News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Building all of our new mobile apps using React Native by dmix on Wednesday January 29, 2020 @12:50PM (#22183553)
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).

Re:Building all of our new mobile apps using React Native by buboard on Wednesday January 29, 2020 @02:42PM (#22184941)
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

Re:Building all of our new mobile apps using React Native by scottmotte on Wednesday January 29, 2020 @09:37PM (#22188410)
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

Re:Building all of our new mobile apps using React Native by buboard on Friday January 31, 2020 @10:35AM (#22202482)
The apps don’t even need to think of spam, that would be handled by the mail server just like all other spam.
Re:Building all of our new mobile apps using React Native by npo9 on Wednesday January 29, 2020 @01:05PM (#22183757)
> 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.

Re:Building all of our new mobile apps using React Native by zapzupnz on Wednesday January 29, 2020 @03:17PM (#22185331)
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.