How to Dismiss Android Notifications

The easiest way to get rid of notifications (and status bar icons) is as follows:

How to Turn Off Persistent Android Notifications 

Sometimes a status bar icon alerts you to an app that’s running. Occasionally, you’ll have notifications that can’t be swiped off-screen. There are a few reasons this can happen. If the notification is displaying the status in a currently-running app, shutting down the app should do the trick. Similarly, a previously running app may have started a service in the background that’s still going. There should be something on the notification to stop the service. Some apps put up notifications you can’t dismiss. In this case, the notification won’t disappear when you swipe, but it will reveal a gear icon that will take you to the notification settings for that app. Toggle off Show Notifications, but bear in mind this is turning off all notifications for the app, so make sure there’s nothing critical you’ll miss by doing so.

How to Turn Off Android App Notifications

Even if you don’t get the gear icon when you swipe an Android Status Bar Icon notification, you can still turn off notifications for any app. Here’s how:

What Are Android Status Bar Icons?

Android Status Bar icons are notifications in the graphical user interface (GUI) from apps running on your device. These notifications can contain text, graphics, and even controls. They can represent information about your wireless connection, cellular network, or home Wi-Fi, and they can tell you you’ve received a text message. When the system UI gets a message, it responds by putting it in the Notifications Drawer at the top of the screen. For example, you can hide sensitive notifications on your lock screen or turn on Do Not Disturb mode. (If you don’t see these options, select Advanced Settings).

How Android Status Bar Icons Work

Once you receive an Android status bar icon notification, you need to open the Notifications Drawer to access the one each icon represents. Then, you can usually tap the alert to open its corresponding app. Depending on the app, you may be able to take other actions, such as pausing and playing music. When you tap a notification, you’ll go to the app, and it will disappear. But in the event you don’t want to jump around a dozen apps to clean up the top of your screen, you can also Dismiss notifications easily.

Is System UI Available on All Androids?

System UI is the user interface on your Android device. All Android devices have System UI, though some might have another user interface installed over the Android System UI, such as those manufactured by Samsung. In the case of Samsung phones, the user interface is called One UI. All Android devices, including Android tablets, will display notifications using Android status bar icons, including Samsung One UI installed.