title: “Unlock the Secret to Total Notification Control on Your Android Device!” description: “Learn how to master your notifications on your Android device for a more seamless and productive experience.” date: 2021-09-30 categories:

  • Android
  • Tips tags:
  • notifications
  • productivity
  • Android tips

As our smartphones become more integrated into our daily routines, notifications have become a crucial part of our mobile experience. However, if you’re like most people, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of being bombarded with notifications at the wrong time, in the wrong place, or from the wrong app.

Fortunately, Android offers a wealth of tools and features to help you take full control of your notifications. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best ways to master your notification settings for a more seamless and productive experience on your Android device.

Get to Know the Notification Settings

First things first: it’s important to familiarize yourself with the basic notification settings on your Android device. You can find these settings in the Settings app under the “Apps & Notifications” section.

Here, you can view a list of all the apps on your device that have permission to send notifications. Tapping on an app will give you the option to customize its notification settings, including the type and frequency of notifications you wish to receive.

Depending on your device’s model and software version, the specific options available may vary slightly. However, some of the most common notification settings you can expect to find include:

  • Importance level: This determines how urgent the app’s notifications are and how they are displayed on your device (e.g. full-screen, heads-up, silent, etc.).
  • Sound and vibration: This allows you to choose your preferred ringtone, notification sound, and vibration pattern for each app.
  • Notification categories: Some apps may offer multiple categories of notifications that you can enable or disable separately (e.g. emails, news alerts, social media updates, etc.).
  • Notification channels: In Android 8.0 Oreo and later, apps can create custom channels for different types of notifications. You can choose which channels to show or hide on your device, and customize their settings independently.

Customize Notifications for Your Needs

Now that you know where to find the notification settings, it’s time to start customizing them to meet your specific needs. Here are some tips to get you started:

Prioritize Important Notifications

If you’re tired of being interrupted by non-essential notifications, consider setting up notification channels or categories for different levels of urgency. For example, you might create a “Priority” channel for urgent messages from your boss or loved ones, and a “Low Priority” channel for less important updates like app promotions or weather forecasts.

Once you have your channels set up, you can configure them to show or hide notifications based on your schedule and preferences. For example, you might decide to only receive notifications from your “Priority” channel during work hours, or disable all notifications during your daily meditation practice.

Use Snooze and Do Not Disturb

Sometimes, you might need to temporarily silence all notifications for a few hours or days. In these cases, you can use the “Do Not Disturb” mode on your Android device to block notifications and calls during specific hours or events (e.g. while you’re sleeping, in a meeting, or driving).

You can also use the “Snooze” feature to pause notifications from a specific app or channel for a set amount of time. For example, if you receive a barrage of emails during a busy period, you can snooze your email app for an hour or two to regain your focus.

Block Annoying Notifications

If there are any apps that you no longer wish to receive notifications from, you can easily block them in the notification settings. Simply find the app in the list, tap on it, and disable the “Allow Notifications” toggle.

You can also block individual notification categories or channels within an app. For example, if a news app is sending you too many alerts about celebrity gossip, you can disable that category while still receiving notifications for breaking news.

Conclusion

Notifications can be a double-edged sword: when managed properly, they can keep you informed and empowered. When mismanaged, they can quickly become a source of distraction and stress.

By taking the time to master your notification settings on your Android device, you can unlock a more seamless and productive experience. Whether you want to prioritize your most important messages, block out distractions, or take a break from notifications altogether, you have the power to customize your phone to meet your needs.

To that end, what do you do? Well, recent releases of Android do make it much easier for you to curtail some of those notifications to ease up on the chaos.  By taking control of that, you can be certain you’re only receiving notifications that you actually want, thereby clearing away the things you don’t need. But how do you take care of this?  Also: How to view your Android notification history, and why you might want to

How to control what apps send notifications to your Android

It’s quite easy. Let me show you.

Requirements

The only thing you’ll need to make this work is an Android device running an updated version of the operating system. To be more specific, you’ll need a device running Android 13. You can also do this on Android 12, but it’s done in a very different manner (and done through the notification shade itself). With Android 13 the process is not only easier but more reliable. And now, let’s calm those notifications down. Also: How to stop apps from the notification shade on Android 13 Also: How to configure conversations as Priority in Android (and why you should)   However, in such a case where you transferred to a new phone, those settings may not hold. In that case, you’ll find every application has notifications enabled. To disable notifications for an app, tap the associated ON/OFF slider until it’s in the OFF position. Continuing going through the list until you’ve disabled all app notifications you do not want clogging up your notification shade.  After taking care of this, back out of the Settings app and you should now enjoy a much less busy notification shade in Android. One thing to keep in mind about this is that if you find yourself missing out on certain notifications, you can always go back and re-enable any app necessary. I tend to go with only the apps I know I absolutely need to receive notifications from. If it’s not a necessity, it’s disabled. Don’t hesitate to play around with this to find the sweet spot for you. Congratulations, you’ve just made your mobile life a bit less chaotic.