The fastest way to clear all notifications at once
Open Notification Center by swiping down from the top of your screen. You will see all your unread notifications grouped by app. At the top right of Notification Center, tap Clear. This removes every notification from the list in one action.
If you do not see a Clear button, swipe left across the notification list itself. A red Clear All option will appear on the right side. Tap it to delete everything at once.
This method clears the notifications from your screen but does not delete the actual messages, emails, or alerts in their original apps. Your Mail app still has your emails, your Messages app still has your texts — only the notification badges and alerts disappear from Notification Center.
Key Takeaways
- Swipe down from the top of your screen and tap Clear to remove all notifications from Notification Center at once.
- Swipe left on individual notifications to delete them one by one without clearing everything.
- The red notification badge on an app icon disappears when you open that app or clear its notifications.
- Clearing notifications does not delete the actual messages or emails — it only removes the alerts from your Notification Center.
- You can turn off notifications from specific apps in Settings > Notifications if you want to stop seeing them altogether.
Delete notifications one at a time
If you only want to remove certain notifications, swipe left on any notification in Notification Center. A red Clear button appears on the right. Tap it to delete just that one notification.
This is useful when you have a mix of notifications and only want to dismiss some of them — for example, keeping your work email alerts visible while clearing game reminders. You can go through your list and remove notifications selectively without touching the others.
Swiping left works the same way on your lock screen. If notifications appear on your lock screen and you want to clear one without opening Notification Center, swipe left on it directly and tap Clear.
Remove the red badge numbers from app icons
The red circles with numbers on your app icons (like the 5 on your Mail app) are notification badges. They disappear automatically when you open the app. For example, if Mail shows a badge with 5, opening the Mail app and reading your messages will clear that badge.
If you want to remove badges without opening the app, go to Settings > Notifications. Scroll down and find the app whose badge you want to remove. Tap it, then turn off the Badges toggle. The red number will no longer appear on that app's icon, even if you have unread messages inside it.
Keep in mind that turning off badges does not delete your messages or notifications — it only hides the count on the icon. You can turn badges back on anytime by returning to the same setting and toggling it on again.
Stop notifications from appearing in the first place
If you are tired of seeing notifications from a particular app, you can turn them off entirely. Go to Settings > Notifications and scroll through the list of apps. Tap the app you want to silence, then turn off the Allow Notifications toggle at the top.
You can also customize how each app sends notifications without turning them off completely. In that same app settings screen, you can choose whether notifications appear on your lock screen, in Notification Center, or as banners at the top of your screen. You can also turn off sounds and badges for specific apps while keeping notifications visible.
Some apps like Messages and Phone have additional options. You can set them to only notify you for important contacts, or silence notifications during specific times using Focus modes. This gives you fine control over which notifications interrupt you and which ones stay quiet.
Use Focus modes to silence notifications by time or activity
Focus modes let you automatically silence notifications based on what you are doing. Go to Settings > Focus and choose a preset like Work, Sleep, or Driving, or create a custom one.
When you turn on a Focus mode, you can decide which apps are allowed to send notifications and which are silenced. For example, your Sleep Focus might allow only calls from family while silencing everything else. Your Work Focus might allow work email and messages from colleagues but silence games and social media.
You can set Focus modes to turn on automatically at certain times or locations. For instance, Sleep Focus can activate every night at 10 p.m. and turn off at 7 a.m., so you never see notifications while you are sleeping. This is more powerful than just clearing notifications — it prevents them from appearing in the first place during the times you specify.
What happens when you clear notifications
Clearing a notification removes it from Notification Center and your lock screen, but the original content stays in its app. If you clear a notification about a new email, the email itself remains in your Mail app unread. If you clear a text message notification, the message stays in Messages.
The only thing that disappears is the alert — the notification badge, the banner at the top of your screen, or the item in Notification Center. This is different from deleting the actual message or email, which you would do inside the app itself.
If you accidentally clear a notification and want to find the original message, open the app where it came from. Your Mail app shows all your emails, your Messages app shows all your texts, and so on. The notification was just a reminder that something new arrived — clearing it does not erase what arrived.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does clearing notifications delete my messages or emails?
No. Clearing a notification only removes the alert from Notification Center and your lock screen. The actual message, email, or content stays in its original app. To delete an email or text, you must open that app and delete it there.
Why do notification badges keep coming back?
Badges reappear when you receive new notifications. If your Mail app shows a badge with 3, it means you have 3 unread emails. Opening Mail and reading them clears the badge. If you do not want to see badges at all, turn them off in Settings > Notifications for that app.
Can I clear notifications from just one app?
Yes. Swipe down to open Notification Center, find the app whose notifications you want to clear, and swipe left on its notifications. You can delete them one by one, or some apps show a Clear option for all of that app's notifications at once.
What is the difference between clearing notifications and turning them off?
Clearing removes notifications you have already received. Turning off notifications in Settings prevents future notifications from that app from appearing at all. You can turn notifications back on anytime, but clearing only affects the alerts already on your screen.
Will my phone send me notifications again if I turn off Focus mode?
Yes. When you turn off a Focus mode, notifications from all apps return to normal. If you had silenced an app during Focus mode, it will start sending notifications again once the Focus is off, unless you have also turned off notifications for that app in Settings.