Did Windows 11 notifications not do it for you? Here's how to customize it.
If you use your computer for work, you probably have some apps and browser
extensions that notify you whenever you receive an email, chat message, or
news update.
Sometimes, when you're busy, notifications can make you anxious. Other times,
they keep showing up on your screen when you try to focus on a task.
Luckily, Windows 11 lets you customize how notifications work on your PC. In
this guide, we'll explain how you can customize Windows 11 notifications to
keep your notification panel sleek and less distracting.
Disable Banner Notifications
If you're bothered by seeing the banner notification slide at the bottom right
of the screen while you're working, you can turn off notifications completely.
You can disable it from the Settings app.
Start by pressing Windows key + I and navigate to
System > Notifications
, and toggle the switch from the top.
You will no longer see banner notifications. If you want to re-enable banner
notifications, simply re-enable the switch.
Disable Badge Notifications
You will see a counter at the far right of the taskbar for notifications. The
number represents the unopened notifications that you currently have in your
notification panel.
If you find it annoying or want a cleaner taskbar from the Settings app, you
can disable this counter.
Start by pressing Windows key + I
to launch the Settings app and navigate to
Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors . Uncheck the box
next to the
Show badges (unread messages counter) on taskbar apps option .
Once you turn off badge notifications, you won't see the counter in the
taskbar even if you have unopened notifications.
Use Focus Assist
If you don't want to turn off notifications, but only pause them while you're
focused on work, use Focus Assist.
You can press Windows key + A to activate Focus Assist . Or, if
you want to take the longer route, start by pressing
Windows key + I and navigating to System > Focus assist .
You'll have two Focus Assist options here:
- Priority list : Turns off all notifications that are not in your priority list. You can change the priority list by clicking Customize priority list .
- Alarms only : Turns off all notifications except alarms.
If you want a summary of missed notifications, check the box next to the
option called
Show a summary of what I missed when focus assist was on option .
This way, you can focus on the task at hand without being distracted by
notifications every few minutes.
Change Banner Notification Duration
You can customize the duration of each banner notification on your PC. If you
want to keep notifications on the screen for a longer or shorter duration, you
can change them from the Settings app.
Press Windows key + I then navigate to
Accessibility > Visual effects . Change the duration by selecting an
option from the dropdown next to the
Dismiss notifications after this amount of time option.