How do you hide notification previews on your lock screen?

A lock screen shows more than the time. A message preview can show a line of text, a name or a photo to anyone who glances at your phone on a desk. Both iPhone and Android let you hide that text without turning notifications off. We checked these steps against Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and Google’s Android Help on 2026-10-09.

On iPhone: hide previews for every app

1. Open Settings and tap Notifications.
2. Tap Show Previews.
3. Choose When Unlocked or Never.

Always shows previews on the Lock Screen too. When Unlocked keeps them hidden until your iPhone unlocks. Never keeps them hidden all the time. Apple notes that previews can include message and mail text and invitation details from Calendar.

When Unlocked works well with Face ID. Apple’s Face ID page says the iPhone checks for your attention before it expands a notification on a locked phone. So the text opens when you look at it, not when someone else does.

On iPhone: hide previews for one app

You may want previews for a calendar but not for messages. Apple says you can override the general setting for each app.

1. Open Settings and tap Notifications.
2. Tap the app below Notification Style.
3. Tap Show Previews (if it appears) and choose an option.

On the same screen, under Alerts, you can turn off Lock Screen so the alert does not show there at all. Apple notes that not all apps support previews.

On iPhone: lock the app instead

In iOS 18 and later you can lock an app with Face ID. Touch and hold its icon, tap Require Face ID, then tap Require Face ID again. Apple says information inside a locked app does not appear in notification previews, search, Siri suggestions or CarPlay. Our guide to hiding apps on iPhone covers this and the Hidden folder.

On Android: hide sensitive content

Google’s Android Help gives this path for current versions:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Notifications, then Notifications on lock screen.
3. Turn off Show sensitive content.

To hide notifications from the lock screen entirely, choose Don’t show notifications in the lock screen section. On older Android versions, Google gives the path Apps & notifications, then Notifications, then Sensitive notifications under Lock screen. Google’s page on theft protection gives a third path: Settings, Security & Privacy, More Security Settings, Notifications on lock screen. Google says settings can vary by phone, so on a Samsung, Xiaomi or OnePlus phone, look for the lock screen part of the notification settings.

To change one app, touch and hold its notification, tap Settings, and change that app’s options. Our guide to hiding apps on Android covers private space. Google says apps in a locked private space are completely stopped and cannot show notifications. When the space is open, their notifications carry a private space icon.

What previews can give away

• Photos in chats. A message with a photo can show a thumbnail. Hidden previews stop that.
• Screen sharing and mirroring. On iPhone, notifications show by default when you share your screen. Turn them off in Settings, Notifications, Screen Sharing. See screen sharing on a call.
• Widgets and wallpaper. These come from your photo library, not from notifications. See when a photo widget shows a private photo.
• Someone holding your phone. Hidden previews help when you lend your phone. Read how to let someone use your phone for Guided Access and guest options.

How York Vault handles its own notifications

York Vault writes every notification as neutral preset text, such as “Reminder”, or sends none. It shows no badge counts, no thumbnails, and keeps previews hidden. Android shows the app name, York Vault, above every notification. So while a neutral icon is on, York Vault sends no notifications on Android unless you turn them on. The setting says that the name shows. Backup problems show inside the library instead.

York Vault also covers the screen when you leave the app and can close at once when you turn the phone face down. See quick exit. York Vault is on iPhone, iPad and Android, with no ads. Download York Vault.