Turn Off Safari Notifications on Mac: Full Guide

If you’re tired of websites asking to send you notifications or spamming you with alerts through Safari on your Mac, this guide will show you exactly how to turn them off. You can block all notification requests, disable notifications for specific sites, or clear out existing permissions—all in a few clicks. No special tools or technical knowledge are needed.

What You’ll Need

A Mac running macOS with Safari (any recent version)
Administrator access to your Mac (usually your standard user account is fine)

Step-by-Step

Open Safari. Click the Safari icon in your Dock or launch it from the Applications folder.
Open Safari Settings. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Safari and then select Settings… (or press Command + ,).
Go to the Websites tab. In the Settings window, click the Websites icon (it looks like a small gear or slider) at the top.
Find Notifications. In the left sidebar, scroll down and click Notifications. You’ll see a list of websites that have requested permission to send notifications.
Block all notification requests (recommended). At the bottom of the Notifications panel, check the box that says “Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications”—uncheck it. This stops Safari from showing any new notification prompts.
Remove existing permissions. For each website in the list, select it and click the Remove button (or use the dropdown next to it to change its permission to Deny). To clear all, you can right-click a site and choose Remove All, but note that this only clears the list, not the global setting.
Close Settings. Once you’ve made your changes, just close the Settings window. Safari saves automatically.

Common Mistakes

Only unchecking the global box but leaving old permissions. Existing permissions remain, so sites you previously allowed can still send notifications. You need to remove or deny them individually.
Confusing Safari notifications with macOS notifications. Safari notifications appear in the Notification Center, but they’re controlled by Safari’s settings, not System Settings > Notifications (though you can also turn them off there).
Clicking “Allow” on a prompt by accident. If you click Allow, the site is added to the list. You’ll need to go back and change it to Deny.

Tips

To keep some sites allowed (like your email or calendar), leave the global checkbox checked and just deny the annoying ones.
If you want to allow a site later, revisit Safari Settings > Websites > Notifications and change its permission to Allow.
You can also block notifications from a specific site directly from the Smart Search field: click the small shield or notification icon that appears on the left of the URL, and choose “Block” or “Settings for This Website.”
If you’re using Safari Technology Preview or a beta version, the steps are the same but the interface might look slightly different.

Troubleshooting

If you’ve followed the steps but still get notifications, try these:

Check System Settings. Go to System Settings > Notifications, scroll down to find Safari, and make sure notifications are turned off there as well. This is a separate layer that can override Safari’s settings.
Restart Safari. Quit Safari completely (Command + Q) and reopen it. This clears any temporary glitches.
Restart your Mac. If notifications persist, a restart can help reset the notification system.
Check for macOS updates. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install any pending updates. Bugs in older versions can cause notification settings to behave oddly.
Reset Safari’s website data (last resort). In Safari Settings, go to the Privacy tab and click Manage Website Data…, then remove data for the problematic site. This forces Safari to treat it as a new site, so it will ask again (but you can deny it).

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this stop all notification prompts?

Yes, unchecking “Allow websites to ask for permission” stops all new prompts. Existing permissions remain unless you remove them.

Can I block notifications from just one site?

Yes. In Safari Settings > Websites > Notifications, select the site and set its permission to Deny, or remove it entirely.

Why do I still see notifications after turning them off?

Check System Settings > Notifications for Safari and make sure they’re off. Also, restart Safari and your Mac if needed.

Does this affect notifications from other browsers?

No, this only affects Safari. If you use Chrome or Firefox, you’ll need to adjust their settings separately.

Can I re-enable notifications later?

Absolutely. Just go back to Safari Settings > Websites > Notifications and check the box again, or set individual sites to Allow.

Will turning off notifications break websites?

No. It only stops notification prompts and alerts. Websites will still function normally.

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