Where to find and remove notifications you don't want
Deleting a notification means removing it from your notification center or clearing the badge that shows you have unread messages. On most devices, you swipe or tap to dismiss individual notifications as they arrive. On phones and computers, you can also clear entire groups of notifications at once — all email alerts, all social media, all from one app — without touching the app's settings.
The fastest way depends on what you're using. On an iPhone, swipe left on any notification to delete it. On Android, swipe left or right depending on your phone model. On Windows, click the X on any notification in the bottom right corner. On Mac, click the X next to each notification in the top right. You can also swipe up from the bottom on iPhone or swipe down from the top on Android to see your full notification history and delete from there.
Clearing all notifications at once is faster if you have dozens piling up. On iPhone, open Notification Center (swipe down from the top), then tap "Clear" next to any app name. On Android, open your notification shade and look for "Clear all" at the top. On Windows, click "Clear all notifications" in the notification panel. On Mac, there is no "clear all" button — you delete each notification individually or close Notification Center entirely.
Key Takeaways
- Swiping or tapping the X removes individual notifications without changing any app settings.
- Most phones let you clear all notifications from one app at once by tapping "Clear" in Notification Center.
- Deleting a notification does not stop future notifications from that app — you need to change notification settings in the app itself to do that.
- Clearing notifications does not delete messages, emails, or any data in the app — it only removes the alerts from your screen.
Clearing notifications on iPhone
On iPhone, notifications appear at the top of your screen when they arrive. To delete one when ready, swipe left on it and tap the trash icon. If you miss it, open Notification Center by swiping down from the top of the screen — you will see all your recent notifications grouped by app.
To clear all notifications from one app, find that app's name in Notification Center and tap "Clear" to the right of it. This removes every notification from that app without affecting notifications from other apps. If you want to delete only some notifications from an app, swipe left on each one individually and tap the trash icon.
Clearing notifications does not affect the actual messages or data in the app. If you delete a notification about an email, the email stays in your inbox. If you clear a notification about a text message, the text message is still there — you just removed the alert.
Clearing notifications on Android
On Android, notifications appear at the top of your screen and in your notification shade. To access the shade, swipe down from the top of the screen twice — the first swipe shows quick settings, the second shows your full notification history.
To delete one notification, swipe it left or right depending on your phone model — most newer phones swipe left. To clear all notifications at once, look for "Clear all" at the top of the notification shade and tap it. To clear notifications from only one app, swipe left or right on that app's notification group and look for a delete or clear option.
Some Android phones also let you long-press a notification to see options like "Remove this notification" or "Manage notifications for this app." These options vary by manufacturer — Samsung phones, Google Pixels, and other brands each have slightly different layouts, but the core action of swiping to delete works on all of them.
Clearing notifications on Windows
On Windows, notifications appear in the bottom right corner of your screen. Each notification has an X button in the top right corner — click it to delete that notification when ready. Notifications also appear in the notification panel, which you can open by clicking the notification icon in the system tray (bottom right of the taskbar).
In the notification panel, you can click the X on any individual notification to delete it, or click "Clear all notifications" at the top to remove every notification at once. You can also right-click a notification to see options like "Manage notifications for this app," which takes you to the app's notification settings.
Clearing a notification does not stop Windows or the app from sending more. If you want to stop notifications from an app entirely, you need to go into Settings > System > Notifications and turn off notifications for that specific app.
Clearing notifications on Mac
On Mac, notifications appear in the top right corner of your screen. To delete one, click the X button on that notification. Notifications also collect in Notification Center, which you can open by clicking the notification icon in the top right corner of the menu bar (it looks like a bell or stack of lines).
In Notification Center, you can click the X on any notification to delete it. Unlike iPhone and Android, Mac does not have a "clear all" button — you must delete notifications one at a time. If you have many notifications, you can close Notification Center entirely by clicking outside it or pressing Escape, but this does not delete the notifications; it just hides them.
To prevent notifications from appearing in Notification Center in the first place, you need to change the app's notification settings in System Settings > Notifications. Deleting notifications from Notification Center is temporary — the next notification from that app will appear again unless you disable notifications in settings.
Clearing notifications on your email and messaging apps
Email and messaging apps often show notification badges — the red circles with numbers on the app icon — even after you have deleted the notification from your notification center. Clearing these badges requires opening the app itself.
In Gmail, open the app and the badge disappears once you view your inbox. In Outlook, the same applies — open the app and the unread count resets. In Messages or iMessage, open the conversation and the notification badge clears. In Slack or Teams, click on the channel or conversation to mark it as read.
Some apps let you mark all messages as read without opening each one. In Gmail, you can select all emails and mark them as read. In Slack, you can use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Escape to mark everything as read. Check your app's menu or settings to see if this option exists.
What happens when you delete a notification
Deleting a notification removes only the alert from your screen. The underlying message, email, text, or data stays in the app. If you delete a notification about a calendar event, the event is still on your calendar. If you delete a notification about a package delivery, the tracking information is still there.
Deleting a notification also does not change any settings. The app will continue to send you notifications in the future unless you go into the app's settings and turn notifications off. Clearing your notification center is a temporary action — it cleans up your screen but does not affect how the app behaves going forward.
If you want to stop notifications from an app permanently, you need to change the notification settings within that app or in your device's system settings. That is a separate step from deleting the notifications that are already there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting a notification delete the message or email?
No. Deleting a notification removes only the alert from your notification center or screen. The actual message, email, or data stays in the app. If you want to delete the message itself, you need to open the app and delete it from there.
Will the app send me more notifications if I clear them all?
Yes. Clearing notifications does not change the app's settings. The app will continue to send notifications until you go into the app's settings or your device's notification settings and turn them off for that app.
Can I delete notifications from just one app without affecting others?
Yes. On iPhone and Android, you can tap "Clear" next to a specific app's name in Notification Center to delete only that app's notifications. On Windows and Mac, you delete notifications one at a time, but you can select all notifications from one app and delete them together.
What is the difference between deleting a notification and disabling notifications?
Deleting removes notifications that are already on your screen or in your notification center. Disabling stops the app from sending new notifications in the future. You need to do both if you want the app to stop bothering you entirely.
Why do some apps show a badge number even after I delete the notification?
The badge number shows unread items in the app, not just unread notifications. You need to open the app and mark those items as read to clear the badge. Deleting the notification alert does not affect the badge.