Browser notifications can be useful — calendar reminders, news alerts — but they're also one of the most abused features on the web. If you're getting pop-up notifications from sites you barely visited, you accidentally granted permission. Here's how to revoke it and stop new ones from coming in.
Turn off notifications in Chrome
- Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications.
- Under Default behaviour, select Don't allow sites to send notifications.
- To remove existing permissions, scroll down to Allowed to send notifications and click the three-dot menu next to each site, then click Remove.
Turn off notifications in Edge
- Go to Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Notifications.
- Toggle off Ask before sending — or keep that on but also set it so new sites are blocked by default.
- Under Allow, remove any sites you don't want notifications from.
Turn off notifications in Firefox
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Scroll to Permissions and click Settings next to Notifications.
- Remove unwanted sites or tick Block new requests asking to allow notifications.
Turn off notifications in Safari (Mac)
- Go to Safari > Settings > Websites > Notifications.
- Deselect any sites you no longer want to hear from.
- Untick Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications to block all future requests.
Notifications in Windows itself
If you're seeing pop-up notifications in the bottom-right of your screen even when the browser is closed, the browser has registered as a Windows notification source. Go to Windows Settings > System > Notifications and either toggle off notifications for your browser entirely, or turn off notifications from the browser.
About fake notification scams
Some sites display scary pop-ups claiming your computer is infected and urging you to call a phone number. These are scams. Close the browser tab (or the whole browser if needed). Do not call any number shown. Do not download anything prompted by these messages. Ask us if you're unsure.