Silence notifications without turning off your phone
You can silence iPhone notifications in three ways: turn on Do Not Disturb to block all alerts temporarily, adjust settings for individual apps so only certain ones notify you, or mute notifications from a specific contact or conversation. Each method works differently depending on whether you want silence right now, silence for certain hours, or silence from just one person.
The fastest option is swiping down from the top-right corner of your screen and tapping the moon icon to turn on Do Not Disturb. This stops all notifications from making sound or lighting up your screen until you turn it off again. If you want notifications to stay silent on a schedule — say, every night from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. — you can set that up once and let it run automatically.
Key Takeaways
- Do Not Disturb silences all notifications immediately and can be set to turn on and off at the same time every day.
- You can silence notifications from individual apps by going to Settings, tapping Notifications, selecting the app, and turning off Allow Notifications.
- To silence one person's texts or calls, open their contact card and toggle on Hide Alerts.
- Notifications can still come through during Do Not Disturb if you add someone to your Favorites list in the Phone app.
- Turning off notifications does not delete messages — they arrive silently and you can read them whenever you open the app.
Turn on Do Not Disturb for immediate silence
Do Not Disturb is the quickest way to stop all sounds and alerts right now. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen (or up from the bottom if you have an older model) to open Control Center. Tap the moon icon. Your phone will now silence all notifications, calls, and alerts until you turn it off.
To set Do Not Disturb to turn on and off automatically every day, go to Settings, tap Focus, then tap Do Not Disturb. Tap Turn On Automatically, then set the time you want it to start and the time you want it to end. Your iPhone will switch to Do Not Disturb at those times without you having to do anything. You can still manually turn it on or off anytime by opening Control Center and tapping the moon icon.
While Do Not Disturb is on, your phone will not ring, vibrate, or show notifications on your lock screen. Messages and calls still arrive — they just do not alert you. You can check them whenever you unlock your phone and open the app.
Silence notifications from specific apps
If you want to keep notifications from most apps but silence just one or two, you can turn off notifications for individual apps. Go to Settings and tap Notifications. Scroll down and tap the name of the app you want to silence. Tap the toggle next to Allow Notifications to turn it off. That app will no longer send you any alerts, badges, or sounds.
You can also choose to let an app send notifications but without sound or vibration. In that same app's notification settings, tap Sounds & Haptics and choose None. The notification will still appear on your lock screen and in Notification Center, but your phone will not make a sound or vibrate when it arrives.
Some apps let you silence notifications during certain hours only. Open Settings, tap Notifications, select the app, and look for a Scheduled Summary option. Turn it on, then set the time of day you want to receive a summary of all that app's notifications at once instead of getting alerts throughout the day.
Mute notifications from one person
To stop notifications from a specific contact, open the Messages app and find the conversation with that person. Swipe left on their name (or tap Edit if you are using an older iPhone). Tap Hide Alerts. A moon icon will appear next to their name, showing that their messages are now silent. You will still receive their texts, but your phone will not alert you when they arrive.
For phone calls from one person, open the Phone app, go to Favorites, and find their name. Tap the info icon (circle with an i), then scroll down and tap Hide Alerts. Calls from that person will still come through, but your phone will not ring.
To turn alerts back on for that person, go back to the same place and tap Hide Alerts again to toggle it off. The moon icon will disappear from their name.
Allow important calls through Do Not Disturb
If you turn on Do Not Disturb but still want calls from certain people to get through, add them to your Favorites list in the Phone app. Open Phone, tap Favorites, and tap the plus icon to add a contact. Anyone in your Favorites will be able to call you even when Do Not Disturb is on — their call will ring through normally.
This is useful if you want silence from most people but need to hear from family or your workplace. You can add as many people as you want to Favorites. If someone calls you twice in three minutes, their second call will also ring through, even if they are not in Favorites — this is a safety feature in case of emergency.
Silence notifications on your lock screen
If you want notifications to arrive but not show up on your lock screen where anyone can see them, go to Settings, tap Notifications, select the app, and tap Show Previews. Choose When Unlocked instead of Always. That app's notifications will only show their full content after you unlock your phone. On the lock screen, they will say "1 Notification" without showing what it is.
You can also turn off notification badges — the red circles with numbers that appear on app icons. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, select the app, and turn off Badge App Icon. The app will still send notifications, but you will not see a number telling you how many unread messages or alerts you have.
Troubleshooting notifications that keep coming through
If you turned off notifications for an app but alerts are still arriving, the app may have permission to send notifications through a different channel. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, and scroll all the way to the bottom. Look for a section called Siri Suggestions or Lock Screen. Some apps can send notifications through these areas even if you turned off their main notifications. Tap each one and turn off notifications there as well.
If Do Not Disturb is on but you are still hearing sounds, check whether the person calling is in your Favorites list — they will ring through anyway. You can also check whether an app has critical alerts turned on. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, select the app, and scroll down. If Critical Alerts is on, turn it off. Critical alerts are designed to bypass Do Not Disturb and are used only by apps like health or emergency services.
Restarting your iPhone sometimes fixes notification problems. Hold down the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears. Slide it to turn off your phone, wait 10 seconds, then hold the power button again to turn it back on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will people know I have Do Not Disturb on?
No. When someone calls or texts you while Do Not Disturb is on, they will not see any indication that you have silenced notifications. The call or message will go through normally — it just will not alert you. They might wonder why you are not responding, but they will not receive a notification saying you have Do Not Disturb enabled.
Can I silence notifications while still getting calls?
Yes. Turn on Do Not Disturb, then add the people you want to hear from to your Favorites list in the Phone app. Their calls will ring through. You can also go to Settings, tap Notifications, and turn off notifications for messaging apps while leaving the Phone app notifications on.
What happens to messages when I silence notifications?
Messages still arrive on your phone — they just do not alert you. When you open the Messages app or the app you silenced, you will see all the messages that came in. Nothing is deleted or lost.
Can I silence notifications for just one hour?
Yes. Open Control Center, press and hold the Do Not Disturb moon icon, and tap For 1 Hour. Do Not Disturb will turn on and automatically turn off in one hour. You can also choose For This Evening or Until Tomorrow Morning from that same menu.
Why are notifications still coming through even though I turned them off?
Check whether the app has Critical Alerts turned on in Settings — these bypass Do Not Disturb. Also check whether the person is in your Favorites list, which allows their calls through. If neither of those is the issue, restart your iPhone to refresh the notification settings.