Introducing the WPCodeBox IDE Beta
By WPCodeBox
Learn how to disable update email notifications in WordPress using a clean, efficient code snippet from WPCodeBox.
WordPress sends an automated email notification every time a background update runs on your site. While these alerts help you stay informed, they can quickly clutter your inbox if you manage multiple websites.
Many site owners want to turn off these alerts, but can’t find a simple setting in the WordPress dashboard.
In this article, I’ll share how to disable update email notifications using simple code snippets
WordPress sends several types of notifications to keep you informed about site changes. The most common are core update alerts, which arrive whenever WordPress automatically installs security patches or maintenance releases. If you have major version updates enabled, WordPress sends an email immediately after your site successfully moves to a newer version.
You’ll also receive specific notifications for plugin and theme updates. These alerts only trigger if you have manually toggled “Enable auto-updates” for your active plugins or theme. You’ll often see “Some plugins were automatically updated” emails in your inbox, which quickly become overwhelming if you manage several active websites.
Silencing automated update notifications significantly reduces inbox clutter. If you check your dashboard regularly or use a management tool, these emails provide no new information. For anyone managing multiple sites, these repetitive alerts become a distraction that often buries more important communications from clients or users.
You also avoid causing unnecessary alarm for your clients or team members. When non-technical users receive an automated email about background updates, they often worry that something is broken.
You can quickly stop all automated update emails by adding a single filter to your site. This is a much cleaner approach than installing a dedicated plugin for a simple task. You can use this code snippet to silence every update notification WordPress sends, including core, plugin, and theme alerts.
add_filter('auto_core_update_send_email', 'wpb_stop_auto_update_emails', 10, 4);
function wpb_stop_update_emails($send, $type, $core_update, $result)
{
if (!empty($type) && $type == 'success') {
return false;
}
return true;
}
add_filter('auto_plugin_update_send_email', '__return_false');
add_filter('auto_theme_update_send_email', '__return_false');This snippet works by tapping into the WordPress filter system and returning a “false” value whenever the site attempts to trigger an update email. It effectively tells WordPress to complete the update process silently without generating a message to the administrator. If you want to stop all the notifications at once, this is the snippet you should add.
Sometimes you might want to keep core security alerts, but turn off frequent plugin update notifications. You can achieve this by using specific filters instead of the global approach. Below are the individual snippets you can use to target specific notification types.
To disable only core update emails:
add_filter( 'auto_core_update_send_email', '__return_false' );To disable only plugin update emails:
add_filter( 'auto_plugin_update_send_email', '__return_false' );To disable only theme update emails:
add_filter( 'auto_theme_update_send_email', '__return_false' );These snippets provide granular control over your inbox. For example, if you prefer to know when the WordPress version changes but don’t care about daily plugin patches, you can simply use the plugin-specific snippet. You can mix and match these filters in your code manager to create a notification setup that fits your specific workflow.
You can technically add these snippets directly to your theme’s functions.php file, but this approach comes with several risks. If you make a small syntax error, you could lock yourself out of your own dashboard or experience the “White Screen of Death.” Furthermore, whenever you update your theme, any custom code you’ve added will be completely overwritten and lost.
In such cases, using a dedicated code snippet manager is a much safer and more efficient alternative. While there are many code snippet plugins available, WPCodeBox is the most reliable choice for managing your HTML, CSS, SCSS, and JS snippets.
It makes this process easy by providing a secure environment to test and deploy your snippets. You don’t have to worry about breaking your site because the plugin automatically detects syntax errors and disables problematic code before it causes an issue. Additionally, you can save your snippets to a private cloud, allowing you to use them on all your client sites with a single click.
Now that you know why it’s the best plugin, let’s look at the steps to safely add the notification snippet using WPCodeBox:
Once you have enabled the snippet, WPCodeBox will handle the filtering automatically in the background. You no longer need to worry about manually deleting repetitive emails or managing a cluttered admin inbox.
Since WordPress only sends these emails when an update actually occurs, you won’t see immediate results in your inbox. The most reliable way to verify the snippet is working is to check your WPCodeBox dashboard and ensure the toggle is green. As long as the snippet is active and the “Always” condition is met, WordPress will be unable to trigger the notification function.
You can also wait for the next minor WordPress maintenance release or a plugin update to occur. If the updates are applied to your site but you do not receive the standard “Some plugins were automatically updated” email, your code is working correctly. If you manage multiple sites, you will immediately notice the decrease in notification volume across your accounts.
How do I turn off the new user notification email in WordPress?
WordPress sends an alert to the site administrator every time a new user registers. You can disable these by adding a specific filter to your site that returns “false” for the wp_send_new_user_notifications function. This is particularly useful for membership sites or stores where high registration volume can quickly flood your admin email address.
add_filter( 'wp_new_user_notification_email_admin', '__return_false' );How do I turn off email notifications for comments in WordPress?
You can stop comment alerts directly through the WordPress dashboard without using any code. Navigate to Settings > Discussion and look for the section titled “Email me whenever.” Uncheck the boxes for “Anyone posts a comment” and “A comment is held for moderation” to silence these alerts. This change stops WordPress from emailing you every time a visitor leaves a message on your posts.
How to customize WordPress default emails?
If you want to keep your notifications but make them look more professional, you can use a customizer to change their design. Follow these steps to personalize your site’s automated messages:
