Smartphones are now an essential part of communication in modern society. Whether it’s about a new smartphone launch, or a party invitation from your friends, or a new song from your favorite artist, a notification keeps us on track.
However, a study proves the fact that smartphone notifications are the reason people are having a hard time focusing on their work. Although these notifications are short in duration, they can break your concentration and trigger task-irrelevant thoughts. In fact, ring and buzz notifications make the situation much worse.
Solution
Basically every time your smartphone pings you, it causes severe distraction, one that may take some time for you to get over. The best solution to solve this issue is to disable smartphone notifications altogether.
The latest iterations of Android and iOS has made it much easier than ever, as Google and Apple finally added a single notification toggle, giving you the ability to turn off notifications on the go.
If you are tired of receiving excessive amounts of notifications every day, continue reading this article to learn how you can turn off notifications on Android and iOS devices.
How to turn off notifications on Android & iOS
- Disable Notifications Permanently
- Disable Notifications Temporarily
Disable Notifications Permanently
Android and iOS devices now give you the ability to disable notification service. Here’s how to do it:
On Android:
- First, go to your device Settings.
- Tap on Apps & Notifications settings.
- You will see a list of your downloaded apps with toggles on the right side. This lets you adjust notification settings for specific apps. You can toggle off notifications by tapping on the switch for each app.
- There’s also a single toggle on top of the Apps & Notifications menu which you can toggle off to disable all app notifications.
- If you want to adjust notification settings for app-specific events, you can do it by going to the app Settings > Notifications. Popular apps like Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, Gmail has a notification setting menu to give users more granular control over notifications. For example, you can toggle notifications on or off for DMs, follower and interaction alerts on Twitter and Instagram.
- If you don’t want to miss important notifications, you can enable silent alerts for specific apps from app notification settings or the device settings menu. This way you will receive the app notifications silently or without vibrating your phone, it doesn’t matter what your current sound profile is.
Note: Some features mentioned here are only available on devices running Android 8.1 Oreo or newer versions. Also, the Settings menu can vary depending on the custom Android skins that phone manufacturers use.
On iOS:
- First, go to Settings.
- Locate and tap on Notifications.
- Similar to Android, you will see a list of installed apps, and you can tap on them to toggle notifications on or off or make specific changes.
- There are three types of alerts that can be disabled or enabled for every app. These are Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners. If you want to disable app notification for a specific app, you can toggle off the Banners option. If you want more control over Banner-style alerts, below Banners you will find two options: Temporary and Persistent. Tapping on Temporary will make the app notifications disappear after a few seconds. If you tap on Persistent, the app notification will stay on your screen until you dismiss it.
- In the Notifications settings menu, there’s an option that lets you turn sounds and vibrations on or off for each app, similar to what Android offers in their notifications settings.
- You can adjust notifications for app-specific events in iOS, also similar to what we have seen on Android devices.
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Disable Notifications Temporarily
If you want to temporarily disable app notifications, enable Do Not Disturb. With Do Not Disturb, you can silence calls, alerts, and notifications that you get while your device is locked. You can also schedule Do Not Disturb and allow calls from certain people. Here’s how to do it on Android and iOS:
On Android:
- First, open device Settings.
- Tap on Sound.
- Now, tap on Do Not Disturb. This will mute all app notifications until you toggle it off. You can also enable it by pulling down the notification shade and tapping on DND from the Quick Settings panel.
- You can also set exceptions. Tap on See all exceptions to put alarms, calendar events and reminders in the exceptions list. You can also choose contacts that you want to receive calls from.
- If you want to block notifications off, tap on Notifications and click on Hidden to block notifications off until you disable DND.
- If you want DND to turn on automatically on your work hours, you can do it from the Schedule section.
On iOS:
Unlike Android, iOS lacks advanced controls when it comes to Do Not Disturb feature. Though there are some profiles for your needs.
- Go to Settings on your iOS device.
- Tap Do Not Disturb to toggle on the feature. You can also open Control Center (swipe down from the top right corner of the screen), tap the crescent moon (?) icon to enable Do Not Disturb. You can long-press it to quickly adjust your DND settings.
- You can set a schedule by toggling on Scheduled in Do Not Disturb settings. Tap on ‘From-to’ to set a time.
- You can also choose when you want to receive notifications, calls, and alerts from the same settings menu. These are:
- Bedtime:
When enabled, the lock screen will dim, calls will be silenced and notifications will be visible under ‘During Bedtime’ in the notification center until scheduled Do Not Disturb ends.
- Silence:
You can choose to silence notifications and calls always or only when your device is locked.
- Allow Calls From:
With this, you can allow calls from everyone or specific contacts saved on your device or iCloud.
- Repeated Calls:
If a person calls you twice within three minutes, the second one won’t be silenced. This can come in handy if someone has an emergency.
‘Do Not Disturb’ on iOS
Conclusion
Disabling notifications isn’t always a good idea. But sometimes it keeps you away from your smartphone and helps you concentrate on your work. Speaking of notifications, if you are tired of spam calendar event alerts, check our articles on how to stop receiving spam alerts on Google Calendar and Apple Calendar.
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Talha Ali is your tech generalist, covering a wide spectrum of topics within the ever-evolving world of technology. With a curiosity for the latest innovations, industry trends, and breakthroughs. Whether it’s hardware, software, emerging technologies, or the intersection of tech with daily life, Talha’s articles provide readers with a well-rounded perspective on the dynamic landscape of the tech industry.