Turn off Facebook notifications in three places
Facebook sends notifications through three separate channels: your phone's lock screen and notification center, your web browser, and email. You need to turn them off in each place independently — silencing one does not silence the others. Most people find their phone notifications the most intrusive, but browser and email notifications can pile up too if you leave them on.
The steps differ depending on whether you use Facebook on iPhone, Android, a web browser, or desktop. Start with whichever device bothers you most, then work through the others. You can turn off all notifications, or pick and choose which types you want to receive.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook notifications live in three separate places — your phone, your web browser, and your email — and you must turn them off in each location independently.
- On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook and toggle off the types of alerts you do not want; on Android, open the Facebook app, tap the menu, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications, and turn off each category.
- In a web browser, click the downward arrow at the top right of Facebook, select Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications, and uncheck the boxes next to the notifications you want to stop receiving.
- Email notifications can be turned off in the same Settings > Notifications menu on the website, or by clicking "Unsubscribe" at the bottom of individual Facebook emails.
- If you turn off all notifications but still see some alerts, check whether you have Facebook Messenger installed separately — it has its own notification settings.
Turn off notifications on iPhone
On iPhone, Facebook notifications are controlled through your phone's Settings app, not through Facebook itself. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Facebook, then tap Notifications. You will see a list of notification types: Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, Likes, and others depending on your account.
For each type, you can choose Allow Notifications (which sends alerts to your lock screen and notification center), or toggle it off entirely. If you want to keep some notifications but silence others, toggle off only the ones you do not want. You can also tap "Sounds" or "Badges" to control whether Facebook notifications make a sound or show a red number on the app icon.
If you do not see Facebook in your Settings > Notifications list, it means notifications are already turned off at the system level. You can turn them back on by tapping "Allow Notifications" at the top of the Notifications settings, then selecting Facebook from the list of apps.
Turn off notifications on Android
On Android, open the Facebook app and tap the three horizontal lines (the menu) at the bottom right. Tap Settings & Privacy, then Settings. Scroll down to Notifications and tap it. You will see categories like Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, and Likes.
Tap each category to see your options. Most will show a toggle for "Notifications" at the top — turn it off to stop receiving that type of alert. Some categories have additional choices, like whether to receive notifications only when the app is closed, or always. Choose what works for you, then go back and repeat for each category.
If you want to turn off all Facebook notifications at once, you can also do this through your phone's system settings. Open Settings, tap Apps or Application Manager, find Facebook, tap Notifications, and toggle off "Allow Notifications." This will silence all Facebook alerts on your phone, though you will still receive them in your browser and email.
Turn off notifications in your web browser
If you use Facebook on a computer or laptop, your browser can send notifications even when you are not on the Facebook website. Open Facebook in your browser and click the downward arrow at the top right of the page. Select Settings & Privacy, then Settings. On the left side, click Notifications.
You will see a long list of notification types: Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, Likes, Events, and many others. Each one has a checkbox. Uncheck the boxes next to any notifications you do not want to receive. If you want to turn off all browser notifications at once, uncheck the box next to "Notifications" at the very top of the list.
Browser notifications will still appear even if you close the Facebook tab, as long as your browser is open. If you want to stop them completely, you can also turn off notifications at the browser level. In Chrome, click the lock icon next to the web address, find Notifications, and change it to Block. In Firefox, go to Preferences > Privacy > Permissions > Notifications and remove Facebook from the list.
Turn off email notifications from Facebook
Facebook sends emails about messages, friend requests, comments, and activity on your posts. To stop these, go to Facebook Settings > Notifications on the website (using the same steps as the browser section above), and look for the Email section at the bottom of the Notifications page. Uncheck the types of emails you do not want to receive.
You can also unsubscribe from individual emails. At the very bottom of any Facebook email, there is usually an "Unsubscribe" link. Click it to stop receiving that specific type of notification. Facebook will ask you to confirm, and then that category of email will turn off.
If you receive a lot of Facebook emails and want to stop most of them, the fastest route is to go to Settings > Notifications on the website and uncheck everything in the Email section. You can always turn specific types back on later if you change your mind.
What to do if notifications keep coming after you turn them off
If you have turned off notifications everywhere and still see alerts from Facebook, check whether you have Facebook Messenger installed as a separate app. Messenger has its own notification settings that do not connect to the main Facebook app. On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Messenger and toggle off notifications there. On Android, open Messenger, tap your profile picture at the top left, tap Notifications, and turn off the types you do not want.
Another common reason notifications keep appearing is that you have multiple browsers or devices. If you turned off notifications in Chrome but use Safari, or if you silenced your phone but use a tablet, you will still receive alerts on the other device. Go through each browser and device separately and turn off notifications in each one.
If you have turned off notifications everywhere and they still appear, try logging out of Facebook and logging back in. Sometimes the settings do not sync properly until you refresh your session. After you log back in, go through the notification settings one more time to make sure they stuck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off notifications for just one person or one type of activity?
Yes, but the method depends on what you want to silence. To stop notifications from a specific person, open their profile, click the three dots at the top, and select "Turn off notifications from [name]." To stop a specific type of activity like comments or likes, use the Notifications settings described above and uncheck only that category.
If I turn off all notifications, will I still see messages?
Messages are a separate category from other notifications. You can turn off alerts about messages while keeping notifications for other things, or vice versa. Go to your Notifications settings and look for the Messages category — you can control it independently from everything else.
Do I have to turn off notifications on every device, or does it apply everywhere?
Each device and browser has its own settings. Turning off notifications on your phone does not turn them off in your browser, and turning them off on your computer does not affect your email. You need to go through each one separately if you want to silence Facebook everywhere.
What if I want notifications back on later?
Go back to the same settings menu where you turned them off and toggle them back on. On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook. On Android, open the Facebook app and go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications. On the web, go to Settings > Notifications. The process is the same whether you are turning them on or off.
Why does Facebook keep sending me notifications after I turned them off?
The most common reason is that you turned off notifications in one place but not another — for example, your phone but not your email, or your browser but not your app. Check all three locations. If you have already done that, try logging out and logging back in, or uninstall and reinstall the Facebook app to refresh your settings.