To hide notifications while screen sharing on Windows 11, press Win + N and select the bell to turn on Do not disturb, or go to Settings > System > Notifications. On Windows 10, set Focus assist to Alarms only. Better still, share a single window: notifications are never part of it.
Why do notifications show up when you share your screen?
Because they're on your screen. When you share an entire screen in Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, Webex or Discord, the app captures that monitor, and a Windows toast is just another window on it. Your viewers get the sender's name and the first line of the message, at the same moment you do.
There's a simple way around it that people overlook: share a window instead of the screen. Toast notifications are separate windows, so a single-window share never includes them. If you can present from one app, do that and most of this page becomes a backup plan. If you can't (live demos, desktop walkthroughs), read on.
How do you turn on Do not disturb in Windows 11?
Two ways, both from Microsoft's notifications and Do Not Disturb article:
- Quick: press Win + N to open the notification center and select the bell icon (the one with "zZ"). Notifications stay silenced until you turn it off.
- Settings: open Start > Settings > System > Notifications and switch on Do not disturb.
Then check the exceptions, because Do not disturb isn't a total block. Under Set priority notifications, Windows lets calls, reminders and a list of apps through. If Outlook or Teams is on that list, its banners still appear on your shared screen. Remove anything you don't need during a presentation and untick reminders if your calendar entries have sensitive titles.
Notifications that arrive while Do not disturb is on aren't lost. They wait quietly in the notification center for after the call.
Can Windows turn on Do not disturb automatically when you share your screen?
Not exactly, and this surprises people. Under Settings > System > Notifications > Turn on do not disturb automatically, Windows 11 offers these rules:
- During certain time of the day
- When duplicating the display
- When playing a game
- When using an app in full-screen mode
- For the first hour after a Windows feature update
"When duplicating the display" means projecting to a second display in Duplicate mode, like a conference room projector. Sharing your screen in Zoom or Teams isn't duplicating anything, so that rule doesn't fire. "When using an app in full-screen mode" does help in one common case: a PowerPoint slideshow runs full screen, so Do not disturb kicks in while it's up. The moment you leave the slideshow for a live demo, notifications are back.
The practical approach: turn on all the rules that fit, then still switch Do not disturb on by hand before every share. Or set a daily time window that covers your regular meetings with the "During certain time of the day" rule.
How do you hide notifications on Windows 10?
Windows 10 calls it Focus assist. (Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, but plenty of meeting laptops still run it.)
- Open Settings > System > Focus assist.
- Choose Alarms only to hide everything except alarms, or Priority only if you've curated a priority list.
- Under Automatic rules, turn on When I'm duplicating my display for projector setups.
The faster route is the action center: press Win + A and click the Focus assist tile until it reads Alarms only.
Which apps show pop-ups that Do not disturb doesn't block?
Most modern apps send Windows notifications, so Do not disturb covers them. A few draw their own pop-ups or have their own rules:
| App | What it does during a share | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Teams | By default switches your status to Do not disturb while you share your screen, muting Teams chats and calls except from priority contacts | Keep the Privacy setting that sets Do not disturb when you share; set it by hand when presenting in another app |
| Classic Outlook | Can show its own Desktop Alert pop-up for new mail | File > Options > Mail, untick Display a Desktop Alert |
| Slack | Sends notifications for DMs and mentions | Click your profile picture and use Pause notifications |
| Webex | Cisco says the Webex App suppresses its own message and call notifications while you share (Webex help) | Nothing; other apps still need Do not disturb |
| Discord | Desktop notifications and sounds unless Streamer Mode is on | Turn on Streamer Mode with Disable Notifications and Disable Sounds (Discord help) |
| Chrome and Edge sites | Gmail, WhatsApp Web and others send web notifications through Windows | Covered by Do not disturb; block per site in browser settings if needed |
Don't forget sound. If you share computer audio (Include sound in Teams, Share sound in Zoom), every chime is shared too. Microsoft's Teams help says it outright: "All sound from your computer, including notifications, will be audible in the meeting" (Microsoft Support). Do not disturb silences Windows notification sounds; apps that play their own sounds need muting separately.
How do you hide notifications while screen sharing on a Mac or phone?
Mac
macOS is stricter by default. In System Settings > Notifications, a setting controls whether notifications appear when the display is mirrored or shared, and Apple's Notifications settings guide describes the choice as Notifications Off or Allow Notifications. Leave it off. For belt and braces, turn on Do Not Disturb from Control Center > Focus before you present.
iPhone and Android
Phone screen shares are always the entire screen. Turn on a Focus mode (iPhone) or Do Not Disturb (Android) before tapping Share screen in Zoom, Teams or Meet. Teams' own help notes that on mobile you should turn on Do not Disturb to hide notifications.
Which way of hiding notifications is most reliable?
| Method | Hides Windows toasts | Hides in-app pop-ups | Hides sounds | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a window, not the screen | Yes | Yes, unless inside the shared app | No, if computer sound is shared | None |
| Windows 11 Do not disturb | Yes, except priority apps | Not always | Windows sounds, yes | One click |
| Windows 10 Focus assist (Alarms only) | Yes | Not always | Windows sounds, yes | One click |
| Share a second monitor | Only if toasts appear on the other one (they show on the main display) | Depends where the pop-up opens | No | Second display |
| Close or pause chat apps | For those apps | For those apps | For those apps | Several steps |
Our ranking: share a window when you can, turn on Do not disturb every time anyway, and pause Slack and Outlook alerts if they've ever surprised you before.
How do you check notifications are really hidden?
Run a two-minute test before an important call. Start a meeting with yourself, join it from your phone, and share your screen from the PC. Then send yourself a test message from another device, in each chat app you use. Watch the phone. If the toast shows there, it'll show to your audience. Our screen share visibility test turns this into a checklist.
AuraCloak keeps your notes and AI chat on screen but out of the share, so the only private thing left to silence is notifications.
Get AuraCloakWhat else can leak during a screen share besides notifications?
Notifications get the attention, but they're one of several leaks in a full-screen share:
- Taskbar badges showing unread counts on Outlook, Teams or WhatsApp.
- Browser tab titles when you share a browser window or the screen.
- Notes and AI assistants you keep open for reference.
- Autocomplete in the browser address bar, which suggests what you visited recently.
For notes or an AI assistant you want to keep visible, the options are a monitor you don't share or a window excluded from capture. Windows 10 version 2004 and later let an app call SetWindowDisplayAffinity with WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE, and capture tools that go through Windows skip it. Our guide to hiding a window from screen share covers all the window-level options. AuraCloak is an invisible AI overlay for Windows that uses this flag: Zoom, Teams, Meet in a browser, Slack and Discord leave it out, and you toggle it with Ctrl + Alt + Space. It doesn't change how Windows notifications behave, so Do not disturb is still step one.
FAQ
How do I stop notifications from showing when I share my screen?
Turn on Do not disturb before you share: on Windows 11 press Win + N and select the bell, on Windows 10 set Focus assist to Alarms only. Sharing a single window instead of the whole screen also keeps notifications out, since they're separate windows.
Does Windows turn on Do not disturb automatically when screen sharing?
Not when you share in Zoom, Teams or Meet. Windows 11 can turn it on automatically when duplicating the display, playing a game, using an app in full-screen mode, or at set times, but app screen sharing doesn't trigger those rules.
Do notifications show when sharing a window in Zoom or Teams?
No. Notifications are separate windows, so they aren't captured when you share one app window. They do show when you share your entire screen.
Does a Mac show notifications when screen sharing?
Not by default. macOS has a Notifications setting for when the display is mirrored or shared, with Notifications Off or Allow Notifications. Leave it off and turn on Do Not Disturb for extra safety.
Can notification sounds be heard during a screen share?
Yes, if you share computer audio, such as Include sound in Teams or Share sound in Zoom. Do not disturb silences Windows notification sounds, but mute apps that play their own sounds.