Where to find and control your notifications

Notifications on iPhone are controlled in two places: the app itself and your iPhone's Settings. To turn off notifications from a specific app, go to Settings > Notifications, find the app in the list, and toggle off Allow Notifications. This stops all alerts from that app — badges, sounds, and banners. If you want to keep some notifications but silence others, you can customize each app individually instead of turning them off entirely.

You can also manage notifications directly from your lock screen or notification center. When a notification appears, press and hold it, tap Manage, then choose Turn Off for that app or Deliver Quietly to let notifications through without sound or vibration. This method is faster if you only want to adjust one or two apps right now.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to Settings > Notifications to see every app that sends alerts and turn off the ones you don't need.
  • Turning off Allow Notifications completely silences an app; Deliver Quietly lets notifications through without sound or vibration.
  • You can customize notification style (banners, alerts, or none), sound, and badge icons for each app separately.
  • Disabling notifications does not delete your data or affect how the app works — it only stops the alerts.

Turning off notifications for individual apps

Open Settings and scroll down to find Notifications. Tap it, and you will see a list of every app on your phone that has permission to send notifications. Apps are listed in the order they most recently sent you an alert, so frequently used ones appear near the top.

Find the app you want to silence and tap its name. At the top of that app's settings page, you will see a toggle labeled Allow Notifications. Tap it to turn it off. Once you do, that app cannot send you any notifications at all — no sounds, no badges on the app icon, no alerts on your lock screen. The app will still work normally; it just will not try to get your attention.

Keeping notifications but removing the sound and vibration

If you want to see notifications from an app but do not want it buzzing or chiming at you, use Deliver Quietly instead of turning notifications off completely. In the Notifications settings for that app, scroll down and toggle on Deliver Quietly. Notifications will still arrive and appear in your notification center, but your phone will not make a sound or vibrate.

This is useful for apps like email or news that you want to check on your own time, without interruption. The notifications are still there if you swipe down to your notification center — you just will not be interrupted by them throughout the day.

Customizing how notifications look and behave

For apps you want to keep notifications from, you can fine-tune exactly how they alert you. In the Notifications settings for each app, you can choose the Notification Style: Banners (which appear at the top and disappear), Alerts (which stay on screen until you dismiss them), or None (which sends nothing at all).

You can also control whether the app shows a red badge with a number on its icon, whether it plays a sound, and whether it vibrates. Some apps let you choose a specific sound instead of the default. If an app sends too many notifications, you can turn off Allow Notifications for it entirely, or use Deliver Quietly to keep notifications without the interruption.

Silencing notifications by app category

Some apps send different types of notifications — messages, reminders, promotions, updates. If you want to receive some types but not others, check whether the app has notification categories in its own settings. Open the app itself, go to its settings or preferences menu, and look for a Notifications section. Many apps let you turn off marketing emails or promotional alerts while keeping important messages on.

This approach is more precise than using iPhone's system settings, because you are controlling the app's own behavior rather than blocking all its alerts. For example, you might turn off promotional notifications from a shopping app but keep order updates on, or turn off group chat notifications but keep direct messages.

Managing notifications on your lock screen and notification center

You do not have to go into Settings every time you want to adjust a notification. When an alert appears on your lock screen or in your notification center, press and hold it. A menu will appear with options including Manage. Tap that, and you can choose Turn Off to disable all notifications from that app, or Deliver Quietly to silence it without turning it off completely.

You can also swipe left on a notification in your notification center to see a trash icon and a settings icon. The settings icon takes you directly to that app's notification settings in the Settings app. This is the fastest way to adjust a notification that is bothering you right now.

What happens when you turn off notifications

Turning off notifications does not affect the app itself or your data. The app will continue to work normally — it will sync, update, and store information just as it did before. You straightforward will not receive alerts. If someone sends you a message in an app with notifications turned off, the message will still arrive and be stored; you just will not be notified about it until you open the app yourself.

You can turn notifications back on at any time by going to Settings > Notifications, finding the app, and toggling Allow Notifications back on. There is no penalty for turning notifications off and on repeatedly, and it does not cost you anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Turning off notifications in Settings will stop alerts, but the messages and calls will still come through. You just will not be notified about them. For phone calls and text messages specifically, you can control notifications separately from the Phone and Messages apps in Settings > Notifications.

Can I turn off notifications for just one person or group chat?

It depends on the app. In Messages, you can mute a conversation by opening it, tapping the contact name at the top, and toggling on Hide Alerts. In other apps like WhatsApp or Slack, look for a mute option within the conversation itself. This silences that specific chat without affecting notifications from other conversations.

What is the difference between turning off notifications and Do Not Disturb?

Turning off notifications silences only that specific app. Do Not Disturb silences all notifications, calls, and alerts on your entire phone, but you can set it to allow calls from favorites or repeat callers. Do Not Disturb is better for a meeting or bedtime; turning off individual notifications is better for apps that bother you regularly.

If I turn on Deliver Quietly, will I still see notification badges on the app icon?

By default, yes — Deliver Quietly removes sound and vibration but keeps badges. If you want to remove badges too, go to Settings > Notifications > [App Name] and toggle off Badges. You can have any combination: notifications with sound, notifications without sound, or no notifications at all.

Do I need to restart my phone after changing notification settings?

No. Changes to notification settings take effect when ready. You do not need to restart your phone or close and reopen the app.