How to Turn Off Alexa Notifications in 5 Steps, With Photos

Alexa is great. She’ll keep you on schedule and keep track of your grocery list. But sometimes, you don’t want her constant interruptions with notifications. Fortunately, you can turn off Alexa notifications, and we’ll show you how.

Alexa will read your notifications at random. You can ask her to set a timer; she’ll happily oblige, then start reading you a list of notifications that aren’t interesting at the moment. While some may find this helpful, others don’t want Alexa reading their notifications.

How to Turn Off Alexa Notifications for Echo Devices

Alexa announces notifications on your Echo devices and your iOS or Android smartphones. You can disable Alexa notifications on your Echo devices using the Alexa app. Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Open the Alexa App

If you don’t have the Alexa app, install it and sign into your Amazon account. Then, open the app.

Helpful Hint: The Alexa app is the control center for your Echo devices. You can enable and disable notifications, customize your Echos, and more.

Step 2: Open the Alexa Menu

Alexa’s Settings are hidden in the Menu option at the bottom of the page. Click the More icon in the bottom right corner.

Step 3: Go to Settings

Now you’ll see several options, such as Reminders, Routines, and Calendars. Scroll past those options and tap on Settings.

Step 4: Tap Notifications

The first section in the Alexa app’s Settings has a Notifications option. Tap the Notifications selection to move forward.

Step 5: Disable Notifications

Rather than giving us a main switch to turn off Alexa Notifications, we have to disable notifications individually. Tap each option in this section and turn off the corresponding Notifications and alerts.

Helpful Hint: Tap the Notifications Preferences to disable notifications when you’re nearby.

Here is a step-by-step video for further reference:

How to Turn Off Alexa Notifications on iOS

Perhaps Alexa is sending your notifications to your iOS device. If so, we can use the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad to turn off Alexa app notifications. Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Open the Settings

Open your device’s Settings app.

Step 2: Tap Notifications

Scroll down a little and tap the Notifications option.

Step 3: Tap the Alexa App

The Notifications section will show a list of apps. Tap the Alexa App in the list.

Step 4: Tap Announce Notifications

After opening the Notifications settings, you’ll see an Announce Notifications option. Tap it to move forward.

Step 5: Turn Off Alexa Notifications

Scroll through the list and toggle the switch for Alexa’s notifications off.

How to Turn Off Alexa Notifications on Android

Android users will receive notifications from the Alexa app by default. You can turn off Alexa notifications on Android devices in the phone’s Settings. Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Open the Settings

Android users can pull down from the top of their screen, tap the Settings cog in the top right corner, or open the Settings app from the app drawer.

When you find the Settings, tap to open them.

Step 2: Tap Notifications

You’ll see the option for Notifications near the top of the page. Tap Notifications.

Step 3: Tap App Notifications

The next step is to tap App Notifications. The option appears at the top of the Notifications window.

Step 4: Turn Off Alexa Notifications

Finally, scroll through the list and turn the switch next to the Amazon Alexa app, so it turns grey.

How to Turn Off Alexa Shopping Notifications

There will come a time when you order something from Amazon, and you don’t need Alexa tattling on you about it. Ethically, this is more a feature to keep someone’s gift a surprise, but other times you just don’t want a family member to know about your Amazon purchases.

Fortunately, you can turn off Alexa’s Amazon shopping notifications. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Open the Alexa App

As we showed above, navigate to your smartphone’s App Drawer (Android) or App Library (iOS) and open the Alexa app.

Step 2: Tap More

Tap the More icon in the menu at the bottom of the Alexa app’s home screen.

Step 3: Tap Settings

Scroll to the bottom of this page and tap on the Settings option.

Step 4: Tap Notifications

Near the top of the Settings page, you’ll see the Notifications option. Tap it.

Step 5: Tap Amazon Shopping

The topics are in alphabetical order on this new page, so you won’t have to scroll far. Tap Amazon Shopping to move forward.

Step 6: Turn Off Amazon Shopping Notifications

Finally, tap the toggle switch next to Order Updates and For items in delivery updates.

Helpful Hint: Scroll through the page and turn off any other toggle switches to silence all Amazon shopping notifications.

Privacy Concerns With Alexa Notifications

One common concern among Amazon consumers is how secure or private Alexa devices actually are, and this carries over to Alexa having access to your notification information. There is an undeniable ease with having your Alexa device synched to different apps, however, that personal information is then available to Amazon and can be used to build a consumer profile for marketing purposes.

For example, if one of the common notifications that you have turned on through Alexa is appointment reminders, then Amazon potentially has access to your calendar which could have very personal information in it.

Say No to Notifications

There’s nothing quite like a little peace and quiet. Sometimes we just don’t want to be in the know; other times, we don’t want others to know about packages and other Amazon account activities. Alexa’s notifications aren’t always helpful, so it’s nice the developers let us customize them.

Following the steps above, you can achieve total peace or silence only the notifications you don’t want to hear.

Up Next

• How to Play YouTube on Alexa — Quick guide to playing YouTube through your Alexa device.
• How to Drop in on Alexa — How to use your Echo devices as an intercom and “drop-in” on your home.
• How to Connect Alexa to Bluetooth — Bluetooth is a common and convenient feature that you can integrate with your Alexa device for easier use.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.