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Tired of endless interruptions on your wrist? Me too! Learn how to customize which notifications you get on your Apple Watch to minimize unnecessary alerts. Some apps have app-specific notifications to give you even more control over your device.
Why You’ll Love This Tip:
- You can customize which notification you get on your Apple Watch.
- Minimize notifications by turning off alerts from less important apps.
How to Customize Apple Watch Alerts
System Requirements
This tip works on Apple Watches running watchOS 11 or later. Find out how to update to the latest version of watchOS.
Yes, you have full control over which apps can send notifications to your Apple Watch! This means that you can keep certain notifications off your wrist. To customize your Apple Watch notifications:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone and navigate to the My Watch tab if you're not already there.
![Open the Watch app on your iPhone and navigate to the My Watch tab if you're not already there.]()
- Tap Notifications.
![Tap Notifications.]()
- Here you will see a list of all your apps separated into two sections: the first consists of mostly pre-installed apps with customizable settings and the second has third-party apps with an iPhone-mirror toggle. Tap on each pre-installed Apple app and select the options that work best for you.
![Here you will see a list of all your apps separated into two sections]()
- Some apps, like Activity, will have app-specific notification options.
![Some apps, like Activity, will have app-specific notification options.]()
- Some apps will also offer the option to either allow notifications, turn them off completely, or only see them in the notification center which means you will see the notification when you check for it, but you won’t be alerted when it comes in.
![Some apps will also offer the option to either allow notifications, turn them off completely, or only see them in the notification center which means you will see the notification when you check for it, but you won’t be alerted when it comes in.]()
- Other apps will instead give you the option to mirror the notification settings for the corresponding iPhone. When opting to mirror my iPhone, some apps will actually list your iPhone’s notification settings underneath.
![Next, scroll down to the second list of apps.]()
- Next, scroll down to the second list of apps. These apps only have the option to mirror the iPhone notification settings or not. They do not show what those settings are though, so if you’re not sure you will have to check them in your iPhone Settings app.
![Next, scroll down to the second list of apps.]()
Pro Tip
If you decide to mirror your iPhone, you will only receive notifications for apps that mirror the iPhone and only if notifications are enabled for that app on the iPhone.
Now you know how you customize the notifications you get on your Apple Watch app-by-app! If you have a lot of apps on your devices, this could take a while, but it is worth the time spent. Next, learn how to fix your Apple Watch not getting notifications.
