You can delete individual Facebook notifications, turn off notification types entirely, or adjust where notifications appear
Facebook notifications pile up fast — friend requests, comments, messages, event reminders, and ads all compete for your attention. You have three separate controls: delete notifications one at a time from your notification center, turn off entire categories of notifications in your settings, or change where notifications show up (your phone, email, or just inside Facebook). Most people need a combination of all three to actually reduce the noise.
The fastest route is to clear your notification center regularly, but that only removes what you see — it does not stop new ones from arriving. If you want fewer notifications overall, you have to change your settings. This takes five minutes and is worth doing once rather than clearing the same notifications every week.
Key Takeaways
- Delete individual notifications by opening your notification center (the bell icon) and clicking the X next to each one you want to remove.
- Turn off entire notification types in Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications by unchecking categories like "Comments on your posts" or "Friend requests".
- Control where notifications reach you — phone, email, or Facebook only — separately from whether you receive them at all.
- Muting a person or page stops their notifications without unfriending or unfollowing them, which is useful for accounts that post constantly.
- Facebook resets some notification settings when you update the app or change devices, so check your settings after major updates.
Delete notifications from your notification center
Open Facebook on your phone or computer. Look for the bell icon in the top menu bar — on phones it is usually in the bottom right, on computers it is in the top left. Tap or click it to open your notification center. You will see a list of recent notifications, newest first.
Hover over or long-press any notification you want to remove. An X button appears on the right side. Click or tap the X. The notification disappears from your center when ready. This does not change your settings — it only removes that one notification from your view. New notifications of the same type will still arrive.
If you have dozens of old notifications, you can clear them faster by scrolling to the bottom and looking for a "Clear all" or "Mark all as read" option, depending on your Facebook version. This removes them from view but does not stop future ones.
Turn off notification types in your settings
To actually reduce the number of notifications you receive, you need to change your notification settings. On a computer, click the downward arrow in the top right corner of Facebook, then select "Settings & Privacy" and then "Settings". On a phone, tap the three horizontal lines (menu icon) in the bottom right, scroll down to "Settings & Privacy", and tap "Settings".
Look for "Notifications" in the left menu on a computer, or scroll down on a phone until you find it. You will see a list of notification categories: "Comments on your posts", "Friend requests", "Messages", "Event invitations", "Suggested posts", and others. Each one has a toggle or checkbox next to it. Uncheck or turn off the ones you do not want to receive. For example, if you do not care about event invitations, turn that off. If you do not want to see suggestions for new pages or groups, turn that off too.
Facebook also lets you control notifications from specific people or pages. Search for the person or page, open their profile, tap the three dots menu, and select "Mute" or "Turn off notifications". This stops their notifications without unfriending or unfollowing them — they will not know you muted them.
Choose where notifications reach you
Facebook can send notifications to three places: your phone (as a push notification), your email inbox, or only inside Facebook itself. You can turn off one or two of these without turning off the others. For example, you might want notifications to reach your phone but not your email, or only inside Facebook.
In your Notifications settings, look for sections labeled "Where you receive notifications" or "Notification delivery". You will see options for "Push notifications" (phone), "Email notifications", and "In-app notifications" (only visible when you open Facebook). Toggle each one on or off based on where you want to see alerts. If you turn off push notifications, you will not get phone alerts, but you will still see notifications inside Facebook and in your email if those are on.
Email notifications are often the easiest to turn off if you find them annoying. Many people leave push notifications on for important messages but turn off email for everything else. Experiment with different combinations to find what works for you.
Stop notifications from specific apps and games
If you have connected games or apps to your Facebook account, they can send their own notifications. These are separate from Facebook's notifications and require their own settings change. Open Facebook, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings, and look for "Apps and websites" or "Connected apps". Find the app or game in the list, click it, and look for notification settings. You can usually turn off notifications for that app without disconnecting it entirely.
Some apps send notifications through Facebook's system, while others send them directly. If turning off the app's notification settings does not work, you may need to go into your phone's settings and turn off notifications for that specific app there. On iPhones, go to Settings > Notifications and find the app. On Android phones, go to Settings > Apps > Notifications and find the app.
What to do if notifications keep coming back
Facebook sometimes resets notification settings when you update the app, log in on a new device, or clear your browser cache. If you turn off a notification type and it comes back a few days later, you are not doing anything wrong — Facebook is just resetting it. Check your settings again after major app updates or if you notice notifications returning.
If a specific type of notification keeps coming back no matter what you do, try turning it off, waiting a day, and then checking again. If it is still on, take a screenshot of the setting and try turning it off a different way — for example, if turning it off in the main Notifications menu does not work, try muting that specific type of content from your feed instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting a notification stop Facebook from sending more like it?
No. Deleting a notification only removes it from your notification center. To stop receiving that type of notification, you have to change your settings. For example, deleting a "friend request" notification does not stop friend requests — you have to uncheck "Friend requests" in your Notifications settings.
If I mute someone, will they know?
No. Muting someone stops their notifications from reaching you, but they will not be notified that you muted them. They can still see your posts and message you. You can unmute them anytime by going to their profile and selecting "Unmute".
Can I turn off notifications for just one person without unfriending them?
Yes. Go to their profile, tap the three dots menu, and select "Mute" or "Turn off notifications from [name]". You will stay friends, but you will not see their posts in your feed or receive notifications about their activity. This is different from unfriending, which removes them from your friends list entirely.
Why do my notification settings keep changing after I update Facebook?
Facebook sometimes resets notification preferences when you update the app or log in on a new device. This is not intentional on your part — it is a quirk of how the app handles updates. Check your settings again after updating and adjust them if needed.
Can I turn off notifications but still see messages from my close friends?
Yes. In your Notifications settings, you can turn off most notification types but leave "Messages" on. You can also go to a specific person's profile and select "Mute notifications" while keeping messages enabled, so you will see their messages but not their other activity.