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HomeTechnologyHow to turn off Live Activities on Apple Watch: A step-by-step guide

How to turn off Live Activities on Apple Watch: A step-by-step guide

Live Activities do help as they provide real-time updates for tasks like food delivery, sports scores, and media playback but often replace their carefully customised watch faces.

March 30, 2025 / 13:11 IST
Apple Watch

The Smart Stack feature has proven to be more of a frustration than a useful tool for some Apple Watch users. It activates with even the slightest touch of the crown, often triggering unintentionally during everyday movements.

For those who appreciate the Apple Watch primarily for its customisable watch faces, the Smart Stack feels unnecessary. Many users prefer a streamlined experience without additional widgets disrupting their intended display.

Apple Watch users can now take back control of their watch faces, thanks to a new setting in watchOS that allows them to disable the automatic appearance of Live Activities.  Live Activities are part of the Smart Stack, a widget system designed to show relevant information throughout the day.

Live Activities do help as they provide real-time updates for tasks like food delivery, sports scores, and media playback but often replace their carefully customized watch faces.

However, many users found the feature disruptive as it frequently took over their watch faces without consent.

There is as simple tweak that allows you disable Live Activities. Apple has added a setting to turn off this automatic behavior. Users can follow these steps to disable it:

  • Open the Settings app on the Apple Watch
  • Scroll down and select Smart Stack.
  • Tap Live Activities.
  • Toggle off Auto-Launch Live Activities.

This ensures Live Activities remain within the Smart Stack but no longer override the watch face automatically.

For those specifically annoyed by media playback controls appearing on their screen, Apple has also introduced more customisation options. Users can disable Live Activities for individual apps, including Apple Music and YouTube Music, by adjusting settings under the Media Apps section.

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first published: Mar 30, 2025 01:10 pm

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