Chrome notifications are messages websites send to your desktop or phone, separate from your browser tabs

When you visit a website, it may ask permission to send you notifications — alerts that appear on your screen even when you are not looking at that tab. You can see these notifications in your system tray (Windows), notification center (Mac), or lock screen (Android). Once you grant permission, that website can send notifications whenever it wants, unless you change your mind.

Removing notifications means two things: turning off notifications you have already allowed, and blocking new notification requests before they pile up. Both take less than a minute, and you can do them site by site or all at once.

Key Takeaways

  • You can block notifications from a single website by clicking the lock icon in the address bar, finding Notifications, and switching it to Block.
  • To stop all websites from asking for notification permission, go to Chrome Settings > Privacy and Security > Site Settings > Notifications and choose Block.
  • Websites you have already allowed can still send notifications until you change their permission — blocking future requests does not erase past permission.
  • On Android, notification settings live in your phone's system settings under Apps, not in Chrome itself.

Block notifications from one website at a time

The fastest way to silence a single noisy website is through the address bar. Go to the website, then look at the left side of the address bar where you see a lock icon (or an info icon on some sites). Click it.

A small menu will pop up. Look for "Notifications" in that menu. If the site has permission, you will see a toggle or dropdown next to it. Click the dropdown and choose "Block". If you see "Ask (default)" or "Allow", the site already has permission — change it to "Block".

After you block it, that website cannot send you notifications anymore. If it asks again later, you will see the request and can deny it. This method works for any website, and the setting sticks until you change it back.

Stop all websites from asking for notification permission

If you are tired of websites asking for permission in the first place, you can tell Chrome to block all notification requests automatically. Open Chrome and click the three-line menu in the top right corner. Go to Settings.

In Settings, click "Privacy and security" on the left side. Then click "Site settings". Scroll down until you see "Notifications" and click it. At the top, you will see options including "Allow" and "Block". Click "Block".

Now Chrome will automatically deny any website that tries to ask for notification permission. You will not see the requests anymore. If you change your mind later and want to allow notifications from a specific site, you can come back to this same menu and add that site to an exceptions list.

Clear notifications from websites you have already allowed

Blocking future notifications does not stop websites you have already allowed from sending them. To see which sites have permission, go back to Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications. Under "Allow", you will see a list of every website that can send you notifications.

Click the three dots next to any site name and choose "Remove". That site loses permission when ready and cannot send notifications until you grant it again. You can remove them one by one, or if you want to clear them all at once, look for a "Clear all" or "Remove all" option (this varies by Chrome version).

Turn off notifications on Android

On Android phones, Chrome notification settings are in your phone's system settings, not in the Chrome app itself. Open your phone's Settings app, then go to Apps or process Manager. Find and tap Chrome.

Look for "Notifications" or "Permissions" (the exact name depends on your Android version). Tap it, then toggle off "Allow notifications" or "Show notifications". This stops all Chrome notifications from appearing on your phone.

If you want to block notifications from specific websites instead of all of them, you can still use the address bar method described above — that works on Android too. Go to the website, tap the lock or info icon, find Notifications, and switch it to Block.

Understand the difference between Chrome notifications and email notifications

Website notifications (the kind you control in Chrome settings) are different from email notifications. Email notifications come from your email provider and are controlled in your email account settings, not in Chrome. If a website is sending you emails instead of notifications, you need to unsubscribe from those emails or change settings in your email account.

Similarly, some websites send notifications through their own apps rather than through Chrome. If you have installed a website's app on your phone, that app may have its own notification settings in your phone's system settings. Turning off Chrome notifications will not affect those.

What to do if a website keeps asking for notification permission

Some websites ask for notification permission repeatedly, even after you deny it. This is annoying but fixable. Each time you see the request, look for a "Block" option or a checkbox that says "Block this site from sending notifications". Check that box before you dismiss the request.

If the site keeps asking anyway, you can use the address bar method to block it permanently. Go to the site, click the lock icon, find Notifications, and set it to Block. That overrides the site's repeated requests and prevents the dialog from showing up again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will blocking notifications stop me from seeing important alerts from websites I use?

It depends on the website. Some sites use notifications for genuinely important things like package delivery updates or calendar reminders. Others use them for marketing. You can block notifications from sites you do not care about and allow them from sites where you actually want alerts. The choice is yours for each site.

Can I block notifications from ads but allow them from the main website?

Not directly — you block or allow notifications from the website itself, not from individual ads on that site. If a website is sending you unwanted notifications, blocking that website's notifications will stop all of them, including any ads it displays.

What happens if I clear my browsing data — does that erase my notification settings?

It depends on what you clear. If you clear "Cookies and other site data" but not "Cached images and files", your notification settings usually stay. If you clear everything, your notification permissions may reset. You can always re-block sites afterward using the methods above.

Do notification settings sync across my devices if I use the same Google account?

Chrome syncs some settings across devices, but notification permissions are typically stored locally on each device. If you block notifications on your laptop, you may still see them on your phone. You can block them on each device separately using the same steps.

Why do some websites show a notification permission request and others do not?

Websites can only ask for notification permission if you visit them. Some sites ask when ready when you land on the page, others ask only when you interact with them (like clicking a button). If you have already denied permission to a site, it will not ask again unless you reset your Chrome settings.