The fastest way to silence notifications
Open Settings, tap Notifications, then tap the app you want to silence. Toggle off "Allow Notifications" at the top of the screen. That's it — the app will stop sending you alerts, badges, and sounds.
If you want to keep notifications but just stop the sound and vibration, go to the same screen and toggle off "Sounds" and "Vibration" instead. The notifications will still appear on your lock screen and in Notification Center; you just won't hear or feel them.
For a quicker temporary fix without opening Settings, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center, then tap the bell icon with a slash through it. This turns on Do Not Disturb mode, which silences all notifications until you turn it off again — but it doesn't delete the notifications, just mutes them.
Key Takeaways
- Toggle "Allow Notifications" off in Settings > Notifications > [App Name] to stop an app from sending any alerts, badges, or sounds.
- You can silence just the sound and vibration while keeping notifications visible on your lock screen by toggling off "Sounds" and "Vibration" separately.
- Do Not Disturb mode in Control Center silences all notifications temporarily without permanently turning them off.
- Notification Center (swipe down from the top-left) shows all your notifications in one place, and you can clear them individually or all at once.
- Some apps send notifications through different channels — badges, sounds, and lock screen alerts — so you may need to turn off more than one toggle to stop them completely.
Turning off notifications for one app at a time
The most common reason to silence notifications is that one app is too loud or too frequent. Open Settings and scroll down to find Notifications. Tap it, then scroll through the list of apps until you find the one bothering you.
Tap the app name. At the top of the screen, you'll see "Allow Notifications" with a toggle switch. If it's green, notifications are on. Tap it once to turn it off. The app will no longer send you anything — no sounds, no badges on the app icon, no alerts on your lock screen.
If you want to keep some notifications but not others, you have more options on this same screen. You can toggle off "Sounds" to stop the noise, toggle off "Vibration" to stop the buzz, or toggle off "Badges" to stop the red number from appearing on the app icon. Many people turn off badges but keep sounds, or vice versa.
Silencing all notifications at once with Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb is a quick way to mute every notification on your phone without changing any settings. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen — the area where the time and battery appear — to open Control Center. You'll see a bell icon with a line through it. Tap it once.
When Do Not Disturb is on, the bell icon turns purple and your phone stops making sounds or vibrations for any notification. Calls and texts still come through if the person is in your Favorites, and alarms still go off. Everything else is silent.
Do Not Disturb stays on until you turn it off manually. Some people use it at night, during meetings, or while driving. If you want it to turn on and off automatically at certain times, go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb and set a schedule. You can also create a Focus that silences only certain apps while letting others through.
Understanding notification types and where they appear
iPhones send notifications in three main ways: sounds, vibrations, and visual alerts. A visual alert can appear as a banner at the top of your screen, a notification on your lock screen, or a badge — the red number on the app icon.
When you turn off "Allow Notifications" for an app, all three stop. But you can control them separately. If you go to Settings > Notifications > [App Name], you'll see toggles for "Sounds" and "Vibration" individually. You can also scroll down to "Notification Grouping" to decide whether notifications stack together or appear one at a time.
Some apps also have a "Critical Alerts" option, which is a special permission that lets them send notifications even when Do Not Disturb is on. This is rare and usually only for apps like health or safety tools. If you see it, you can toggle it off too.
Clearing notifications from Notification Center
Notifications pile up in Notification Center, which you can open by swiping down from the top-left corner of your screen. You'll see all your recent alerts grouped by app. You can swipe left on any notification to delete it, or tap "Clear" at the top to delete all of them at once.
Clearing a notification doesn't turn off future notifications from that app — it just removes the ones already there. If you want to stop the app from sending more, you still need to go to Settings and toggle off "Allow Notifications."
Some apps let you manage notifications directly from Notification Center. If you swipe left on a notification and tap the three dots, you might see options like "Manage" or "Turn Off." These shortcuts take you to the app's notification settings in Settings without having to search for it manually.
Stopping notifications from specific contacts or conversations
If you're getting too many notifications from Messages, Mail, or another communication app, you can silence specific people or conversations instead of turning off the whole app. In Messages, swipe left on a conversation and tap the bell icon with a slash through it. That conversation will stop sending you notifications.
In Mail, you can mute entire mailboxes. Swipe left on a mailbox in the Mail list and tap the bell icon. You'll still see the emails, but you won't get notified when new ones arrive. This is useful if you have a work email that sends a lot of automated messages.
For other apps, check if they have their own notification settings. Some apps let you mute notifications within the app itself, without going to iPhone Settings. Look for a bell icon or a "Notifications" option in the app's menu.
Using Focus modes to customize notifications by situation
Focus modes let you create different notification rules for different times or situations. Go to Settings > Focus and tap the plus sign to create a new Focus. You can name it "Work," "Sleep," "Driving," or anything else.
When you set up a Focus, you choose which people and apps can notify you. For example, your Work Focus might allow notifications from work email and your boss's contact, but silence everything else. Your Sleep Focus might allow only alarms and calls from family.
You can set a Focus to turn on automatically at a certain time, location, or app. For instance, your Sleep Focus could turn on every night at 10 p.m. and turn off at 7 a.m. When a Focus is active, you'll see its icon at the top of your screen, and people who text you will see a message saying you're in Focus mode.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the app know I turned off its notifications?
No. Turning off notifications doesn't tell the app anything. The app continues to work normally; it just can't send you alerts. You'll still receive messages, emails, and updates — you just won't be notified about them until you open the app yourself.
Can I turn off notifications for just one type of alert, like badges?
Yes. In Settings > Notifications > [App Name], you can toggle off "Badges" while keeping sounds and lock screen alerts on. You can mix and match any combination of sounds, vibrations, and badges to get exactly what you want.
How do I turn notifications back on after turning them off?
Go back to Settings > Notifications > [App Name] and toggle "Allow Notifications" back on. All the notification types you had before will return to their previous settings.
What's the difference between Do Not Disturb and turning off notifications?
Do Not Disturb is temporary and affects all apps at once — it silences everything until you turn it off. Turning off notifications in Settings is permanent for that app until you turn it back on. Do Not Disturb is better for quick breaks; turning off notifications is better for apps you never want to hear from.
Why do some apps keep sending notifications even after I turned them off?
Some apps send notifications through multiple channels. Check that you've toggled off "Allow Notifications" at the very top of the app's notification settings page. If it's already off and you're still getting alerts, the app might be sending them through a different method — try restarting your phone or reinstalling the app.