How to Disable Push Notifications in Google Chrome

It has become one of the most annoying trends on the internet. You click a link to read a simple news article or check a recipe, and before you can even read the first sentence, a massive pop-up appears in the top-left corner of your screen:

“This website wants to show notifications. Allow or Block?”

If you accidentally click “Allow,” that website gains the ability to send push notifications directly to your desktop, even when you aren’t actively browsing their site. While you can click “Block” every single time, it is much easier to dive into Google Chrome’s settings and permanently revoke the ability for websites to even ask the question.

How to Turn Off Notification Prompts Globally

By changing this one setting, you will never see the “wants to show notifications” pop-up ever again. Chrome will automatically block them silently in the background.

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the browser window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select Settings.
4. On the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
5. In the main window, click on Site settings.
6. Scroll down to the “Permissions” section and click on Notifications.
7. Look for the section titled “Default behavior.”
8. Select the bubble next to Don’t allow sites to send notifications.

This completely disables the prompt. If you prefer a slightly less aggressive approach, you can choose “Use quieter messaging,” which blocks the pop-up but puts a tiny, silent bell icon in your address bar just in case you actually do want to subscribe to a site.

How to Remove Websites You Already Allowed

If your desktop is already being spammed by pop-up ads from a news site because you accidentally clicked “Allow” three months ago, changing the global setting won’t fix it. You have to manually revoke the permission from that specific site.

1. Go back to the exact same menu (Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications).
2. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to the section labeled Allowed to send notifications.
3. You will see a list of every website you have ever accidentally subscribed to.
4. Click the three vertical dots next to the offending website’s URL.
5. Select Remove from the drop-down menu.

The website is instantly deleted from your allowed list, and the spam pop-ups on your desktop will immediately stop.