Ethan Brooks
How To Mute a WhatsApp Chat in 2025
Dealing with nonstop notifications from WhatsApp chats? Whether it’s that one stubborn group chat that keeps pinging or messages from someone you just don’t want to deal with right now, muting specific chats can really help reclaim some mental space. It’s not perfect, but it’s a quick fix that stops those pesky alerts from dominating your notification shade.
Keep in mind, you’ll still be able to open the chat whenever, but your phone won’t bug you about new messages. This is especially useful if you want to avoid distractions during work, sleep, or just when you’re trying not to be glued to your phone. The process is pretty straightforward, but sometimes the options aren’t obvious, especially with different Android versions or WhatsApp updates. So here’s how to do it without losing your mind.
How to Mute WhatsApp Chats on Android
Choose your chat in WhatsApp and open the options
- Open WhatsApp and find the chat you want to mute in your message list.
- Tap and hold the chat — this should highlight it and bring up some options at the top or a new menu.
- On some phones, you might see a menu pop up. If not, look for the three-dot menu on the top right corner.
Why it helps: You want to select the chat quickly without opening it fully. Sometimes, just holding the chat opens the contextual menu with the mute option. Expect to see options like “Mute notifications” pop up. It’s kind of weird that it’s not always intuitive, but once you get used to it, it’s a breeze.
Access the mute feature and pick the duration
- After selecting the chat, look for the mute icon — it usually looks like a crossed-out speaker or bell.
- Tap that icon and a menu appears with options for how long to mute.
- Options include 8 hours, 1 week, or Always. Yeah, indefinite mute really works on some setups, but sometimes that feature glitches out or doesn’t sync well, so be aware.
Why it helps: Muting for the set duration prevents notifications from bugging you. If you mute for a week and don’t unmute, it’ll stay silent—unless WhatsApp or your device throws a fit. You expect at least some peace and quiet, which is the goal here.
Confirm the mute and check the chat status
- Tap OK or Mute to save your choice. The chat should now have a muted icon—usually a crossed-out speaker next to it.
- From then on, new message notifications for that chat are silenced, but you can still open the chat and see all messages.
This just works, mostly. Sometimes, on a different device or after a software update, the mute might not take immediately or the icon is harder to see. Weird, but not unusual.
Extra tips & common pitfalls
- Want to mute multiple chats? Repeat the process for each one. You can’t select multiple chats at once inside WhatsApp — it’s a bit annoying.
- If you want unmute, just go back in, tap and hold the chat, and select the unmute option (it’s usually the same icon but with a check mark or no slash).
- Be careful when choosing “Always.” On some phones, it might keep silent forever unless you manually unmute, so set a reminder if you’re planning to mute temporarily.
Sometimes, muting feels like it’s hit or miss depending on the Android version or WhatsApp version. On one setup it worked perfectly, on another… not so much. Because of course, WhatsApp has to make it harder than it needs to sometimes.
Summary
- Hold the chat to select it
- Tap the mute icon or menu
- Pick the mute duration and confirm
- Enjoy less notification chaos, while still reading messages when you want
Wrap-up
Muting WhatsApp chats isn’t perfect — sometimes you have to redo it or restart the app. But for most folks, it’s a quick way to cut down on the noise and focus on what matters. Just keep an eye on those mute durations, and you’ll be good. Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone.