You can follow teams or choose specific match events on your phone, but an instant goal alert can spoil a delayed broadcast. For fewer surprises, disable goal and score-change alerts before watching, and hide live scores from lock-screen surfaces. Android and iPhone offer different controls, so use the steps for your device below.
Choose the alert setup that fits how you watch
| Option | What it does | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Google team follow on Android | Shows updates for a followed team’s games on the lock screen; updates begin approximately 50 minutes before games, according to Google. | You want updates across a team’s schedule and your device supports the feature. |
| Google single-match follow on Android | Pins a searched match score to the lock screen. | You want one fixture at a time and accept that the score may be visible. |
| Sports-app event alerts | Depending on the app, sends alerts for selected events such as goals, cards or match start. | You want to choose which match events trigger notifications. |
| iPhone Live Activities | Can display ongoing sports information on the Lock Screen for supported apps. | You want a persistent live update when you are not avoiding scores. |
| iPhone notification previews | Controls whether notification text is visible on the Lock Screen. | You want to hide details in notifications without necessarily turning off every alert. |
For delayed viewing, prioritize spoiler control over instant updates: turn off goal and score-change alerts for the match and remove any live score display. No cited app or platform documents a delay synchronized to your stream or broadcast.
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Follow a team or match on Android
Google’s lock-screen team-follow feature requires Android 14 or later, and availability varies by language, device and manufacturer. To set it up:
- Open the Google app or go to google.com on your phone.
- Search for a sports team and tap Follow beside the team name. Google says updates for followed teams begin approximately 50 minutes before games.
- To follow just one fixture, search for the game and tap Follow match. The match score can then appear on the lock screen.
If you do not see the team-follow option, feature availability may be the reason; Google notes variation across languages, devices and manufacturers. Check your device maker’s guidance, or try searching for an individual match if that option is available.
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Hide score details on an iPhone
Change notification previews
- Open Settings > Notifications > Show Previews.
- Choose When Unlocked to hide notification details while the iPhone is locked, or Never to suppress previews on the Lock Screen. Always shows previews.
- For app-specific controls, open Settings > Notifications > [sports app] and review its notification placement and preview options, if available.
Apple notes that not every app supports notification previews. Also check Live Activities separately: an ongoing score can appear on the Lock Screen even when ordinary notification banners are limited.
Review Live Activities
For a supported app, go to Settings > Apps > [app] > Live Activities and switch the feature off if you do not want an ongoing score displayed. The setting is not available for every app; some apps provide their own control instead. LiveScore, for example, documents an in-app option for its iOS Live Activities.
Select useful match events in a sports app
Configure alerts inside the sports app first, then review the phone’s notification settings. App menus and coverage can change, so check the current controls in your installed version.
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LiveScore
LiveScore’s football help instructions say to tap the profile icon, choose Notifications, then select the alerts you want. Documented choices include goals, goalscorers, assists, match start and end, penalties, line-ups, red and yellow cards, half-time events, substitutions, corners, reminders and highlights. On iOS, its Live Activities control is separate from those event choices.
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 across more than 400 competitions. Those are listing details, not a guarantee that a particular local league or feature is available in every region; check the current app.
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Other team-alert controls
ESPN’s support page, updated in 2019, describes a route through the app’s gear icon and Edit Alerts, followed by enabling device notifications and toggling alerts for a favorite team. Because the instructions are older, use the current app’s labels if they differ.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use a match-day routine to avoid spoilers
- Before starting a delayed stream or broadcast, open the sports app and turn off goal and other score-changing alerts for that match.
- On iPhone, disable the app’s Live Activities if available. Set previews to When Unlocked or Never if notification text could reveal the score.
- On Android, do not follow or pin the live match to the lock screen while watching. Disable the relevant event alerts in the sports app.
- After watching, restore the alerts you want for future matches.
These steps reduce common ways a live score can appear, but they cannot guarantee a spoiler-free phone: alert behavior varies by app and device, and no cited source documents a user-set delay tied to broadcast timing.
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Keep ESPN’s score-hiding control in context
ESPN documents a Live Score Data setting under Video Settings that hides score data beneath Live video tiles. ESPN says this setting is local to each device. It affects score data in those ESPN tiles, not general push notifications or other apps, so it is not a system-wide spoiler control.
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