Facebook notifications can be useful for staying up-to-date with what your friends are posting and interacting with your content. However, the constant dings and buzzes from Facebook notifications can also become annoying and distracting over time.
Luckily, Facebook provides easy options for muting notifications temporarily or adjusting the notification settings to change which notifications you receive on both desktop and mobile. Here’s what you need to know about managing your Facebook notifications so you only get alerts that are useful to you.
What types of notifications does Facebook send?
Facebook sends notifications for a wide variety of activities happening on the platform. Some of the most common notifications you may receive include:
- Friend requests
- When you’re tagged in a post, photo or comment
- When someone likes or comments on your posts
- When someone accepts your invitation to like a Page or attend an event
- Recommended/popular live videos
- Birthday reminders for friends
- News feed updates from pages you follow
- Messages
- Notifications about Facebook features like Marketplace, Jobs, Groups, etc.
Notifications can come through as desktop notifications on your computer, mobile push notifications, text messages, or red notification icons within the Facebook app and website.
Why would I want to lower the notification volume?
Here are some common reasons you may want to turn down or mute Facebook notifications:
- Notifications are disruptive or annoying when you’re trying to focus on work or other tasks
- You’re receiving too many notifications and most of them aren’t relevant
- Alerts are waking you up at night if your phone is in your bedroom
- You want to check Facebook on your own schedule, not when notifications dictate
- Cutting down on distractions from your phone use and social media
Controlling your notifications can help you manage distractions, stay focused, and use Facebook more intentionally instead of reacting to every update.
How do I lower notification volume on desktop?
When using Facebook through your web browser on a desktop or laptop, here’s how to adjust notification settings:
- Click on the arrow in the top right corner to open the dropdown menu
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Go to the “Notifications” tab on the left side
From here, you have a few options to limit notifications:
- Mute Push Notifications – Turns off desktop notifications so you won’t receive any alerts on your computer.
- Mute Sounds – Allows notifications but removes any sound effects so they will be silent.
- Mute a specific person or page – Click “Mute Settings” to customize which people or pages you want to mute.
Any changes you make will apply to notifications across all your desktop browser sessions logged into Facebook.
How do I lower notification volume on mobile?
If you want to limit Facebook notifications on your iPhone, Android, or other smartphone, follow these steps:
- Open the Facebook app
- Tap the three line “hamburger” menu in the top right
- Choose “Settings & Privacy” then select “Settings”
- Tap “Notifications”
From the Notifications menu you can:
- Turn off Push Notifications – Stops all notifications from showing up on your phone.
- Select different notification tones – Change the sound for each notification category.
- Toggle notifications on/off for specific features – For example, mutenotifications from “Pages you follow” or “Live Videos”
Adjusting these settings prevents unnecessary interruptions from your phone. The changes apply to notifications when using the Facebook app on that mobile device.
How do I mute notifications from specific people or pages?
If there are just certain people or pages that are blowing up your notifications, you can mute them selectively:
- Go to the profile or page that you want to mute
- Click on the “Following” button (for a page) or the “Friends” button (for a person)
- Choose “Mute [name]” to mute their notifications
This will stop notifications just from that page or person. You can always undo it later by following the same steps and choosing “Unmute.”
Can I schedule when I receive notifications?
Facebook doesn’t have an option to schedule notification hours and days within its settings. However, you can achieve a similar effect using your device’s notification settings:
- Android – Go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook and set the rule for when notifications can be delivered.
- iPhone – Go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook and set options like “Allow Notifications”, “Show in Notification Center”, and “Show on Lock Screen” for how alerts should display.
This way, you can configure notification blackout times or allow them only on certain days without fully muting Facebook.
How do I turn off notification dots/badges?
Along with banners, sounds and popup messages, Facebook notifications also appear as red dots or numerical badges on the apps and menu icons.
To remove these visual indicators:
- On desktop – Click your profile picture > Turn off “Show a notification dot”
- On iOS – Go to Settings > Notifications > Facebook and turn off “Badge App Icon”
- On Android – Turn off notification dots for Facebook within your device’s Settings or download an app like Nova Launcher to disable all notification badges.
This creates a cleaner look without the constant red dots vying for your attention.
What’s the difference between muting and unfollowing?
Muting and unfollowing both reduce notifications but work in slightly different ways:
- Mute – Stops notifications but you’re still connected and will see updates in your feed.
- Unfollow – Removes someone’s updates from your News Feed but you stay connected as friends/followers.
So muting is better if you just want to limit distractions but don’t mind still seeing posts. Unfollowing completely removes updates from view but keeps the connection.
Can I get notifications for only certain activity?
Instead of just muting everything, you can fine-tune which notifications you receive based on different types of activities:
- On the Notifications settings page, click “Edit Preferences”
- For each category, choose between “All”, “Some” or “None” for how many notifications to get
- Click “Customize Settings” to mute specific sub-categories and pages
This allows granular control, so you can focus notifications only on what matters most to your Facebook experience.
What’s the benefit of turning off notifications?
Here are some of the advantages you stand to gain by limiting Facebook notifications:
- Avoid constant disruptions while working or trying to focus
- Reduce stress or overwhelm from too many alerts
- Improve productivity by minimizing distractions
- Use Facebook more intentionally instead of reacting to every ping
- Prevent wasting time on low-value information
- Gain more control over your attention and device usage
Cutting down on digital noise can create more space for things that provide greater fulfillment. And with notifications less in-your-face, it’s easier to check Facebook only when you want to engage.
Conclusion
Facebook’s notification settings provide great flexibility to take control of your alerts and reduce disruptions. Try muting notifications altogether, limiting times notifications come through, or customizing exactly which activities trigger notifications.
Finding the right balance takes some experimentation. But setting boundaries around your notifications can help you engage with Facebook more intentionally and focus attention on the people and activities you care about most.