Yes, you can silence notifications from a single contact on most phones
All major phone operating systems let you mute notifications from one person while keeping notifications from everyone else active. The method differs between iPhone and Android, and the exact steps depend on which app you're using — text messages, email, social media, or messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram each have their own controls.
The goal is the same across all of them: you stop seeing alerts, badges, and sounds from that person without blocking them or deleting the conversation. They can still reach you, and you can still read their messages when you open the app — you just won't be interrupted.
Key Takeaways
- iPhone lets you mute notifications per contact in Messages, Mail, and most third-party apps through individual conversation settings.
- Android's approach varies by app, but most messaging and email apps have a mute option in the conversation or contact settings.
- Muting a contact is different from blocking — they can still message you, and you can still see their messages if you open the app.
- Some apps let you choose which types of notifications to silence (sounds, badges, previews) while keeping others active.
How to mute one person on iPhone
In Messages: Open the conversation with that person, tap their name or number at the top, scroll down, and toggle on "Hide Alerts". You'll still see their messages in the thread, but you won't get notifications.
In Mail: Open an email from that person, tap the sender's name, then tap "Mute This Conversation" or "Mute". Emails from them will still arrive in your inbox but won't trigger alerts.
In third-party apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook Messenger): Open the conversation, tap the contact name or info icon at the top, and look for "Mute Notifications", "Mute", or a bell icon. The exact wording varies by app, but the option is usually in the conversation settings.
On iPhone, you can also customize what type of notification you want to silence. After muting, you can often choose whether to hide the notification badge (the red number on the app icon), silence the sound, or hide the message preview on your lock screen — giving you fine control over what you see and hear.
How to mute one person on Android
In Messages (Google Messages or Samsung Messages): Long-press the conversation with that person, tap the three-dot menu, and select "Mute notifications" or "Mute". The conversation stays in your inbox but produces no alerts.
In Gmail: Open an email from that person, tap the three-dot menu, and choose "Mute". Future emails from them will skip your inbox and go to a separate folder, though you can still find them if you search.
In third-party apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook Messenger): Open the conversation, tap the contact name or info icon, and look for "Mute notifications", "Notifications", or a bell icon. Some Android apps let you choose a mute duration — for example, muting for 8 hours, 24 hours, or indefinitely.
Android's notification controls are often more granular than iPhone's. Many apps let you pick whether to mute just the sound, just the vibration, just the badge, or all three — so you can stay silent without losing the visual indicator that a message arrived.
The difference between muting and blocking
Muting stops notifications but leaves the conversation open. The person can still message you, and their messages will appear in your chat history. They won't know you've muted them — there's no notification sent to them, and no indication on their end that you've changed a setting.
Blocking, by contrast, prevents the person from contacting you at all. On most platforms, blocked messages don't reach you, and the person may see an error or notice that their message didn't go through. Blocking is more severe and is usually reserved for unwanted contact.
If you want to reduce interruptions from someone you still want to hear from eventually, muting is the right choice. If you want to prevent contact entirely, blocking is what you need.
Muting notifications for email addresses instead of phone numbers
If you receive email from someone and want to silence their messages, the process is similar but depends on your email client. In Gmail, you can mute individual senders or entire conversations. In Outlook, you can create rules that send a specific sender's mail to a folder without triggering notifications.
Some email apps also let you unsubscribe from mailing lists or mark a sender as "not important", which reduces notification frequency without fully muting them. This is useful if you want to receive their emails eventually but don't need to be alerted every time one arrives.
If you use a desktop email client like Outlook or Apple Mail, the steps differ slightly — usually involving filters or rules rather than a direct mute button — but the outcome is the same: you control whether that sender's messages trigger alerts.
What happens to messages while notifications are muted
Messages from a muted contact still arrive on your phone and stay in the conversation thread. You can read them anytime by opening the app and finding the conversation. The only thing that changes is that you won't be interrupted by a sound, vibration, or lock screen alert.
Some apps show a small indicator (like a bell with a slash through it) next to a muted conversation so you remember it's silenced. Others give no visual cue, so you might forget the muting is active. If you're expecting an important message from someone you've muted, you'll need to check the app manually.
If you want to temporarily unmute someone — for example, if you're waiting for an urgent message — you can usually toggle the mute off the same way you turned it on. The process takes a few seconds and can be reversed anytime.
Muting group conversations and notifications from multiple people
The same mute feature works on group chats and group emails. If a group conversation is too noisy, you can mute the entire thread without leaving it. You'll still be part of the group and can read messages, but you won't get alerts every time someone posts.
If you want to silence notifications from multiple people, you'll need to mute each conversation individually — there's no bulk mute feature that silences several contacts at once. However, if you're trying to reduce overall notification noise, you can also adjust your phone's notification settings to limit alerts from an entire app, which affects all conversations in that app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I muted their notifications?
No. Muting is a local setting on your phone only. The person won't receive any notification that you've muted them, and there's no way for them to see that you've changed this setting. They'll have no indication that their messages aren't alerting you.
Can I mute notifications but keep seeing message previews on my lock screen?
On iPhone, yes — you can customize muted conversations to hide the sound and badge but still show the preview. On Android, this depends on the app. Some apps let you choose which notification elements to silence, while others mute everything at once. Check your app's notification settings to see what options are available.
What if I want to unmute someone later?
You can unmute a contact anytime by opening the conversation, going to the contact or conversation settings, and toggling the mute off. The process is the same as muting — just in reverse. There's no time limit on how long you can keep someone muted.
Does muting work the same way in all messaging apps?
The concept is the same, but the exact steps vary. WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger all have mute options, but they're located in slightly different places within each app. Check the conversation settings or contact info in the app you're using to find the mute button.
Can I mute notifications from a contact but still see their message count?
On some apps and phones, yes. You can often choose to hide the notification sound and alert but keep the badge (the red number showing unread messages) on the app icon. This gives you a visual reminder that messages arrived without the interruption of a sound or vibration.