Stop websites from asking the most annoying to show notifications

Web browser allows websites to show you notifications. Nowadays every damn site including YouTube, Facebook and a lot more, opens a most annoying popup asking for a permission to show notifications on your desktop.

Web notifications are not all that bad and it can be useful at times. For instance, by clicking “allow” you grant permission to that website to show you notifications whenever a new article is published on a blog, or when items on your wishlist are available for sale.

On the other hand, such permission may be abused. Some sites may spam by displaying text advertisements on those notifications. You can disable these notification prompts from your web browser.

In this post we’ll take a look at how to disable push notification pop-ups in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge browsers.

Google Chrome

By default, Chrome alerts you whenever a website, app or extension wants to send you notifications. You can change this setting at any time.

If you’re browsing in Incognito mode, you won’t get notifications.

Allow or block notifications from all sites

  • Open Chrome.
  • At the top-right, click More and then Settings.
  • At the bottom, click Advanced.
  • Under ‘Privacy and security’, click Content settings.
  • Click Notifications.
  • Choose to block or allow notifications:
  • Block all: Turn off Ask before sending.
  • Block a site: Next to ‘Block’, click Add. Enter the site and click Add.
  • Allow a site: Next to ‘Allow’, click Add. Enter the site and click Add.
  • You can also block any sites or apps from sending you notifications.

Google Chrome

Or else copy this address “chrome://settings/content/notifications” and paste it in URL bar of the browser. This will take you straight to the “Notifications” section of Chrome Settings.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox in its normal Options window doesn’t allow you to disable all web notification prompts but you can change this setting from the hidden about:config page.

To access it, type about:config into address bar and press Enter. Firefox warns you to be careful when using the “about:config” page, as your changes could cause problems with Firefox by changing some settings. Our recommended changes for this setting won’t run into any problems.

Click “I accept the risk!” if you’re ready to continue.

You will see list of config parameters. For disabling notifications type “notifications” into the search box. Change the value for “dom.webnotifications.enabled” option by double-clicking to false, which means web notifications will be disabled in Firefox.

This change will completely disable all web notifications, so you won’t receive notifications websites.

Mozilla Firefox

For enabling notifications in future, return here and change the value for “dom.webnotifications.enabled” option by double-clicking to false, which means web notifications will be enabled back in Firefox.

Microsoft Edge

Notifications support for Microsoft Edge was introduced in Windows 10 Anniversary Update. However, there is no way to disable notifications entirely and prevent websites from asking to show notifications.

All you can do is click No when you’re asked if you don’t want to let a website show notifications. Edge will at least remember your preference for the current website, but other websites will still be able to prompt you.

Apple Safari

Apple Safari provides you option to stop websites from requesting permission to send notifications.

Click Safari > Preferences.

Select the “Websites” tab at the top of the window and click “Notifications” in the sidebar.

At the bottom of the window, uncheck the “Allow websites to ask for permission to send push notifications” option.

Those websites you’ve already given permission to send notifications will still have permission to send notifications even after you uncheck the option. You can see and manage the list of websites with permissions to send notifications in this window.

If you want enable in future, you can always go back into your web browser’s settings and re-enable web notifications.

Hope you find this helpful. Happy coding!

Will keep updating these list.

Vishnu Damwala
Vishnu Damwala

A web geek, an industry experienced web developer & tutor/instructor residing in India 🇮🇳