How do I stop notifications on my unlocked screen?

[AC Question]

Notifications on unlocked screen

how do I stop a WhatsApp message notification from showing up on screen (while the phone is unlocked) it's frustrating because while I'm watching a video it will show the message as a little box at the top of the screen. On an xperia z2 android 5

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Notifications on unlocked screen

Welcome to Android Central! Open WhatsApp, tap Menu>Settings, and look for a notification option. Turn it off. Alternatively, you could go to Settings>Apps, select WhatsApp, and uncheck Show Notifications.

 

[Pavlin Stoichev]

Re: Notifications on unlocked screen

I don't think he wants to completely turn-off notifications.
Lollipop seems to introduce a ridiculous big white overlay when you get a new message. It is shown on top of all screens and the only way to get rid of it is to click it and read the message within it's app. I get this with my Hangouts messages but it seems it works with other messaging apps.
This basically blocks everything you might be doing with the phone. The old way was way better when the text of the message was shown discretely in the notifications bar. So the question is how to revert back to that.

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Notifications on unlocked screen

Yeah, that can be a pain. My suggestion could still be a workaround--e.g., if you plan to watch a bunch of videos, you could go to the WhatsApp settings and temporarily turn off the notifications, then turn them back on after you're done watching. But then you won't get any notifications from WhatsApp at all--I don't think you can set it to give you audio notifications only. And, of course, it would become tedious to go through that process each time you want to watch videos.

 

[Pavlin Stoichev]

Re: Notifications on unlocked screen

The problem is that it is not simply about videos. Because the big white banner pops-up on top of all screens regardless of what you are doing (reading, browsing, playing a game) you are forced to immediately stop it and go to the message. There is no delay, you can not finish whatever you are doing.
As more people get updated to Lollipop I expect there will be a bigger outcry soon and they will be forced to fix it.

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Notifications on unlocked screen

Understood--but the OP was asking specifically about the situation when watching videos. On my Nexus 5, I personally don't have a big issue with this because I manage my notifications closely. I don't like notifications in general, so on most apps, I turn them off (from within the app's settings). I only have a few different people whose text messages are important enough for me to interrupt what I'm doing, so in Hangouts, I make sure to leave the notifications for those SMS conversations on. But that's just me--I can definitely see how this can be a big problem for others.