How to Manage Notifications on Your iPhone

Notifications are the alerts your phone sends you, a banner across the top of the screen, a sound, a vibration, or a red number badge on an app icon. They’re designed to get your attention. The trouble is, most apps want your attention far more often than is actually useful.

The good news is that you’re in charge of which apps can interrupt you, and when. Here’s how to get on top of it.

What a notification actually is

When you install an app, it usually asks permission to send you notifications. If you say yes, the app can send you alerts at any time, a news headline, a social media like, a reminder that you haven’t opened the app in a while.

These alerts appear in three places:

1. As a banner, a strip across the top of your screen when the phone is unlocked
2. In the Notification Centre, swipe down from the top of the screen to see a list of recent alerts
3. As a badge, the small red number on an app’s icon on your home screen

Notifications can also come with a sound, a vibration, or both. You can adjust all of this for each app individually.

How to turn off notifications for a specific app

If a particular app is interrupting you and you’d rather it didn’t, here’s how to silence it:

1. Open Settings (the grey gear icon on your home screen)
2. Scroll down and tap Notifications
3. You’ll see a list of every app on your phone. Tap the app you want to adjust
4. At the top, you’ll see Allow Notifications, tap the toggle to turn it off

That’s it. The app will no longer be able to send you any alerts. You can still open the app and use it normally; it just won’t interrupt you.

If you want to keep some notifications from an app but turn off the sound, you can do that too. On the same screen, look for Sounds and turn that toggle off. The notification will still appear silently.

How to use Focus mode (Do Not Disturb) for quiet time

Focus mode is a more powerful tool for blocking interruptions during specific times, when you’re sleeping, eating, or just want some peace.

Do Not Disturb is the simplest Focus mode. When it’s on, all calls and notifications are silenced. Messages still arrive; your phone just doesn’t make a sound or light up.

To turn on Do Not Disturb:

1. Swipe down from the top right corner of your screen to open Control Centre
2. Tap the crescent moon icon

Or, to set it up properly with a schedule:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Focus
3. Tap Do Not Disturb
4. Tap Add Schedule to set it to turn on automatically at certain times, for example, 10pm to 7am every night

You can also allow certain people to reach you even in Do Not Disturb mode. Under People, tap Allow Calls From and choose options such as Favourites or specific contacts.

How to get badge notifications without sound

Some apps are worth keeping an eye on, but you don’t need them to make noise. Badges (the red numbers on app icons) let you glance at what’s waiting without being interrupted.

To set an app to badge-only:

1. Open Settings > Notifications
2. Tap the app
3. Turn off Sounds and turn off Banners (under Alert Style, select None)
4. Leave Badges switched on

Now the app will show a number on its icon when something is waiting, but it won’t make a sound or flash a banner across your screen.

Which apps are worth keeping notifications on

Not all notifications are equal. Here’s a rough guide:

Worth keeping on:

• Phone calls (under Settings > Phone > Notifications)
• Messages from real people (iMessage, WhatsApp)
• Calendar reminders, if you use them

Worth turning off:

• Social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, X), checking these on your own schedule is much more pleasant than being summoned by them
• News apps, the headlines will still be there when you choose to look
• Games and shopping apps, these almost never have anything urgent to say
• Email, unless you need to be reachable urgently, most email can wait

The single most effective change most people make is turning off social media notifications. It’s one of the quickest ways to make your phone feel calmer and less demanding.

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If you’d like some help going through your notification settings, or you’re not sure which Focus mode is right for you, that’s something we cover in our one-to-one sessions across Hebden Bridge and the Calder Valley. Get in touch and we’ll sort it out together.

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