How to remove notifications on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Notifications can be very useful: they remind you of upcoming appointments, new episodes of podcasts you like, alert you to important emails or messages you don’t want to miss, or notify you that you’ve received messages on your social media platform. preferred.

But notification overload is no fun. Here’s how to reduce the number of notifications you get on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

And if you want, you can also configure your notifications, we explain how in this article.

How to stop notifications from certain apps

There may be some notifications you want to receive and others you’d rather not see. In that case, it’s easy to adjust which apps can send you notifications.

When you first install an app, you’ll usually be asked if you want to allow notifications. While you may allow it at the time, if the various messages are too much, you can always turn off notifications for that specific app via Settings.

Stop notifications on iPhone and iPad

These are the necessary steps:

  1. Open Settings > Notifications.
  2. Scroll down and select the app you want to disable.
  3. Toggle the allow notifications button on to turn them off.

remove notifications

Stop notifications on a Mac

  1. Open System Preferences.
  2. Select Notifications.
  3. Click the app you want to disable.
  4. Toggle the Allow notifications button on to turn them off.

remove notifications

How to hide notification previews (keep messages private)

One reason you might want to stop notifications is if they risk revealing information to someone else. Most notifications show a summary of their content, which can be a nightmare if you’re trying to plan a party for someone in your family or waiting for a job interview invitation while you’re at your current place of work.

Luckily, it’s possible to remove content forecasts without stopping notifications entirely. This is how you do it:

Hide notification previews on iPhone and iPad

  1. Open Settings > Notifications.
  2. Tap a specific app or go to the next step for a general setting.
  3. Tap Show Previews.
  4. Select Never.

remove notifications

Hide notification previews on a Mac

  1. Open System Preferences.
  2. Select Notifications.
  3. Choose a specific app or go to the Show Previews option at the bottom of the panel.
  4. Click Show Previews and select ‘Never’.

remove notifications

How to turn off all notifications

There is no direct setting that allows you to disable all notifications, but there are features that achieve the same goal. In iOS 15/iPadOS 15 you can use the new Scheduled Resume feature that will hold all non-urgent notifications until a certain time of day. They will then present themselves to you when you deem it most convenient.

To set it up, follow these steps:

Turn off notifications on iPhone or iPad

  1. Open Settings > Notifications.
  2. Click Scheduled Summary.
  3. Turn on Scheduled Summary.
  4. Select Continue.
  5. Select the apps you want to include in your Summary.
  6. Click the Add button [número de] Applications.
  7. Set the time you want the Summary to appear.
  8. Tap Turn on notification summary.

remove notifications

Turn off notifications on Mac

If you use macOS Monterey, you can make use of the new Focus mode that will temporarily pause all notifications or allow only specific ones to arrive. Read how to set up and use Focus on Mac for more details.

Otherwise, you can go to System Preferences > Notifications > Do Not Disturb and then set the hours you want notifications to remain silent.

remove notifications

Do iPhone notifications consume data?

One of the reasons you might want to turn off notifications is that you’re worried about how much data your iPhone could consume by constantly accessing the internet to check for push notifications. While this process involves data, it should only be a minimal amount and certainly not enough to burn through your data plan.

However, if you are concerned about this, you can check how much data is used by opening ‘Settings > Mobile data > System services and checking push notifications’.

remove notifications

We hope that all these tips will help you control all the possible distractions that come with being connected to the Internet. If you still feel like your mind isn’t at ease, maybe try mindfulness meditation apps like Headspace or Balance to see if that makes things a little easier for you.

Original article published in English on our sister website Macworld UK.