Where to find notification settings on your Android phone

Android keeps notification controls in two places: inside individual apps and in your phone's main Settings. The fastest route depends on whether you want to silence one app or change how notifications work across your whole phone.

To reach your phone's central notification settings, open Settings, then look for "Apps" or "Applications" (the exact name varies by manufacturer). From there, tap "Notifications" or "Notification settings". Some phones put this under "Sound and vibration" instead. If you cannot find it in those places, search for "notifications" in your Settings search bar — most Android phones have one at the top of the Settings menu.

Once you are in notification settings, you will see a list of apps that have sent you notifications recently. Tap any app name to control what that app can do.

Key Takeaways

  • You can turn off notifications from a single app by opening Settings, finding that app in the notification list, and toggling off "Allow notifications".
  • To silence notifications without deleting them, turn off sound and vibration for that app while leaving notifications on — they will appear silently in your notification drawer.
  • Notification channels let you control different types of messages from the same app separately — for example, you might silence promotional emails but keep order updates loud.
  • Clearing your notification history does not stop future notifications; it only removes the messages already in your notification drawer.
  • Some apps bypass standard notification settings and send messages through SMS or email instead, which require different controls.

Turn off notifications from a single app

Open Settings and navigate to your notification settings (the path varies by phone model, but searching for "notifications" usually finds it fastest). Scroll through the list of apps until you find the one you want to silence. Tap its name.

Look for a toggle labeled "Allow notifications" or "Show notifications". Turn it off. This stops that app from sending you any notifications at all. If you want to keep notifications but just remove the sound and vibration, leave this toggle on and scroll down to find "Sound" and "Vibration" — turn those off instead. The notifications will still arrive in your notification drawer; you just will not hear or feel them.

Some apps have multiple notification channels — different categories of messages that you can control separately. For example, Gmail might have channels for "Primary inbox", "Promotions", and "Updates". If you see a "Notifications" section with multiple items listed, you can turn off only the channels you do not want, leaving others on.

Silence notifications without turning them off completely

If you want to keep notifications but stop them from interrupting you with sound or vibration, you have several options. The simplest is to turn off sound and vibration for that specific app while leaving notifications enabled — they will sit quietly in your notification drawer until you check them.

You can also set a "Do Not Disturb" schedule that silences all notifications during certain hours. Open Settings, search for "Do Not Disturb", and turn it on. Set the times you want it active — for example, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. During those hours, notifications will arrive but will not make noise or light up your screen. You can usually add exceptions for calls or messages from specific contacts.

Another option is to change a notification's importance level. In the app's notification settings, look for "Importance" or "Priority" and set it to "Low" or "Silent". This prevents the notification from showing a banner or making sound, though it will still appear in your notification drawer when you pull it down.

Clear notifications from your notification drawer

Clearing notifications removes the messages you have already seen from your notification drawer, but it does not stop future notifications from arriving. Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the notification drawer. Look for a trash icon, an X, or text that says "Clear all" — tap it to remove all notifications at once.

If you want to remove only one notification, swipe it left or right (depending on your phone model) or tap the X next to it. This removes just that message from your drawer but does not change any settings.

If you have a lot of notifications and want to clear them periodically without changing your settings, you can also long-press the notification drawer and look for options to manage or clear notifications in bulk.

Control notifications from apps that use SMS or email

Some apps send messages through text message or email instead of using Android's notification system. These bypass your phone's notification settings because they arrive as SMS or email, not as app notifications. Examples include two-factor authentication codes, bank alerts, and some delivery tracking services.

To control these, you need to change the app's own settings, not your phone's notification settings. Open the app, look for "Settings" or "Preferences", and find the section for notifications, alerts, or messages. You may see options to turn off text messages, emails, or both. If the app does not have its own notification controls, you can block the sender's phone number or email address in your Messages or Gmail app instead.

Manage notifications on your lock screen

Android lets you control whether notifications show details on your lock screen, show only that a notification arrived without the message content, or hide from the lock screen entirely. This is useful if you want to see notifications when you unlock your phone but not have sensitive information visible to someone looking at your locked screen.

In the app's notification settings, look for "Lock screen" or "Visibility" and choose your preference. "Show" displays the full notification, "Hide" shows only that a notification arrived without details, and "Do not show" hides it from the lock screen entirely (though it will still appear in your notification drawer when you unlock your phone).

Stop notifications from specific contacts or conversations

If you want to silence notifications from one person in a messaging app like Messages, WhatsApp, or Telegram, open the conversation with that contact. Look for a menu icon (usually three dots) and tap it. You should see an option like "Mute notifications", "Mute conversation", or "Notifications". Tap it and choose how long to mute — options usually include 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or indefinitely.

When a conversation is muted, new messages will still arrive, but you will not get a notification. You can still see the message when you open the app. To unmute, open the same menu and select "Unmute" or turn the mute timer off.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off notifications stop the app from working?

No. Turning off notifications only stops the app from sending you alerts. The app itself continues to run and function normally. You can still open it and use it whenever you want.

Can I turn off notifications for just one type of message from an app?

Yes, if the app uses notification channels. Many apps separate notifications by type — for example, a social media app might have channels for "Messages", "Likes", and "Comments". You can turn off individual channels while keeping others on. Not all apps support this, but most major ones do.

What is the difference between clearing notifications and turning them off?

Clearing removes the notifications already in your drawer but does not change any settings. The app will still send you new notifications. Turning off notifications stops the app from sending them in the first place.

Why do some apps still send me messages even after I turned off notifications?

Some apps send messages through SMS or email instead of using Android's notification system. These are not controlled by your phone's notification settings. You need to change the app's own settings or block the sender in your Messages or email app.

Can I turn off notifications for all apps at once?

Android does not have a single toggle to silence all app notifications. You can use "Do Not Disturb" to mute all sounds and vibrations during certain hours, but notifications will still arrive in your drawer. To turn off notifications from multiple apps, you need to go through each one individually in your notification settings.