How to Set Conversation Priority on an Android

Android smartphone — The Android 11 Conversation priority feature allows conversations to be separate from other notifications. Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images

2021-03-17T18:19:43.000Z

Google has made a subtle but important change to the way notifications work in the latest version of the Android OS. If you have Android 11 or later, your phone will now better organize conversations in apps like your texting app, WhatsApp, Slack, and others.

It's a small change, but a handy one: All conversations now appear in their own section, separate from other notifications. This way, they won't get mixed in with your other notifications.

How to set Conversation priority on Android

The default settings for Android 11's conversation priority are pretty good, but you can tweak them to suit your own needs. There are three priority levels you can choose from:

Default: The notification appears in the order it occurred and you'll hear a notification if your preferences are configured for that.
Priority: This kind of message will always appear at the top of the Conversation notifications.
Silent: These messages will appear at the bottom of the Conversation notification and will arrive silently, without a notification sound.

Here's how to control this setting:

Swipe down to see notifications.
Swipe a conversation partially to the left until you see the Settings icon (shaped like a gear).

Partially swipe a conversation to see the Settings icon. Dave Johnson/Insider
Tap the Settings icon.
Tap the priority level you want: Priority, Default, or Silent. Then tap "Apply."

Set the conversation’s priority and then apply the change. Dave Johnson/Insider

How to view or change Conversation notification settings on Android

Your phone also allows you to customize notifications about specific conversations. You can choose whether conversations should appear as bubbles over other apps, for example, change the notification sound, and even tell your phone that this conversation shouldn't appear in the Conversation notification at all, if you prefer.

Here's how:

Start the Settings app.
Tap "Apps & notifications."
Tap "Conversations."
Here's a list of conversations you've recently modified. Tap the conversation you want to customize.

In the Conversations settings, you should see a list of recently modified conversations. Dave Johnson/Insider
On this page you can change many aspects of the conversation:

— At the top of the page, you can change the message priority (which determines how it appears in the Conversation notification).

— Tap "All Bubble settings" to control whether the conversation can bubble.

— Tap "Not a conversation" if you don't want it to appear in your Conversation notification.

— Tap "Advanced" for additional options, including notification sound and whether the conversation should appear on the lock screen.

Here you can tweak the notification behavior of your active conversations. Dave Johnson/Insider

How to set Conversation priority on an Android device to organize your messages

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

How to set Conversation priority on an Android device to organize your messages

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know