Solved: the easy way to get rid of annoying phone notifications

Pop-up messages from apps can be helpful, but constantly being pinged with reminders can quickly become overwhelming. If you spend too much time swiping away pointless alerts, it might be time to review your notification settings.

Whether you're using a smartphone or tablet, you can cut down your screen time with quick adjustments, silence specific apps or try Focus mode to take a complete break from your device.

Below, we explain how to do this and how to silence notifications from a specific app without uninstalling it – handy if you'd prefer it to work quietly in the background.

Jump to: Mute notifications on iPhone | on Android | on Samsung phones

How to mute notifications on iPhones

At a glance: Swipe a notification left and choose Options.

The latest notifications you receive on your iPhone or iPad can be viewed directly from the Lock Screen. Simply tap a notification to open the related app. If you have multiple notifications from the same app, such as Messages, they will appear grouped together.

• To manage alerts from a specific app, swipe the notification to the left and then choose Options. From here, you can choose between Mute for 1 Hour, Mute for Today or Turn Off.
• If you decide that you want to unsilence notifications from an app, go to Settings > Notifications. Select the app and turn alerts back on.

On iOS, you can also choose how you want notifications to appear on the Lock Screen. If you find that your phone is constantly flooded with messages, this could help reduce visual clutter.

To change notification style, head to Settings > Notifications and, under Display As, choose Count, Stack or List. Count shows the total number of notifications at the bottom of the screen, while Stack shows notifications stacked at the bottom of the screen. List displays notifications in a detailed, scrollable format.

Focus Mode on iOS

Apple's Focus Mode is designed to minimise distractions by temporarily silencing all notifications or allowing only specific notifications. Head to Settings > Focus, then tap a profile. You can choose one of the presets (Do Not Disturb will silence all alerts) or tap the Plus icon to create your own.

How to mute notifications on Android phones

At a glance: Long-press a notification, then choose Turn off or Settings to adjust alerts.

If you're using an Android smartphone, you can change notification settings for individual apps instead of muting your entire phone.

• When you receive a notification, long-press it to pull up additional options. Selecting Dismiss will simply get rid of that single notification, but Turn off will let you make more permanent changes. In the example above, we've long-pressed a Gmail notification, which lets us mute incoming message alerts without uninstalling the app entirely. This is a handy trick if you're heading off on holiday and need a break from constant pings from your inbox.
• To adjust your notification settings without waiting for a message to appear, go to Settings > Notifications > App notifications. Tap an app and choose to mute the entire app or just specific types of messages.

If you want to unsilence notifications from an app, just undo your changes from the App notifications screen.

Focus Mode on Android

Android's Digital Wellbeing tool can help you limit screen time and manage notifications. Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing. From the overview screen, you'll see a breakdown of how many notifications you're receiving, sorted by app.

Tap Bedtime mode or Focus to pause distracting apps. You can also turn on Screen time reminders for a gentle nudge if you’ve been scrolling through social media for too long.

Our expert guide to the best smartphones reveals which models impressed in our tests, along with the advice you need to make an informed decision.

 How to mute notifications on Samsung phones

At a glance: Long-press a notification and choose Notification settings.

On a Samsung mobile, you can quickly view your notifications by swiping down from the top of your screen. Expanding a notification lets you take extra actions, like replying to a text message. 

• You can tap and hold a notification to mute this type of alert or access the app notification settings (shown above). 
• You can also access settings for individual apps by going to Settings > Notifications > App notifications. From here, you can toggle off all notifications for an app or tap the app name for more options.

From the same screen, you can review all temporarily blocked apps. Tap the drop-down menu at the top of the screen and select Notifications turned off to view them.

Digital Wellbeing on Samsung

To try the wellbeing app built into Samsung's One UI, go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & Parental controls. Here you'll find a range of options available to monitor how much you've been using certain apps, set targets to cut down or impose timers to prevent you using them too often.

How to block notifications from websites on mobile

When browsing the web through your phone, websites will sometimes ask you for permission to send you notifications – for example, a news website that tells you about a recently-updated article.

If you're using Google Chrome on Android, tap the three dots, then visit Settings > Site settings > Notifications. You'll see a list of websites that have permission to ping your phone, along with blocked sites. A toggle at the top of the screen lets you decide if sites can ask to send you notifications at all.

For users on Safari, open Settings, then tap Notifications > Safari. You can toggle off Allow Notifications or manage permissions for specific websites under Websites.

More ways to stop your mobile phone bugging you

• Use Airplane Mode – completely silence your phone by disabling wi-fi and mobile data. Just remember that you won't be able to make or receive emergency calls while it's turned on.
• Identify the apps taking up your time – on Android, go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing to view screen time stats. From an iPhone, try Settings > Screen Time.
• Uninstall or move apps to other devices – clearing out the apps you barely use can prevent frequent notifications. If you own a tablet, you could also consider moving your social media apps from your mobile to the tablet so they’re still accessible, just not always within easy reach.
• Rearrange your home screen – move distracting apps into folders to make them less tempting to open out of habit.
• Cut down on attention-grabbing widgets – remove widgets that constantly update with news, social media, or other live content.

While you're reviewing your smartphone settings, we also suggest making sure your data is secure – see 10 things every smartphone owner should do to keep their data safe.

Join Which? Tech Support

Get a year of super-useful advice

Solve your tech issues and get a year of our super-useful tech support for only £49 a year.

Join Which? Tech Support

Which? Tech Support can help you keep on top of your home tech. Our experts explain things clearly so that you can resolve issues and feel more confident using your devices.

Get unlimited 1-2-1 expert support:

• by phone – clear guidance on choosing, setting up, using and resolving issues with your home tech devices.
• by email – outline the issue, and we’ll email you our answer.
• by remote fix – we connect securely from our office to your home computer and resolve issues while you watch.
• in print – Which? Tech magazine – six issues a year delivered to your door.

Join Which? Tech Support.