Zoom Do Not Disturb: How to Turn It On, Schedule It, and What It Blocks

To turn on Do not disturb in Zoom, click your profile picture at the top right of the Zoom Workplace desktop app, point at your status, and choose Do not disturb. Pick a time from 20 minutes to 24 hours, or Custom to open the settings and set a daily schedule. On a phone, tap your profile picture, tap your status, and tap Do not disturb.

While it is on, Zoom blocks pop-up notifications for Zoom Team Chat messages and Zoom Phone calls, and coworkers see a red circle with a white bar next to your name. Busy looks similar but does not block anything: it is a signal only. Do not disturb does not stop you from joining or hosting meetings.

Other chat apps have their own version. Slack calls it pausing notifications, and it leaves your dot as it is; the dot turns grey after 10 minutes without keyboard or mouse input. Slack's version is in Slack Do Not Disturb.

How to turn on Do not disturb in Zoom

• Desktop app. Click your profile picture at the top right, point at your current status, and choose Do not disturb.
• Pick a duration. Zoom offers presets from 20 minutes to 24 hours. When the time runs out, your status goes back to normal.
• Or pick Custom. This opens Settings at the notification options, where you can set Do not disturb from one time to another every day, for example 18:00 to 09:00.
• Phone app. Tap your profile picture, tap your status, and choose Do not disturb. Your status syncs to every device you are signed in on.

To turn it off early, open the same menu and choose Available, or clear Do not disturb.

What Zoom Do not disturb blocks

• • Zoom Team Chat pop-ups. New messages arrive and wait in the chat, without a banner or sound.
• • Zoom Phone call pop-ups. Incoming calls do not pop up on your computer. Where they go next depends on your Zoom Phone settings, often voicemail.
• • Nothing outside Zoom. Email, Slack, Teams and your operating system keep notifying you.

It does not block people from messaging or calling you, and it does not tell them their message was held. They see the red status and decide whether to wait.

Busy vs Do not disturb on Zoom



Status	Icon	Chat and call pop-ups	How long
Do not disturb	Red circle, white bar	Blocked	20 minutes to 24 hours, or a schedule
Busy	Red circle, white X	Still shown	Up to 24 hours, then Zoom clears it
Away	Grey circle, clock	Still shown	Until you use Zoom again
In a meeting	Red video camera	Your meeting settings decide	The meeting
Out of office	Grey calendar with an X	Still shown	Until you change it

Pick Busy when you want people to hold off but still want to see their messages. Pick Do not disturb when you want no interruptions at all. Every icon is decoded in Zoom status icons meaning, and Away is covered in how to set yourself away on Zoom.

Zoom Do not disturb during a meeting



Zoom shows you as In a meeting automatically, and that status does not mute pop-ups by itself. For a talk, an interview or a screen share, set these before you start:

• • Mute Team Chat notifications in meetings. In Settings, Team Chat, turn on the option to mute notifications while you are in a meeting or on a call.
• • Hide incoming calls. In Settings, Phone, check Hide incoming calls while in a Zoom Meeting.
• • Silence system notifications while sharing. In recent versions, Settings, Share Screen has an option that silences system notifications when you share your desktop. Turn it on.
• • Set Do not disturb yourself for the length of the meeting.

For other apps, turn on your computer's own mode: Do not disturb in the Windows notification center, or Focus in the macOS Control Center. Slack and Teams have their own pause; see Teams Do not disturb for Teams. Webex works the same way from its Availability menu, as shown in Webex do not disturb.

Zoom Do not disturb not working

• • Pop-ups still appear. Check that they come from Zoom. A Slack or Outlook banner is not covered by Zoom's Do not disturb.
• • Your status keeps changing back. A preset duration ended, or a meeting set your status to In a meeting and then back.
• • The schedule does not start. Check the times in Settings and the time zone of your computer. The schedule uses your device's clock.
• • Coworkers do not see it. Status changes can take a moment to sync. Your desktop status also overrides your phone's, so set it on the device you use.

If what you want is the opposite, a status that stays green while you step away, see how to keep your Zoom status active.

Quick answers

Does Do not disturb on Zoom stop meeting invites? You can still join and host meetings. Chat and call pop-ups are the part it blocks.

Can people tell I am on Do not disturb? Yes. They see a red circle with a white bar and the words Do not disturb on your profile.

How long does Zoom Do not disturb last? The time you picked, from 20 minutes to 24 hours, or the daily schedule you set under Custom.

Is there a Do not disturb on the Zoom mobile app? Yes. Tap your profile picture, then your status. It syncs with the desktop app.