The fastest way to silence notifications

You can turn off notifications in three places on an iPhone: for individual apps, for entire categories (like email or messages), or across your whole phone. The quickest route depends on what's bothering you. If one app is the problem — say, a game sending constant alerts — you silence just that app in Settings. If you want to mute all notifications without powering down, use Focus modes, which let you pick which people and apps can reach you. If you need total quiet, Silent mode (the physical switch on the left edge of your phone) stops all sounds and vibrations.

Most people find they need a mix: Silent mode for meetings, Focus modes for sleep or work, and per-app settings for the apps they want to hear from but less often. This section covers the fastest path for each situation.

Key Takeaways

  • The physical Silent switch on the left edge of your iPhone stops all sounds and vibrations immediately, but notifications still appear on your lock screen.
  • Focus modes let you choose which people and apps can send you notifications at specific times — like Work, Sleep, or Driving — and you can set them to turn on automatically.
  • To stop notifications from a single app, go to Settings > Notifications, tap the app name, and toggle off "Allow Notifications".
  • Turning off notifications for an app does not delete the app or prevent it from working; it only stops the alerts.
  • You can silence notifications without silencing calls from people in your Favorites, so important contacts can still reach you in emergencies.

Turn off notifications for one app

Open Settings on your iPhone, then tap Notifications. Scroll down and find the app you want to silence. Tap it, then toggle off "Allow Notifications" at the top. That app will no longer send you alerts, badges (the red numbers on app icons), or sounds — but the app itself will keep working normally.

If you want to keep some notifications from an app but reduce them, you have more control. In that same app's notification settings, you can choose "Time Sensitive" to hear only urgent alerts, or turn off "Badges" so the red number stops appearing on the app icon. You can also change the notification style from "Banners" (which pop up and disappear) to "Alerts" (which stay until you dismiss them), or vice versa, depending on how intrusive you find them.

Use Focus modes to silence groups of apps at once

Focus modes are the most powerful tool for managing notifications because they let you create different rules for different times of day. Go to Settings > Focus, then tap the plus sign to create a new Focus. Choose a name — Work, Sleep, Gym, whatever fits your day — and then decide which people and apps can notify you while that Focus is on.

For example, your Sleep Focus might allow notifications only from your partner and your phone's Clock app (for alarms), blocking everything else. Your Work Focus might allow calls from your boss and messages from your team app, but silence games and social media. Once you set up a Focus, you can turn it on manually by swiping down from the top-right corner of your screen and tapping the Focus name, or you can set it to turn on automatically at a specific time or location.

The key difference between Focus modes and turning off notifications entirely is that Focus modes are temporary and reversible. You can switch between them throughout the day without changing your app settings, and when you turn a Focus off, all your notifications come back to normal.

Use Silent mode for immediate quiet

The physical Silent switch is on the left edge of your iPhone, just above the volume buttons. Flip it toward the back of the phone (you'll see a red line appear) and your iPhone stops making sounds and vibrations. Notifications still arrive and appear on your lock screen — you just won't hear or feel them.

Silent mode is the fastest way to quiet your phone in a meeting or public place because it takes one second and doesn't require opening Settings. However, it affects your entire phone, not just specific apps. If you need some notifications to come through (like calls from your family) while silencing others, a Focus mode is a better choice.

Stop notifications from appearing on your lock screen

Even if you've turned off sounds and vibrations, notifications still show up on your lock screen where anyone can see them. If you want to hide them completely, go to Settings > Notifications > Show Previews and choose "Never" instead of "Always" or "When Unlocked". This hides the content of notifications on your lock screen, though the app name still appears.

For total privacy, you can also turn off notifications for specific apps from showing on your lock screen at all. In Settings > Notifications, tap an app, then toggle off "Lock Screen" under the notification style options. The app can still send you notifications that appear in Notification Center (swipe down from the top-left), but they won't display on your lock screen.

Allow calls and messages through even when notifications are off

If you're using a Focus mode or Silent mode, you might still want calls or messages from important people to get through. Go to Settings > Focus, tap the Focus you're using, then scroll to "Allowed Notifications" and tap "People". Add the contacts you want to hear from — your family, your boss, your partner — and their calls and messages will bypass your Focus restrictions.

You can also set this up per-app. In Settings > Notifications, tap Messages (or another app), then toggle on "Allow Notifications from Contacts" or look for a similar option. This way, messages from your saved contacts come through, but messages from unknown numbers stay silent.

Turn notifications back on

If you've turned off notifications and want to restore them, the process is the same in reverse. Go to Settings > Notifications, find the app, and toggle "Allow Notifications" back on. If you turned off notifications using a Focus mode, simply turn off that Focus by swiping down from the top-right and tapping it again, or wait for it to turn off automatically at the time you set.

Turning notifications back on restores them to whatever settings you had before — so if you had banners set to appear for 10 seconds, that's what you'll get again. Your notification history is not affected; you'll just start receiving new alerts going forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off notifications prevent me from seeing messages or calls?

No. Turning off notifications stops alerts, sounds, and badges, but messages and calls still arrive in their apps. You just won't be notified when they come in. You can open Messages or Phone anytime to see what you missed.

Can I turn off notifications for one contact but not others?

Yes. Open the conversation with that contact in Messages, tap their name at the top, scroll down, and toggle off "Notify Me". Their messages will still arrive, but you won't get alerts. You can do the same in other apps like Mail by swiping left on an email thread and tapping the bell icon.

What's the difference between Silent mode and Do Not Disturb?

Silent mode (the physical switch) stops sounds and vibrations but lets notifications appear on your lock screen. Do Not Disturb is now called Focus modes and gives you more control — you can choose which people and apps can reach you. Focus modes are more flexible for situations where you want some notifications but not others.

If I turn off notifications for an app, will it slow down my phone?

No. Turning off notifications does not affect how the app runs or how much battery it uses. It only stops the alerts. If an app is draining your battery, turning off notifications won't fix that — you'd need to close the app or uninstall it.

Can I schedule notifications to turn off at a specific time?

Yes, using Focus modes. Create a Focus, set which apps and people can notify you, then go to "Turn On Automatically" and choose a time or location. Your Focus will turn on at that time and turn off at another time you set, automatically controlling your notifications.