How can I turn off preview text on my iPhone?

How can I turn off preview text on my iPhone?
I’ve noticed that whenever I receive a message on my iPhone, a preview of the text appears on the lock screen and in notifications. While this feature can be convenient, it sometimes compromises my privacy, especially when others can see my screen. I feel uneasy knowing that anyone nearby can read snippets of my messages without unlocking my phone. This has led me to look for a way to turn off preview text on my iPhone, but I’m unsure where to start or what steps to follow. It would really help to have a clear understanding of why this feature is on by default and what specific challenges users might face when attempting to disable it. I’m particularly interested in knowing the impact of turning off message previews on how I interact with notifications overall.
7 Answers

When I disabled my preview texts, it took away the convenience of quick glances but ensured better privacy. Here is how you do it:
- Go to ‘Settings.’
- Tap on ‘Notifications.’
- Select ‘Messages.’
- Under ‘Show Previews,’ choose ‘Never.’
There’s peace of mind knowing your privacy is protected, albeit at the small cost of convenience, making your decision solely dependent on the priority between privacy and ease of use.

First, I understand your concern about privacy. I went through a similar situation and found a way to address it. Here’s what I did to turn off the preview text on my iPhone:
- Navigate to the ‘Settings’ app.
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Notifications.’
- From there, select ‘Show Previews.’
- You will see three options: Always, When Unlocked, and Never.
- Selecting ‘Never’ will fully disable preview text on all notifications.
This method ensures no text previews pop up, making sure your messages remain confidential unless you unlock your phone.

You can easily turn off the preview text on your iPhone through the settings. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open the ‘Settings’ app on your iPhone.
- Tap on ‘Notifications.’
- Select ‘Messages’ from the list of apps.
- Tap on ‘Show Previews.’
- Choose ‘Never’ to disable message previews forever.
By following these simple steps, you’ll stop message previews from showing up and maintain your privacy.

Let me walk you through this. The setting for turning off preview text on the iPhone is buried a bit, but it’s manageable. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Open ‘Settings.’
- Scroll down to ‘Notifications.’
- Tap on ‘Show Previews.’
- There are three choices: Always, When Unlocked, and Never.
- Choosing ‘Never’ will disable previews for all apps. To only adjust for messages, instead:
- Tap ‘Messages’ under Notification Style, then set ‘Show Previews’ to ‘Never.’
By specifying for messages alone, everything else functions normally while keeping your texts private.

The preview text feature is meant for convenience, but I understand the privacy concern. It allows for quicker glanceable information but can expose your content to others. Here’s a personalized approach to manage this:
- Open ‘Settings.’
- Click on ‘Notifications.’
- Look for ‘Show Previews.’
- Change the setting to ‘Never.’
You should know that disabling previews affects how you initially interact with notifications, as you’ll need additional clicks to view contents, but it’s a minor hassle for the added privacy.

Managing privacy is crucial, especially with personal messages. Here’s my practical advice:
- Access the ‘Settings.’
- Scroll to and tap on ‘Notifications.’
- Find ‘Show Previews’ and tap it.
- The options will be: Always, When Unlocked, Never.
- Selecting ‘Never’ stops previews from appearing completely.
If you try ‘When Unlocked,’ it provides a middle ground where previews are visible while using the phone, not on the lock screen, blending convenience and privacy.

I get the need to maintain privacy with your message previews; I’ve been there too. For a more customized approach, here’s an alternative that works well:
- Open the ‘Settings’ app on your device.
- Go to ‘Notifications’ and scroll to ‘Messages.’
- Tap on ‘Show Previews.’
- You could select ‘When Unlocked’ instead of ‘Never,’ so you’ll still get previews when the phone is unlocked but not on your lock screen.
This way, you can balance notifications and privacy, seeing message previews only when you’re actively using your iPhone.