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How to turn off Blue Alerts?

I just got a "blue alert" on my phone while I was driving. It was like a freaking air horn going off in the cab of the car with me, which is a pretty clear safety issue in itself, of the sort that could cause an accident if one were already driving under less than ideal conditions. The alert was for a suspect spotted in Daytona Beach, literally 100 miles away. My phone sounded an emergency alarm to tell me that some dude who had nothing to do with me was seen in a place far away from me. There was exactly ZERO emergency, and exactly ZERO chance that I was going to see this guy and help the police nab him.


So I want to turn off the Blue Alerts. But here's the rub: it's hurricane season, and there are severe storms in the area, and I like the idea of actual emergency alerts. Like: gurl, get yo' *** indoors now, kind of emergency. Not, someone thinks they saw a criminal 100 miles away kind of "emergency." Is there a way to separate these alerts? In the notification settings under "Government Alerts," there are separate toggles for "Emergency Alerts" and "Public Safety Alerts," but I haven't been able to find information on what notices fall under which category. The only instructions I've found for turning off Blue Alerts say to toggle both of these to "off," but is a weather alert emergency or public safety? Which one do Blue Alerts fall under?


Any help getting control over the definition of "emergency" will be greatly appreciated!

iPhone SE, iOS 14

Posted on Jun 24, 2021 2:15 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 24, 2021 4:10 PM

Sigh, and thank you! I had already read that Apple Support page, and it didn't indicate what the difference is between the two available types of alert. It just shows how to get to the settings to turn them off, with no explanation of what turning each one on or off will do. I'll check out the feedback link!

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 24, 2021 4:10 PM in response to javaliga

Sigh, and thank you! I had already read that Apple Support page, and it didn't indicate what the difference is between the two available types of alert. It just shows how to get to the settings to turn them off, with no explanation of what turning each one on or off will do. I'll check out the feedback link!

How to turn off Blue Alerts?

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