WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is its notification system, which lets you know when you have received new messages, even when you don’t have the app open.
Many WhatsApp users wonder – do WhatsApp messages show on notifications by default, or can you disable message previews to protect your privacy? Let’s take a closer look at how WhatsApp message notifications work on both iOS and Android devices.
Do WhatsApp notifications show message contents on iOS?
On iOS devices like iPhones and iPads, WhatsApp notifications will show a preview of new message contents by default. This means if you receive a WhatsApp message, the notification that appears will contain a snippet of the message itself.
For example, if someone sends you the message “Hi, how are you?” on WhatsApp, your iPhone notification will read:
“John: Hi, how are you?”
The preview will contain the name of the sender as well as a portion of their message. The amount of message text shown will depend on the length of the message.
Customizing WhatsApp notifications on iOS
If you don’t want message contents appearing in your WhatsApp notifications on iPhone, you can disable this feature in your iOS notification settings:
- Open the Settings app on your iOS device
- Tap on Notifications
- Scroll down and select WhatsApp
- Toggle off the “Show Preview” option
This will make your WhatsApp notifications display only the name of the sender – no message contents will be shown. You can toggle it back on anytime if you want to resume seeing message previews.
Using Do Not Disturb on iOS
Another option is to use Do Not Disturb on your iPhone or iPad. Enabling Do Not Disturb will mute all notifications from appearing on your lock screen.
To turn on Do Not Disturb:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap on Do Not Disturb
- Toggle on the “Do Not Disturb” switch
You can schedule Do Not Disturb during certain times, allow exceptions for specific contacts, and customize additional options.
WhatsApp notifications on Android
The default behavior for WhatsApp notifications on Android devices is also to show message contents in the notification preview.
So if you get a WhatsApp message on your Android phone, the notification will display the sender’s name and a snippet of their message.
Customizing notifications in Android settings
To disable message previews for WhatsApp notifications on an Android device:
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications
- Tap Notifications > WhatsApp
- Toggle off the “Show message preview” option
This will remove message contents from the notifications. You’ll only see the sender’s name.
Using Do Not Disturb on Android
Android also has a Do Not Disturb mode that will mute notifications while it’s enabled:
- Open Settings > Sound & vibration > Do not disturb
- Toggle on “Turn on now”
You can customize Do Not Disturb to automatically turn on during certain times or allow exceptions.
Third-party apps for customizing notifications
There are also several third-party apps on both iOS and Android that offer enhanced customization for your notification preferences:
Notification History and Alerts for iOS
This app lets you do things like:
- View a history of all past notifications
- Disable previews on a per-app basis
- Customize notifications during certain times or events
Notifications Blacklist for Android
With this app, you can:
- Hide notifications from specific apps
- Customize notifications for individual contacts
- Silence notifications during events or sleeping hours
The premium versions of these apps provide the most customization options.
Using WhatsApp without notifications
If you don’t want any notifications from WhatsApp at all, you have a couple options:
Disable all notifications
You can completely disable notifications for WhatsApp by going into the app’s settings:
- On Android: Settings > Apps & notifications > WhatsApp > Disable notifications
- On iOS: Settings > Notifications > WhatsApp > Disable all notifications
Enable stealth mode
WhatsApp’s stealth mode will make it so you don’t receive any visible notifications at all from the app.
To enable stealth mode:
- Open WhatsApp Settings
- Go to Notifications > Use stealth notifications
- Toggle on stealth mode
In this mode you won’t get notification sounds, previews, badges, or banners – but WhatsApp will still show up in your notification history.
Customizing notification sounds
You can also customize the notification sound for WhatsApp separately from your device’s default notification sound:
On Android
- Settings > Apps & notifications > WhatsApp > App notifications
- Tap Sound and select a custom notification sound
On iOS
- Settings > Sounds (or Sounds & Haptics) > Ringtone
- Select WhatsApp custom sound
This way you can choose a distinct WhatsApp notification sound.
Using do not disturb while driving
Both iOS and Android also offer a “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode that will mute notifications automatically when you’re in a moving vehicle:
Android
- Settings > Digital wellbeing & parental controls > Do Not Disturb
- Toggle on “Turn on automatically”
- Choose “While driving”
iOS
- Settings > Do Not Disturb
- Toggle on “Do Not Disturb While Driving”
This prevents incoming notifications from distracting you while driving. You can customize auto-reply messages to let senders know you’re unavailable.
Conclusion
By default, WhatsApp notifications will show message contents on both iPhones and Android phones. But you have many options to customize the notifications:
- Disable previews in system notification settings
- Use Do Not Disturb modes
- Install third-party notification manager apps
- Change notification sounds
- Enable driving modes to mute notifications
Finding the right notification settings comes down to personal preference and privacy concerns. Customizing WhatsApp notifications can help reduce distractions, improve focus, and protect sensitive information appearing on your lock screen.
With the various configuration options available on iOS and Android, you can tailor your WhatsApp notification experience to best suit your needs and style.
WhatsApp’s notification system gives you flexibility to view message previews or hide message contents for more discretion. Taking the time to customize the notifications will ensure you get the most out of WhatsApp while maintaining productivity and privacy.