--- title: "How to Enable and Disable Browser Notifications" date: 2026-01-27 author: "Rajesh Namase" featured_image: "https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/how-to-enable-and-disable-browser-notifications-1.jpg" categories: - name: "Browsers" url: "/category/browsers.md" --- # How to Enable and Disable Browser Notifications I have always had a love-hate relationship with browser notifications. While I agree that they are great, many websites use them to an annoying extent. Keeping notifications turned off is not an optimal solution, either. This means you need to know how to **enable and disable browser notifications** at the browser and website levels. In this guide, I have covered how to do it in major browsers like **[Google Chrome](https://datafeature.com/google-chrome-statistics/)**, **[Safari](https://datafeature.com/safari-browser-statistics/)**, and **[Firefox](https://datafeature.com/mozilla-firefox-statistics/)**. ## Enabling and Disabling Browser Notifications Before I tell you how to enable and disable browser notifications, you should know about the two levels at which you can manage them. They are: - **Browser-level** - **Website-level** On both Windows and macOS, web browsers are treated as applications. So, apps like Chrome or **[Edge](https://datafeature.com/microsoft-edge-browser-statistics/)** must be allowed to send you notifications in the first place. These apps will ask for the notification permissions as you set them up for the first time. However, it also means you can disable all notifications from a browser. It may be a viable solution when you do not want browser notifications in the first place. Often, though, you only need to **limit notifications** from specific websites. Or you can allow notifications only from the websites you choose. In this context, **website-level notification controls** are handy. I will first show you the steps to enable or disable notifications on Windows and macOS. ### Enable/Disable Browser Notifications on Windows - Open the **Start Menu** and type **Notifications**. - Open **Notification settings**. - Find **Google Chrome** under app notifications. - Toggle **On/Off** as required. ### Enable/Disable Browser Notifications on macOS ![Enable Disable Browser Notifications On Macos](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/enable-disable-browser-notifications-on-macos.jpg) - Open **System Settings**. - Select **Notifications**. - In the app list, locate **Google Chrome**. - Set **Allow Notifications** to **Off** Keep in mind that this setting change will block notifications from the app. I’ve shown how to do it in Google Chrome, but the steps should work for any other **[web browser](https://datafeature.com/web-browser-statistics/)**. Now, I will show you how to change website-level notification settings in various web browsers, including **Google Chrome**, **Safari**, **Microsoft Edge**, and **Mozilla Firefox**. #### Google Chrome - Click the three-dot button and choose **Settings**. - Navigate to **Privacy and security** and choose **Notifications**. - This page lets you choose two things: **Default Behavior and Customized Behaviors**. - Default Behavior lets you decide whether websites can ask to send notifications. If those notification requests bother you, you can turn this option off. ![Google Chrome 1](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/google-chrome-1.jpg) - **Customized Behavior** lets you allow or block specific websites from sending notifications. You can add or remove websites to these lists as you wish. ![Google Chrome 2](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/google-chrome-2.jpg) - You can also use the **Search bar** on the top-right section to search for websites. #### Safari - Go to the **Safari** menu and open Settings. - Navigate to the **Websites tab**, then choose **Notifications** from the list. - Safari will now show you a list of websites that have requested **Notifications permissions**. ![Safari](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/safari.png)- You can disable **individual websites** from the option. #### Microsoft Edge - Click the three-dot menu and choose **Settings** from the options. - Go to **Privacy**, search, and services from the sidebar menu. - Navigate to **Site Permissions** > **All Permissions**. - Select Notifications from the options and proceed. - You should now see a page that lets you choose how Edge handles notification requests. ![Microsoft Edge](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/microsoft-edge.jpg) - As you did with **Chrome**, you can stop websites from asking to show notifications. - **Microsoft Edge** offers an additional option that will prevent notification requests from interrupting you. #### Mozilla Firefox - Open Mozilla Firefox and navigate to **Settings**. - Go to the **Privacy and Security** tab and go to the subheading **Permissions**. - Click Notifications and Firefox will now show a **pop-up window**. - You can use this window to see the websites with the **Notifications** permission. ![Mozilla Firefox](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/mozilla-firefox.jpg) - Firefox also lets you stop websites from **requesting permission** in the first place. The option to remove all websites from the list is also convenient if you need a fresh start. So, you can use these steps to **enable or disable notifications** on your web browser at the app or website level. ## Muting Notifications In some cases, you may not want to turn off notifications. Instead, you want to stop them from interrupting your workflow. If so, consider muting notifications from the **browser app**. This way, you won’t hear any sound when a notification arrives. Even then, the notifications will be available for later reference. Here’s how you can mute notifications from **[Google Chrome on a Mac](https://datafeature.com/google-chrome-for-mac/)**. - Open **System Settings** and go to the Notifications menu from the sidebar. - From the list of **applications**, choose Google Chrome. - Now, you don’t have to turn off all notifications from Chrome. Instead, make sure that **notifications are turned on**. ![Muting Notifications](https://datafeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/muting-notifications.png) - Ensure that you have unchecked the option called ‘**Play sound for notification**.’ You can also decide where notifications could appear. For instance, you can enable them in **Notification Center** or the **Lock Screen** while keeping them off the Desktop. This way, notifications from Google Chrome will remain in the Notifications Center for later access. You can check them out as per your convenience instead of letting them disrupt your workflow. You can follow these steps to do the same on Windows: 1. Open **Settings** → **System** → **Notifications**. 2. Scroll down to **Notifications from apps and other senders**. 3. Locate **Google Chrome** and click it. 4. Turn **off**: 1. **Play a sound when a notification arrives** 5. Leave **Show notification banners** enabled if you still want visual alerts. ## Wrapping Up I believe this guide helped you understand how to disable and enable notifications on web browsers like **Google Chrome**, **Microsoft Edge**, **Safari**, and **Mozilla Firefox**. Given how many browsers rely on the Chromium rendering engine, you can follow similar steps on other options like **[Arc](https://datafeature.com/arc-vs-chrome/)** or **[Comet](https://datafeature.com/comet-browser/)** as well. Or, you can control how these notifications appear.