Skip to main content

How to clear notifications on an iPhone

Clearing notifications can be a chore, but here's an easy way to do it

iphone notifications
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Notifications are a necessarily evil for a lot of us. We get loads of them every day, only some of which have any real importance. You know how it goes. You let them stack up all day and when you finally get a chance to sift through it all, you’re welcome by a huge mess of a lock screen. Thanks to iOS 12, clearing notifications on an iPhone is easier than ever. Here are all the ways you can dispose of them once they have served their purpose.

Clear one notification

how to clear notifications on an iPhone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As we all know, when you get a notification, it lights up your phone and requests your attention to the lock screen. You can, of course, tap this notification to launch into the respective app, which will also clear it. You can also swipe right on it to accomplish the same task. Swiping left will reveal three additional options: Manage, View, and Clear (or Clear All if this is a set of grouped notifications), the last of which will get the job done even more quickly. Another way is to swipe the notification from the far right to the far left edge of the screen, where a larger Clear bubble will appear. Let go once you see that prompt to clear it.

Recommended Videos

Lastly, with rich notifications, you can clear a notification when in its expanded view. Hold down on it to bring up the full interactive notification, then tap the ‘X’ in the corner to clear it.

Clear all notifications

how to clear notifications on an iPhone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Here’s where things get really satisfying. You can get rid of everything at once because iOS 12 brings the long sought-after functionality to clear all notifications with just a couple of taps. In iOS 11, this feature was only available to people with devices that supported and had enabled 3D Touch. It won’t be accessible when you first receive a notification, but once you have put your phone to sleep and woken it back up, you can swipe up on the lock screen to jump into the Notification Center. From here you can press and hold the ‘X’ above your notifications to reveal a hidden Clear All Notifications option. Give that puppy a tap and all the clutter will elegantly dissolve to reveal a clean, beautiful, empty lock screen.

With the introduction of new phones that don’t support 3D Touch, like the iPhone XR, it’s no surprise that Apple is starting to make features once only available to people with higher-end models accessible from all devices running iOS 12. This may be a bad sign for the future of 3D Touch as a whole, but we’re just happy to see universal functionality in place of device limitations.

That’s it, you’re in the clear! Now, if only there were a guide to getting fewer emails in the first place.

Chris DeGraw
Former Content Specialist
The foldable iPhone could become a yearly staple for Apple
Semi-open state of a foldable iPhone concept

South Korean tech site ET News has released a report suggesting the foldable iPhone will get an annual refresh starting in 2026. It would replace the Pro Max as the top-of-the-line iPhone model and get updated every year just like the rest of the core lineup.

The launch date for the "iPhone Fold" is still up in the air -- so while ET News is betting on 2026, we don't know if that will turn out to be accurate or not. Either way, the hype around this rumored new model is continuing to build with every new leak we get.

Read more
Latest iPhone Fold leak adds weight to previously rumored design feature
Concept render of a foldable iPhone.

There are plenty of rumors surrounding Apple's next iPhone models, with the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models expected to be revealed later this year, likely in September. A super slim iPhone – dubbed the iPhone 17 Air in most rumors – has also been heavily speculated to arrive this year, competing with the recent Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, but next year could see an even more exciting iPhone launch. 

It's long been rumored that 2026 could be the year Apple finally joins the folding phone market, with its offering going up against devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, or what will likely be the Galaxy Z Fold 7 by the time Apple's model arrives. There have already been a number of reports suggesting what the iPhone Fold might feature, but the latest talks about the screen ratios of both the main and cover displays, as well as the front camera design. 

Read more
Word of notch-less and bezel-less iPhone in 2027 is refusing to die down
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

In just two years, the world-dominating smartphone will celebrate its 20th anniversary -- and it looks like Apple has big plans for it. Reports from Bloomberg and The Information suggest the company is aiming for a curved and completely bezel-less display with no notches or cutouts for cameras or sensors.

We've already seen plenty of "curved" and "edge-to-edge" displays from manufacturers like Samsung, but current approaches only curve along the left and right edges of the device. Apple, on the other hand, reportedly wants to go all-in with a glass display that curves around all the edges and corners of the phone.

Read more