What Does Hide Alerts Mean on iPhone? [+Infographic]

Some of the apps on your iPhone can send so many notifications that it becomes disruptive.

For people that text a lot, the Messages app can be one of the most active applications on the device.

Our tutorial below discusses a hide alerts iPhone setting that you can use when you want to reduce the number of notifications by stopping them entirely for specific conversations.

How to Hide Text Message Alerts and Notifications on an iPhone

  1. Open Messages.
  2. Swipe left on a conversation.
  3. Choose Hide Alerts or the bell icon with a line through it.

Our what does hide alerts mean article continues below with additional information on the hide alerts iPhone setting, including pictures for steps on adjusting that setting.

Related: This iPhone guide will help you figure out why some of your iMessages are being sent as text messages with green bubbles.

Customizing notifications and settings is important when you are trying to optimize your iPhone experience. If you receive a lot of text messages, particularly from one or a few specific conversations, then you might be interested in learning what the “Hide Alerts” setting means for the Messages app on your iPhone.

Have you been exploring and experimenting with the menus and options in your iPhone’s Messages app and found a setting called “Hide Alerts?” This is a helpful option for your text message conversations that lets you mute the alerts and notifications that you would typically receive when you get a new text message.

The alerts that it hides include any notifications that would pop up for the conversation, as well as any audio that would play to indicate the arrival of a new message. This is particularly useful for conversations that are very active, such as those from a group text message conversation.

Our tutorial below will show you how to enable the Hide Alerts option for an iPhone text message conversation, as well as how to show alerts again for a conversation where they are hidden. We will also discuss customizing the notification settings for your messages, as well as address some common questions that arise concerning the use of the Hide Alerts feature.

If you have other muted notifications then you may want to check out our how to turn off do not disturb on iPhone 7 article and see if that setting is activated.

Video About the Bell Next to Texts on an iPhone

What is the iMessage Hide Alerts Option?

In previous versions of iOS, there used to be a button that you could tap that said Hide Alerts.

This appeared when you swiped to the left on a text message conversation, and it looked like the picture below.

how to show alerts for text message on iphone

The Hide Alerts option on an iMessage or text message conversation meant that you wouldn’t get alerts or notifications about that specific text message conversation.

I use this all the time for active group text message conversations where you might not want to see a large number of notifications that are likely to happen when you have multiple people are responding in the same message.

In newer versions of iOS, this has been replaced with a bell icon, which looks like the image below.

what does hide alerts mean on iPhone icon example

Both of these items do the same thing. The interface just changed a little bit.

If you need to capture a video of your screen, this this guide about how to screen record on iPhone can show you what to do.

How Can I Tell If I Have Enabled the “Hide Alerts” option for an iPhone Text Message?

If you are asking what does hide alerts mean because you aren’t certain whether or not you have turned this setting on, then a simple way is to look for a small bell icon with a line through it in your conversation list.

I have muted the indicated conversation in the picture below.

hide alerts iPhone example

You can also swipe to the left on a conversation. If you see the bell icon with a diagonal line through it, like in the picture below, then you haven’t muted the conversation.

iPhone conversation not muted

If you see a bell icon without a line through it, then you have muted the conversation.

iPhone conversation is muted

You can always tap that button to change whether or not the alerts are currently being hidden for that conversation.

The next section of this what does hide alerts mean guide will show you how to mute notifications for one of your iPhone conversations.

How to Hide Alerts for a Text Message Conversation on an iPhone 7

The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 7 Plus in iOS 11.4.1. These steps will also work on other iPhone models using the same version of iOS.

If you don’t see the Hide Alerts or Show Alerts button, or a purple bell with a line through it, in the sections below, then you may be using an older version of iOS.

Scroll down to our Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of the article to see an alternate way to hide alerts from the Info menu for the conversation.

These steps will show you how to hide alerts on an iPhone for a specific text message conversation.

Step 1: Open the Messages app.

open the messages app

Tap the Messages icon.

Step 2: Swipe to the left on the text message conversation for which you wish to hide the alerts.

swipe left on conversation where you want to hide alerts

Drag your finger to the left on the conversation you wish to mute.

Step 3: Tap the Hide Alerts button.

what does hide alerts mean text message iphone

Touch the Hide Alerts button, or the button with a bell and a line through it.

Now that you have completed the hide alerts iPhone process, you may be wondering how to re-enable them if you wish to start receiving notifications for this conversation again in the future.

You can read our how to turn on group messaging on iPhone article for more information about using group texting on your iPhone.

How to Stop Hiding Alerts for Text Messages on an iPhone

If you have previously hidden alerts for a text message conversation, or if you suspect that you may have hidden them accidentally, then follow the steps in this section to start showing those alerts again.

Step 1: Open the Messages app.

open the messages app

Step 2: Swipe to the left on the text message conversation for which you want to show alerts.

swipe left on message with hidden alerts

Step 3: Tap the Show Alerts button.

how to show alerts for text message on iphone

If you don’t want to use the iPhone hide alerts option, but you would still like to change your text message or iMessage notification behavior, then the next section will show you where to find these settings.

Related: Check out this how to turn off flashlight on iPhone 11 guide to learn more about the iPhone flashlight and how to turn it off.

How to Customize Notification Settings for Text Messages on an iPhone

If you don’t want to hide alerts for your conversations, but you do want to choose the types of notifications that you receive, you can follow the steps below.

Step 1: Open the Settings app.

open the settings menu

Step 2: Choose the Notifications option.

select notifications

Step 3: Scroll down and select the Messages option.

change message notifications on iphone

Step 4: Modify the settings on this menu to control the types of notifications you receive for new text messages.

customize iphone message notifications

If you select the Allow Notifications option at the top of this menu, you can completely turn off notifications for all text messages on your iPhone.

This option isn’t just available for muting notifications for text messages. You can mute another app’s notifications as well if you go to Settings > tap Notifications > then scroll down and choose another option.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Hide Alerts iPhone Setting

Is Hide Alerts the Same Thing as Do Not Disturb?

Yes, this does the same thing that the “Do Not Disturb” setting did for individual message conversations in older versions of iOS.

Is there another way to hide alerts for conversations on my iPhone?

Yes, you can also hide alerts for a conversation by completing the following steps:

1. Open the Messages app.
2. Choose the conversation for which you want to hide alerts.
3. Tap the i button at the top-right of the screen.
4. Touch the button to the right of Hide Alerts.

In older versions of iOS this option might be called Do Not Disturb instead.

Can you hide alerts for iMessages as well as regular text messages?

Yes, you can hide alerts for any text message conversation in your Messages app.

This will also be disabling notifications for other messages that you might receive in that conversation, like a picture message or a video message.

Can I hide alerts for a group message on my iPhone?

Yes, you can hide alerts for group messages. Simply open the Messages app, swipe left on the group chat, then touch the bell icon.

Will someone know if I have hidden the alerts for a conversation with them?

No, the other parties in your message conversation won’t know that you have hidden alerts.

How do I know if I have hidden alerts for a conversation on my iPhone?

A small half moon icon appears to the left of any conversation for which you have hidden alerts.

In newer versions of iOS this icon looks like a bell with a diagonal line through it instead.

Why aren’t I receiving alerts for text messages even when I have alerts enabled and my notification settings seem to be correct?

Occasionally your alerts and notifications might simply stop working properly.

In this case, it’s usually best to restart the iPhone by holding down the Power button for a few seconds, then moving the slider on the screen to the right to turn off the device.

You can then restart the iPhone after it has shut down by pressing and holding the Power button again for a few seconds.

If I hide text messages notifications on my iPhone, will I still see alerts on my lock screen?

No, if you turn off the notifications for a conversation, then it will hide messages alerts on the lock screen, in the notification center, and other places where you are notified of messages on your iPhone.

If you don’t wish to hide message alerts from the lock screen then you will need to toggle “Hide Alerts” off and adjust the notification alerts from the Settings > Notifications > Messages menu instead.

If I am blocking notifications for a contact in the Messaging app, will it affect incoming calls?

No, if you have chosen to silence notifications for a contact or group conversation in Apple’s Messages app, it will only affect new messages.

If that specific contact calls you, you will still be able to receive calls from them in other apps like FaceTime or the Phone app.

It will only stop notifications via text or iMessage.

Note that the steps that we discussed above are only for hiding notifications on your iPhone. This isn’t going to hide iMessage conversations, nor will it be able to prevent anyone who wants to find hidden text messages from simply choosing to tap Messages on your Home screen and scroll through your messages list.

However, it is possible to make it a little more difficult for someone to see specific messages on your phone aside from choosing to hide notifications.

If you go to Settings > Messages > Unknown & Spam > you will find a Filter Unknown Senders option. Enabling this option will split your messages between those from contacts, and those from unknown numbers.

how to filter unknown senders for iPhone text messages

Suppose you want a conversation to appear in the Unknown Senders tab instead of the regular message list. In that case, you can choose the Delete Contact option on their contact card so that your iPhone thinks they are an unknown sender whenever they send you a text message or an iMessage.

how to delete an iPhone contact

Are you running out of space on your iPhone? Read our guide on ways to free up space on your iPhone if you don’t have enough room for music, movies, or new apps.

What Does Hide Alerts Mean Infographic

how to hide alerts for IPhone text messages infographic