How to stop website notifications without losing useful alerts
Block unwanted website alerts in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, stop permission requests and find why a notification keeps returning.
Find the website address shown on the unwanted alert, then block that site's notification permission in your browser settings. Handle requests for new permissions separately. Turning off all browser notifications in the device settings can silence useful sites too, so start with the unwanted sender when possible.
In this guide
Block the website that is sending the alert
You can stop most unwanted website notifications by changing the permission for the website sending them. Open your browser’s notification settings, find the unwanted address and choose Block or Deny. You can usually keep alerts from other sites you actually need.
Before changing a setting, look at the alert’s sender. Record the website address and browser name if they are shown. Do not click a frightening warning simply to find out where it came from. Use the browser’s settings, opened separately.
Closing the tab is not always enough. Website notifications can arrive when the page itself is no longer open. Microsoft and Apple also describe situations where their website alerts appear while the browser is closed. A notification by itself does not establish that your device is infected.
This guide covers current desktop browsers and Chrome on Android, with the scope stated for each set of steps. A browser instruction for a computer may not match a phone app. If your screen differs, search the browser’s settings for Notifications and check that you are editing the right site.
Check which kind of interruption you have
People use “pop-up” for several different things. It helps to name what is happening before looking for the switch.
| What you see | What it probably needs |
|---|---|
| An alert at the edge of the screen or in the notification centre, showing a website sender | That site’s notification permission |
| A browser request asking whether a site may send alerts | The default setting for new requests |
| A new tab or window opening without your intention | Pop-up and redirect settings, plus further checks if it continues |
| An offer covering the article inside the webpage | The website’s own overlay controls or leaving the page |
| An alert from an installed app rather than a website | The app’s or device’s notification settings |
These clues guide the first check; they do not prove every possible cause. If a new tab is the real problem, follow the browser redirects guide. If the message arrives in your inbox, use spam email controls.
An alert that says “Allow to prove you are not a robot” is still asking for notification permission if the browser identifies it that way. You can decline. Do not grant ongoing alerts just to get past a page’s instructions.
Chrome on a computer
Open Chrome’s three-dot menu, then Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications. Review the sites allowed to send notifications. For the unwanted address, use its menu to choose Block, or add the address under Not allowed to send notifications.
The same page has a default behaviour for new notification requests. Choose the option that stops sites asking if you do not want new requests. Quieter requests and blocking requests are different choices: quieter wording may reduce interruptions without removing every opportunity for a site to ask.
To undo a site block, return to its notification permission and change it to the choice you want. You can also use the site-information control beside the address on a trusted page. Do not revisit a suspicious page just to edit its permissions; the settings list is the better route.
Check the full address before acting. Similar-looking names can be different sites. If several unfamiliar addresses are allowed, block the unwanted entries rather than assuming the first one you recognise must be responsible for every alert.
Chrome on Android
Open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, then Settings > Site settings > Notifications. Review the listed permissions and block the unwanted site. The top control changes whether sites can request notifications; check existing permissions as well when removing an established sender.
For a trusted site you are already visiting, tap the page-information control beside its address, choose Permissions, then Notifications and turn the permission off. Chrome also offers an Unsubscribe control on some unwanted notifications, with Undo if you tap it by mistake.
Keep the browser’s controls separate from words drawn in an advert or message. The word “unsubscribe” in a notification’s system action is not the same as an unknown webpage telling you to follow a link to unsubscribe.
If you cannot find the site, confirm that Chrome is the browser named by the alert. A phone can contain more than one browser, and a website opened as an installed app may need different controls. Look at the sender first instead of changing every app’s alerts.
Microsoft Edge on a computer
Open Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > All sites. Choose the unwanted website, find Notifications and set it to Block. In older Edge layouts, site permissions may be grouped under Cookies and site permissions; searching Settings for notifications is another route to the relevant control.
Microsoft distinguishes website notifications from pop-ups. It also states that permitted website alerts can appear while Edge is closed. If an alert arrives after you close Edge, inspect permissions before deciding that closing the window failed because of malware.
Return to the same website’s permission if you need to undo the block. For a site you trust and still use, decide whether you need all its alerts or whether its own account preferences let you narrow them further.
For example, you may want a message alert from a work service but no promotional alerts from a store. Changing those two website permissions individually gives you more control than silencing the whole browser.
Firefox on a computer
Open Firefox’s Settings, go to its privacy and permissions section, then find Permissions > Notifications > Settings. You can search Settings for notifications if the section label differs. Set the unwanted site’s status to Block and save the changes.
Mozilla distinguishes blocking from removing an entry. Block stops that site sending notifications and asking again. Remove Website revokes the saved permission but allows the site to request it again later. Choose the result you actually want.
To stop new requests in general, select Block new requests asking to allow notifications in that notification settings window and save. To restore a site’s permission, return to its entry and choose Allow, or change its permission through the site’s Page Info controls.
Do not remove every entry automatically if some alerts matter. First identify the unwanted sender. You can then decide whether a broader change would improve your day or just create extra work restoring useful permissions.
Safari on a Mac
Open Safari > Settings > Websites > Notifications and change the unwanted site’s permission to Deny. To stop new permission requests, deselect Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications.
You can also open the Mac’s System Settings > Notifications, select the website under application notifications and turn off Allow Notifications. Apple notes that denying permission in Safari removes the site’s permission rather than only changing the presentation in system settings.
To undo a change, return to the setting you used. If you changed both Safari and system settings, check both before wondering why a wanted alert has not returned.
These steps apply to Safari on Mac. Do not expect the same Websites panel in Safari on an iPhone. If your alert comes from a web app installed on another device, check the device’s notification list for that app and use the official instructions matching that device.
Choose between one-site blocking and whole-browser silence
One-site blocking is a good starting point when one sender is the nuisance. Whole-browser notification controls can be appropriate when you deliberately want no browser alerts, but make that a conscious choice.
List anything you need before applying the broader option. A calendar reminder, an incoming work message and an optional shopping offer may all reach you through the same browser. Turning the browser off at the device level may hide all of them.
If you only need a quiet period, consider the device’s temporary focus or do-not-disturb controls. Read how exceptions work before relying on them for important contact. A temporary quiet period and a permanent permission change serve different needs.
For example, you could block a store’s alerts permanently while allowing a trusted work site’s messages during your normal working hours. Your setup does not have to be either constant interruption or complete silence.
How to check that the change worked
Record the website you blocked and the browser you changed. Clear an old notification from the notification centre after making the change so it does not confuse the test. An old card remaining visible is not the same as a new message arriving.
Continue with an ordinary session. If another alert arrives, compare its sender with your note. A different address means you have another permission to inspect. The same address means you should recheck the setting, browser and profile you changed.
Do not expect a quiet ten minutes to prove the site can never alert again. The useful check is that its permission is set correctly and no new alerts arrive from that source during normal use. If you depend on a wanted alert, check that service through its normal, harmless test or next expected message too.
Undo the last change if it blocks something you need. Restore only that permission rather than resetting every browser setting. You should end with a setup you can explain: this site is blocked, that site is allowed, and new sites need the choice you selected.
If the alert keeps returning
You changed a different browser or profile
Confirm the browser named on the alert and the account profile open in that browser. Your personal and work browsing may be separate. Changing a permission in one place does not establish that you changed the place receiving the alert.
You removed permission and then granted it again
A page may keep asking when you return. If you choose Allow again to make the request disappear, you restore the access you meant to remove. Block the site and stop accepting permission prompts as a way to dismiss them.
The message is inside a webpage
A large banner drawn on a page is not necessarily a system notification. Notification permission changes may leave it untouched. Close the page if it behaves badly; do not grant more permissions or install a suggested tool to remove its advert.
The warning claims you must pay or call immediately
Treat the claim separately from its alarming wording. A website notification can imitate an official warning. Check your device’s trusted security app directly if needed. Do not call the number or pay through the alert merely because it uses a familiar logo or a countdown.
Keep useful messages useful
On a shared device, explain a change that affects someone else’s useful alerts. For example, agree that a shopping site’s offers can stop while a shared calendar remains available. If you use separate browser profiles, make the change in the profile that receives the unwanted messages. A simple note of the blocked address helps the next person avoid granting it again to dismiss a prompt. This is especially useful when several people have seen the same frightening alert and each is trying a different fix.
Before allowing a new site, ask what you expect it to tell you, how often and what you will do when the alert arrives. If you cannot name a useful action, checking the site when you choose may be enough.
For alerts you keep, consider whether the site offers account settings for fewer message types. Permission gives a site a route to reach you; its own preferences may offer finer choices about the content. Use only the options actually provided rather than assuming every service has them.
If you still pick up your phone after every small sound or pause, work on repeated checking alongside the permission change. The browser can stop sending unwanted prompts. You can also give yourself a clear reason and time to check the messages you chose to keep.
Sources and references
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