The fastest way to get quiet in Messenger is to turn on Do not disturb for as long as you need, or mute the one chat that won’t stop buzzing. This guide covers each control in turn: muting a conversation, pausing everything, group chat settings, and sounds. It also says plainly which controls Messenger’s help pages don’t describe, so you don’t waste time looking for them.
The quickest way to get quiet
If everything is pinging at once, use Do not disturb. It pauses Messenger notifications for a length of time you choose. In the app, go to Menu > Settings > Notifications & sounds and turn it on.
If one conversation is the problem, mute it instead. You stay reachable everywhere else, and that one chat goes silent.
Here’s where each control lives:
| What you want | The control | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Silence one chat or group | Mute | iPhone: swipe left in Chats > More > Mute. Android: tap and hold > Mute. Web: hover > Options > Mute notifications |
| Pause all notifications for a while | Do not disturb | App: Menu > Settings > Notifications & sounds. Web: profile picture > Preferences |
| Pick what a group can notify you about | Notifications & sounds | Android: open the group > tap its name or Information > Notifications & sounds |
| A different sound for one chat | Text tone | iPhone/iPad, Android: open the chat > tap the name > Notifications & sounds > Text tone |
| Sounds off, notifications on | Notification sounds | Web: profile picture > Preferences |
Messenger runs on iPhone and iPad, Android, and in a web browser at messenger.com. Some controls exist on only one of these, and the sections below point out which.
Mute one chat
Muting is the right tool when a single conversation keeps interrupting you, like a busy class group or a project chat that runs all day. To mute a Messenger conversation:
On iPhone or iPad
- Open Chats.
- Swipe left on the conversation.
- Tap More, then Mute.
- Choose how long.
On Android
- Tap and hold the conversation.
- Tap Mute.
- Under Mute conversation, pick what you want to mute.
- Choose how long.
On messenger.com
- Hover over the chat.
- Click Options > Mute notifications.
- Choose what to mute and for how long.
When you mute a group chat, you stop getting notifications for its messages, its message reactions and its mentions. That last part matters. If people in the group tend to tag you when they need you, muting the whole group means you won’t hear those tags either. If you want to keep mentions coming through, see the group settings section below.
Pause everything for a while
Use Do not disturb when you need a block of focus time, like a meeting, an exam or a deadline. It turns off notifications across Messenger for as long as you set.
In the app
- Tap Menu.
- Go to Settings > Notifications & sounds.
- Turn on Do not disturb.
- Choose how long to turn notifications off.
On Android, the help page calls this toggle On rather than Do not disturb, so look for that label if you don’t see the other one.
On messenger.com
- Click your profile picture.
- Click Preferences.
- Toggle Do not disturb.
Messenger’s Do not disturb is something you turn on when you need it. It isn’t a standing rule, which brings up the next point.
Quiet hours on a schedule
Messenger’s help pages do not describe a way to set recurring quiet hours, such as every weeknight or every school day. For now, the documented option is to turn on Do not disturb yourself and choose how long it lasts.
Hear only mentions or chosen words
Messenger’s help pages do not describe a setting that lets you hear only mentions or messages containing chosen keywords across all your chats. Inside a single group chat on Android, though, you can choose which kinds of notifications to get. That’s covered next.
Set notification levels for a group chat
This is the most useful control if you’re in busy group chats but don’t want to miss what’s aimed at you. Instead of muting a group outright, you choose which kinds of notifications it can send. The help pages document this on Android.
- Open the group chat.
- Tap the group’s name or Information.
- Tap Notifications & sounds.
- Toggle each of these on or off one by one:
- Messages
- Mentions
- Reactions
- Calls
Or toggle On to mute all of them at once.
A common setup for a noisy work or community group is to turn off Messages and Reactions and leave Mentions on. You stop hearing every message and every reaction, but you still get notified when someone tags you directly. You can also keep Calls on if the group uses calls for anything urgent.
If you’re on iPhone, iPad or the web, the documented way to quiet a group is the Mute option described earlier. Muting a group stops messages, reactions and mentions together.
Threads
Messenger’s help pages do not describe notification settings for threads.
Notification sounds
Sometimes the sound is the real problem, not the notification. Messenger gives you a couple of documented ways to deal with that.
Turn sounds off but keep notifications
On messenger.com you can silence notification sounds and still see notifications.
- Click your profile picture in the bottom left.
- Click Preferences.
- Toggle Notification sounds off.
This toggle covers both chat and call notification sounds, so calls will be silent too. The help pages document this setting for the web browser.
Give one chat its own sound
If you want to know who’s messaging without looking, you can set a different sound for one chat or contact. This works on iPhone, iPad and Android.
- Open the chat.
- Tap the name at the top.
- Tap Notifications & sounds.
- Tap Text tone and select one of the sounds.
This is handy for the one or two chats that really matter, like a manager, a teacher or a close teammate. Give them a distinct tone and you can leave everything else on quieter settings.
On Android, the same menu also has Customize notifications. That option opens your device’s sound settings instead of a Messenger setting.
What’s not documented
Messenger’s help pages do not name or describe the default notification sound. They also don’t describe a way to change the sound for all chats at once, or a way to use your own sound file.
Putting it together
If you get too many pings, a simple approach works for most people:
- Mute the chats you only need to check now and then.
- In busy Android group chats, turn off Messages and Reactions but keep Mentions, so you still hear when you’re tagged.
- Turn on Do not disturb for meetings, classes or focus blocks.
- Give your most important chats their own Text tone so you can tell them apart by ear.
- On the web, turn off Notification sounds if you want to see notifications without hearing them.
FAQ
Does muting a group chat stop mentions too? Yes. Muting a group chat stops notifications for its messages, its message reactions and its mentions. If you want mentions to keep coming through on Android, open the group’s Notifications & sounds and turn off only the types you don’t want.
Where is Messenger do not disturb on Android? Go to Menu > Settings > Notifications & sounds. On Android, the help page names the toggle On rather than Do not disturb. Turn it on and choose how long to turn notifications off.
Can I turn off Messenger sounds without turning off notifications? On messenger.com, yes. Click your profile picture in the bottom left, click Preferences, and toggle Notification sounds off. That covers both chat and call sounds.
Can I set quiet hours that repeat every day? Messenger’s help pages do not describe recurring quiet hours. The documented option is to turn on Do not disturb and choose how long it lasts each time.