Here's how to change your Slack notification noise so it doesn't haunt your dreams

Isobel Asher HamiltonJun 28, 2022, 06:51 IST

Slack.Getty Images

The default Slack notification noise comes loaded with dread.
You can change the notification sound your Slack makes.

If you've ever used Slack, you're probably all too familiar with the default woodblock sound that pops up whenever you get a notification.

It's a sound that fills many with dread. Typing the phrase "Slack noise" into Twitter turns up tweets like these:

The horror of the Slack "clackety-clack" even predates the working-from-home pandemic era, as showcased in 2018 when a man's Halloween costume of a new Slack message went viral.

That horror has intensified as services like Slack took on more significance with the rise of hybrid working.

You're not safe from it even if you log off Slack. When Slack started to run commercials on Spotify which featured the sound, I felt my blood pressure spike, and a cursory look on Twitter shows I'm not alone.

One colleague told me over the course of the pandemic the sound had come to haunt her dreams.

Even if you can't escape constant Slack notifications, you can at least change the noise they make to side-step any uncomfortable Pavlovian response to the sound — at least for a while.

Here's how you can change your Slack notification noise on desktop:

Open up Slack and click on the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner. From there, select "preferences."

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When you open up "preferences" it should start on the "notifications" page.

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Scroll down till you see the "notification sound" drop-down menus. You're now in the right place to change your Slack noise.

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The default Slack noise is called "Knock Brush." There is a range of other, generic notification sounds to choose from including "Wow" and "Ta-Da".

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A slightly strange option is called "Hummus." It will turn your Slack notification into the sound of a woman saying the word "hummus."

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The "hummus" option dates back to at least 2016, and is an in-joke at the company.

Hummus.Getty Images

The National reported the "hummus" option stems from former Slack executive Anna Pickard. Pickard is British, and colleagues reportedly loved the way she pronounced the word "hummus."

In a 2016 tweet Slack's official Twitter account said: "Because we love our Anna so much that we wanted to save her delightful voice for posterity. Also, because hummus."

Mashable's Jennimai Nguyen wrote changing her own Slack notification sound to "hummus" helped make her workday less stressful.

The National reported the hummus option stems from former Slack executive Anna Pickard. Pickard is British, and colleagues reportedly loved the way she pronounced the word hummus.

In a 2016 tweet Slack's official Twitter account said: Because we love our Anna so much that we wanted to save her delightful voice for posterity. Also, because hummus.

Mashable's Jennimai Nguyen wrote changing her own Slack notification sound to hummus helped make her workday less stressful.

Perhaps most importantly you also have the option to make it so Slack notifications don't make any sound at all. Just click on "none" at the top of the drop-down menu.

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Perhaps most importantly you also have the option to make it so Slack notifications don't make any sound at all. Just click on "none" at the top of the drop-down menu.

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Here's how to change your Slack notification noise so it doesn't haunt your dreams

Open up Slack and click on the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner. From there, select "preferences."

When you open up "preferences" it should start on the "notifications" page.

Scroll down till you see the "notification sound" drop-down menus. You're now in the right place to change your Slack noise.

The default Slack noise is called "Knock Brush." There is a range of other, generic notification sounds to choose from including "Wow" and "Ta-Da".

A slightly strange option is called "Hummus." It will turn your Slack notification into the sound of a woman saying the word "hummus."

The "hummus" option dates back to at least 2016, and is an in-joke at the company.

Perhaps most importantly you also have the option to make it so Slack notifications don't make any sound at all. Just click on "none" at the top of the drop-down menu.