Manage Notifications on the iPhone

Take Control of iPhone Notifications

Your iPhone is great at keeping you informed—whether it’s a new message, a calendar reminder, or an update from your favorite app. But over time, all those notifications can start to feel like too much. Constant alerts can interrupt your day, clutter your screen, and make it harder to focus on what matters most. The good news is, your iPhone gives you simple tools to view, clear, and manage notifications so they work for you—not against you. Here’s how you can take control.

Viewing and Interacting With Notifications

Notifications appear on your iPhone’s Lock Screen and in the Notification Center. To access the Notification Center, swipe down from the top of your screen. This shows recent alerts, grouped by app to keep things organized. You can tap on a notification to open the related app and respond right away.

If you want to remove a single notification, swipe it to the left and tap Clear. To remove a group of notifications from the same app, tap the X in the corner of the group. This keeps your Notification Center tidy.

Managing Notifications Without Leaving the Screen

You can also manage how an app notifies you directly from the Notification Center. When a notification appears, swipe it to the left and tap Options. From there, you can choose to mute notifications for an hour or for the rest of the day. You can also go straight into the app’s notification settings or turn off notifications for the app entirely. This makes it easy to make changes without having to open the Settings app.

Opening Notification Settings

To make more detailed changes, open the Settings app and tap Notifications. This is where you manage how all your apps send alerts. Each app is listed, and you can tap on any one of them to customize its notifications. You don’t have to make changes to every app—just the ones that send too many alerts or interrupt you too often.

Customizing Notifications for Each App

After selecting an app in the list, you can allow or stop notifications entirely. If notifications are on, you can decide where they appear: on the Lock Screen, in the Notification Center, or as banners at the top of the screen. You can also choose whether the notification makes a sound or shows a badge—the red number on the app icon that tells you how many alerts are waiting.

Adjusting Preview Settings for Privacy

At the top of the Notifications screen, you’ll see Show Previews. This controls whether you see a preview of the notification’s content when it appears. You can choose Always, When Unlocked, or Never. If you prefer more privacy or fewer distractions, selecting “When Unlocked” is a good option.

Using Scheduled Summary for Less Disruption

If you want to receive non-urgent notifications at set times, you can turn on Scheduled Summary. This option lets you group less important alerts and have them delivered all at once, instead of throughout the day. After turning it on, choose which apps to include and set delivery times that work best for you. You can even create multiple summary times during the day.

Handling Time-Sensitive Notifications

Some apps can send time-sensitive notifications, which come through immediately—even if you’re using a scheduled summary or a Focus mode. You can choose whether to allow these kinds of alerts. Just go into that app’s notification settings and turn the time-sensitive option on or off.

Staying in Control of Alerts

With a few small changes, you can make your iPhone feel more peaceful and less distracting. Whether you’re clearing alerts from the Notification Center, muting apps for a while, or setting up scheduled summaries, you have the tools to make notifications work the way you want. Managing them is simple—and can make your phone more useful and less overwhelming.