How to Hide Sensitive Notifications on Android

Step by step

1. 30 sec

   Open system settings

   Unlock your device and locate the Settings app in your app drawer or swipe down twice from the top of the screen to tap the gear icon. Navigate to the Notifications section to manage your alert preferences.

2. 30 sec

   Access lock screen settings

   Within the Notifications menu, locate the Notifications on lock screen option. Depending on your specific Android build, this may also be labeled as Lock screen notifications.

3. 30 sec

   Choose content visibility

   Select the option labeled Hide sensitive content. This setting ensures that your phone displays that a notification exists, but hides the actual message text or sender details while the device is locked.

   Note: Select Don't show any notifications if you prefer complete privacy, which removes alerts from the lock screen entirely.
4. 1 min

   Manage individual app permissions

   If you want granular control, return to the main Notifications menu and tap App settings. Select a specific app and navigate to its notification categories to manually override visibility settings for high-priority alerts.

   Note: This is useful if you want banking alerts visible but prefer to hide social media messages.
5. 30 sec

   Test the lock screen

   Press the power button to lock your device. Have a secondary device send a message to confirm the notification appears as a generic alert without showing the message preview.