Privacy how-to: Hide notifications on your phone’s lock screen

June 7, 2022

By Kim Komando

Our phones contain much of our personal lives in today’s digital world. From conversations to social media to our private photos, we have many things we may not want the world to see on our phones. Tap or click here to see six social media privacy mistakes you’re making.

Even when your phone is locked, notifications from various apps, including messages, can appear on your phone. This happens whether you want them to or not.

If you want to keep those notifications off your phone while you’re sleeping or at work, or maybe when you’re around certain people, we are here to help. Read on to discover how to disable notifications on your phone’s lock screen.

Disable notifications for iPhone

For all apps

• Open Settings
• Choose Notifications
• Tap Show Previews
• Choose an option: Always, When Unlocked or Never

If you want to stop notifications on your phone’s lock screen, select When Unlocked. This will keep notifications coming when using your phone but prevent them from popping up on the lock screen.

Turn off notifications for specific iPhone apps

To turn off notifications selectively for apps, go to Settings > Notifications > Siri Suggestions, then turn off any app.

Disable notifications for Android

When customizing notifications on your lock screen on Android, you have five options. You can choose to show no notifications, show all, hide silent notifications, or hide sensitive content specifically. You can also choose to shut off notifications for individual apps.

Shut off all notifications on Android

• Open Settings
• Choose Apps & notifications
• Select Notifications
• Under Notifications on lock screen, select Don’t show notifications

Hide silent notifications on your lock screen

• Open Settings
• Choose Apps & notifications
• Select Notifications
• Under Lock screen, turn off sensitive notifications

Turn off notifications for specific apps

• Open Settings
• Choose Apps & notifications
• Select Notifications
• Find Recently sent and choose apps where you have recently sent notifications
• If you don’t see the app you want, select see all
• Tap Advanced
• Select Turn off all notifications for a listed app

With just a few taps, you can get your phone’s notifications under control. If you’re looking for more tricks, here are nine tips to get more out of your Samsung Galaxy.