Where to find notification settings on your iPhone
Open the Settings app — the gray icon with gears on your home screen. Scroll down until you see Notifications and tap it. You are now in the main notification control center where you can turn off alerts for individual apps or change how they appear.
The Notifications screen shows every app installed on your phone that can send you alerts. Some apps appear here even if you have never seen a notification from them — they are set to send alerts by default. You control each one separately, so you can silence your email while keeping text messages loud, or turn off banking alerts while keeping calendar reminders.
Key Takeaways
- Notifications are controlled app by app in Settings > Notifications, not in one master on-off switch.
- Turning off "Allow Notifications" completely silences an app; turning off "Sounds" keeps the alert on screen but removes the noise.
- Focus modes let you create schedules where certain apps stay silent during work hours or bedtime without permanently disabling them.
- Badge icons (the red numbers on app icons) can be turned off separately from sounds and banners.
- Do Not Disturb silences all notifications at once but does not delete them — they wait in your notification center until you turn it off.
Turning off notifications for a single app
From the Notifications screen, find the app you want to silence and tap its name. The most direct option is Allow Notifications at the top — toggle this off and that app will send you nothing. No sounds, no banners, no badges on the icon. The app still works normally; it just stops trying to get your attention.
If you want to keep seeing notifications but remove the sound, scroll down to Sounds and toggle that off instead. The alert will still appear on your lock screen and in your notification center, but your phone will not make a noise or vibrate. This is useful for apps you check regularly but do not need to interrupt you when ready.
You can also turn off Badges separately — these are the red circles with numbers that appear on app icons. Some people find these distracting even when they have silenced the sound. Toggle off Show as Badges and the number disappears, though the notification itself still arrives.
Using Focus modes to silence notifications on a schedule
Focus modes are more powerful than turning apps off permanently because they work on a schedule. Go to Settings > Focus and tap the plus sign to create a new Focus. Name it something like "Work" or "Sleep." You can set it to turn on automatically at certain times or when you arrive at a location.
Once you create a Focus, you choose which apps can still notify you while it is active. For example, your Work Focus might allow calls from contacts and messages from your boss, but silence everything else. When your scheduled time ends, the Focus turns off automatically and all your normal notifications return.
Focus modes are especially useful because they do not permanently change your settings. You can have a strict "Sleep" Focus that silences almost everything from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., then switch to a "Relaxed Evening" Focus that allows only calls and messages. The same app behaves differently depending on which Focus is active.
Using Do Not Disturb for when ready silence
Do Not Disturb is the fastest way to silence your phone right now without changing any permanent settings. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center, then tap the moon icon. Your phone will silence all notifications when ready.
While Do Not Disturb is on, notifications still arrive — they just do not make noise or light up your screen. When you turn Do Not Disturb off, all those waiting notifications appear in your notification center. This is different from turning off an app's notifications, which prevents the alert from arriving at all.
You can also schedule Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically. Go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb and tap Turn On Automatically. Set a time range, and your phone will silence notifications during those hours every day without you having to remember to turn it on.
Controlling how notifications look on your lock screen
Even if you keep notifications turned on, you can change how they appear. Go to Settings > Notifications, tap an app, and look for Lock Screen. You have three choices: show the full notification, show only a count (just the number of unread items), or hide the notification entirely from your lock screen.
This is useful for apps like email or social media where you want to know you have messages, but you do not want the content visible when someone picks up your phone. You can set email to show only a count on the lock screen while still showing the full message in your notification center when you unlock your phone.
Turning off notifications for all apps at once
There is no single setting that turns off every notification on your iPhone. However, you can achieve the same effect by creating a Focus mode that allows no apps to notify you. Go to Settings > Focus, create a new Focus, and do not add any apps to the allowed list. Then set it to turn on automatically all day.
Alternatively, use Do Not Disturb if you only need silence temporarily. For a permanent change, turning off notifications app by app gives you more control — you might want to keep emergency calls or messages from family even when you want everything else silent.
What happens to notifications you turn off
When you turn off "Allow Notifications" for an app, those alerts straightforward do not arrive. They are not stored anywhere; they disappear. The app has no record that it tried to notify you.
When you use Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode, the notifications still arrive on Apple's servers, but your phone does not show them to you until the mode ends. Once you turn off Do Not Disturb, those waiting notifications appear in your notification center so you can see what you missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off notifications for just one contact?
Not directly through notifications settings. However, you can create a Focus mode that allows only certain contacts to reach you. Go to Settings > Focus, create a new Focus, and under "Allowed Notifications" choose "Calls From" or "Messages From" and select specific people. This lets you silence everyone except your family or closest friends.
Why do I still get notifications after turning them off?
Check that you toggled off "Allow Notifications" for that specific app, not just the sound. Also verify that no Focus mode is overriding your settings — a Focus can allow notifications from an app even if you have turned them off globally. Go to Settings > Focus and check which Focus is currently active.
Do notifications use battery if I turn off sounds?
Turning off sounds does not significantly affect battery life. Notifications arriving on your phone uses minimal power whether the sound is on or off. If you want to save battery, turning off "Allow Notifications" entirely for apps you do not need is more effective than just silencing the sound.
Can I turn off notifications for text messages but keep calls?
Yes. Go to Settings > Notifications > Messages and turn off "Allow Notifications." Then go to Settings > Phone and make sure notifications are still on there. Calls and messages are controlled separately, so you can silence one without affecting the other.
What is the difference between turning off notifications and deleting an app?
Turning off notifications silences the app but leaves it installed and working on your phone. You can still open it and use it normally. Deleting an app removes it entirely. If you just want an app to stop bothering you, turning off notifications is the right choice.