macOS features an iOS-style Notification Center designed to keep your screen tidy. If an application (like Messages, Slack, or Mail) sends you multiple notifications in a short period, macOS automatically “stacks” them together into a single bundled notification. You must manually click the stack to expand it and read the individual alerts.
While this prevents your screen from being flooded, it completely ruins the utility of notifications for power users. If you receive three important emails, seeing a stack that says “3 Notifications from Mail” forces you to perform an extra click just to see who emailed you. If you prefer to see every single alert instantly, you can disable this automatic grouping.
How to Stop macOS from Stacking Notifications
You must disable notification grouping on a per-app basis from the System Settings menu.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
- Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
- Scroll down the left-hand navigation sidebar and click on Notifications.
- Under the “Application Notifications” section, click on the specific app you want to change (for example, Mail).
- Scroll to the very bottom of that app’s specific notification settings page.
- Look for a drop-down menu labelled Notification grouping:. By default, it is set to “Automatic.”
- Click the drop-down menu and change it to Off.
You will need to repeat these steps for any other critical applications (like Messages or Slack) where you want instantaneous visibility. Moving forward, every single notification from that app will appear as its own distinct banner, allowing you to read them all at a glance without any extra clicks.