the Messages app in your taskbar or dock and look for notification settings, or check your system notification panel.
  • Do Not Disturb mode silences all notifications across your device during set hours, which is useful if you want quiet time without changing individual app settings.

Silence Messages on iPhone

Open Settings, then tap Notifications. Scroll down and find Messages. Tap it to open the notification settings for that app alone.

From here you can turn off Sound (so you hear no alert tone), turn off Badges (the red number on the app icon), or change Banner Style to None (so pop-ups do not appear on your screen). You can also toggle Allow Notifications off entirely, which stops all alerts from Messages. Leave the setting on if you want to keep notifications but just remove the sound.

If you want to silence only one conversation instead of the whole app, open Messages, find the chat you want to mute, swipe left on it (or long-press it), and tap Mute. You can choose to mute for one hour, one day, or until you unmute it manually.

Silence Messages on Android

Open Settings and go to Apps (or Application Manager, depending on your phone brand). Find and tap Messages. Then tap Notifications.

You will see notification channels — usually Conversations, Calls, and others. Tap the channel you want to silence and toggle the switch off. You can also tap the channel and adjust the sound, vibration, and pop-up settings without turning it off completely. If you want to mute only one conversation, open Messages, long-press the chat, tap the bell icon or three dots, and select Mute Notifications.

Mute a single conversation on any phone

Both iPhone and Android let you silence one person or group chat while keeping notifications on for everyone else. Open the conversation, then look for the contact name or group name at the top of the screen and tap it.

You will see options like Mute Notifications, Do Not Disturb, or Hide Alerts. Tap whichever one your phone offers. You can usually choose how long to mute it — one hour, eight hours, one day, or indefinitely. When the mute period ends, notifications from that chat will come back on.

Silence Messages on Mac

Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older Macs), then go to Notifications. Scroll down the left side and find Messages. Click it.

You can turn off Allow Notifications entirely, or keep it on and turn off Sound, Badges, or Banner Style. You can also change the alert style from Banner to Alert (which stays on screen until you dismiss it) or None (no pop-up at all). If you want to mute just one conversation, open Messages, right-click the chat, and look for Mute Notifications or a similar option.

Silence Messages on Windows

Open Settings, then go to System > Notifications. Scroll down to find Messages (or whatever messaging app you use) and click it. Toggle off the notification switch, or click the dropdown to turn off only the sound or pop-ups while keeping other alerts on.

You can also right-click the Messages app in your taskbar and look for a notification or settings option. If you use the Messages app from the Microsoft Store, you may also see notification settings inside the app itself — open Messages, go to Settings, and look for Notifications or Alerts.

Use Do Not Disturb to silence everything at once

If you want to silence Messages along with all other notifications during certain hours, use your phone or computer's Do Not Disturb mode. On iPhone, go to Settings > Focus and create a new Focus (or use the built-in Do Not Disturb). On Android, go to Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb and set the times you want quiet.

On Mac, click the Control Center icon in the top right, then click Focus and choose Do Not Disturb. On Windows, go to Settings > System > Notifications and toggle on Do Not Disturb. You can set it to turn on automatically at certain times, or turn it on manually whenever you need quiet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person texting me know I have silenced their messages?

No. Silencing notifications only stops alerts on your device. The message still arrives, and the sender has no way to know you turned off sounds or pop-ups. Your phone will still show the message in the app and in your message history.

Can I silence Messages at night but keep other app notifications on?

Yes. Instead of using Do Not Disturb (which silences everything), go to Messages notification settings and turn off Sound only. Then set your phone's Do Not Disturb to run at night. Messages will still arrive silently, and other apps can still alert you if you need them to.

What if I mute a conversation and then forget I did?

On iPhone, muted conversations show a speaker-with-a-line icon next to the name in your message list. On Android, they usually show a bell-with-a-line icon. You can unmute anytime by tapping the conversation and selecting Unmute, or by going back to the mute menu and choosing to unmute.

Does silencing Messages stop the app from working?

No. Silencing only stops sounds, badges, and pop-ups. Messages still arrive, you can still read and send texts, and the app works normally. You just will not be alerted when new messages come in.