Getting Distracted Too Often? Turn Off TikTok Notifications

Smartphones have made life a lot more convenient — but that convenience can come with a price.

Trying to do business? Trying to compose an important letter? Trying to talk to your aging mother? Trying to relax by enjoying the TikTok posts on your feed, or by creating your own video?

The price you may pay is the constant chiming that accompanies a never-ending stream of TikTok notifications.

Some users appreciate receiving alerts. They may have posted new TikTok content and want to monitor engagements, or they may be waiting to get a DM from a friend. For many others, though, the interruptions are distracting at best and annoying at worst.

Don’t be held hostage to the social media platform’s notifications. Turning them off is easy, but you may have to take two different approaches to get rid of them all.

Turning Off TikTok Notifications in the App

Many notifications only appear on your screen when you’re logged into and using the TikTok app. Here’s how to stop being told that you have a new comment on your TikTok video when you’re trying to focus on someone else’s content.

1. Visit your TikTok profile by tapping the “Profile” icon at the bottom right of your home screen.
2. Open the profile menu by clicking the “Menu” icon (three horizontal lines) at the top right of your profile page.
3. Choose “Settings and privacy” from the popup window that appears.
4. Select “Notifications” under the “Content & Display” heading, and then tap “In-app notifications.”
5. You’ll see a full menu of notifications that can be sent in the app. Toggle them all to “off” to eliminate in-app alerts; if there are any you still want to receive, leave them turned “on.”

This only stops the notifications that appear on your screen; you’ll still see them when you check your TikTok Inbox.

Turning Off TikTok Notifications on Your Phone

It can be just as annoying to get alerts from TikTok when you’re not even on the app. It happens because the system is sending so-called “push” notifications directly to your phone — so the only way to turn those alerts off is to adjust your phone’s settings. Thankfully, you can also do that from the app.

1. Go back to the “Notifications” screen as described above, but choose the “Push notifications” option instead of “In-app notifications.”
2. You’ll be taken to your phone’s TikTok settings page, where you’ll see an “Allow Notifications” toggle switch. Move it to “off” to stop notifications from being pushed to your phone.

This action only prevents your phone from delivering TikTok alerts, but if you back up and scroll through the settings page, you’re able to turn off notifications from any other app installed on your device.

Enjoy the peace and quiet!