How to make iPhone notifications more private during StandBy

Learn how to make your notifications more private during StandBy Mode by disabling the preview until you tap the iPhone screen.

iPhone XS Max charging on a MagSafe stand, displaying a locked notification in StandBy Mode — You can turn off notification previews in StandBy Mode. Image: Mockuuups Studio

The handy StandBy Mode on iPhone shows previews of incoming notifications when authorized with Face ID. This can be problematic if there are other people in the room and you accidentally look at your iPhone, revealing the notification for everyone to see.

But you can make your texts, calls, and other alerts a bit more private by configuring StandBy Mode to hide the preview until you tap the screen. Though others in the room can still see the app that sent the notification, the notification won’t automatically expand across the whole display until tapped – even if FaceID has recognized your face.

Hide notification previews in StandBy until tapped

Open the Settings app on your iPhone running the latest version of iOS.
Select StandBy from the list.
Turn on the switch for ‘Show Preview on Tap Only’ in the Notifications section.

StandBy settings on iPhone with notification preview enabled on tap

With it turned on, all notifications received while in StandBy mode shall remain locked, giving you a bit more privacy; curious folks will no longer be able to glance at a preview from across the room to read the text you just received.

iPhone XS Max charging on a MagSafe stand, displaying a notification in StandBy Mode — StandBy is set to require a tap to reveal the notification. Image: Mockuuups Studio

Like before, Face ID needs to be able to see your face for the full notification to appear; then you can touch the notification banner to expand it to the whole screen.

However, if privacy isn’t a problem and you actually prefer to show notification previews in StandBy right away, then turn the “Show Preview on Tap Only” switch off.

Disabling StandBy Mode notifications altogether

To boost your privacy further, turn off notifications in StandBy Mode altogether by going into Settings > StandBy and turning off Show Notifications. Doing so will stop incoming notifications from appearing while your iPhone is in StandBy mode.

StandBy settings on iPhone with the Show Notifications option turned off

The only exception is time-sensitive notifications, which are delivered even in StandBy. This is by design. If your HomePod detects the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm in your home, you’ll want to receive this critical notification, whether in StandBy mode or not.