The passing of information has gone from letters, telegraphs, and emails to notification pop-ups on our smartphones. Yet, as with all modern conveniences, these notifications can sometimes be distracting or inappropriately timed.
To silence notifications on your Apple Watch, go onto the companion app, select My Watch, then go to the Notification submenu and choose from three options what you want. You may also need to go into third-party or built-in apps to silence them.
So, how can you silence these notifications? You may also want to select specific notifications to silence or those from a particular app or service. Let’s take a closer look at the Apple Watch’s options for silencing notifications.
Notifications on the Apple Watch
Before we dive into the steps for silencing notifications on your Apple Watch, let’s review how notifications work. First, some notifications are from built-in apps, and others are from third-party apps. Aside from texts or phone calls and in-app information, the Apple Watch also offers mindfulness reminders.
However, we also know the notifications you receive on your Apple Watch are generally those you would otherwise receive on your iPhone. And they will pop up on your iPhone while you are using it.
The iPhone takes priority over the Apple Watch within the Apple ecosystem. Therefore, only if your iPhone is locked will you receive notifications on your Apple Watch. And the notifications you receive on the watch depend on your iPhone settings.
But by using the Apple Watch’s companion app, you can deactivate the Apple Watch’s ability to receive notifications from any app.
Silencing Notifications Using the Apple Watch Companion App
Using the Apple Watch companion app on your iPhone is the most straightforward way of silencing notifications from specific apps. In many cases, it is the best option for this purpose.
To Silence Notifications from the iPhone App:
- Find the Apple Watch companion app on your iPhone. First, you can check your App Library, where you will find the app under the default Utilities section. Alternatively, you can use the iPhone search option by dragging it down on any screen and typing ’watch’ (iOS sixteen replaces the home screen indicator with a dedicated search toggle).
- The app is a default app on most iPhones. So even if you deleted the app before connecting your apple watch, it should automatically reinstall when you pair the devices. If you can’t find the app, search for—and install it from the Apple App Store.
- When you open the app, you will find three options at the bottom of the screen: My Watch, Face Gallery, and Discover. Select the My Watch screen.
- You should see your Apple Watch’s name right at the top of the screen. Beneath it, there is a search bar, a panel that allows you to select a watch face, followed by a list of submenus. The first option in that submenu is Notifications.
The Options in the Companion App’s Notification Submenu:
There are three options in the companion submenu, which are:
- Notification Indicator: This feature displays a red dot at the top of your Apple Watch’s screen when you have new notifications, even when they are muted.
- Show Summary When Locked: This option allows you to choose between notifications displaying fully or partially without the content while the Apple Watch is locked. The option is helpful for privacy when notifications get silenced, and you’re charging the watch where other people can see the screen.
- Tap To Show Full Notification: It is similar to the previous function, with one major exception. The feature lets you decide whether the notification pop-up is only partial or shows the complete notification while wearing the device. It’s another excellent privacy feature for when notifications are silenced.
How to Turn Off Notifications from Built-in Apps
After the three toggles mentioned above, you’ll see a list of built-in apps. You can select and block notifications from most of the Apple Watch’s built-in apps from this menu.
You will notice that when you enter the menu for an app, some of the apps display different layouts and options. Let’s review a quick breakdown of these variations:
- Some system app menus are straightforward. For example, the first option toggles whether an app can send notifications.
- Other apps, like the built-in maps app, have several notifications for different scenarios. But, again, you have the option to toggle these separately.
- The Weather, Phone, Photo, and other system apps allow you to select Mirror iPhone, which is as it says. Alternatively, you can choose Custom and toggle the notifications manually.
- The Health app has a custom menu with various toggles for notifications from different features. We recommend leaving these notifications turned on.
How to Turn Off Notifications from Third-Party Apps
Below the system apps notification menu, you will find a complete list of third-party apps. These apps have a toggle to their left. When toggled off, the app can no longer send notifications via your apple watch.
Turning Off App Notifications Directly on Your Apple Watch
You can find a simplified version of the same menus in the iPhone companion app under the Settings menu on your Apple Watch. With the watch face active, press the crown. That will open your Apps menu, where you will find Settings.
Here you can mute a specific app. You can also select the duration.
The feature allows for an hour and a day. Should you prefer a temporary option, press down at the top of the Apple Watch’s screen. The notifications center will pop up.
While the native Apple Watch notifications menu offers functionality similar to the iPhone app, it has far fewer customization options.
How to Turn Off Mindfulness on the Apple Watch
Veteran Apple Watch owners know that the mindfulness notification can be quite a frustrating nuisance. Fortunately, you can silence the frustrating feature in the Apple Watch companion app. It is listed as one of the system apps.
Note: The above guide does not necessarily represent or reflect the process of muting notifications on an Apple Watch with an active eSIM.