For many people the little pop-up notifications that appear in the bottom right of the Windows screen (by the date and time) are irritating. For others the pop-ups are great as reminders of things or alerting them to new updates on events, programs etc. For those who like what they see appearing there, this article is not for you, except when your friends complain about them, you can help stop or control them.

Many of the messages that pop-up you opted in at some point, probably not realizing you did. If you have a message on a page or a pop-up box when you go to a page, asking if you would like notifications, this is where you opt in for them. If you do want notifications of things on that page, then answer yes or ok. If you don’t want those boxes appearing at bottom right, answer no or cancel. The answers vary.

If you are getting the messages and want to get rid of them here is how.

In Windows 10 you will open Control Panel from in the Start menu (it is the gear or sprocket shaped device by the list). Then choose System. Now you will choose Notifications and Actions in the list on the left. Now you will turn off all the items listed you do not want notifications from. So, you can choose to still receive notifications from some and not from others.

In Windows 7 you will open Control Panel (or may be called Settings) from the Start menu which may be the sprocket or gear icon. Change to icon view if you are not in icon view. Select System and then select Action Center. Unfortunately, Windows 7 only lets you turn off Windows notifications here, but disable them.

To disable notifications in Chrome (where many of your notifications may come from) in the upper right corner click the icon with three vertical periods. Choose Settings. Go to the bottom and click Advanced. Click the arrow on the right beside site settings. Now click the arrow on right of Notifications (part way down list). Now you can click on the right or each program and choose Block or Allow notifications. They may be a few on the list which you have no control because of extensions, and they have a strange icon beside them on the right.