How to get YouTube notifications only from your subscriptions (iPhone, 2026)
YouTube sends notifications for channels you subscribe to, and it may also send recommended video notifications from channels you don't subscribe to. To stop the second kind, tap your profile picture, then Settings › Notifications, and turn off Recommended videos. Then set the bell next to each subscribed channel to All, Personalized or None. YouTube's help says not every new upload results in a notification, so the Subs feed is still the place to check for new videos.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Facts about YouTube come from the sources listed below, checked on 2026-10-25. Menu names can change with app updates.
| Method | What it does | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended videos (Settings › Notifications) | Turns off recommended video notifications from channels you are not subscribed to. | Does not change notifications from channels you subscribe to. |
| Notification bell on a channel | All, Personalized or None, per channel. | All can still include some personalized Shorts notifications. |
| Subs › All | Shows every channel you subscribe to with a bell next to each, so you can change them in one place. | Still one channel at a time. |
| iPhone Settings › Notifications › YouTube | Turns YouTube notifications on or off for the whole app. | Only for the whole app at once. |
Turn off recommended video notifications
- Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture.
- Tap Settings, then Notifications.
- Turn off Recommended videos.
YouTube's help describes these as personalized recommended video notifications from channels you are not subscribed to but may be interested in. Turning them off leaves notifications from your subscriptions as they are.
Choose All, Personalized or None for each channel
When you subscribe to a channel, YouTube sets its bell to Personalized. To change it, go to the channel page or a video from it and tap the bell next to Subscribed. To change many channels in one place, tap Subs in the top bar of the Home tab, tap All at the top right, and tap the bell next to each channel.
- All: notifications for long-form uploads and live streams. YouTube says you may also get some personalized Shorts notifications based on your subscriptions and watch history.
- Personalized: notifications for some uploads, Shorts and live streams. YouTube decides when using signals such as your watch history, how often you watch the channel, how popular a video is and how often you open notifications.
- None: no notifications from that channel.
One catch from the help page: if a channel is set to All but you haven't watched or engaged with it for a while, its notifications only show inside the app, under the bell at the top right of Home.
Why you still miss some uploads
YouTube's help says notification settings differ slightly by device and that not every new upload results in a notification. It points to the Subscriptions feed for recently uploaded videos from channels you subscribe to. If you only want to know what your channels posted, opening Subs once a day is more reliable than waiting for alerts.
What minulo does and doesn't do
minulo does not change the official YouTube app or its notification settings, so the steps above are done in YouTube itself. What minulo does is open YouTube's website inside its own app with Home recommendations and Shorts hidden. Subscriptions, Watch later and Search for someone open straight from the minulo home screen, so you can check your channels without landing on recommendations. Hiding is free.
If you lock the official YouTube app with minulo's Screen Time block (free for up to 2 hours per block), its notifications don't arrive while it is locked, and minulo does not send any in their place. minulo Pro adds schedules by day and time, blocks over 2 hours, Hard Mode and multiple block lists. minulo is for iPhone only.
How do I stop YouTube notifications from channels I don't subscribe to?
In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, then Settings and Notifications, and turn off Recommended videos. YouTube's help describes these as recommended video notifications from channels you are not subscribed to.
What is the difference between All and Personalized on a YouTube channel?
All sends notifications for long-form uploads and live streams, and may include some personalized Shorts notifications. Personalized sends notifications for some uploads, Shorts and live streams, chosen using signals like your watch history and how often you watch the channel.
Why am I not getting notifications for every upload?
YouTube's help says not every new upload results in a notification. If a channel is set to All but you haven't watched it for a while, its notifications only appear inside the app under the bell on Home. The Subs feed shows all recent uploads from your subscriptions.
Can I change notifications for all my subscriptions at once?
There is a single list, but each channel has its own bell. Tap Subs in the top bar of the Home tab, tap All at the top right, then tap the bell next to each channel.
Does minulo send YouTube notifications?
No. minulo does not send notifications for YouTube. While minulo has the official YouTube app locked, that app's notifications don't arrive either.
Sources
