Skip to main content

How to block browser and website notifications

Rid yourself of website notification requests in just a few easy steps

Browser notifications can be a great tool for staying up to date with what your favorite websites are doing. But if you’d rather not be prompted to check out the latest content from a site, or just want to block browser and website notifications entirely, it’s fairly easy to manage. Whichever browser you use. The steps are a little different depending on your preferences, but it only ever takes a few clicks.

If you want to learn how to disable push notifications for a specific site, like Digital Trends, for example, we have a guide just for that. You can also elect to block notifications when you first visit a site. But if you didn’t and have now changed your mind, here’s how to block them all indefinitely.

Chrome

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 1: Open Chrome and select the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of your browser window and select Settings. On Mac, just click on the Chrome dropbdown from the menu bar and click System Preferences.

Step 2: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select Advanced.

Step 3: Look for the section headed Privacy and Security and under it, select Content settings.

Step 4: Select Notifications.

Step 5: To change your notification preferences for any individual website, look down the list or use the Add button if you don’t see it present. Then use the three dot menu icon to Allow notifications if you’ve previously blocked them, or remove them from the block list. Alternatively, you can block all browser notifications by toggling off the Ask before sending button at the top of the page.

Firefox

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 1: Open Firefox and select the three-line menu button in the top right. Then choose Options.

Step 2: Select Privacy and Security from the left-hand menu.

Step 3: Scroll down to the Permissions section and next to the Notifications heading, select Settings.

Step 4: If you have specific sites you want to block, you can use the drop-down button next to their URL to select Block. If you’d rather block every site’s notifications, tick the box that says Block new requests asking to allow notifications. It is also a good idea to select Remove All Web Sites too, to make sure that there are no sites that slip through your new notification net.

Safari

Safari Notification Settings
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 1: Launch Safari and then select its icon from the application menu bar. Then select Preferences.

Step 2: Select the Websites tab followed by Notifications in the left-hand menu.

Step 3: If you want to disable notifications for individual websites, use the up and down arrows next to the corresponding site to change it from allowed to deny or vice versa. If you’d rather block website notifications across the board, untick the box at the bottom that reads, Allow websites to ask for permission to send push notifications.

If you’d like more in-depth instructions, we have a full guide just for Safari’s notifications. Check it out here.

Edge

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 1: Open Edge and select the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner. Then select Settings from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Select Advanced from the left-hand menu. Under the Manage Permissions subheading, select Manage Permissions.

Step 3: Pick the site that you want to change notification settings for, then toggle it on or off, depending on your preferences.

Note: You’ll need to do this for each site you want to block notifications for. Unfortunately, Edge doesn’t have the ability to block all notifications entirely.

Opera

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 1: Open an Opera browser window and select the O logo in the top-left corner. Then select Settings from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Select Advanced from the left-hand menu, then select Privacy and security.

Step 3: Select Content Settings followed by Notifications.

Step 4: On the Notifications page, you can either block or allow sites individually (using the respective Add buttons for each section) or block all notifications entirely. To do so, toggle off the Ask before sending (recommended) button.

Editors' Recommendations

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
The best ad blockers for Chrome
Chrome OS

If you've decided once and for all that you can't stand another video pre-roll commercial, then it’s time to install an ad blocker. But which one? Don’t worry. We picked out the best ad blockers for Chrome. Our top pick, AdBlock, does exactly what its name suggests, but it also allows you to customize which sites are allowed to show ads and which types of ads are shown.

But if AdBlock doesn’t quite meet all of your ad blocking needs, be sure to check out the other picks for Chrome ad blockers on this list.

Read more
How to clear cookies
how to clear cookies

When we talk about cookies concerning the internet, we aren’t talking about your grandma’s oatmeal raisin recipe. What we’re referring to are the tiny files that your browser saves when you visit certain sites. 

This can include sensitive information like passwords, so some people opt to clear their cookies regularly. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you should be a few clicks away from a safer browsing experience.
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is our current pick as the best browser of 2020. It lets you easily delete cookies, control browsing data, and specify what sort of files it should accept or block.

Read more
How to check if a website is down
akamai survey q1 2017 crowd on internet browsing laptop mobile tablet app device

It's happened to all of us at one time or another -- you've got your caffeine ready, you're settled into your couch or office chair, and when you go to pull up your favorite website, all you see is Google's apologetic robot informing you that an error has occurred. Rather than getting frustrated at your electronic devices, it might be worth seeing if the URL you're trying to reach is functioning as normal or if something has gone awry.

Here's how to check if a website is down so you can stop worrying that you have a problem with your setup.
Step 1: Open Down Detector
One of the easiest ways to check if a website is down is to use a service like Down Detector. It's a free website that provides information on outages for online services, gaming networks, ISPs, financial organizations, and websites in real-time. Down Detector accomplishes this through a combination of error reports submitted to their app and website and monitoring Twitter and other social media for the latest info.

Read more