How to turn off and manage Android notifications
Turn off notifications for one Android app, mute a single category, set silent versus alerting, use Do Not Disturb and snooze, and stop the prompt from new apps.
The fastest way to stop notifications from a single app is to touch and hold one of its notifications and tap the settings that appear, or open Settings > Notifications > App settings and switch that app off. Android gives you finer controls than an all-or-nothing switch, too: you can silence one kind of alert, keep the rest, and quiet everything on a schedule. Here is how each control works and when to reach for it. The paths below use stock Pixel wording; Samsung’s One UI and other skins move a few menus around, so treat the routes as a guide. On Android 16, a Notification cooldown option can automatically lower the volume and vibration of a single app that fires off a rapid burst of alerts, though as of 2026 it ships enabled on Pixel and has not reached Samsung’s One UI 8.
Turn off notifications for one app
There are two routes to the same result, per Google’s guide to controlling notifications on Android. From a notification: swipe down from the top of the screen, touch and hold the notification, then tap the gear or Settings. From there you can turn off all notifications for that app, or just the type in front of you. From the menus: open Settings, tap Notifications, then App settings (some phones say App notifications), find the app in the list, and turn its switch off.
On Android 13 and later, an app’s notifications are also a permission. You can revoke it at Settings > Apps > the app > Permissions > Notifications and set it to Don’t allow, which is the same switch the app asked about when you installed it. Google documents this route under changing an app’s permissions.
Categories, silent, and alerting
Most apps split their alerts into categories, which Android calls channels. A chat app separates direct messages from group chatter; a shopping app separates order updates from promotions. Open the app inside App settings and you can leave the useful category on and switch the noise off, instead of muting the whole app.
For a category or an app you want to keep but not hear, set it to Silent. A silent notification still appears in the shade, but the phone won’t ring, buzz, or light up for it. An alerting notification does the opposite: sound, vibration, and a message on the lock screen.
| Setting | Sound or vibration | Appears in the shade | Wakes or lights the screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alerting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Silent | No | Yes | No |
| Off (blocked) | No | No | No |
Do Not Disturb and snooze
When you want quiet without touching any app’s settings, use Do Not Disturb. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Do Not Disturb to silence sounds and vibrations for everything except what you allow. In Settings, under Modes or Sound & vibration depending on the phone, you can add exceptions so calls from starred contacts, alarms, or chosen apps still come through, and set a schedule so it turns on every night on its own. Google’s Do Not Disturb instructions note that system security notifications still show; those can’t be blocked.
Snooze is for a single notification you plan to handle later. First turn it on at Settings > Notifications > Allow notification snoozing, which works on Android 11 and up. Then, on any notification, tap the down arrow and tap Snooze, or swipe it slowly to the side and tap the clock. It disappears and returns after the time you pick.
Stop the prompt for every new app
On Android 13 and later, a newly installed app can’t send notifications until it asks and you agree. When the “Allow this app to send you notifications?” box appears, tap Don’t allow and the app stays quiet, with no need to hunt through settings afterward. If you already tapped Allow, undo it at Settings > Apps > the app > Permissions > Notifications, or from Settings > Notifications > App settings. There is no single switch that pre-denies every future app, but because the permission now defaults to off, each app has to earn its way in one prompt at a time.
Notifications are a quiet drain on attention and battery, so trimming them helps beyond a tidier shade. If your phone still feels busy or sluggish, it is worth learning to free up resources on a slow Android phone and to make the battery last longer. And for the alerts that arrive as texts and calls rather than app pushes, see how to stop spam texts and robocalls on Android.
Common questions
How do I stop one app from sending so many notifications at once?
On Android 16, open Settings > Notifications > Notification cooldown; when it is on, the phone automatically lowers the volume and vibration of an app that fires a rapid burst of alerts until the burst stops. As of 2026 this is a Pixel feature and has not reached Samsung’s One UI 8, where you instead set the noisy app, or its busiest category, to Silent.
Why do my notifications keep coming back after I turn them off?
A reinstall, a system update, or tapping Allow on the app’s permission prompt again can switch notifications back on. On Android 13 and later, the most reliable off switch is the notification permission at Settings > Apps > the app > Permissions > Notifications, set to Don’t allow.
Can I see notifications I already swiped away?
Yes. Turn on Notification history at Settings > Notifications > Notification history, and dismissed alerts from the last 24 hours are listed there so you can check anything you cleared by accident.
Does Do Not Disturb turn my notifications off for good?
No. Do Not Disturb only silences sounds and vibrations while it is active, and the notifications still collect in the shade. It changes no app’s on or off setting, so everything returns to normal the moment you turn it back off.