I'm occasionally keeping my data turned off and am telling everyone "if urgent call me".

(3rd world) problem: most people think calling is pressing the phone button inside Whatsapp.

At least on iOS, internet call is treated basically the same as cellular, showing a splash caller screen and ringing if not on silent. This means that it's trivial to setup phone in such a way that no notification gets through but calls do, even with sound.

This is also true on Android.

The point being made above is that if data is turned off, you can no longer receive calls made over WhatsApp.

Yup.

My intention is to intentionally block whatsapp calls.

And to use the oldskool telephone for emergencies.

I could have communicated it more clearly.

Yes, I was not clear too - what I mean is that my family won't be able to get in touch.

The same in Switzerland and it's not 3rd world

Even when checking once a day, it's still worse with spam notifications. It's like getting 20 spam phone calls on your answering machine between the real ones.

Another option is to avoid those kinds of apps. I get 0 notifications I would consider spam.

There are e.g. banking apps doing that.

Consider using another bank. Maybe there's a higher tolerance for that kind of bullshit in the US but I've never seen a single notification from my bank. If it sent me spam I would assume they got hacked.

The problem is that the energy it takes to switch banks is way too high given the inconvenience, and they know. This applies to many small annoyances that are not big enough to vote with your feet, so companies abuse these things. Classic dark patterns.

It might be worth a few days work. It's a shame so many people choose convenience over principle, that's what the bad actors rely on. Stop participating. If changing banks is too much effort maybe doing the banking from the browser instead of their app is a compromise.

I turn off notifications for every app except calls and messages; it's fine because almost no-one ever calls or texts anymore (Whatsapp messages can wait until I look at them).

Turning the phone on silent isn't really a solution since it still pollutes the screen (and the history) with useless notifications.

Deny all notifications when installing a new app. Enable them only if you absolutely need them.

Gate access isn't absolutely need, your visitors can call you. Or if you order food you can check status on the food app.