How to Turn Off Notifications on a Mac

Reclaiming Your Focus on macOS

Modern computers are designed to keep you constantly connected, but that connectivity comes at a high price for your productivity. If you are trying to write a report or edit a video on your Mac, a constant barrage of incoming emails, calendar reminders, Slack messages, and news alerts sliding into the corner of your screen can completely destroy your concentration.

Apple understands this problem and has built several powerful tools into macOS specifically to help you manage these interruptions. You do not have to put up with a noisy computer.

Depending on your needs, you can temporarily silence all notifications using the Focus feature (formerly known as Do Not Disturb), permanently mute a specific annoying application, or change how notifications are displayed so they are less intrusive.

Method 1: The Quick Fix (Using Focus / Do Not Disturb)

If you need absolute silence immediately because you are about to share your screen in a Zoom meeting or need to concentrate on a difficult task for the next hour, turning on a “Focus” mode is the best solution. When active, all incoming notifications are intercepted and hidden silently in the Notification Centre for you to review later.

1. Look at the menu bar at the very top right of your Mac screen.
2. Click the Control Centre icon (it looks like two small toggle switches).
3. In the Control Centre drop-down, click on the section labelled Focus (which may display a crescent moon icon).
4. Click on Do Not Disturb to turn it on immediately.

By default, this will silence your Mac until you manually turn it off. However, if you click the small arrow next to “Do Not Disturb,” you can select a useful temporary option, such as For 1 hour or Until this evening. This ensures you do not forget to turn your notifications back on later.

Pro Tip: If you hold down the Option key on your keyboard and click the date/time in the top right corner of your screen, it will instantly toggle Do Not Disturb on or off without opening any menus.

Method 2: Turning Off Notifications for a Specific App

Sometimes you only have a problem with one specific application. Perhaps you want to receive calendar reminders, but you want to permanently stop the Apple News app from sending you breaking headlines every twenty minutes.

1. Click the Apple Logo in the extreme top left corner of your screen.
2. Select System Settings (or System Preferences if you are using an older version of macOS).
3. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Notifications.
4. Scroll down the list of applications under “Application Notifications” until you find the app that is annoying you (e.g., News, Mail, or Slack).
5. Click on the app’s name.
6. At the very top of the new menu, you will see a toggle switch labelled Allow notifications. Click this toggle to turn it off completely.

This specific app will never be able to send a banner to your screen or make a sound again.

Method 3: Making Notifications Less Intrusive

If you still want to receive notifications but you hate the way they slide onto your screen and distract you, you can change their behaviour.

1. Navigate back to System Settings > Notifications.
2. Click on the specific app you want to adjust (for example, Messages).
3. Look at the “Alert style” section. You have three choices:

• None: No visual alert appears on the screen, but the notification is still sent silently to the Notification Centre.
• Banners: The notification slides in at the top right of the screen, stays for a few seconds, and then automatically disappears.
• Alerts: The notification slides in and stays on the screen permanently until you physically click it to dismiss it.

If you find notifications distracting but still need them, setting the alert style to None is a great compromise. You will not be interrupted while working, but you can still swipe left with two fingers from the right edge of your trackpad to open the Notification Centre and check your messages when you are ready.

You can also use this same menu to turn off the Play sound for notification toggle, ensuring the app can display a banner but will never make a noise.