Because macOS handles notifications at the system level, Google Chrome integrates directly with the Mac’s built-in Notification Center. When you visit a news website, a social media platform, or a web-based email client and click “Allow” on the notification prompt, those alerts will slide into the top right corner of your Mac screen, complete with the standard Apple chime.
While this is useful for important calendar alerts, it is infuriating when a random blog sends you spammy updates every hour. If you want to stop these interruptions, you have two options: revoke permission from specific websites, or banish Google Chrome from the Mac Notification Center entirely.
Method 1: Block Notifications from Specific Websites (Recommended)
If you still want to receive alerts from Gmail or Slack, but want to stop the spam from news sites, you must manage these permissions directly inside the Google Chrome browser.
- Open the Google Chrome browser on your Mac.
- Look at the top-right corner of the window and click the three vertical dots (the Chrome menu).
- Select Settings from the dropdown list.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
- In the middle of the screen, click on Site settings.
- Scroll down to the “Permissions” section and click on Notifications.
You are now looking at the master list of every website that has requested permission to notify you. Scroll down to the section labeled Allowed to send notifications.
- Find the annoying website in the list (e.g.,
https://www.spam-news.com). - Click the three vertical dots next to that specific website.
- Select Block from the dropdown menu. (Selecting ‘Remove’ just means the site will ask you for permission again the next time you visit. ‘Block’ is permanent).
Stop the “Allow Notifications” Prompt
If you are tired of clicking “No” every time you visit a new website, you can disable the prompt entirely. At the very top of that same Notifications menu in Chrome, change the Default behavior setting to “Don’t allow sites to send notifications.”
Method 2: Turn Off ALL Chrome Notifications (System-Wide Kill Switch)
If you use Chrome purely for casual browsing and never want the browser to interrupt you for any reason, you can use the macOS system settings to gag the application completely. This overrides any individual website settings.
- Click the Apple Logo () in the top-left corner of the menu bar.
- Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older Macs).
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Notifications.
- Scroll down the list of applications on the right panel until you find Google Chrome. Click on it.
- At the very top of the Chrome notification menu, you will see a master toggle switch labeled Allow notifications.
- Toggle this switch to the OFF position.
The moment you flip that switch, Chrome is entirely cut off from the macOS Notification Center. No banners will appear, no sounds will play, and no alerts will queue up in the sidebar, regardless of what happens inside the browser.