Learn how to master iPhone notifications and make the most of features like Apple’s Focus and Do Not Disturb modes, AI summaries, Scheduled Summary, and more.
So, you think you already know everything there is to know about notifications on your iPhone? We’re not here to argue.
But if you’re the type who’s eager to learn new tricks, our written tutorial and video are packed with everything you need to master iPhone notifications.
Manage notifications for individual apps
Go to iPhone Settings > Notifications and select an app. Here, you can manage sounds, badges, previews, and other things related to that app. Additionally, some apps like WhatsApp also let you customize notifications from their in-app settings.
Apple Intelligence summarizes notifications
Apple Intelligence can automatically summarize multiple notification previews and show them on top of the stack. If you find these summaries unhelpful, you can disable them by going to Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications.
Priority notifications
Apple Intelligence can determine the context of your pending app notifications and group all the important ones into a “Priority” section at the top, highlighted with an easily noticeable background.
Set notifications to deliver quietly
I love this feature! You can set a particular app to send notifications quietly without lighting up your iPhone screen, playing a sound, or vibrating. The new alerts will stack up quietly in the Notification Center, and you can view them at your leisure.
Use Focus or Do Not Disturb to get some quiet time
Focus modes like Do Not Disturb allow you to cut down on unimportant alerts. You can personalize each Focus mode to your liking and select which apps and people you want to receive notifications from.
You can also use the Reduce Interruptions Focus or enable Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing, authorizing Apple Intelligence to determine which app notifications are important. This will ensure you are only alerted for the essential ones and silence the rest.
Try Scheduled Summaries
Scheduled Summaries are another terrific way to prevent non-urgent notifications from disturbing you throughout the day. With this feature enabled, your iPhone will prevent chosen apps’ notifications from disturbing you and show them all in a group at specific, chosen times.
Announce Notifications
You can have Siri read out notifications when you are wearing AirPods, Headphones, or using CarPlay. Knowing what the notifications say without having to look at your iPhone can be useful in hands-free and eyes-free situations such as driving.
Change Lock Screen notification styles
You can go to iPhone Settings > Notifications and decide how the notifications are displayed on the Lock Screen.
Manage notification previews
If you don’t want other people seeing the initial lines of a text message or app notification, you can prevent all or selected apps from showing previews on the Lock Screen.
Further secure your Lock Screen notifications
In addition to turning off notification previews, there are multiple other ways to secure your Lock Screen notifications, and we’ve listed them in our dedicated tutorial.
Immediately deny new apps from sending notifications
Every time you open a newly downloaded app, it will likely ask your permission to send notifications. If you don’t think you’ll benefit from its alerts, simply tap “Don’t Allow” to prevent them from coming through.
Fun fact: It was actually Google, not Apple, that popularized and mainstreamed notifications. They became one of Android’s defining features, and, in some ways, Android’s notification system is still superior. However, each major iOS release brings improvements to Apple’s notification system, and those enhancements really add up over time.
Also, be sure to check out: How to stop getting Messages, WhatsApp, or other app notifications in Apple CarPlay