The short answer
In the Slack app, tap You, then Notifications, and set a notification schedule for your working hours. Outside them, Slack pauses your notifications automatically. To keep the app itself shut after work, add Slack to a work-app blocker like Out of Office.
Set a notification schedule
This is the one to set once and forget. You tell Slack when you work, and it pauses notifications the rest of the time.
- In the Slack app, tap You at the bottom right, then Notifications.
- Under Notification schedule, tap Allow notifications.
- Choose Every day, Weekdays or Custom, then set your start and end times.
Outside those hours, notifications pause on their own. Your schedule overrides any default your workspace admin set. On desktop, click your profile picture, then Preferences, then Notifications.
Pause notifications right now
For a dinner, a school run or an early Friday, pause Slack on the spot. Slack used to call this Do Not Disturb.
- Tap You.
- Tap Pause notifications and choose how long: 30 minutes, an hour, two hours, until tomorrow, or a custom time.
A pause syncs between your phone and your computer. On desktop, typing /dnd in the message box does the same.
What your teammates see
While your notifications are paused, a small snooze icon sits next to your name. If someone thinks their direct message can’t wait, Slack lets them notify you anyway. If a few people should always reach you, Slack’s VIP setting can let their messages through.
Hide the red badge and the noisy channels
The red number on Slack’s icon is its own nudge, even when nothing buzzes. To drop it, go to SettingsNotificationsSlack and turn off Badges. Then mute the channels that never need you after hours: open the channel’s details and tap Mute. Muted channels stop notifying you at any hour.
Keep Slack closed, not just quiet
Notification settings stop Slack reaching out. To stop yourself reaching in, block the app itself during your off hours. iOS has blunt ways to do it (compared in how to block work apps after hours on iPhone). Out of Office has a direct one:
- Pick Slack, and anything else that counts as work, from Apple’s app picker.
- Choose Every evening (6:00 PM to 8:00 AM on weekdays), Weekends, or your own hours.
- Open Slack at 9 PM and you get a shield instead, with a line like “Slack will survive without you.” The only button says “OK, fine”.
Questions
How do I stop Slack notifications at night?
Set a notification schedule: tap You, then Notifications, then Allow notifications under Notification schedule, and choose your working days and hours. Slack pauses notifications outside them.
Does pausing Slack notifications tell people?
Partly. A snooze icon shows next to your name, and someone sending you a direct message can choose to notify you anyway. Slack doesn’t send anyone a message about it.
Can I block Slack on my iPhone after work hours?
Yes. Screen Time can do it with Downtime or an App Limit, though both are blunt. Out of Office shields Slack, and only the apps you pick, during the hours you set.
Is Slack’s Do Not Disturb the same as pausing notifications?
Yes. Slack renamed Do Not Disturb to Pause notifications. It works the same way and still syncs across your devices.
Sources
Menu names change between app and iOS versions. These are the official pages, checked September 25, 2026.