Is your Mac constantly beeping with notifications, making it difficult for you to focus? You’re not alone. We’ve compiled a list of seven different notification settings that can help you make your Mac quieter both in terms of audio volume and the volume of notifications you see.

1Press F10 to Silence MacBook Notifications

The easiest and quickest way to make your Mac quieter is topress the F10or mute key (situated at the top right of the keyboard). The mute key immediately silences all the system sounds coming from notifications, applications (such asApple Musicor Chrome), or any other source, for that matter.

The quick alerts you hear when you type in thewrong password, those from a Chrome tab, or the audio playing onsecondary devices like Bluetooth speakers, all go away when you press the mute button on your Mac’s keyboard.

Picture of a Mac’s keyboard with an arrow next to the F10 or mute button.

You can alsopress the volume down key repeatedlyor drag the volume slider all the way to the left, but that takes more time. When you’re ready for the sounds, press the button again to unmute them (the button acts as a toggle switch).

2Enable Do Not Disturb Mode

If you want to make your Mac quieter for attending an online class/meeting, watching a podcast/educational video, or enjoying anew release on Netflixundisturbed, you can enable the Do Not Disturb mode on your Mac.

Unlike the mute button,Do Not Disturbsilences the incoming notifications, email alerts, and iPhone calls that reflect on your Mac while allowing audio playback through the speakers or a Bluetooth device.

Picture of a Mac’s keyboard with an arrow next to the F6 key.

OnApple devices like iPhones, iPads, and Macs, Do Not Disturb mode is available as a Focus mode. To enable, press the F6 button (the one with the crescent moon). Thissilences the notifications and alertsuntil you disable the mode.

Alternatively, you can go to the menu bar, click on theControl Center, selectFocus, and then enable the Do Not Disturb mode for a specific duration, like an hour.

Screenshot of the Mac’s desktop with the Control Center open and an arrow next to the Focus meni.

3Disable Website Notification on Safari

If you’re fed up with constant alerts from a website, you’re able to turn off thebrowser notificationsfor that particular website.

Then, select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.

On the window that opens, select the “Websites” tab.

In the panel on the left, scroll down and select “Notifications.”

Now, you should see thewebsites that can send you alerts. Click on the upward or downward-facing arrow to their right and choose Deny. If you don’t want toreceive notifications from any web page, uncheck the “Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications” option at the bottom.

Screenshot of the Mac desktop, highlighting all Focus modes.

Ifyou’re a Chrome user, head to Settings > Privacy and Security > Site Settings > Notifications, and check the “Don’t allow sites to send notifications” option.

4Mute Notifications From Apps Temporarily

If you want to make your Mac quieter for a while,macOS allows you to pause notifications temporarilyfor specific durations, like an hour or a day.

When you get a notification, click to expand it, and then press the three-dot button. In the drop-down menu, select the option that suits you the best. You can choose from the following options: “Mute for 1 hour,” “Mute for today,” and “Turn off.”

Screenshot of the Mac desktop with an arrow next to the Safari button next to the Apple menu.

5Turn Off Notifications From Specific Apps

If you don’t wish to receive notifications from a specific app, say Calendar, Google Chrome, or a messaging app likeWhatsApporTelegram, you can head to the settings menu to prevent the app from showing you any alerts.

Go to Settings > Notifications, and under “Application Notifications,” select an app.

Screenshot of the Safari menu with an arrow next to the Settings option.

In the following menu, turn off the toggle beside “Allow notifications.”

Now, the app won’t show you any notifications unless you enable them from the same menu.

Screenshot of the Safari settings menu with a circle around the websites menu.

6Disable Calls From iPhone in FaceTime

With all the notifications we already handle on our Macs, those additionalalerts for incoming iPhone callscan get pretty annoying. Not only do they ring your Mac, but they also bring you back to the home screen, breaking your concentration.

The good news is that you can turn off the incoming call alerts from your iPhone by changing oneFaceTimesetting.

Screenshot of the Safari settings menu with an arrow next to the Notifications options.

Open the settings for the FaceTime app and uncheck the box beside “Calls From iPhone.” That’s it. From now on, your Mac won’t disturb you with incoming calls on your iPhone.

7Turn Off iPhone Notifications on macOS Sequoia

With macOS Sequoia, Apple has released a new feature called iPhone mirroring. The way it works is that it allows you tocontrol your iPhone directly from your Mac. However, this also means that you receive all your iPhone’s notifications on your Mac.

If that isn’t something you want, go to Settings > Notifications > Allow notifications from iPhone and toggle the “Allow notifications from iPhone” option off.

Screenshot of the Safari settings menu highlighting the options next to denying persmissions to show notifications.

Once you do this, you’ll still be able touse the apps on your iPhone from your Macwithout facing the constant buzzing of alerts from different apps.

If you’ve just got anew Mac, we have plenty of articles for you to go through. For instance, you can read about thefive settings to change on your new Mac here. Here’s another piece about10 hidden Mac features you should usein your everyday routine.

Screenshot of the expanded notifications on macOS, showcasing the options to mute notifications temporarily.