Muting contacts on your phone is a common way to temporarily silence notifications from certain people. You may want to mute contacts during working hours, while sleeping, or when you need fewer distractions. While muting can be useful in the short-term, it’s easy to forget that you’ve muted someone – leading you to miss important calls or messages. Thankfully, it’s quite simple to unmute contacts across different devices and platforms. Here’s what you need to know.
Why would you mute contacts?
There are a few common reasons for muting contacts:
- To avoid distraction during work or study hours
- To silence notifications overnight so you’re not woken up
- To take a break from group conversations that are too active
- To temporarily quiet someone who is sending too many messages
Muting can be a useful tool to briefly reduce distractions and notifications. However, it’s generally better to unmute contacts again in a timely manner so you don’t miss anything important.
How long do muted contacts stay muted?
The length of time a muted contact stays muted depends on the platform you are using:
- iPhone – Muted contacts stay muted indefinitely until you manually unmute them.
- Android – Muted contacts stay muted for one year by default, unless you select a custom time period.
- WhatsApp – Muted contacts stay muted for 8 hours, 1 week, or 1 year depending on what you select.
- Facebook Messenger – Muted contacts stay muted indefinitely until unmuted.
- Slack – Muted channels stay muted indefinitely until unmuted.
As you can see, muting duration varies across apps and devices. On iPhone and Messenger, there’s no automatic expiration for muted contacts. On Android, WhatsApp, and Slack, muted contacts will become unmuted after a set time period.
How do I know if I have muted contacts?
Here are ways to check if you have muted any contacts or conversations across common platforms:
- iPhone – Go to Settings > Notifications > Scroll down to see any muted conversations under “Silenced Notifications”.
- Android – Go to Settings > Sounds & vibrations > App notifications > Click the app and look for muted conversations.
- WhatsApp – Open the app > Tap More options > Settings > Notifications > Muted to see muted chats.
- Facebook Messenger – Open the app > Go to your profile > Click Privacy settings > Muted to view muted threads.
- Slack – Click your profile > Notifications > Muted channels to see any muted channels.
Checking these areas is the best way to see if you have any muted contacts across your different apps and accounts.
Unmuting Contacts on an iPhone
If you have an iPhone and have muted contacts that you now want to unmute, here is the process:
Unmute a single contact
1. Go to Settings > Notifications.
2. Scroll down and tap the app for the contact you want to unmute (e.g. Messages, WhatsApp).
3. Find the contact’s name under “Silenced Notifications” and tap it.
4. Toggle off the switch next to their name to unmute them.
Unmute multiple contacts
1. Go to Settings > Notifications.
2. Under “Silenced Notifications”, tap Select All at the top.
3. Toggle off the switch next to each contact’s name that you want to unmute.
4. Tap Back in the top left when finished.
This will unmute multiple muted contacts at once rather than one by one.
Unmute a contact from the conversation
1. Open your Messages or WhatsApp conversation with the muted contact.
2. Tap and hold the contact’s name at the top.
3. Tap Unmute in the menu that appears.
This unmutes them directly from the conversation screen for convenience.
Unmuting Contacts on Android
To unmute muted contacts on an Android device:
Unmute a single contact
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Apps & notifications > Notifications.
3. Tap the app for the muted contact.
4. Tap the contact name to open details.
5. Turn off Mute notifications to unmute them.
Unmute multiple contacts
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Apps & notifications > Notifications > Advanced.
3. Tap Conversations.
4. Tap the checkbox next to each muted contact to unmute them.
Set a time limit for muting
1. Follow steps 1-4 to access a muted contact’s details.
2. Tap Time limit for muting.
3. Select a duration like 8 hours, 1 week, etc.
This will automatically unmute the contact after that set time period.
Unmuting Contacts on WhatsApp
If you’ve muted WhatsApp contacts or groups that you now want to unmute:
Unmute a single chat
1. Open WhatsApp and go to the chat you want to unmute.
2. Tap the contact’s name at the top.
3. Tap Unmute notifications to unmute them.
Unmute multiple chats
1. Open WhatsApp and tap More options > Settings > Notifications.
2. Tap Muted > All muted chats.
3. Tap Unmute under each contact or group you want to unmute.
Set a mute duration
1. Follow steps 1-3 to get to a muted chat’s details.
2. Tap the mute duration and select a new time period.
This will automatically unmute the chat after the selected time.
Unmuting Contacts on Messenger
Here is how to unmute contacts you’ve muted on Facebook Messenger:
Unmute from a chat
1. Open your Messenger chat with the contact.
2. Tap their name at the top.
3. Tap Unmute Chat to unmute them.
Unmute from settings
1. Open Messenger and tap your profile photo.
2. Go to Privacy > Muted.
3. Tap Unmute on each contact you want to unmute.
Unmute all chats
1. Follow steps 1-2 above to get to Muted settings.
2. Tap Unmute All at the top.
This will unmute all your muted Messenger conversations at once.
Unmuting Contacts on Slack
To unmute muted Slack channels:
1. Click your profile picture > Notifications.
2. Go to Muted channels.
3. Remove the checkbox next to any channel you want to unmute.
4. Click Save changes.
This will unmute any channels you no longer wish to mute. You can also click a channel name to change the muting duration or settings.
Best Practices for Managing Muted Contacts
To avoid missing important messages from muted contacts:
- Only mute contacts temporarily, like overnight or during work hours.
- Set a time limit for muting contacts on platforms that allow it.
- Check your muted contacts regularly and unmute any you don’t need silenced.
- Name muted group chats something obvious like “Muted Group” as a reminder.
With some simple management, you can mute contacts to reduce distractions without overlooking anything significant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I mute contacts?
- iPhone – Open the conversation, tap the name, scroll down and toggle Silence.
- Android – Long press the conversation, tap mute.
- WhatsApp – Open chat, tap name, tap Mute.
- Messenger – Open chat, tap name, tap Mute Chat.
- Slack – Right click channel name, select Mute.
Can I mute contacts on my laptop or computer?
Yes, you can mute contacts and conversations through the desktop apps and websites for iPhone Messages, WhatsApp Web, Messenger for PC, and Slack for desktop. The mute controls work similarly to the mobile apps.
What happens when I mute someone on iPhone?
On iPhone, muting someone silences notifications from them indefinitely. Their messages will still come through quietly – you just won’t get sound/vibration alerts.
Can I mute all notifications temporarily?
Yes, you can quickly mute all notifications by enabling Do Not Disturb mode on iPhone or Android. This silences all contacts and apps for a set time or until you disable it again.
What’s the difference between mute and block?
Mute silences notifications, while block prevents any communication with the contact. Block is more severe for cutting off contact altogether.
Conclusion
Muting contacts can help reduce distractions and noise when you need some quiet time. Just be sure to unmute them again later so you don’t miss important messages by accident. Contacts can be unmuted in a few simple taps across all major platforms. Set mute durations where possible, and check your muted contacts regularly to keep your communications open. With good muting habits, you can enjoy separation without isolation.