To turn TikTok push notifications on or off, go to Profile, tap the Menu button, then Settings and privacy, then Notifications, and switch each type on or off. For quiet hours, open Push notification schedule in the same menu, turn it on and set the times: as of Nov 2026, TikTok won't send pushes during that window.
That's the whole job for most people. The rest of this page covers the three things that trip people up: an Inbox filter that looks like a notification setting but isn't, the fixed quiet hours on teen accounts, and the second switch on your phone that sits alongside TikTok's own.
Push alerts and the Inbox are two different places
TikTok's Help Centre separates two things that most people lump together. Push notifications are the alerts sent to your device when you're not using the app: likes, comments, video suggestions and more. Inbox notifications are the list you see inside the app when you have new messages, activities and followers.
Why does that matter? If you run a brand account and someone on the team says "turn off the likes notifications", they could mean either. Filtering the Inbox changes what you see in that list. It doesn't stop a single alert reaching your phone. Switching off a push type stops the alert, but the activity still shows up when you open the Inbox.
| What you want | Where it lives (as of Nov 2026) | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Stop one type of alert buzzing your phone | Profile, Menu, Settings and privacy, Notifications | Each type has its own toggle |
| Silence all pushes overnight or during focus time | Notifications, Push notification schedule | Nothing is sent in the window you set |
| See only comments or mentions inside the app | Inbox, Activities, All activity | A viewing filter, it doesn't touch pushes |
| Choose who can make your phone ring | Notifications, Voice call | Everyone, People you follow or No one |
| Block TikTok alerts at phone level | Your device's own settings | Works alongside TikTok's switches |
The Inbox filter gives you four views: Likes and Favourites, Comments, Add yours, and Mentions and tags. It's useful when a busy post buries the comments you need to answer, but it's a way of reading, not a way of muting.
Switch push notifications on or off, step by step
As of Nov 2026, the Help Centre path is:
- In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
- Tap the Menu button at the top (the three lines), then select Settings and privacy.
- Tap Notifications.
- Turn on each type you'd like to receive, and turn off the ones you don't.
TikTok adds one line under these steps that's easy to skim past: you can also change TikTok notifications from your device settings. That's the second switch. Your phone keeps its own permission for TikTok, so an alert has to get past both TikTok's toggle and the phone's. If you've switched something on in the app and still hear nothing, look at the phone before you assume TikTok has broken.
If both switches are on and alerts still don't arrive, you're dealing with a fault rather than a setting, and my guide to why TikTok notifications stop working walks through the fixes.
Mute TikTok on a schedule
The push notification schedule is the tool most people don't know they have. It isn't a per-type switch. It's a quiet window: during the hours you pick, TikTok sends no pushes at all.
- In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
- Tap the Menu button, then select Settings and privacy.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap Push notification schedule.
- Turn the setting on, then adjust the time.
On an adult account, you choose the window. It's handy if you manage a business account from your personal phone and don't want comment alerts arriving in the middle of the night. Help describes the schedule as covering push notifications only, so it's a way to stop the buzzing, not a way to stop activity reaching your account.
Teen accounts get quiet hours by age
This is where most of the questions come from. Accounts belonging to under-18s get a push notification schedule by default, and the teen can't change it.
| Account | Default quiet hours | Can it be changed? |
|---|---|---|
| Teen aged 13 to 15 | 9 pm to 8 am | No |
| Teen aged 16 to 17 | 10 pm to 8 am | No |
| Parent or guardian using Family Pairing | Can add extra mute time | Can add time, can't shorten the default |
Parents and guardians can schedule extra mute time through Family Pairing, straight from their own account, and the setting is on by default there too. The catch is in TikTok's own example: if a parent sets a 13-year-old's window to 11 pm to 7 am, the default 9 pm to 8 am overrides it. In plain words, any custom time that overlaps the default loses. You can add quiet time outside the default window, but you can't move it or make it shorter.
Family Pairing works the same way across its controls: teens can always tighten their own restrictions, but can't loosen ones a parent has set. The same Help page says daily screen time is switched on by default at one hour for 13 to 17s. That's a separate control, and screen time limits on TikTok get their own page. For the full list of parent controls, see how Family Pairing works.
There's a marketing angle here too. If your audience skews young, a follower in the 13 to 15 band won't get a push about your post between 9 pm and 8 am, whatever time you publish.
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Voice call notifications have their own setting
Voice calls sit in the same Notifications menu, but they behave differently. A voice call notification is the one that makes your device ring.
- Go to Profile, tap the Menu button, then Settings and privacy.
- Tap Notifications, then Voice call.
- Choose Everyone, People you follow or No one.
People you follow is the default. The detail worth knowing: choosing No one doesn't stop calls. Help says you can still make and receive voice calls in your direct messages whatever you pick; the setting only controls whose calls ring your device. For how calling itself works, see calling on TikTok.
What I'd change first
For a business account, I'd start with the per-type switches. Keep comments and mentions on, because those are the ones a customer expects you to answer, and turn off video suggestions, which are about TikTok's content rather than your audience.
Then I'd set a push notification schedule for the hours nobody's replying anyway. Skip the Inbox filter unless a busy post is burying your comments; it's a reading aid, not an off switch. And if a teenager in your house is asking you to shorten their quiet hours, don't spend time hunting for the setting. It doesn't exist.
If your brand posts on TikTok and the team keeps missing the comments and mentions that matter, that's the sort of social media workflow I help sort out. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
This guide is part of my TikTok Help: 19 Guides to Views, Pay, Freezing Fixes, Followers and TikTok Shop.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn off TikTok push notifications completely?
Switch off every type under Settings and privacy, Notifications, or set a push notification schedule. TikTok's Help Centre says you can also manage TikTok notifications from your phone's own settings.
Why can't my teenager change their notification schedule?
TikTok mutes pushes from 9 pm to 8 am for 13 to 15s and from 10 pm to 8 am for 16 to 17s, and says this setting can't be changed.
Can a parent shorten a teen's quiet hours?
No. A parent can add extra mute time in Family Pairing, but the default window overrides any custom time that overlaps it.
Will turning off voice call notifications block calls?
No. You can still make and receive voice calls in direct messages. The setting only decides whose calls make your device ring.
Is the Inbox filter the same as notification settings?
No. Inbox, Activities, All activity only changes which activity you see in the app. Push alerts are managed under Settings and privacy, Notifications.
