Notifications are the soundtrack to trendy digital life. After they’re uncontrolled, they make it arduous to listen to the rest occurring. However should you handle them effectively, you possibly can flip them right into a delicate background noise. App builders need you to decide in to each notification potential, however fortunately, Android offers plenty of instruments that can assist you tune in to the useful stuff and tune out the distractions. It takes a bit of work upfront, however the payoff is price it.
I used a Google Pixel 8 Professional operating Android 14 and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 operating One UI 6.1 to put in writing the next information — steps could also be barely completely different on different Android telephones.
Notifications within the settings menu
On both a Pixel or Galaxy telephone, a great place to start out is by going to Settings > Notifications > App notifications. From right here, you possibly can toggle all of that app’s notifications utterly on or off.
Which may work for some apps, however in different instances, you would possibly wish to go away sure notifications on and others off. From this display, faucet on an app on this view to seek out choices to show off particular person notification varieties, or channels. Going by means of every app’s choices like that is tedious, but it surely’s top-of-the-line methods to be sure you’re filtering out stuff you don’t need.
Beginning with One UI 6.1, Samsung hid these options by default. In case you’re on a Galaxy telephone, you would possibly must take a few additional steps. Go to Settings > Notifications > Superior settings > Handle notification classes for every app. Then, if you faucet on an app from the App notifications menu, you’ll see an choice to entry Notification classes.
It’s as much as app builders to determine the way to classify their notification channels. That’s why you would possibly see belongings you don’t need (promotional notifications) bundled along with helpful stuff, like order updates — thanks, Starbucks app.
You may also make the job of sifting by means of notification choices a bit of simpler by filtering the view on the principle app notifications display — choose the drop-down menu just below the App notifications title. You possibly can filter it to indicate solely the apps which have despatched a notification lately, for instance, or the apps that notify you most steadily to assist weed out the worst offenders.
Silent notifications are golden
Right here’s one other useful device in your arsenal: silent notifications. Notifications which might be set as “silent” gained’t warn you once they arrive — they’re simply delivered to a separate part of your notifications panel beneath the necessary stuff. You’ll nonetheless see it however by yourself time.
Pixel telephones will allow you to allow this proper from the lock display — long-press the notification, and also you’ll see choices to maintain the app’s notification on its default alert settings or to have it delivered silently. On Galaxy telephones, you possibly can solely set notifications to silent within the settings menu, however there’s a shortcut from the lock display: long-press a notification, faucet Settings to leap to that app’s notification settings, after which toggle alerts to Silent.
Take a sleep
Getting an excessive amount of of a selected sort of notification and searching for a bit of trip? Simply snooze it. On a Pixel telephone, you’ll go to Settings > Notifications and faucet Permit notification snoozing. On a Samsung Galaxy telephone, it’s Settings > Notifications > Superior settings > Present snooze button. It will allow you to snooze a person notification channel (not the entire app) for a preset size of time. To do that, faucet on the arrow down icon within the higher proper to increase a person notification. You’ll see an alarm clock icon within the decrease proper of the Pixel or a bell icon within the decrease proper of the Samsung — faucet it to snooze.
And should you actually must take a sleep, Bedtime mode will be helpful. You possibly can set up Focus Mode, too, for if you want a fast approach to tune out the noise.
With these instruments on the prepared, you’ll be in your approach to residing together with your telephone in candy, candy concord.