You can turn off almost every Facebook notification, and the settings are scattered across three different places

Facebook sends notifications through four channels: your phone (push notifications), your email inbox, your browser, and the red notification badges on the app itself. You can disable each one separately, which means you might think you've turned off notifications when you've only silenced one type. The fastest route is to go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Notifications on your phone or computer, but you'll also need to check your email settings and your phone's system settings to fully stop them.

The reason notifications are scattered is that Facebook treats them as three separate systems: what the app is allowed to send you, what your phone's operating system is allowed to deliver, and what your email provider receives. Turning off notifications in the Facebook app alone won't stop emails from arriving, and turning off push notifications on your phone won't stop the red badge count from appearing on the app icon.

Key Takeaways

  • Facebook notifications live in three places: the Facebook app settings, your phone's system settings, and your email inbox, and you need to adjust all three to fully stop them.
  • Push notifications (the alerts that pop up on your phone) are controlled both by Facebook and by your phone's operating system, so disabling one without the other won't work.
  • Email notifications from Facebook come from a separate system and require you to change settings in your email account or in Facebook's email preferences, not just the app.
  • You can customize which types of notifications you receive rather than turning them all off — for example, you can keep messages but silence friend requests and likes.

Turning off push notifications on iPhone

On iPhone, you need to change settings in two places. First, go to Settings → Notifications → Facebook and toggle off "Allow Notifications". This stops Facebook from sending anything to your phone's notification system. If you only do this step, Facebook will still try to send notifications, but your phone will block them before they reach you.

Second, open the Facebook app itself and go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Notifications. Scroll down and tap "Notifications" under the Preferences section. Here you'll see options like "Likes and Comments on Your Posts", "Friend Requests", "Messages", and "Events". You can turn off each category individually or disable all of them. Turning off notifications in the app tells Facebook not to bother sending them in the first place, which also saves your phone's battery.

If you want to keep some notifications but silence others, this is where you do it. For example, you might want to receive messages but not likes, or event invitations but not friend suggestions. Toggle each category on or off based on what you actually want to see.

Turning off push notifications on Android

Android works similarly to iPhone but the menu names are slightly different. Open Settings on your phone, search for "Notifications", and find Facebook in the list of apps. Tap it and toggle off "Show Notifications". This prevents your phone from displaying anything Facebook tries to send.

Then open the Facebook app and go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Notifications. The options are the same as iPhone: you can turn off entire categories like "Likes and Comments", "Messages", "Friend Requests", or "Events". You can also scroll down to find "In-App Notifications" and toggle that off if you want to stop the red badge count from appearing on the app icon.

Stopping Facebook email notifications

Facebook sends emails about likes, comments, friend requests, event invitations, and group activity. These come from a separate system than push notifications, so you need to change your email settings separately. Open the Facebook app or website and go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Emails. You'll see a list of email types: "Likes and Comments", "Friend Requests", "Events", "Groups", and others.

Uncheck the box next to any email type you don't want to receive. If you want to stop all Facebook emails at once, scroll to the bottom and click "Unsubscribe from all emails". Facebook will send you a confirmation email asking you to verify the unsubscribe, and you'll need to click the link in that email to complete it.

If you've already unsubscribed from Facebook emails but they keep arriving, check your email account's settings. Some email providers let you create filters that automatically delete or archive messages from specific senders. You can also mark Facebook emails as spam, which trains your email provider to send future ones to your spam folder automatically.

Turning off browser notifications on desktop

If you use Facebook in a web browser on your computer, your browser itself can send notifications even if you've disabled them in the app. Open Facebook.com in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, and look for a bell icon in the address bar. Click it and select "Block" or "Don't Allow" when the browser asks if Facebook can send notifications.

You should also change the notification settings within Facebook itself. Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner, then Settings & Privacy → Settings → Notifications. The desktop version has the same categories as the mobile app: you can turn off notifications by type or disable them all at once.

What happens when you turn off notifications

Turning off notifications does not delete your Facebook account, hide your profile, or change your privacy settings. It only stops Facebook from alerting you about activity. You can still log in and see your feed, messages, and friend requests whenever you choose to open the app or website. The notifications straightforward won't interrupt you.

If you turn off all notifications but later want to turn some back on, you can reverse any of these steps. Go back to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Notifications and toggle the categories back on. You can also change your mind about push notifications by going to your phone's Settings and allowing Facebook notifications again.

Customizing notifications instead of turning them all off

You don't have to choose between getting all notifications or none. Most people find it useful to keep notifications for messages and close friends while turning off notifications for likes, comments, and group activity. This way you won't miss something important, but you won't be interrupted by every interaction on your posts.

To set this up, go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Notifications and toggle on only the categories that matter to you. For example, you might enable "Messages", "Friend Requests from Close Friends", and "Event Invitations" while disabling "Likes and Comments", "Group Activity", and "Suggested Posts". You can adjust these settings anytime without affecting anything else on your account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off notifications affect my messages?

No. Turning off notifications only stops the alerts. Your messages will still arrive in your inbox, and you can read them whenever you open Facebook. You can also keep message notifications on while turning off everything else if you want to be alerted only for direct messages.

Why do I still get Facebook emails after turning off notifications?

Email notifications are controlled separately from push notifications. You need to go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Emails and uncheck each email type individually. If emails continue after that, check whether you've confirmed the unsubscribe link Facebook sent you, or create a filter in your email provider to block them.

Can I turn off notifications for one person but keep them for others?

Facebook doesn't offer per-person notification controls. You can mute a specific person's posts so their activity doesn't show up in your feed, but you can't silence notifications from them while keeping notifications from everyone else. You can only control notifications by type — messages, likes, friend requests, and so on.

Do I need to turn off notifications in both the app and my phone settings?

Yes. Disabling notifications in the Facebook app tells Facebook not to send them, but your phone's system settings control whether your phone will deliver them if Facebook tries. Turning off both ensures nothing gets through. If you only change one, notifications may still appear.

What's the difference between turning off notifications and muting someone?

Muting someone hides their posts from your feed so you won't see their activity at all. Turning off notifications stops the alerts but doesn't hide anything — you'll still see posts and activity if you scroll through your feed. They serve different purposes depending on what you want to avoid.