Where to find notification controls on your iPhone
Notification settings live in the Settings app, which is the gray gear icon on your home screen. Open Settings, then tap Notifications. You will see two sections: a list of all your apps at the bottom, and a set of system-wide controls at the top. The system controls affect how all notifications behave. The app list lets you turn notifications off for individual apps.
The fastest way to silence one app right now is to swipe left on a notification when it appears on your lock screen or in your notification center, then tap the X. This removes that single alert but does not change the app's settings permanently. If you want to stop an app from sending notifications altogether, you need to go into Settings.
Key Takeaways
- Open Settings, tap Notifications, then find the app you want to silence and toggle off Allow Notifications.
- You can turn off all notifications from all apps at once by toggling off Allow Notifications at the top of the Notifications settings page.
- Swiping left on a notification and tapping the X removes that one alert but does not change the app's permanent settings.
- Some apps like Phone, Messages, and Mail have separate Critical Alerts that can still come through even when notifications are off.
- Do Not Disturb mode silences notifications without turning them off, so they will still appear when you unlock your phone.
Turn off notifications for a single app
Open Settings and tap Notifications. Scroll down to find the app you want to silence. Tap the app name. At the top of the screen, you will see a toggle switch next to Allow Notifications. Tap the toggle to turn it off. The switch will turn gray, and that app will stop sending you alerts.
When you turn off notifications for an app, you will not see badges (the red circles with numbers) on the app icon, and you will not hear sounds or feel vibrations from that app. The app itself will keep working normally — it just will not interrupt you. You can turn notifications back on the same way by tapping the toggle again.
Turn off all notifications at once
If you want to silence every app on your phone, go to Settings and tap Notifications. At the very top, before the list of apps, you will see Allow Notifications with a toggle switch. Tap the toggle to turn it off. All notifications from all apps will stop immediately.
This is different from Do Not Disturb mode, which hides notifications temporarily but keeps them in your notification center. When you turn off Allow Notifications in Settings, the notifications do not arrive at all. If you turn this setting back on later, apps will resume sending notifications using whatever individual settings you had chosen for each one.
Control how notifications look and sound
If you want to keep notifications from an app but change how they appear, tap the app name in the Notifications settings. You will see options like Sounds, Badges, and Lock Screen. You can toggle each of these off separately. For example, you might turn off sounds but keep badges, so you see a red number on the app icon but do not hear a noise.
The Notification Grouping option (if your app has it) lets you choose whether notifications stack together or appear one at a time. Show Previews controls whether the notification shows the full message or just says "1 New Message". These settings let you keep notifications without letting them interrupt you as much.
Use Do Not Disturb instead of turning notifications off
Do Not Disturb silences your phone without changing notification settings. Open Settings, tap Focus, then tap Do Not Disturb. Turn on the toggle. Your phone will stop making sounds and vibrations, and notifications will not appear on your lock screen. When you unlock your phone, you will still see all the notifications that arrived while Do Not Disturb was on.
Do Not Disturb is useful when you want temporary silence — during a meeting, at night, or while driving. You can set it to turn on and off automatically at certain times. Tap Schedule to pick times when Do Not Disturb should activate. You can also set it to turn on when you arrive at a location or when you connect to your car's Bluetooth.
What happens to notifications you turn off
When you turn off notifications for an app, those alerts simply do not arrive. They do not go to a folder or a backup. The app will not send them to you later. If someone sends you a message from an app with notifications off, you will not know about it unless you open the app yourself and check.
Some apps like Phone, Messages, and Mail have a setting called Critical Alerts that can bypass your notification settings. These are alerts the system considers urgent — like a call from someone in your Favorites or a message marked urgent. You can turn off Critical Alerts too if you want complete silence, but you will miss truly time-sensitive information.
Troubleshooting notifications that won't turn off
If you turned off notifications for an app but still see alerts, check two things. First, make sure you toggled off Allow Notifications for that specific app, not just one type of notification like sounds. Second, check whether Do Not Disturb is on — if it is, notifications are hidden but still arriving, and they will reappear when you turn Do Not Disturb off.
If an app keeps sending notifications even after you turned them off, restart your iPhone. Hold down the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears, then slide it to turn off your phone. Wait 10 seconds, then hold the power button again until you see the Apple logo. After the restart, check the app's notification settings again to confirm they are still off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off notifications for just one contact in Messages?
Yes. Open Messages, find the conversation, swipe left on it, tap the three dots, then tap Hide Alerts. You will still see messages from that person, but you will not get notifications. To turn alerts back on, swipe left again and tap Show Alerts.
Will turning off notifications delete my messages or emails?
No. Turning off notifications only stops the alerts. All your messages, emails, and app data stay on your phone. When you open the app, everything will be there. You just will not be notified when new ones arrive.
How do I turn notifications back on after turning them all off?
Go to Settings, tap Notifications, and tap the toggle next to Allow Notifications at the top to turn it back on. If you turned off notifications for individual apps, go to each app in the Notifications list and toggle Allow Notifications back on.
What is the difference between turning off notifications and muting an app?
Turning off notifications stops all alerts from an app. Muting (or hiding alerts in some apps) silences the sound and vibration but may still show a badge or notification on your lock screen. The exact behavior depends on the app.
Why do I still see notifications after turning them off?
Check whether Do Not Disturb is on — it hides notifications but does not turn them off. Also confirm you toggled off Allow Notifications for the right app. If the problem continues, restart your iPhone and check the settings again.