The Show Previews section of the Settings > Notification screen controls if and where a preview message displays on the screen. The information visible in a preview message is limited to 4 lines of text or 178 characters. Longer messages are truncated and will have a … indicating the message is incomplete. The entire message can be viewed by tapping the desired notification.


Can you relate?
I set a reminder for an app but I don’t see the reminder information on my lock screen.
I never see reminder notifications.
Notifications settings
To open Notification Settings:
- Tap Settings > Notifications.
Show Preview Options
The Show Preview section allows you to set when notification messages appear on your device. Seeing the preview message can be helpful. It gives you an idea of the notification details without having to open that specific app. Three options are available for this setting:
- Always — Notifications always appear with the app icon/name and a preview of its related message. Showing preview messages can be a privacy issue. Even when your phone is locked, anyone that sees your locked screen will see up to four lines of the notification message.

- When unlocked — Notifications appear with preview message only when the device is unlocked. When locked, the app icon & name appear, but no preview message.

Unlocked device with message preview

Locked device without message preview
- Never — Notifications only include the app icon/name without showing message.

Now that you have a better understanding of the Notifications Show Previews option, it’s time to choose which Show Previews option is best for you. You can always change your choice at any time using the same steps presented above.
Our next post in this series focuses on Settings > Notifications Siri options.