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You can get team and match alerts on your phone, but an instant goal notification can spoil a delayed broadcast. For fewer spoilers, turn off score-changing alerts and live-score surfaces while you watch; use team following or selected match events when you want updates at other times.
Choose how you want to follow the game
| Option | What it does | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Google team follow on Android | Shows lock-screen updates for a followed team’s games. Updates begin approximately 50 minutes before games, according to Google. | Following one team across its fixtures, if supported on your device and language. |
| Google single-match follow on Android | Pins a searched match score to the lock screen. | Keeping up with one fixture when seeing the live score is welcome. |
| Sports app alerts | Can deliver selected events such as goals, starts, cards or substitutions, depending on the app. | Choosing which match events trigger notifications. |
| iPhone Live Activities | Can display ongoing live sports information on the Lock Screen for supported apps. | Seeing a persistent live update when spoilers are not a concern. |
| Notification previews on iPhone | Controls whether notification text is visible on the Lock Screen. | Hiding score details in notifications without necessarily disabling alerts. |
Follow a team or match on Android
Google’s lock-screen sports updates require Android 14 or later. Availability varies by language, device and manufacturer, so the options may not appear on every Android phone. See Google’s instructions for following teams and tracking scores for supported setup details.
Follow a team’s games
- Open the Google app or go to google.com on your phone.
- Search for the sports team.
- Tap Follow beside the team name.
Google says updates for followed teams begin approximately 50 minutes before games and appear on the lock screen.
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Pin one match
- Search Google for the game.
- Tap Follow match on the match result.
This puts that game’s score on the lock screen, so do not pin a match you plan to watch later without knowing the live score. If team following is missing, single-match following may still be available; Google notes that manufacturer and language differences affect access.
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Set iPhone notification previews and Live Activities
Hide notification text on the Lock Screen
- Open Settings.
- Tap Notifications, then Show Previews.
- Choose When Unlocked to hide previews while the phone is locked, or Never to suppress previews on the Lock Screen. Choose Always if you want notification text visible.
Apple notes that previews are not supported by every app. You can also open Settings > Notifications > [sports app] to review that app’s notification placement and any app-specific preview controls.
Review Live Activities
A Live Activity may show the score even when ordinary notification banners are off. For an app that supports the feature, check Settings > Apps > [app] > Live Activities. Some apps provide their own Live Activities control instead, and not every app exposes an iPhone setting. Apple’s Lock Screen feature guide explains the controls.
Choose which match events trigger alerts
Set alert types inside the sports app first, then check the phone’s notification controls. This gives you more control than enabling every alert and trying to filter spoilers afterward.
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LiveScore
For football alerts, LiveScore’s documented route is to tap the profile icon, select Notifications, and choose the updates you want. Its listed event choices include goals and goalscorers, assists, match start and end, penalties, line-ups, red and yellow cards, half-time events, substitutions, corners, reminders and highlights. On iOS, LiveScore also provides a separate in-app control for Live Activities. See LiveScore’s notification instructions.
FotMob
FotMob’s App Store listing describes instant goal notifications, personalized alerts for favorite clubs and players, and Live Activities on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The listing says the app is free with in-app purchases and describes coverage of more than 400 competitions. That does not establish that every local league or feature is available in every region, so check the current app for the competition you follow. See the FotMob App Store listing.
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Other team-alert controls
Alert menus differ by app and can change. ESPN’s support article, updated in 2019, describes opening the app, tapping the gear, choosing Edit Alerts, allowing device notifications and toggling a favorite team. Treat that as an example of app-level team controls rather than a guarantee that the current ESPN menu uses the same labels. See ESPN’s alert instructions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use this routine to avoid match spoilers
- Before a delayed stream or broadcast, disable goal and score-change alerts for the match in the sports app. If the app does not offer match-specific controls, turn off those event alerts in its notification settings for the duration.
- On iPhone, switch off relevant Live Activities in the app or its settings if available. Set notification previews to When Unlocked or Never if notification text might reveal the score.
- On Android, do not follow or pin the live match to the lock screen while watching later. Turn off score-changing event alerts in the sports app.
- After watching, restore the alerts you want for upcoming matches.
These controls reduce obvious spoiler routes, but no cited app or platform promises to synchronize notifications with a delayed broadcast or to prevent every score from appearing on every phone surface. Instant alerts and delayed viewing are inherently at odds.
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ESPN’s separate live-video score setting
ESPN documents a Live Score Data setting under Video Settings that hides score data underneath live video tiles. ESPN says this setting is local to each device. It affects score data within ESPN’s live-video tiles, not general push notifications, so it is not a system-wide spoiler control. See ESPN’s live-score display instructions.
Quick Recap
Troubleshoot alerts that do not appear
- The Android Follow option is missing: Check that the phone runs Android 14 or later. Google says availability also varies by language, device and manufacturer; try searching for the individual game and looking for Follow match.
- An iPhone still shows a score: Check both Settings > Notifications > Show Previews and the app’s Live Activities control. Hiding ordinary previews does not necessarily hide a persistent Live Activity.
- An app’s alert categories are missing: App support and menus vary. Check the app’s current notification settings, then review Settings > Notifications on the phone to confirm its notifications are allowed.
- You want fewer spoilers, not fewer useful alerts: Disable goals or score changes first, while retaining non-score alerts such as match start if the app lets you select them separately.
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