Where to find notification settings on your Android phone

Open Settings on your Android phone. The icon usually looks like a gear and sits on your home screen or in your app drawer. Scroll down until you see Apps or Applications — the exact name varies by phone maker, but it will be there.

Tap Apps, then look for Notifications or App Notifications. Some phones put this directly in the main Settings menu instead. If you cannot find it in Apps, go back to Settings and search for "notifications" using the search box at the top — most Android phones have one.

Once you are in the notification settings, you will see a list of every app on your phone. This is where you control which apps can send you alerts, sounds, and badges.

Key Takeaways

  • You can turn off notifications for individual apps by opening Settings, tapping Apps, finding the app name, and switching off the notification toggle.
  • Turning off notifications for an app does not delete the app or prevent it from working — it only stops the alerts.
  • You can silence notifications during specific hours using Do Not Disturb mode, which lets calls and texts from your contacts through while blocking everything else.
  • Some apps let you customize which types of notifications you receive, so you can keep important alerts while muting promotional ones.
  • Notification badges (the red numbers on app icons) can be turned off separately from sounds and pop-ups.

Turn off notifications for a single app

Find the app in your notification settings list. Tap on the app name — for example, if you want to stop Facebook notifications, tap Facebook. A menu will open showing what that app is allowed to do.

Look for a toggle or switch next to Notifications or Allow Notifications. Tap it to turn it off. The toggle will change color or position to show it is now disabled. That app will no longer send you any alerts, sounds, or badges.

If you want to keep the app but just silence it for now, you can always turn notifications back on the same way. Disabling notifications does not affect the app itself — it will still work normally when you open it.

Customize notifications instead of turning them all off

Some apps let you choose which notifications to receive. In the app's notification settings, look for options like Importance, Priority, or Notification Types. Tap on these to see what choices are available.

For example, Gmail might let you turn off promotional notifications while keeping messages from your contacts. Instagram might let you silence story notifications but keep direct messages. The options depend on the app — not every app offers this level of control.

If you see a Sound or Vibration option, you can turn off the noise or vibration while keeping the visual notification. This is useful if you want to see that something arrived without being startled by a sound.

Use Do Not Disturb to silence notifications during specific hours

Go back to your main Settings and search for Do Not Disturb or Quiet Hours. Tap it to open the settings. You will see an option to turn Do Not Disturb on and set the hours when you want it active — for example, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

When Do Not Disturb is on during those hours, all notifications will be silenced. Calls and texts from people in your Contacts or marked as Favorites will usually still come through, so important people can reach you. Everything else stays silent.

You can also turn on Do Not Disturb manually right now without setting a schedule. Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the quick settings panel, find Do Not Disturb, and tap it. This is useful when you are in a meeting or trying to focus.

Turn off notification badges and dots

Notification badges are the red circles with numbers that appear on app icons — they show how many unread messages or alerts you have. If these distract you, you can turn them off separately from other notifications.

In your notification settings, find the app and look for an option called Badge, Show Badge, or Badge Count. Tap the toggle to turn it off. The red number will disappear from that app's icon, even if notifications are still on.

Some phones also show a small dot instead of a number. This works the same way — find the badge setting and disable it. You will still receive notifications; you just will not see the visual reminder on the icon.

Manage notifications from your lock screen

When a notification arrives, you can control how it appears on your lock screen without going into Settings. Long-press (hold your finger on) the notification that appears. A menu will pop up with options like Turn Off, Manage, or See Less.

Tap Turn Off to stop that app from sending notifications. Tap Manage to open the app's full notification settings. Tap See Less if you want to keep notifications but reduce how often they appear.

This quick method is faster than going into Settings if you are already being bothered by a notification and want to silence it when ready.

Check notification settings within individual apps

Some apps have their own notification controls inside the app itself, separate from your phone's Settings. Open the app, tap the menu icon (usually three lines or three dots), and look for Settings or Preferences. Scroll down to find Notifications.

These app-level settings often give you more detailed control than the phone-level settings. For example, Twitter might let you turn off notifications for retweets but keep notifications for replies. YouTube might let you silence notifications about new uploads from channels you follow.

If you turn off notifications in your phone's Settings, the app-level settings do not matter — the app cannot send notifications anyway. But if you want fine-tuned control, check both places.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off notifications delete my messages or data?

No. Disabling notifications only stops the alerts from appearing. Your messages, emails, and data stay on your phone and in the app. When you open the app, everything will be there exactly as it was.

Can I turn off notifications for just one contact?

It depends on the app. Text messaging apps often let you mute notifications from specific people. Open the conversation, tap the contact name at the top, and look for Mute Notifications or Mute This Chat. Other apps like email may not offer this option.

What is the difference between Do Not Disturb and turning off notifications?

Turning off notifications for an app stops that app permanently from sending alerts. Do Not Disturb is temporary — it silences all notifications during the hours you set, but notifications turn back on automatically when the quiet period ends. Do Not Disturb also usually allows calls from your contacts through.

Why do some apps keep sending notifications even after I turned them off?

Check two places: your phone's notification settings for that app, and the app's own settings menu. If notifications are on in either place, the app can still send alerts. You may need to turn them off in both locations. Also check if the app has a separate setting for different notification types — you might have turned off one type but left another on.

Can I schedule notifications to come back on at a certain time?

You can use Do Not Disturb to schedule quiet hours, but you cannot schedule notifications for a specific app to turn back on automatically. Once you disable notifications for an app, they stay off until you manually turn them back on in Settings.