Nine settings decide how often Android interrupts you, and #9 silences an app before you even install it. Menu names are Pixel's; other brands sit close by.
Settings > Notifications > Notification cooldown. The first alert from an app rings at full volume and the rest arrive quieter, so one group chat cannot own your morning.
Settings > Notifications > Modes. Android 16 replaced one blunt Do Not Disturb with named Modes that switch themselves on by time, place or calendar event.
Settings > Notifications > App notifications, then pick the app. Apps split alerts into categories. Kill Promotions and keep Messages instead of muting everything.
On that same app screen, set a category to Silent. Its alerts still wait for you in the shade, but with no sound, no vibration and no banner across the screen.
App notifications sorts by Most recent, so the worst offenders float to the top. It is usually two apps doing the damage. Fix those before touching anything else.
Settings > Notifications > Notification dot on app icon. The dot carries no content and no timestamp. It only trains you to open apps that had nothing to say.
Settings > Notifications > Notifications on lock screen. Turn off sensitive content and message previews stop appearing to anyone who glances at your desk.
Settings > Notifications > Notification history. Switch it on once and Android keeps a 24-hour log, so a delivery code you dismissed by accident is not lost.
Since Android 13, every new app must ask permission to notify you. Tap Don't allow at that first prompt. It is the only setting here that works before the noise starts.
Start with the two loudest apps, then add cooldown and a Mode for evenings. Most people halve their interruptions without missing a single thing that mattered.