Turn off Facebook notifications in three places
Facebook sends notifications through your phone's lock screen, your browser, and inside the Facebook app itself — and each one has separate controls. To stop them completely, you need to change settings in all three places. The fastest route is your phone's settings app, where you can block Facebook notifications at the system level. If you want to keep some notifications but silence others, you'll adjust them inside the Facebook app or on your computer's browser settings.
Most people find they need to turn off notifications in two places: their phone's operating system and the Facebook app. Doing both ensures notifications don't slip through on a different device or in a different form.
Key Takeaways
- On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook and toggle off "Allow Notifications"; on Android, go to Settings > Apps > Facebook > Notifications and turn off "Show Notifications".
- Inside the Facebook app, tap the menu icon, select Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications, and turn off the types you don't want to see.
- On a computer, click the downward arrow in the top right of Facebook, select Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications, and uncheck each notification type.
- Turning off notifications at the phone level stops all Facebook alerts; turning them off in the app lets you keep some types while blocking others.
- If you turn notifications back on later, Facebook defaults to sending most types again, so you'll need to revisit these settings.
Stop notifications on iPhone
On iPhone, the system-level setting is the most reliable way to block all Facebook notifications at once. Open the Settings app, tap Notifications, scroll down to Facebook, and tap it. Toggle off "Allow Notifications" at the top of the screen. This stops every Facebook notification from reaching your lock screen, home screen, or notification center.
If you want to keep notifications but change how they appear, you can adjust individual settings on this same screen. You can turn off sounds, badges (the red number on the app icon), or banners (the pop-ups that appear at the top). Toggling off "Allow Notifications" is the fastest way to silence everything.
Stop notifications on Android
On Android, open the Settings app and go to Apps (sometimes called Applications or App Management). Find and tap Facebook. Tap Notifications or App Notifications. Toggle off "Show Notifications" or "All Notifications" — the exact wording varies by phone maker and Android version.
If the toggle is already off and you're still seeing notifications, scroll down to see if there's a separate section for notification channels. Facebook sometimes creates multiple notification channels (like Messages, Events, or Friend Requests), and you may need to turn off each one individually. Turning off the main "Show Notifications" toggle should disable all of them, but checking the channels below confirms.
Disable notifications inside the Facebook app
If you want to keep Facebook notifications but choose which types to receive, adjust settings inside the app itself. On iPhone or Android, open Facebook, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right, and go to Settings & Privacy > Settings. Scroll down to Notifications and tap it.
You'll see a list of notification types: Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, Likes, Events, Pages, and others. Tap each one and choose "Off" or "Muted" to stop that specific type. You can turn off notifications for comments on your posts but keep messages, for example. This approach gives you more control than the system-level setting, which blocks everything.
Turn off notifications on a computer
On Facebook's website, click the downward arrow in the top right corner and select Settings & Privacy > Settings. On the left sidebar, click Notifications. You'll see categories like Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, and Likes. Click each one and select "Off" to stop that notification type.
Computer notifications appear as browser pop-ups or badges in your browser tab. If you're using Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, Facebook may also ask permission to send desktop notifications — small alerts that appear on your screen even when the browser is closed. If you see a notification pop-up asking for permission, click "Block" to prevent them. If you already allowed them, go back to your browser's settings to revoke permission: in Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Site Settings > Notifications, find facebook.com, and change it to "Block".
What happens if you turn notifications back on
If you turn Facebook notifications back on later, the app returns to its default settings, which means most notification types are turned on again. You won't return to the custom setup you had before. This means if you had turned off only comments and likes but kept messages, turning notifications back on will re-enable comments and likes too.
To avoid re-enabling unwanted notifications, write down which types you want to keep before you turn notifications back on. Then go through the settings again and turn off only those types.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off notifications stop me from seeing messages?
No. Turning off notifications only stops the alerts. You can still open Facebook and see your messages, comments, and friend requests — they just won't pop up on your screen or lock screen. The messages will be waiting for you when you open the app.
Can I turn off notifications for one person but keep them for others?
Facebook doesn't have a built-in way to mute notifications from specific people. You can turn off notifications for Messages as a whole, or mute a person's posts in your feed (which hides their content but doesn't affect message notifications). For more control, consider using a third-party app or browser extension, though these may not work with all Facebook features.
Why am I still getting notifications after turning them off?
You may have turned them off in one place but not another. Check your phone's system settings, the Facebook app settings, and your browser settings. Also check whether Facebook is sending emails — go to Settings > Notifications and scroll to Email to turn those off separately. If notifications continue, restart your phone or log out and back into the app.
Do I need to turn off notifications on every device?
Yes. Facebook treats each device separately. If you turn off notifications on your phone but not your computer, you'll still receive them on your computer. You need to change settings on every device where you use Facebook.