A reminder popped up while you were sharing your screen

It happened because the setting that hides banners while you share is easy to miss on a Mac, and the iPhone has a separate one most people never open. Set the Mac to show no notifications while mirroring or sharing the display, turn off Allow Notifications under Screen Sharing on the iPhone, and know that iPhone Mirroring puts your phone's notifications on the Mac as well.

A reminder is a short line, and the people on the call have mostly forgotten it already. The rest of this page is about the next call. I make a reminders app, Notif, and the last section says where it fits.

Where it shows up

• The top-right corner of the Mac. Apple's notifications overview describes "brief banners that appear in the top-right corner of your screen," and says anything you missed waits in Notification Center. Open that on a shared screen and the whole backlog is on display
• Your iPhone's notifications on the Mac. If the Mac has ever used iPhone Mirroring, Apple's page on iPhone notifications on Mac says it receives them "even when iPhone Mirroring is not in use," with a small iPhone badge on the icon; on macOS 26 or later, Live Activities from the phone sit in the menu bar too
• The iPhone Mirroring window. If it's open while you share the Mac's screen, whatever is on your phone is on the call
• An iPhone screen shared in a FaceTime call or mirrored with AirPlay. Apple's notification settings page says that during SharePlay or Screen Mirroring "notifications are allowed by default," and Apple's AirPlay page says mirroring shows exactly what's on your device's screen

What to do

1. On the Mac, turn off notifications while mirroring or sharing. Go to System Settings, click Notifications, and look under Notification Center. Apple's notification settings page says that with notifications off "others can't see notifications on your computer when, for example, you are giving a Keynote presentation." On macOS 27 the choice is called Notifications Off; on macOS 15 it's a switch called Allow notifications when mirroring or sharing the display. While you're there, set Show previews to When Unlocked
2. Before the call, turn on a Focus. Apple's Focus page for Mac says the quickest way to silence everything is the Do Not Disturb Focus in Control Center, and that a Focus can be scheduled to turn on "when you open or close certain apps," so it can start with your meeting app. Leave Time Sensitive Notifications off for that Focus: Apple notes some apps, such as Calendar, send time-sensitive alerts that get through when it's on
3. Cut the iPhone's line to the Mac. On the Mac, System Settings, Notifications, Allow notifications from iPhone: off, or turn off single apps under it. On the phone, Settings, Notifications, the app, then Show on Mac: off. Apple's page says the phone doesn't even need to be nearby for these to arrive, and that any other Mac you used iPhone Mirroring with receives them too; Settings, General, AirPlay & Continuity, iPhone Mirroring on the phone lists each Mac, and deleting one stops it
4. On the iPhone, turn off notifications during screen sharing. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, tap Screen Sharing, and turn Allow Notifications off. Apple's page says this covers SharePlay and Screen Mirroring. Pair it with Do Not Disturb from Control Center, which Apple's iPhone Focus page gives as the quick way to silence all notifications
5. Clear Notification Center and close the Reminders window first. Apple's Mac guide says anything you missed can be reviewed in Notification Center, so clear it before you share rather than after. Then share a single window instead of the whole screen when the meeting app offers it; a banner can't land inside a window
6. Check the meeting app's own switch. Some meeting apps have a setting to quiet system notifications while you share. I couldn't confirm the wording on the apps' own pages, so treat it as a second layer, never the only one

The catches

• The Mac setting is about mirroring or sharing the display. Apple's wording is exactly that, so I wouldn't count on it for every way an app can capture a screen. The Focus is the belt to its braces
• A Focus lets through what you told it to. People and apps you allowed stay allowed, and Apple says time-sensitive alerts can come through when that option is on
• iPhone Mirroring doesn't care where the phone is. Apple says the Mac gets your iPhone's notifications as long as the phone is turned on, in another room or another building
• The iPhone's Screen Sharing switch is not the iPhone Mirroring switch. Apple says so in plain words on the same page: one is for SharePlay and Screen Mirroring, the other lives in the Mac's Notifications settings
• The one that already popped up can't be unpopped. Nothing in Settings undoes it. If the reminder was about an interview, that page covers the rest of the job search; if it read the note out loud on speakers, see Siri reading a reminder out loud

Where Notif fits

Notif is the reminders app I built, and the notes in it are real reminders in Apple Reminders, so everything above applies to them. The one note I don't want on any shared screen I mark private in Notif; it's a per-note switch, and the box below says, in the app's own words, what that does. For the longer version, see private reminders on iPhone; Notif is free on the App Store: get Notif.

Questions

How do I hide notifications on a Mac while sharing my screen?

Go to System Settings, click Notifications, and under Notification Center set notifications when mirroring or sharing the display to off. On macOS 15 it is a switch called Allow notifications when mirroring or sharing the display; on macOS 27 you choose Notifications Off. Apple says others then can't see notifications on your computer while you present

Why did my iPhone's reminder appear on my Mac during a call?

Because the Mac had used iPhone Mirroring at some point. Apple says the Mac then receives your iPhone's notifications even when you aren't mirroring and the phone isn't nearby. Turn off Allow notifications from iPhone in the Mac's Notifications settings, or turn off Show on Mac for that app in the iPhone's notification settings

Do notifications show while I share my iPhone screen in a FaceTime call?

By default, yes. Apple says notifications are allowed during SharePlay and Screen Mirroring unless you go to Settings, Notifications, Screen Sharing and turn Allow Notifications off. That switch does not cover iPhone Mirroring on a Mac

Does Do Not Disturb stop every banner?

Not quite. Apple notes that some apps, such as Calendar, send time-sensitive notifications that a Focus can let through, and anything you specifically allowed stays allowed. Leave Time Sensitive Notifications off for the Focus you use on calls

I dismissed the banner. Is it gone?

The banner is, but Apple's Mac guide says you can review anything you missed by opening Notification Center. Opening it while your screen is shared shows the whole list, so clear it before the call rather than during