The fastest way depends on what you want to silence
You can silence notifications three ways: turn off the sound for everything at once, block notifications from specific apps, or mute a single conversation. Most phones and computers let you do all three from the same settings menu. The method you choose depends on whether you want silence everywhere, from one app only, or just from one person.
On most devices, the quickest route is a physical button or keyboard shortcut that silences your entire device for a set time. If you want to keep notifications from one app but silence the rest, you go into that app's settings. If you want to hear from your phone but not from one group chat, you mute that conversation directly inside the messaging app.
Key Takeaways
- Most phones have a physical mute switch or a volume button that silences all notifications instantly without turning off your device.
- You can silence notifications from one app at a time by opening that app's settings and turning off sound, vibration, or both.
- Many messaging and social apps let you mute individual conversations, groups, or channels so you see the messages but hear nothing.
- Do Not Disturb mode (on iPhones) and Focus modes let you silence everything except calls and messages from people you choose.
- Notification badges — the red numbers on app icons — can be turned off separately from sound and vibration.
Silencing your entire device with a button or shortcut
On iPhones, the physical mute switch is on the left side of the device. Flip it toward the back of the phone and you will see a red line appear. Your phone will not ring, vibrate, or play notification sounds until you flip it back. This switch does not affect alarms you have set — those will still go off.
On Android phones, press the volume down button repeatedly until you reach silent mode. Some Android phones show a vibrate icon, which means your phone will vibrate but not make sound. Press volume down one more time to reach silent mode with no vibration at all. You can also hold the volume down button for a few seconds to jump straight to silent.
On Windows computers, click the volume icon in the bottom right corner of the taskbar and drag the slider all the way down, or click the speaker icon with a line through it. On Mac computers, click the volume icon in the top right corner and drag the slider to the left, or press the mute key (usually marked with a speaker symbol) on your keyboard.
Turning off notifications from one app
On iPhone: Open Settings, scroll down and tap the app name, then tap Notifications. Toggle off "Allow Notifications" to block everything from that app, or keep it on and toggle off "Sounds" to see notifications but hear nothing. You can also toggle off "Badges" to remove the red number from the app icon.
On Android: Open Settings, tap Apps or Application Manager, find the app, tap Notifications, and toggle off "Show Notifications". If you want to keep seeing notifications but silence the sound, go back to the app list, tap the app, tap Notifications, and look for "Sound" or "Vibration" to turn those off separately.
On Windows: Open Settings, go to System, then Notifications. Scroll down to "Notifications from apps and other senders" and find the app in the list. Toggle it off to block all notifications, or keep it on and toggle off "Show notification banners" or "Play notification sounds".
On Mac: Open System Settings, click Notifications, find the app in the list on the left, and click it. Toggle off "Allow notifications" to block everything, or uncheck "Play sound" to keep seeing notifications silently.
Muting conversations in messaging and social apps
Most messaging apps — including iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Discord — let you mute individual conversations without blocking the person entirely. In iMessage, swipe left on a conversation and tap the bell icon with a line through it. In WhatsApp, open the chat, tap the contact name at the top, scroll down, and toggle on "Mute notifications".
In Facebook Messenger, open the conversation, tap the person's name at the top, scroll down to "Mute", and choose how long you want to mute it — usually 15 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, or until you unmute it. In Slack, right-click the channel name and select "Mute channel". In Discord, right-click the channel and choose "Mute".
When you mute a conversation, you will still see new messages when you open the app, but you will not get a notification sound or badge. The conversation stays in your inbox — it is not archived or deleted.
Using Do Not Disturb and Focus modes
On iPhone: Open Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner, tap "Focus", and choose "Do Not Disturb". Your phone will silence all notifications. You can also set up a custom Focus that allows calls and messages from specific people — tap "Focus", tap the plus sign, choose "Custom", and add the people you want to hear from.
On Android: Open Settings, tap Sound and Vibration, and toggle on "Do Not Disturb". You can set a schedule so it turns on automatically at certain times. Some Android phones also have a "Bedtime Mode" that does the same thing.
On Windows: Open Settings, go to System, then Notifications, and toggle on "Do Not Disturb". You can set it to turn on automatically during certain hours or when you are in a focus session.
On Mac: Click the Control Center icon in the top right corner, click "Focus", and choose "Do Not Disturb". You can also set up a custom Focus that allows notifications from specific apps or people.
Turning off notification badges without silencing sound
The red number that appears on an app icon is called a badge. You can turn off badges while keeping notification sounds on, or vice versa. On iPhone, go to Settings, tap the app name, tap Notifications, and toggle off "Badges". On Android, go to Settings, tap Apps, find the app, tap Notifications, and toggle off "Show notification badges".
This is useful if you want to know when something happens but do not want the visual reminder staring at you from your home screen. Many people turn off badges for email or social media apps while keeping sound on for messages from people they know.
Scheduling quiet hours automatically
Most devices let you set a schedule so notifications silence themselves at certain times without you having to remember to turn it on. On iPhone, open Settings, tap Focus, tap Do Not Disturb, and toggle on "Turn On Automatically". Then tap "Add Schedule" and choose the days and times you want it active.
On Android, open Settings, tap Sound and Vibration, tap Do Not Disturb, and toggle on "Turn on as scheduled". Set the start and end times. On Windows, open Settings, go to System, then Notifications, toggle on "Do Not Disturb", and click "Alarms only" or set a custom schedule. On Mac, open System Settings, click Focus, choose Do Not Disturb, and click "Edit" to set a schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I still get calls if I silence my phone?
It depends on your settings. If you use the physical mute switch or silent mode, calls will not ring — the caller will go to voicemail. If you use Do Not Disturb mode, you can set it to allow calls from your favorites or from anyone. Check your Do Not Disturb settings to see which calls get through.
Can I silence notifications from one person but not others?
Yes, if they are texting you through iMessage, WhatsApp, or another messaging app. Mute that specific conversation in the app. If they are calling you, you can add them to a Do Not Disturb exception list so their calls still come through while other calls are silenced. On iPhone, go to Focus settings and add them to "Allowed Contacts".
What is the difference between muting a conversation and blocking someone?
Muting silences notifications from that conversation but you can still see their messages when you open the app. Blocking prevents them from contacting you at all — their messages and calls do not come through. Muting is temporary and reversible; blocking is more permanent.
If I turn off notifications from an app, will I miss important messages?
You will not get a notification, but the messages are still in the app. When you open the app, you will see all the messages that came in. If you want to know something happened without getting a notification, turn off sound and vibration but keep badges on — the red number will remind you to check.
Can I silence notifications during work hours and turn them back on automatically?
Yes. Set up a Focus mode (iPhone) or Do Not Disturb schedule (Android, Windows, Mac) with your work hours. The device will automatically silence notifications during those times and turn them back on when your schedule ends. You can also set different Focus modes for different situations — work, sleep, driving — and switch between them manually.