What's that notification, and how do I get rid of it. A field guide.

A complete, current reference for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Pixel. Save it. Text it to your mom.

The little red dot. The 2am buzz. The breaking news banner from a network she does not watch. The Candy Crush reminder that her lives are full. The weather alert for a storm in a city she visited once in 2019.

If you have a mother, an aunt, a mother-in-law, or a friend over 60, you have heard this question. Probably this week. Possibly today: "What is this notification? How do I get rid of it?"

This is the field guide. Step-by-step instructions for iPhone (iOS 17 and 18), Samsung Galaxy (One UI 6), and Google Pixel (Android 14 and 15). Save it. Share it. Text it to whoever has been asking you the same question for three years.

## Why your phone keeps doing this

Apps are designed to bring you back. The notification is the leash. Every app developer wants permission to ping you because every ping is a chance you might open the app, watch an ad, buy something, or scroll. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at UC Irvine who has spent decades studying how interruptions affect attention, found in her research that it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully regain focus after a single interruption. The average smartphone user receives more than 46 push notifications per day, according to data from mobile analytics firm Airship. That is not incidental. It is the product.

You can revoke that permission. The phone will not punish you. Your weather will still work. Your texts will still arrive. Your kids can still call.

## How to turn off notifications on iPhone (iOS 17 and 18)

The Settings app is the gray gear icon. Tap it.

**To turn off one app's notifications completely:**

1. Open **Settings**. 2. Tap **Notifications**. 3. Scroll down to find the app. Apps are listed alphabetically. 4. Tap the app name. 5. Toggle **Allow Notifications** off.

Done. That app cannot ping you again until you turn it back on.

**To keep notifications but make them quieter:**

On that same screen, you will see checkboxes for Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners. Untick the ones you do not want. Many people leave Notification Center on and turn Lock Screen and Banners off. The notification is still there if you go look for it; it just does not interrupt you when you walk past the phone on the counter.

You can also turn off **Sounds** and **Badges** (the red numbers on app icons) on the same screen. If the red dots cause anxiety, turning off badges costs you nothing. The app still works.

**For news and sports apps specifically:**

These usually have a second layer of notification settings inside the app itself. Open the app, tap your profile icon or the gear, and look for Notifications or Alerts. You can usually keep "your local team won" while eliminating "every NFL score in real time."

**The feature most people do not use: Scheduled Summary**

Go to Settings > Notifications > **Scheduled Summary**. Turn it on. Pick a time, say 8am. Pick which apps go into the summary. From that point, those apps deliver their notifications all at once at that time, instead of trickling in all day. This is how you keep "your weekly report is ready" without being interrupted by it at random intervals.

**For iOS 18 specifically:** Apple added notification grouping improvements and expanded what Sensitive Notifications filtering can catch. If you have iOS 18, check Settings > Notifications > Sensitive Notifications for an additional layer of filtering for alarmist content.

## How to turn off notifications on Samsung Galaxy (One UI 6)

1. Open **Settings** (gear icon). 2. Tap **Notifications**. 3. Tap **App notifications**. 4. You will see a list of apps with a toggle next to each. 5. Toggle off the offenders.

**For category-level control on a specific app:**

Tap the app name itself (not just the toggle). Many apps have notification categories. On Amazon, for example, you might want shipping updates but not "deals just for you." You can turn off categories individually.

**For the silent treatment without turning anything off:**

Settings > Notifications > **Do Not Disturb**. You can schedule it (every night from 10pm to 7am, for instance) or activate it with a swipe down and a tap.

**One UI 6 addition:** Samsung's Advanced Quiet Mode lets you schedule Do Not Disturb while still allowing calls from your Favorites contacts. Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb > Allow Exceptions.

## How to turn off notifications on Google Pixel (Android 14 and 15)

Pixel runs a clean version of Android, so the menus are straightforward.

1. Open **Settings**. 2. Tap **Notifications**. 3. Tap **App notifications**. 4. Toggle off the apps that are bothering you.

**The fastest trick on any Android phone:** when a notification pops up on your screen, long-press it. A small menu appears. Tap **Turn off notifications** or the gear icon. This addresses the notification in the moment, before you forget which app it came from.

**Android 15 addition:** Google introduced improved notification cooldown, which limits how often any single app can interrupt you in a short window. If your Pixel has already updated to Android 15, check Settings > Notifications > Notification Cooldown.

## The repeat offenders: where to start if you only have ten minutes

These are the apps that generate the most noise for most people.

**News apps.** Apple News, Google News, CNN, Fox News, your local affiliate. Notifications are constant, often alarming, and almost never useful in real time. Turn them off. You can still open the app any time you want.

**Weather apps.** Especially the ones that alert you about storms in cities you have not thought about in years. The Weather Channel app is notorious for this. Turn off all notifications and open it when you actually want to check the weather.

**Games.** Candy Crush, Wordscapes, Solitaire, Toon Blast. They will tell you your lives are full, your daily reward is waiting, your streak is at risk. Turn them off. The game continues to work. The streak might end. That is acceptable.

**Shopping apps.** Amazon, Target, Walmart, QVC, Etsy, Temu. Sales, deals, "items you viewed," shipping updates that arrive after the package is on your porch. Turn off all except shipping confirmations if you want those.

**Sports apps.** ESPN, MLB, NFL, NBA. Scores from teams you do not follow, alerts that cannot wait.

**Email, especially Gmail.** If you check email by opening the app when you want to, you do not need a ding for every incoming message.

**Apps you do not recognize.** If you have no memory of installing an app, look it up in the App Store or Google Play, then either turn off notifications or delete it entirely. These are often apps that came bundled with the phone or were installed once for a specific purpose and never opened again.

## The nuclear option: Do Not Disturb

If you do not want to fight app by app, tell the phone: be quiet unless someone important is calling.

**On iPhone:** Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb. Add the people you want to ring through. Schedule it for overnight, or swipe down from the top right of the screen and tap the crescent moon to turn it on now.

**On Samsung and Pixel:** Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb (Samsung) or Settings > Sound and Vibration > Do Not Disturb (Pixel). Allow exceptions for starred contacts. Schedule it.

This is what I recommend most. You stop wrestling with individual apps. You tell the phone: stay out of my way unless someone I love is calling.

## How to identify the mystery notification

The most common follow-up question is: a notification appeared, but it was not obvious where it came from.

**On iPhone:** Swipe down from the top center of your screen to see Notification Center. Each notification has the app icon next to it. Tap and hold the notification to see options, including a link to that app's notification settings.

**On Android:** Same swipe down. The app name appears at the top of each notification card.

If the notification already disappeared: the next time it appears, do not swipe it away in frustration. Long-press it. The menu that appears lets you turn off that specific notification type right then, without navigating anywhere.

## FAQ

**Will turning off notifications make me miss texts or calls?**

No. Texts and calls are separate from app notifications and have their own settings. Turning off your weather app has no effect on your phone's ability to receive calls or messages.

**Why am I getting notifications from apps I never use?**

Because when you installed them, you tapped Allow on the popup. Apps default to maximum-notification mode. You are reclaiming permission you granted.

**What is the red dot with a number on it?**

A badge. It means something is unread or pending. Badges can be turned off in Settings > Notifications > the specific app > Badges. The app works without them.

**The menu looks different from what you described.**

Apple, Google, and Samsung update their operating systems every year and occasionally move things. If a step does not match your screen, open Settings and search "notifications" in the search bar at the top. Tap the first result.

## Official help links

These pages are maintained by the companies themselves and stay current through software updates.

- Apple Support: support.apple.com/iphone (search "change notification settings") - Google Android Help: support.google.com/android (search "control notifications") - Samsung Support: samsung.com/us/support (search "manage app notifications")

## Pass this on

If you read this to fix your own phone, the same steps apply.

If you read it because someone you love keeps asking you the same question, send it to them. Print it. Walk them through it once, then leave the article open in their phone's browser for next time.

A quiet phone is a small kindness to yourself. You will not miss what you turned off. You will notice the silence.

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