Phones buzz constantly, and not every alert deserves a spot on the lock screen.
If you have ever wondered how to check which apps can send you notifications, the answer is that both iPhone and Android let you review and adjust this one app at a time inside Settings.
This article walks through where to find those controls, how to turn alerts off without losing important messages, and what to do when a setting seems to be missing.
Contents
- 🔍 What to Check Before You Start
- 📱 How to Check and Change Notifications on iPhone
- 🤖 How to Check and Change Notifications on Android
- ⚙️ iPhone vs. Android: Key Differences
- ✅ Useful Ways to Fine-Tune Notifications
- ⚠️ If Notification Settings Are Missing or Not Working
- 🛡️ Things to Watch Out For
🔍 What to Check Before You Start
Before changing anything, it helps to know what you are actually looking for. Notification access is different from permissions like location, camera, or contacts, which control what data an app can see.
Notification settings only control whether an app can show you an alert, badge, sound, or banner. Turning off notifications does not uninstall the app or stop it from working when you open it directly.
It helps to think about which apps you actually want interrupting you during the day. Messaging apps, calendar reminders, and banking alerts are usually worth keeping on, while games, shopping apps, and social media often send far more alerts than most people want.
Take a moment to decide which apps fall into each category before diving into settings, since this makes the process faster and less overwhelming once you are inside the menus.
💡 Key point: Notification settings control alerts only, not what data an app can access, so disabling them will not affect other app permissions.
📱 How to Check and Change Notifications on iPhone
On a current iPhone, notification controls live inside each individual app’s settings page rather than one long master list, though a shortcut exists too.
The most direct path starts in the main Settings app, then moves into Apps, where every installed app is listed.
Once inside an app’s page, tapping Notifications opens a screen dedicated to how that specific app can alert you, including sounds, banners, and badges.
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps, then choose the app you want to check.
- Tap Notifications.
- Turn Allow Notifications on or off, and adjust how and where alerts appear if it is enabled.
Some iOS versions organize this differently, placing all notification controls under a single Settings > Notifications screen instead of inside each app’s own page.
On that screen, apps are grouped under a Notification Style list, and selecting one lets you flip Allow Notifications the same way.
If Notifications does not appear as an option for a particular app, Apple notes that the app may not be built to send notifications at all, so there is nothing missing on your end.
This is common with simple utility apps, calculators, or tools that never need to alert you outside of when you open them directly.
Finding a Renamed or Moved Menu on iPhone
Apple occasionally reorganizes settings menus between major iOS updates, so a menu described here may sit in a slightly different spot depending on your software version.
If Apps is not visible where expected, the fastest fix is to open Settings and use the search bar at the top, typing the app name or the word Notifications directly.
This search method works regardless of how Apple has rearranged the menu structure in a given update, and it typically surfaces the exact screen faster than tapping through multiple levels.
🤖 How to Check and Change Notifications on Android
Android’s general path, as described in Google’s own instructions, centers on a dedicated notifications hub rather than being spread across individual app pages the way iPhone sometimes is.
Opening Settings and tapping Notifications, then App notifications, brings up a list of apps that have recently sent alerts.
- Open Settings.
- Tap Notifications, then App notifications.
- Find the app under Most recent, or switch the dropdown to All apps to see every installed app.
- Tap the app, then turn its notifications on or off, adjusting specific categories if the app offers them.
If the app you want is not showing under the recent list, switching to All apps solves this quickly, since it displays every app on the device regardless of recent activity.
There is also a faster shortcut for an app that just sent you something annoying. Swiping down from the top of the screen reveals recent notifications, and pressing and holding on one brings up a small Settings link specific to that alert.
Tapping that link jumps directly into the notification controls for that app, skipping the need to search through the full settings menu.
Samsung Galaxy Notification Settings
Samsung devices follow a similar structure but with Samsung’s own menu labels layered on top of standard Android.
On a Galaxy phone, the path is Settings > Notifications > App notifications, where selecting an app lets you toggle its main switch or adjust whichever notification categories that app offers.
| Device Type | Menu Path |
|---|---|
| iPhone (newer iOS) | Settings > Apps > [App] > Notifications |
| iPhone (alternate path) | Settings > Notifications > [App under Notification Style] |
| Android (general) | Settings > Notifications > App notifications > [App] |
| Samsung Galaxy | Settings > Notifications > App notifications > [App] |
Because Samsung, Google Pixel, and other Android manufacturers each adjust the look of their settings menus slightly, the exact wording can vary even though the underlying structure stays close to Google’s standard path.
⚙️ iPhone vs. Android: Key Differences
The biggest structural difference between the two platforms is where notification controls physically live within the settings app.
iPhone tends to bury notification settings one level inside each app’s dedicated page, while Android centralizes most app notification controls into a single App notifications screen.
Neither approach is better, but knowing which structure your phone uses saves time when you are trying to quickly silence a noisy app.
Another difference involves notification categories. Many apps on both platforms let you keep some alert types on while turning others off, such as allowing message alerts but disabling promotional notifications.
However, the availability and naming of these categories depends entirely on how the individual app developer built its settings, not on the phone’s operating system.
A banking app might offer detailed categories like transaction alerts, security alerts, and marketing messages, while a simple weather app might only offer a single on or off switch with no finer categories at all.
💡 Key point: iPhone groups notification settings by app under Settings, while Android centralizes them under App notifications, but both let you fine-tune categories when the app supports it.
✅ Useful Ways to Fine-Tune Notifications
Rather than treating notification control as all-or-nothing, both platforms generally allow a more targeted approach that keeps useful alerts while cutting the noise.
Checking for individual notification categories inside an app’s settings, when available, is usually the best first step before disabling everything for that app.
- ✅ Keep messaging and calendar alerts on so you do not miss time-sensitive information.
- ✅ Turn off promotional or marketing notification categories inside shopping and subscription apps.
- ✅ Review notification style settings so alerts appear as a quiet badge instead of a full banner, if that option exists.
- ✅ Revisit settings after installing a major app update, since new versions sometimes reset or add notification categories.
For apps that only offer a single on-or-off toggle with no categories, deciding between keeping notifications fully on or fully off comes down to how often that specific app sends something you actually need to see right away.
Games, for example, rarely need notifications enabled unless they send reminders about limited-time events you genuinely care about.
Social media apps often default to sending far more notifications than most people want, covering everything from new followers to suggested content, so reviewing their categories individually tends to reduce noise significantly compared to leaving every option on.
⚠️ If Notification Settings Are Missing or Not Working
Occasionally a setting does not behave as expected, either because a menu path does not match what is described here or because an app simply is not sending alerts even though notifications appear to be turned on.
If a menu path described above does not match your phone exactly, the most reliable fix on either platform is to search directly inside Settings using the search bar, typing either Notifications or the specific app’s name.
This sidesteps any confusion caused by a manufacturer or software update moving a menu to a new location.
If an app’s notification option appears to be missing entirely, it is worth checking whether that app is capable of sending notifications at all, since Apple specifically notes that some apps are not built to send alerts.
It is also worth checking inside the app itself, since many apps include their own internal notification preferences separate from the phone’s system settings, and both need to be enabled for alerts to come through correctly.
⚠️ Watch out: An app can have notifications allowed in your phone settings but still have its own in-app notification toggle turned off, which will stop alerts from appearing even though the system setting looks correct.
If notifications still do not appear after checking both locations, restarting the phone can resolve temporary glitches, though this falls outside the settings adjustments covered here.
🛡️ Things to Watch Out For
Turning off notifications for an app can unintentionally silence something you actually wanted to see, such as a delivery update, a two-factor authentication code, or an appointment reminder.
Before disabling notifications entirely for any app, it is a good idea to check whether that app offers separate categories, since this allows keeping the genuinely useful alerts while cutting out the rest.
This is especially relevant for apps tied to security or financial accounts, where missing an alert could mean missing a time-sensitive security code or a fraud warning.
For any app involving payments, banking, or personal account security, check that service’s official help page or contact its support team for exact guidance on which notification categories are considered important to keep active.
Another thing worth watching for is that disabling notifications at the phone’s system level does not change any settings inside the app itself, and vice versa.
If an app continues sending alerts after you turn off its system notification permission, double-checking the app’s own internal settings can help identify a conflicting toggle.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Will turning off notifications delete the app or stop it from working?
No. Disabling notifications only stops alerts, badges, and sounds from that app. The app itself continues to work normally when opened directly.
Q. Why does an app not have a Notifications option at all?
According to Apple, if Notifications does not appear in an app’s settings page, that app may not be built to send notifications in the first place.
Q. Can notification settings reset after an app update?
Some apps add new notification categories with updates, which can change what appears in the settings screen. Checking settings again after a major update is a reasonable habit.
Q. Is there a faster way to adjust notifications right after receiving one?
On Android, swiping down to view the notification, then pressing and holding it, reveals a Settings shortcut that jumps directly into that app’s notification controls.
Q. Do Samsung phones use the same settings as other Android phones?
Samsung Galaxy devices follow a similar path through Settings > Notifications > App notifications, though exact menu wording can vary slightly from other Android manufacturers.
Q. What should be done if a menu name described here does not match the phone?
Searching directly inside Settings for the word Notifications or the app’s name is the most reliable way to find the correct screen regardless of software version.
Q. Should notifications be turned off completely for apps that send too many alerts?
Checking for individual notification categories first is usually better than disabling everything, since it allows keeping important alerts while cutting out less useful ones.
📌 Quick Summary
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| iPhone main path | Settings > Apps > [App] > Notifications |
| iPhone alternate path | Settings > Notifications > [App under Notification Style] |
| Android main path | Settings > Notifications > App notifications > [App] |
| Samsung Galaxy path | Settings > Notifications > App notifications > [App] |
| Quick Android shortcut | Swipe down, hold notification, tap Settings |
| If menu is missing | Search Settings for Notifications or the app name |
| If option is absent | App may not support sending notifications |
Start by picking just one app that sends more alerts than feels useful, and check whether it offers separate notification categories before turning everything off.
This article is based on public information available at the time of writing. Menus and steps may change with app or device updates.