Yes, you can silence notifications from a specific contact
iPhone lets you turn off notifications from one person while keeping them on for everyone else. You do this through the Messages app by setting that contact to Do Not Disturb, or by adjusting notification settings for individual conversations. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you want to silence text messages, calls, or both.
The fastest method is to open a conversation with that person, tap their name at the top, and toggle off the notification sounds. This keeps the messages arriving on your phone — you just won't hear or see alerts for them. If you want a deeper silence that hides the conversation entirely until you check it, you can mute the thread instead.
Key Takeaways
- You can mute notifications from one contact in Messages by opening their conversation, tapping their name, and turning off notifications.
- Muting a conversation hides alerts but the messages still arrive; the contact will not know you have muted them.
- For phone calls from one person, use the Contacts app to set them to a silent ringtone or enable Do Not Disturb for that contact.
- You can also hide a muted conversation from your inbox so it does not appear unless that person messages you again.
- These settings apply only to your phone and do not affect how the other person sends or receives messages.
Muting text message notifications from one contact
Open the Messages app and find the conversation with the person you want to mute. Tap and hold on their name or the conversation thread until a menu appears. Select Mute from the options. This stops all notification sounds and banners from that conversation, though the messages will still arrive on your phone.
If you want more control, tap their name at the top of the open conversation instead. This opens their contact card. Scroll down and look for the Hide Alerts toggle. Turn it on. This does the same thing as muting — it silences notifications — but you access it from a different menu. Both methods work; use whichever is faster for you.
When a conversation is muted, you will not see a badge number on the Messages app icon, and you will not hear a sound when messages arrive. The conversation stays in your inbox, but it moves to the bottom. If you want to check for messages from that person, you have to scroll down or search for them.
Hiding muted conversations from your inbox
After you mute a conversation, you can hide it entirely so it does not clutter your inbox. Tap and hold on the muted conversation and select Hide. The conversation disappears from your main Messages list. It still exists — the messages are not deleted — but you will not see it unless you search for that contact's name.
When that person sends you a new message, the conversation reappears in your inbox automatically. This is useful if you want to silence someone temporarily without permanently blocking them. You can unmute or unhide the conversation at any time by tapping and holding it again and selecting the opposite action.
Silencing calls from one person
To mute phone calls from a specific contact, open your Contacts app and find their name. Tap Edit in the top right corner. Scroll down to the bottom and look for Ringtone. Tap it and select None or Silent. Save the contact. Now calls from that person will come through silently — your phone will not ring or vibrate.
You will still see a missed call notification if you do not answer, but you will not be interrupted by sound or vibration. This is different from blocking the contact entirely; the calls still reach your phone, you just do not hear them.
If you want to silence calls but still hear text messages, or vice versa, you will need to use a combination of these methods. Mute the Messages conversation for texts, and set the contact to silent ringtone for calls.
Using Focus modes to silence one person
iPhone's Focus feature lets you create custom modes that silence notifications from everyone except specific people. Open Settings, tap Focus, and select Add Focus. Name it something like "Work" or "Sleep." Tap Allowed Notifications and choose which apps can send you alerts. Then tap Allowed Contacts and add the people whose calls and messages you want to hear.
This approach works differently from muting a single person — it silences everyone except the people you choose. It is useful if you want to hear from your boss or family but not from coworkers or friends. You can turn the Focus on and off manually, or set it to turn on automatically at certain times or locations.
Focus modes do not delete messages or calls; they just silence the notifications. When you turn off the Focus, you will see all the alerts you missed.
What happens when you mute someone
When you mute a contact's notifications, they cannot tell that you have done it. They will not receive any notification or message saying you have muted them. Their messages and calls still reach your phone normally — only your alerts change.
If you mute someone and then unmute them later, there is no record of the muting on either phone. The contact has no way of knowing you silenced them, even if you tell them. This is purely a setting on your device.
Muting is also different from blocking. A muted contact can still reach you; you just will not hear them. A blocked contact cannot call or message you at all. If you want to completely prevent someone from contacting you, you need to block them instead of muting them.
Unmuting a contact or conversation
To unmute a conversation in Messages, tap and hold on it and select Unmute. To unhide a conversation, tap and hold it and select Show. To turn off the silent ringtone for a contact, open Contacts, tap Edit, scroll to Ringtone, and select a sound instead of None.
You can unmute someone at any time. There is no penalty or waiting period. The notifications will resume immediately once you unmute them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I muted them?
No. Muting is invisible to the other person. They will not receive any notification or indication that you have silenced their messages or calls. Your phone simply will not alert you when they contact you.
Can I mute someone on iPhone but still see their messages?
Yes. When you mute a conversation, the messages still arrive and stay in your inbox — you just will not hear a sound or see a banner notification. You can read them whenever you open Messages.
What is the difference between muting and blocking?
Muting silences notifications but the person can still reach you. Blocking prevents them from calling or messaging you at all. If you want to stop someone from contacting you entirely, you need to block them, not mute them.
Can I mute calls but not text messages from the same person?
Yes. Set their ringtone to silent in Contacts to mute calls, and separately mute their conversation in Messages to silence texts. You can control each type of notification independently.
If I mute someone and they call me, will my phone ring?
Only if you set their ringtone to silent. Muting a Messages conversation does not affect phone calls. You need to change their ringtone to None in Contacts to silence incoming calls from that person.