The fastest way to silence Facebook notifications

Facebook sends notifications through three separate channels — your phone's lock screen, your email inbox, and the notification bell inside the app itself. To stop them completely, you need to turn them off in all three places, because silencing one does not silence the others. The quickest route is your phone's settings, which controls the lock screen and sound alerts before they ever reach you.

On an iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook, then toggle Allow Notifications to off. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Facebook > Notifications, then toggle Show Notifications to off. This stops the buzzing and the badge number on the app icon. If you want to keep some notifications but silence others, you can instead choose Allow Notifications but turn off Sound and Badges — this lets messages through without the noise.

Key Takeaways

  • Phone settings control lock screen and sound alerts; turning off notifications there stops most of what you hear and see.
  • Facebook's in-app notification settings let you pick which types of alerts you receive — messages, friend requests, comments — without turning everything off.
  • Email notifications are separate and require a trip to Facebook's settings page on a computer or browser.
  • Turning off notifications does not delete your messages or hide your account; it only stops the alerts from reaching you.
  • You can silence notifications for a set time period using your phone's Do Not Disturb or Focus modes instead of turning them off permanently.

Controlling notifications inside the Facebook app

If you want to keep some notifications but turn off others — for example, getting messages but not friend requests — use Facebook's built-in settings. Open the Facebook app, tap the three horizontal lines (menu) at the bottom right, scroll down to Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings. Look for Notifications in the menu.

From there, you will see categories like Messages, Friend Requests, Comments on Your Posts, Likes, and Tags. Tap each one to choose whether you want notifications, and whether you want them to make a sound. You can turn off the sound but keep the notification badge (the red number on the app icon), or turn off both. This approach takes longer than silencing everything at the phone level, but it gives you fine control over what reaches you.

Stopping email notifications from Facebook

Facebook also sends notifications to your email address. These arrive in your inbox as separate messages and do not depend on your phone settings. To turn them off, you need to visit Facebook's settings on a computer or in a mobile browser.

Go to facebook.com in a browser, click the downward arrow at the top right, then select Settings & Privacy > Settings. On the left side, click Notifications. Scroll down to Email and you will see a list of notification types — Friend Requests, Messages, Comments, and so on. Click each one and choose Off. You can also click Unsubscribe at the bottom of any Facebook email itself, which removes you from that specific type of notification without logging in.

Using Do Not Disturb to pause notifications temporarily

If you want to silence Facebook for a few hours rather than permanently, your phone's built-in focus modes are faster than changing settings. On iPhone, swipe down from the top right to open Control Center, then tap Focus and choose Do Not Disturb. On Android, swipe down twice to open Quick Settings, then tap Do Not Disturb. Both will silence all notifications, including Facebook, until you turn the mode off.

You can also set a schedule so Do Not Disturb turns on automatically at bedtime and off when you wake up. On iPhone, go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb > Schedule. On Android, go to Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb > Schedules. This way you do not have to remember to turn it on and off yourself.

What happens when you turn off notifications

Turning off Facebook notifications does not delete your messages, hide your profile, or change anything about your account. People can still message you, comment on your posts, and send you friend requests — you straightforward will not be alerted when they do. The next time you open the Facebook app, you will see all the activity that happened while notifications were off, just without the buzzing or email.

If you turn off notifications and then change your mind, you can turn them back on using the same steps. There is no waiting period or penalty. Some people turn off all notifications but check Facebook once a day on purpose, which gives them control over when they look at the app instead of letting it interrupt them.

Handling notifications from Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is a separate app from Facebook itself, and its notifications are controlled separately. If you have both apps installed, turning off Facebook notifications will not silence Messenger. Open the Messenger app, tap your profile picture at the top left, then scroll down to Notifications & Sounds. From there, you can turn off notifications entirely or choose which types you want to receive.

You can also mute individual conversations without turning off Messenger notifications altogether. Open a conversation, tap the person's name at the top, then toggle Mute Notifications on. That conversation will not send you alerts, but you will still get notifications from other people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will people know I turned off notifications?

No. Turning off notifications is invisible to other people. They cannot see whether you have notifications on or off, and it does not change when you appear online or offline. Your read receipts (the checkmarks showing you have seen a message) are controlled separately in Messenger settings.

Can I turn off notifications for just one person?

On Facebook, you can mute a person's posts so you do not see their updates in your feed, but that is different from notifications. In Messenger, you can mute notifications from a specific conversation. Open the chat, tap the person's name, and toggle Mute Notifications on. You will still see their messages when you open Messenger, but you will not get alerts.

Why do I still get notifications after turning them off?

You likely turned off notifications in one place but not another. Check your phone's notification settings for Facebook, the in-app settings, and your email. Also check whether you have Messenger installed separately — it has its own notification controls. If you are still seeing notifications after checking all three, restart your phone, which sometimes clears stuck notification settings.

Can I turn off notifications but keep the red badge on the app icon?

Yes. On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook, turn off Allow Notifications, but keep Badges on. On Android, the process varies by phone, but generally you can turn off notifications while keeping badges in the app settings. This way you see that you have unread activity without getting alerts.