Taming the Notification Beast: Mastering iOS 12’s Notification Control
While iOS has always made it easy to disable notifications from apps, it’s not a practical solution for every situation. Disabling notifications from crucial apps like WhatsApp or your work email is simply not an option. Even with careful management, some apps tend to flood your phone with unnecessary notifications. This results in a cluttered Notification Center, making you more likely to miss important messages. Fear not, iOS 12 empowers you to take back control by introducing more granular notification management features. This article will guide you through the essential tools to reduce notification spam and ensure you never miss a vital message again.
How to Make Notifications Deliver Quietly in iOS 12
This feature allows you to silence notifications from specific apps without completely disabling them. Quietly delivered notifications won’t disrupt your workflow. You can still review them at your convenience in the Notification Center. This is particularly useful for apps that demand your attention only in certain situations.
Here’s how to manage notifications for quiet delivery:
- When a notification appears on the lock screen, swipe it from right to left.
- You’ll see three options: View, Manage, and Clear.
- Tap Manage.
- Select Deliver Quietly to disable notification sounds and hide them from the lock screen.
To revert this change, go to Settings > Notifications and choose the app you silenced. Select Lock Screen or Banners and toggle the button next to Sounds to re-enable notification sounds.
How to Ungroup Notifications in iOS 12
iOS 12 intelligently groups notifications for better organization. Multiple messages on the same thread, for example, are neatly bundled together. If you prefer the old way of viewing individual notifications, you can easily ungroup them:
- Navigate to Settings > Notifications.
- Select the app whose notifications you want to manage.
- Under Notification Grouping, you can choose By App for a reduced clutter. To completely ungroup notifications, select Off.
How to Hide Notification Content in iOS 12
For ultimate privacy, you can hide the content of notifications from your lock screen:
- Navigate to Settings > Notifications > Show Previews.
- Choose When Unlocked or Never to hide notification content.
This feature was available in older versions of iOS, but it’s beneficial to know how to activate it in iOS 12, particularly for maintaining privacy and security.
Conclusion
iOS 12 offers an improved experience by giving users more control over their notifications. By using its features, you can create a more streamlined and less intrusive notification environment. You can choose to be alerted by specific apps during important moments while keeping unnecessary notifications under control. This allows you to focus on what matters without being bombarded by unnecessary alerts.
