Here is how to turn off notifications on iPhone: open Settings, tap Notifications, tap the app below Notification Style, then turn off Allow Notifications. For a quick fix, swipe left on any alert and tap Options. You can also batch alerts into a Scheduled Summary or silence them for set hours with a Focus.
Notifications are short, but they are not free. In a 2015 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, phone notifications alone significantly disrupted performance on an attention-demanding task, even when people did not touch their phone. The researchers say the distraction was comparable in size to actively using a phone for calls or texts, and point to mind wandering as a likely reason: a buzz can start task-irrelevant thoughts.
You do not need to silence everything. The goal is fewer, better alerts, delivered at times that suit you.
Apple gives two routes to the same switch. Per Apple Support:
Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap Notifications, then tap an app below Notification Style.
Turn off Allow Notifications.
Or, in the Settings app, tap Apps, tap the app, tap Notifications, then turn Allow Notifications off. Apple notes that if Notifications does not appear, the app might not be able to send notifications.
Not ready to switch an app off completely? On the same screen you can make it quieter instead:
Alerts: choose whether notifications appear on the Lock Screen, in Notification Center or as banners. For an app you only check now and then, Notification Center alone is often plenty.
Badges: turn off Badges to drop the red count on the app icon, which can be a nagging reminder to open it.
Customize Notifications: if the app supports it, choose which types of notifications you receive. For example, you might keep replies to your posts and drop promotions, if the app lists those as separate types.
The app's own settings: some apps show a link to their own notification settings at the bottom of the screen.
Swipe left over an alert or group of alerts on the Lock Screen or in Notification Center.
Tap Options.
Choose Mute for 1 Hour, Mute for Today, View Settings or Turn Off.
Apple describes these as ways to mute alerts for a period of time or to turn them off entirely. Muting is handy for a busy group chat during a meeting or a meal.
Apple says a scheduled summary can minimize interruptions through the day by delivering notifications from several apps at once.
Go to the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap Notifications, then tap Scheduled Summary.
Turn on Scheduled Summary, then tap Continue (if it appears).
Schedule times for the notification summary.
Tap A to Z, then turn on the apps to include in your summary.
Each app's notification screen then has a Notification Delivery option where you pick Immediate Delivery or Scheduled Summary. Good candidates for the summary are shopping, news, games and social media likes. Keep messages from people and anything you are actively waiting for on Immediate Delivery.
Example: summaries at 8:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. This is only an example, so pick times that match the natural breaks in your own day.
A preview of a message can pull you in before you decide to look. To change it, go to Settings, tap Notifications, tap Show Previews, then choose Always, When Unlocked or Never. To change one app only, tap the app below Notification Style first. Apple notes that not all apps support notification previews.
Notification settings work app by app. If you want quiet during certain hours instead, use a Focus. Apple says a Focus can temporarily silence all notifications or allow only specific ones. For the fastest version, open Control Center, tap Focus, then turn on Do Not Disturb.
Focus filters go a step further. In Settings, tap Focus, tap the Focus you want, scroll down to Focus filters, then tap Add Filter. Apple's examples include choosing which mail account or which calendar to use during the Focus.
A simple test: would you want this to interrupt you in the middle of a conversation? If yes, keep it. If not, move it to a summary or turn it off. Most people keep:
People who rely on you: calls and messages from family, a school, a caregiver or an on-call job.
Things you scheduled: calendar events and reminders you set yourself.
Security alerts: sign-in codes and fraud alerts from your bank.
Live waits: a ride or delivery you are waiting for right now.
Government alerts: Apple notes that on iPhone in the United States, AMBER, Public Safety and Emergency Alerts are on by default. You can review them in Settings under Notifications, in the Government Alerts section.
If the bigger problem is picking the phone up rather than it buzzing, our sister site has a guide on how to stop checking your phone at work.
The quickest way is Do Not Disturb. Open Control Center, tap Focus, then turn on Do Not Disturb. To stop one app for good, turn off Allow Notifications for that app in Settings.
Swipe left over the alert, tap Options, then tap Mute for 1 Hour. Mute for Today is there too.
It collects notifications from the apps you choose and delivers them together at times you set, instead of one by one. Turn it on in Settings under Notifications, then Scheduled Summary.
Go to Settings, tap Notifications, tap Show Previews, then choose When Unlocked or Never.
Notification settings control what reaches you, but they cannot stop you from opening an app yourself. FocusPass: App Blocker blocks the apps, categories or websites you choose using Apple's Screen Time picker, and when you open one you can go back or use a timed Pass, such as 5, 10 or 15 minutes, after which it relocks automatically. It is free with in-app purchases, needs no account and has no ads.
Get FocusPass free on the App Store