How to Turn Off YouTube Notifications (Without Missing Uploads)

YouTube buzzes for videos you never asked about, comment likes, and channels you forgot you followed. Here is how to turn off YouTube notifications at every level, and how to keep hearing about the handful of channels you actually care about.

In this guide:

Turn off notifications for one channel
Turn off all YouTube notifications on iPhone and Android
Stop recommended-video and comment alerts
Turn off YouTube notifications on a computer, plus YouTube emails
Quieter options than switching everything off
How to go quiet without missing uploads

Woman in a sunny cafe switching off YouTube alerts on her phone, relaxing with a calm, relieved smile

How to turn off YouTube notifications for one channel

The channel bell turns off YouTube notifications for a single channel while keeping your subscription. It is the right tool when one channel posts too often.

Open the channel in the YouTube app or on youtube.com.
Tap or click the bell next to the Subscribed button.
Choose None.

YouTube Help says None means no notifications from that channel. The videos still show up in your Subscriptions feed, so nothing disappears. If a channel like MrBeast floods you with Shorts and streams, None quiets it in two taps.

Want the channel gone entirely? Choose Unsubscribe from the same menu. Our guide to managing YouTube subscriptions covers cleaning up a long list.

Man on a sofa with popcorn, tapping his phone with an amused, decisive look as he mutes one chatty channel

How to turn off all YouTube notifications on iPhone and Android

Your phone's settings stop every YouTube notification at once. This is the fastest full off switch, and it leaves your bells and subscriptions untouched.

On iPhone or iPad: open Settings, then Notifications, then YouTube, and switch Allow Notifications off.

On Android: open Settings, then Apps, then YouTube, then Notifications, and switch them off. Android also lists separate notification categories here, so you can block some types and keep others.

Inside the YouTube app, the Subscriptions toggle under Settings, then Notifications, does a similar job for channel alerts. Either way, the in-app bell list still collects alerts. We explain where those go in YouTube inbox notifications.

Each device has its own switch

Phone settings only apply to that phone. If YouTube also pings your tablet or laptop, turn it off there too.

Woman sitting up in bed placing her phone face down on the nightstand, peaceful and ready to sleep

How to stop recommended-video and comment notifications

Recommended-video and comment alerts are the YouTube notifications most people never asked for. You can stop them without losing alerts from channels you follow.

Tap your profile picture, then Settings, then Notifications. Then:

Recommended videos: switch off. YouTube Help says this controls personalized notifications from channels you are not subscribed to.
Comment and activity alerts: switch off the toggles for replies to your comments, mentions, and activity on your channel. Names vary slightly between app versions.

This is the best first move for most people. The pings you never asked for go away, and the ones you chose stay. Every toggle on that screen is explained in our YouTube notification settings guide.

Young man on his bedroom floor switching off unwanted alerts on his phone with a satisfied smile

How to turn off YouTube notifications on a computer

On a computer, YouTube notifications appear as browser pop-ups, and you can stop them in YouTube or in the browser.

In YouTube: go to youtube.com, click your profile picture, then Settings, then Notifications. Under Desktop notifications, switch Chrome (or your browser) off, per YouTube Help.

In Chrome: on youtube.com, click the icon to the left of the address bar, open Site settings, and set Notifications to Block.

Trying to turn pop-ups back on instead? See YouTube desktop notifications not working.

Woman at a home office laptop turning off browser pop-ups, moving from distracted to focused

How to stop YouTube emails

The same Settings page on youtube.com has an Email notifications section. Untick the email types you do not want. You will not find new-upload emails there, because YouTube stopped sending them on August 13, 2020.

Man at a dining table unticking unwanted YouTube email settings on his laptop, smiling as the clutter clears

Quieter options than turning YouTube notifications off

Two YouTube settings reduce interruptions without switching notifications off. Both sit under your profile picture, then Settings, then Notifications.

Scheduled digest combines a day's push notifications into one daily notification at a time you choose, per YouTube Help. You see everything, once.

Disable sounds & vibrations silences alerts between 10 PM and 8 AM by default. You can change the times. It works on phones, not tablets.

Both make alerts easy to miss. The digest holds them until your chosen time, and quiet hours deliver them silently, so a premiere or live stream can end before you notice.

Older man by a kitchen window at sunrise, coffee in hand, calmly checking one daily summary on his phone

How to turn off YouTube notifications without missing uploads

The cleanest setup is to turn off YouTube notifications and move your must-watch channels to email. You get a quiet phone and still hear about the uploads that matter.

The bell was never a guarantee anyway. YouTube Help says that if you select All but "haven't watched or engaged with the channel in a while, you'll only receive notifications for that channel inside the app." PPC Land reports that rule became permanent in 2026. YouTube also caps alerts at 3 per channel in 24 hours.

Email has none of those filters. Here is the setup:

Turn off YouTube notifications using any method above.
Pick the three to five channels you never want to miss, such as Veritasium, Mark Rober, or Kurzgesagt.
Search each one on Sublark and enter your email.

Sublark emails you as soon as it detects a new upload, usually within the hour. It is free for viewers, and you can find any channel in seconds. New videos from busy channels like Marques Brownlee or Linus Tech Tips land in your inbox, ready when you are.

Quiet phone, no missed uploads

Turn YouTube alerts off and get an email within the hour of every upload from the channels you choose.

Search a channel

Young woman on a park bench smiling at a new upload email on her phone, a single coral envelope above it

If YouTube alerts stopped on their own and you want them back, start with our hub on YouTube notifications not working.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I turn off YouTube notifications for one channel?

Open the channel on YouTube and tap the bell next to the Subscribed button. Choose None. You stay subscribed, so the channel's videos still appear in your Subscriptions feed, but YouTube sends no push or inbox alerts for it. The same bell menu works on iPhone, Android and youtube.com on a computer. If you want the channel gone completely, pick Unsubscribe from that menu instead.

How do I turn off all YouTube notifications at once?

Use your phone's settings, not YouTube's. On iPhone, open Settings, then Notifications, then YouTube, and switch Allow Notifications off. On Android, open Settings, then Apps, then YouTube, then Notifications, and switch them off. That blocks every YouTube push alert on that device in one step. Your channel bells and subscriptions stay as they were, so you can switch alerts back on later without redoing anything.

How do I stop YouTube from notifying me about videos I'm not subscribed to?

Those alerts come from the Recommended videos setting. Tap your profile picture, then Settings, then Notifications, and switch Recommended videos off. YouTube Help says this toggle controls personalized notifications from channels you have not subscribed to. Turning it off removes most of the noise while leaving alerts from your subscriptions untouched. Do it on each phone or tablet you use, then check youtube.com settings on your computer too.

Can I turn off YouTube notifications at night only?

Yes. YouTube's Disable sounds and vibrations setting silences alerts between 10 PM and 8 AM by default, according to YouTube Help. Find it under your profile picture, then Settings, then Notifications, and change the start and end times if you like. Notifications still arrive during those hours, just silently. The setting works on phones only, not tablets. Your phone's own Do Not Disturb or Focus schedule does the same job for every app.

If I turn off YouTube notifications, how do I know when my favorite channels upload?

Use email for the few channels you never want to miss. Sublark sends you an email as soon as it detects a new upload, usually within the hour. Search a channel on sublark.com, enter your email address, and you are done. It is free for viewers, needs no app, and does not depend on the YouTube bell, so you can switch every YouTube push alert off and still catch the uploads that matter.

Turn YouTube off. Keep your channels.

Pick the channels you never want to miss and get an email within the hour of every upload. No app, no bell.

Search a channel

Free for viewers
Email within the hour of every upload
Works with YouTube alerts switched off

Are you a creator? Give your subscribers reliable upload alerts →