What time sensitive notifications are and why you might want to turn them off
Time sensitive notifications are alerts your phone prioritizes above others — they bypass Do Not Disturb mode, appear on your lock screen, and make sound or vibration even when you've silenced other notifications. On iPhone, they're labeled "Time Sensitive" in notification settings. On Android, they're called "Priority" notifications. Your phone treats them as urgent because apps like Messages, Calendar, and Phone mark their notifications this way by default.
You might want to turn them off because they interrupt you constantly, even when you've deliberately silenced your phone. A reminder about a meeting in three hours, a promotional message marked urgent, or a notification from an app you rarely use can all bypass your quiet time. Turning off time sensitive notifications for specific apps gives you back control over when you're actually interrupted.
Key Takeaways
- On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications, select an app, and toggle off "Time Sensitive" to stop it from bypassing Do Not Disturb.
- On Android, open Settings > Apps & Notifications, find the app, tap Notifications, and change the importance level from "Urgent" to "High" or lower.
- You can turn off time sensitive notifications for individual apps without disabling all notifications from that app.
- Messages, Calendar, and Phone are set to time sensitive by default on most phones, but you can change this for any app.
How to turn off time sensitive notifications on iPhone
Open Settings and tap Notifications. Scroll down and find the app you want to change — for example, Messages or Calendar. Tap the app name to open its notification settings.
Look for the toggle labeled "Time Sensitive" and turn it off. This single change stops that app from interrupting you when Do Not Disturb is on. The app will still send you notifications, but they'll respect your Do Not Disturb schedule and won't make sound or vibration during quiet hours.
If you want to turn off time sensitive notifications for multiple apps, repeat this step for each one. Many people disable it for Calendar, Reminders, and promotional apps while keeping it on for Messages and Phone.
How to turn off time sensitive notifications on Android
Open Settings and go to Apps & Notifications (the exact name varies by phone maker — Samsung calls it Apps, Google Pixel calls it Notifications). Find the app you want to change and tap it.
Tap Notifications or Notification Settings. You'll see a list of notification channels or categories for that app. Look for the one marked "Urgent" or with the highest importance level. Tap it and change the importance from "Urgent" to "High," "Medium," or "Low" depending on how much you want to hear from that app.
On some Android phones, you may see a dropdown menu labeled "Importance" instead. Select a lower level to prevent the notification from interrupting Do Not Disturb mode. The exact steps depend on your phone's version of Android and manufacturer, but the principle is the same: find the app, find the notification channel, and lower its importance level.
The difference between turning off time sensitive and turning off all notifications
Turning off time sensitive notifications does not turn off the app's notifications entirely. The app will still send you alerts — they'll just appear in your notification center or on your lock screen without sound, vibration, or the ability to interrupt Do Not Disturb mode. You can still see them when you unlock your phone.
If you want to stop receiving notifications from an app altogether, that's a separate step. On iPhone, toggle off "Allow Notifications" at the top of the app's notification settings. On Android, toggle off "Show Notifications" in the app's notification settings. But if you only want to prevent interruptions during quiet hours while still receiving the alerts, turning off time sensitive is the right choice.
Which apps are usually set to time sensitive by default
Messages, Phone, FaceTime, and Calendar are almost always set to time sensitive on iPhone because Apple assumes you want to be interrupted by calls, texts, and meeting reminders. Reminders and Mail may also have time sensitive turned on depending on your phone's setup.
On Android, Google Messages, Google Calendar, Google Phone, and Gmail typically have urgent importance by default. Third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram may also mark their notifications as urgent. Check each app individually to see what's currently set to interrupt you.
What happens when you turn off time sensitive notifications
When Do Not Disturb is active, time sensitive notifications will no longer make sound or vibration, and they won't light up your screen. They'll still appear in your notification center, and you can still see them when you check your phone. The app simply stops treating itself as an emergency.
If you turn off time sensitive for an app but leave Do Not Disturb off, the notification will still appear normally — the change only affects how the app behaves during quiet hours. This is useful if you want to keep an app's notifications but prevent it from waking you up at night or interrupting a meeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person texting me know I turned off time sensitive notifications?
No. Turning off time sensitive notifications is a setting on your phone only. The sender has no way to know whether you receive their message as urgent or not. They'll send the message the same way regardless of your notification settings.
Can I turn off time sensitive for some contacts but not others?
On iPhone, you can customize notifications per contact in the Messages app. Open a conversation, tap the contact name at the top, and scroll down to find notification settings for that specific person. On Android, this depends on your messaging app — some allow per-contact settings, others do not.
What if I turn off time sensitive and then need to turn it back on?
Go back to the same settings screen where you turned it off and toggle it back on. The process is identical. You can change this setting as many times as you want with no penalty or waiting period.
Does turning off time sensitive notifications affect my alarm clock?
No. Alarms are separate from notifications and will still work normally. Time sensitive notification settings only affect app notifications, not system alarms or timers.