What's your point? Do you think you represent most people? Can you not just turn it off?

Notifications have fine tuned controls on both iOS and Android with schedule Do Not Disturb features and varying levels of priority (iOS has 3 tiers). Plus per-app controls to disable them from annoying apps, which in newer versions of iOS prompt you before they turn on, making them opt-in.

It's essential for communication apps (texting, email) and useful for breaking news or a simple highlight of big news on WSJ/NYT on your activity feed, so you don't need to open either app to stay on top of big events if you're a news junkie like me.

I'd personally go as far as saying push-notifications + the activity feed is very underrated feature of smart phones and has become a core part of people's day-to-day lives (which plenty of technologies can't say).

Its true that tons of news sites ask for permission just to spam you, or outright sell notifications to advertisers. I think the web notif channel has already been abused beyond repair. It may be time to redo the concept from scratch

Killer feature for email: add an email header that turns an email to notification. Then email apps would push the notification to the user, bypassing apple’s block. Websites already have the user’s email, so no need for more subscriptions. If gmail implemented this, it might push for adoption

That's a novel thought. I imagine then the native mail apps would expand in settings in order to block some bad senders from abusing that email header.

Tangentially related, iOS mail app has a VIP setting.

[1] https://support.apple.com/lv-lv/HT207213#vip

The apps don’t even need to think of spam, that would be handled by the mail server just like all other spam.

> Do you think you represent most people?

I've seen poor push notification quality increase uninstall and churn rates. I think the lesson is that many people are quickly annoyed with push notifications.

I think that's inaccurate. There are plenty of push notifications that don't annoy people, that are often the primary basis for how people interact with certain apps — Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, etc.

Let's not assume that all push notifications are cynical attempts to get people engaged with the app or to push DLC. For things like mail, messaging, and plenty of other online services, push notifications are not just an important interface to the app; they can be the interface.

several applications require them to be useful. Security events from my home cameras, messages from clients, timers, email

Anytime I'm using a peice of small business software I'd probably like it to be able to give me notifications

Honestly curious and hopefully not rude, but how can you concentrate on anything? Or does your work/life not require you to concentrate ever/most of the time on anything?

(I have turned all but phone call and sms notifications off on my phone. I will check my email/whatsapp when I want and see notifications there as needed. If someone has something urgent, they know how to call.)

Not grandparent but for me:

1) only certain notifications that are important have unique sound, vibrate, etc.

2) other semi important notifications flash. Light is not that bright to notice.

3) other notifications have numbers on app so there are some despite not seeing any notifications.

Result: I stopped checking every hour. It's actually been an improvement for me to stay away from phone.

I noticed that some apps abuse you for disabling notifications and Viber is biggest example. I don't care about holiday wishes or viber news but I need app to stay in touch with some people. Sadly, I only check at most once a fortnight because of this disabled notification nagging.

I wish there was a standardized or common methodology for classifying notifications. App developers could adopt this and consumers could take the pattern with them across all types of interfaces - desktop, smartphone, speakers, tv. Maybe someone knows if any government entity or force has a methodology for this?

Simply, it doesn't affect me adversely at all. I think you have a misunderstanding as to how many notifications are generated.

Today I received:

* 3 reminders to eat

* 1 security alert (delivery)

* about two dozen instant messages between myself and clients

* a couple of dozen CI alerts

* 3 emails

Its easy to have different levels of notifications, and filter message channels. I have less distraction now than I had in an office by several orders of magnitude.

Everything is either immediately relevant or very important. The notifications I have make me more effective.

Do you use Whatsapp / Messenger regularly for social stuff? Coincidentally I was looking at my Digital Well-being settings in Android today and was told that I get over 170 notifications from Messenger a day.

I do. But I can't say I'm that popular! They are also muted and don't vibrate.

Most people I talk to work at the same time as me, so to get a social message during the day would be unusual.

Everyone knows to call if it matters.

Note: also be aware that the digital wellbeing count counts updates to an existing notification as a notification. As such my morning alarm counts a few dozen notifications (alarm in 8hrs, alarm in 7hrs, 30mins, 2 mins, etc.)

What kind of reminders to eat are you getting? Like "don't forget to eat?" or "don't forget, this is your plan for lunch"?

I'd assume some sort of "go eat now, it's time" scheme, so he can stay in deep flow without neglecting his food intake.

You got it!

For me neglecting food intake means:

If I don't eat enough I get grumpy. This lowers the quality of life of myself and my loved ones. Alternatively if I get hungry it can cause me to over-snack (justified by anti-grumps thoughts); then I get fat and lower my quality of life slightly slower.

So these notifications are perhaps the most important ones.

This is exactly what I was thinking a while ago. Most apps won't give you good notifications, just spam you so there could be an app that lets you have some good notifications instead of disabling them all through a filter.

I never looked into whether this is possible to do on android or iOS. I thought it might not be given the power available to hijack all the notifications available.

I love push notifications. Its honestly how I stay up to date on whatever is happening. I aint got time to scroll through everything

are you the one exception that makes us all suffer from notification induced FOMO ? :)

No one makes you suffer through anything. You can’t get push notifications without specifically opting into them, and you can disable them forever for any app with about 3 taps.

their existence annoys