How to stop Facebook notifications on your phone and computer
Facebook sends notifications to your phone, email, and web browser by default — and most people never change these settings. You can turn off notifications entirely, silence only certain types (like friend requests or comments), or keep notifications but remove the sound and badge that appear on your phone's home screen. The steps differ depending on whether you use Facebook on iPhone, Android, or a computer.
The fastest way is to go into Facebook's notification settings and turn off the categories you do not want. You can do this from the app itself or from your phone's system settings. If you want to keep some notifications but stop others — for example, keep messages but turn off game invites — you can choose which types to receive.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook notifications can be turned off in the app's settings menu under Notifications, or through your phone's system settings for faster control.
- You can silence all notifications at once, or pick and choose which types (messages, friend requests, comments, events) you want to receive.
- Turning off notifications in Facebook's app does not stop email notifications — you must disable those separately in the same settings menu.
- On iPhone, you can also disable Facebook notifications through Settings > Notifications > Facebook without opening the app.
- Browser notifications on your computer require a separate step: click the lock icon in your address bar and turn off notifications for facebook.com.
Stop notifications on iPhone
Open the Facebook app and tap the three horizontal lines (menu icon) in the bottom right corner. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings. Look for Notifications in the list and tap it.
You will see categories like Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, Likes, Events, and others. Tap each category and choose Off to stop that type of notification. If you want to keep some notifications but remove the sound, tap the category, then toggle off Sound or Vibration. When you are done, go back and the changes save automatically.
If you want to disable Facebook notifications without opening the app, go to your iPhone's Settings app, scroll down to Notifications, find Facebook, and tap it. Toggle off Allow Notifications. This method is faster if you want to turn off all notifications at once.
Stop notifications on Android
Open the Facebook app and tap the three horizontal lines in the bottom right. Tap Settings & Privacy, then Settings. Scroll to Notifications and tap it. You will see the same categories as iPhone: Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, Likes, Events, and more.
Tap each category and choose Off to disable it. To remove the notification sound or vibration without turning off the notification entirely, tap the category and toggle off Sound or Vibration. Changes save automatically when you go back.
You can also control notifications through your Android phone's system settings. Go to Settings, tap Apps or Application Manager, find Facebook, and tap Notifications. Toggle off Allow Notifications to stop all Facebook notifications at the system level. This is faster than opening the app if you want everything off.
Stop notifications on Windows and Mac computers
If you use Facebook in a web browser on your computer, you may see browser notifications that pop up in the corner of your screen. To turn these off, open Facebook in your browser and look for the lock icon in the address bar (it appears to the left of the web address). Click the lock icon and look for Notifications in the dropdown menu.
Click Notifications and change the setting from Allow to Block. Close the menu and refresh the page. You will no longer see browser notifications from Facebook.
If you also receive Facebook notifications by email, you must turn those off separately. Log into Facebook on your computer, click the downward arrow in the top right corner, and select Settings & Privacy, then Settings. Click Notifications on the left side. Under Email, you will see categories like Comments, Friend Requests, and Events. Click each one and choose Off or Only Important to reduce the volume.
Turn off notifications for specific people or pages
If you want to keep Facebook notifications but silence them from one specific person or page, you can mute their activity without unfriending them. On your phone, find a post from that person or page, tap and hold it (or right-click on a computer), and select Mute [Name] or Mute [Page Name]. You will stop seeing their posts in your feed and will not receive notifications about their activity.
To unmute someone later, go to your settings, find Muted under Notifications, and tap the person or page you want to unmute. This method is useful if you want to keep notifications from most people but silence a few specific accounts.
Stop notification badges on your phone's home screen
The red number badge that appears on the Facebook app icon on your home screen shows how many unread notifications you have. If you find this distracting, you can turn it off without disabling notifications entirely.
On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook and toggle off Badges. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Facebook > Notifications and toggle off Badge. The app will still send you notifications, but the red number will no longer appear on your home screen.
What to do if notifications keep coming back
Sometimes after you turn off notifications, Facebook turns them back on after an update or when you log out and back in. If this happens, check your settings again using the steps above. Make sure you have disabled notifications in both the Facebook app and your phone's system settings — turning them off in only one place may not stop them completely.
If you use Facebook Messenger as a separate app, notifications from Messenger are controlled independently. Open Messenger, tap your profile picture in the top left, scroll to Notifications and sounds, and turn off the categories you do not want. Email notifications from Messenger must also be disabled separately in the same settings menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off notifications stop me from seeing messages?
No. Turning off notifications only stops the alerts. You can still open Facebook or Messenger and read your messages whenever you want. The messages will be there — you just will not be alerted when they arrive.
Can I turn off notifications for one type but keep others?
Yes. In your notification settings, you can turn off Friend Requests but keep Messages, or turn off Comments but keep Likes. Go through each category and choose which ones you want to receive.
Why do I still get email notifications after turning off notifications in the app?
Facebook app notifications and email notifications are separate. You must disable email notifications in the same settings menu under the Email section. Check both your app settings and your email notification settings to stop all alerts.
How do I stop just the notification sound without turning off all notifications?
In your notification settings, tap each category (Messages, Friend Requests, etc.) and toggle off Sound or Vibration. You will still receive notifications, but they will be silent.
Do I need to turn off notifications in both the app and my phone settings?
You only need to do it in one place. Turning off notifications in the Facebook app settings is usually enough. If notifications keep coming back, also disable them in your phone's system settings as a backup.