Where text notifications come from and why you might want to silence them

Text message notifications on your Mac arrive through iMessage, Apple's messaging service that syncs across your devices. When someone texts your phone number or Apple ID, your Mac receives the same notification your iPhone does — a banner at the top of the screen, a sound, or both. You can turn these off entirely, silence only certain conversations, or adjust them so notifications appear but make no sound.

Most people disable Mac text notifications because they find them distracting while working, or because they already see the message on their phone and don't need it on their computer too. Others turn them off because they share a Mac with family members and don't want their texts visible to everyone in the room.

Key Takeaways

  • Text notifications come through iMessage, which syncs your messages across all your Apple devices when you sign in with the same Apple ID.
  • You can turn off all text notifications in System Settings under Notifications, or silence notifications from specific people only.
  • Turning off notifications does not delete your messages — they still arrive and stay in the Messages app, you just won't see a pop-up or hear a sound.
  • If you share your Mac with others, you can also sign out of iMessage entirely so messages don't sync to that computer at all.

Turn off all text notifications at once

Open System Settings (the gear icon in your dock or Applications folder). Click Notifications in the left sidebar. Scroll down and find Messages in the list of apps. Click it.

You will see several options. To stop all notifications, toggle off Allow Notifications at the top. This removes the banners, sounds, and badges (the red circles with numbers) from your Mac. Your messages still arrive and stay in the Messages app — you simply won't be alerted when they come in.

If you want to keep notifications but remove only the sound, leave Allow Notifications on and scroll down to find Sound. Click the dropdown next to it and select None.

Silence notifications from one person or group chat

Open the Messages app on your Mac. Find the conversation you want to mute. Right-click (or Control-click) on the conversation name in the left sidebar. A menu will appear.

Click Hide Alerts. The conversation will now show a moon icon next to its name, meaning notifications are off for that thread only. You can still read messages in that conversation whenever you open Messages — you just won't get a notification when a new message arrives.

To turn alerts back on for that conversation, right-click it again and select Show Alerts.

Sign out of iMessage if you share your Mac

If your Mac is used by multiple people and you don't want your text messages to appear on it at all, sign out of iMessage. Open System Settings and click General in the left sidebar. Click Login Items & Extensions at the bottom. Then click iCloud (or Apple ID depending on your macOS version).

Find Messages in the list and toggle it off. This stops iMessage from syncing to this Mac. Your messages will no longer arrive here, and no notifications will appear. When you sign back in with your Apple ID on this Mac later, you can turn Messages back on.

Note: This only stops messages from syncing to this particular computer. Your messages still sync to your iPhone, iPad, or any other Mac where you remain signed in.

Adjust notification style without turning them off completely

Return to System Settings > Notifications > Messages. Below Allow Notifications, you will see Notification Style. You have two choices: Banners (a notification slides in from the top right and disappears after a few seconds) or Alerts (a notification stays on screen until you dismiss it).

Most people find Banners less intrusive because they vanish automatically. If you choose Alerts, the notification will stay visible until you click it or close it, which can be more disruptive if you are focused on something else.

What happens when notifications are off

When you turn off text notifications, your Mac still receives the messages. They appear in your Messages app with a small badge (a red circle with a number) on the app icon in your dock, so you know new messages are waiting. You can open Messages at any time and read them normally.

The only thing that stops is the alert — the pop-up, sound, or both that would normally interrupt you. This is useful if you want to stay focused during work hours but still want to check your messages when you have a break.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person texting me know that I turned off notifications?

No. Turning off notifications is invisible to the person sending the message. They will not receive any indication that you have silenced alerts. Your message delivery status (read receipts) is a separate setting and is not affected by notification settings.

Can I turn off notifications for texts but keep them for other apps?

Yes. Notification settings are per-app. You can turn off Messages notifications while keeping notifications on for Mail, Calendar, or any other app. Each app has its own toggle in System Settings > Notifications.

What if I turn off notifications and then forget to check Messages?

The red badge on your Messages app icon in the dock will remind you that unread messages are waiting. You can also ask Siri "Do I have any new messages" to hear a summary without opening the app.

If I sign out of iMessage, will I still receive texts on my iPhone?

Yes. Signing out of iMessage on your Mac only affects that computer. Your iPhone, iPad, and any other Apple devices where you remain signed in will continue to receive and sync your messages normally.