Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram: it felt as though every network sent another stream of emails. Those alerts kept interrupting my concentration.
Notifications
Many networks send notifications about things like:
- New followers;
- New messages;
- New likes;
- New offers;
- New subscribers;
- New invitations;
- And more.
The networks often enable these emails by default because they want you to come back. I decided I did not need every alert in my inbox.
Interruptions
Every notification gives me another reason to check email, then open a social network, then keep browsing. A quick glance can become half an hour.
Turning off those emails helped me keep a cleaner inbox and check social networks when I chose to, rather than whenever they prompted me.
How I switched them off
These were the menu paths I used on desktop and mobile when I wrote this. Interfaces may have changed since then:
- Desktop: Click your avatar, open Settings, then E-mail notifications , and turn the options off. I checked back occasionally because Twitter sometimes added new notification types.
- Mobile: At the time, I could not turn off Twitter email notifications in the app.
- Desktop: Open the menu in the top-right corner, choose Settings, then Notifications. Choose E-mail and turn off the individual notifications.
- Mobile: Open the menu, choose Settings, then Account Settings. Open Notifications Settings , then E-mail, and turn off the individual notifications.
- Desktop: Click your avatar, then the gear icon, and choose Edit Settings. Open Notifications and set the email option to “No.”
- Mobile: Tap the profile icon, then the gear icon, and choose Edit Settings. Open E-mail Notifications and switch it off.
Google+
- Desktop: Open the homepage menu, then Settings. Under Receive Notifications, turn the options off.
- Mobile: Open Settings. Under Receive Notifications, turn the options off.
- Desktop: Click your avatar and choose Manage under Account & Settings. Then open Communications, choose Set frequency of e-mails, and set the options to No Email.
- Mobile: At the time, I could not turn off LinkedIn email notifications in the app.
- Desktop: Open your profile, choose Edit Profile, then E-mail Preferences. Review the subscriptions and turn off the ones you do not want.
- Mobile: At the time, I could not turn off Instagram email notifications in the app.