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I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

alexanderell.is

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Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#351

Post by bonniemuffin »

wutbrodo wrote: post #309
bonniemuffin wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I deleted the Uber app and stopped using their service specifically because there was no way to turn off only their spammy marketing push notifications, and I didn't want to turn off all push and miss a ride, so there was no way for me to meaningfully use their service. It's ok, I have other options to get a ride.

Are you in iOS? I see a pretty detailed breakdown of notification categories that I can disable.

I had previously failed to find the Notification settings under Privacy that another commenter pointed me to--I think these solve my problem. If you found even more granular settings, please let me know where you're setting them.

A few months ago, I swear I went through every single setting in the app and failed to find anything like this, so maybe they've since updated their settings page?

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#352

Post by pers0n »

jbverschoor wrote: post #318
gpt5 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been struggling with the Uber app and Uber Eats who has been sending me ads which I found no way to disable. My problem is that I do want notifications for when my driver has arrived.

And no way to report to apple.. it’s against policy/guidelines

They make billions off the apps and have yet to implement something like that

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#353

Post by xahrepap »

Kiro wrote: post #344
thewebcount wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s wrong with that? It’s fucking irritating. It’s not my job to do marketing for them, and frankly I resent constantly being asked for feedback on every interaction. I bought a lightbulb. Please rate it! I bought toilet paper. Please rate it! It’s like being around a really insecure person who’s constantly trying to win your favor. Just be a good person and it will happen, but try to do it and you make it way wor…

I provide a free game with no monetization and if they play more than an hour I ask if they would like to rate it. That's the only payment I get beyond donations. How is that unreasonable and worth giving me a 1 star for?

There are a few patterns here I didn’t dive into in my original comment above.

1. I don’t use a lot of apps. I prefer web for most things. It turns out the apps I do download are from bigger companies (YouTube, Netflix). It’s annoying to be nagged by these companies. I already pay them $x/mo and now they’re asking more from me? Please leave me alone.

2. Many apps are first asking if I like it THEN prompt me to review if I say yes. It is my understanding that this is against the rules for the Apple App Store. If it’s not it should be. That’s shady behavior. It’s so common that I’ve been conditioned to not even believe that the first prompt is even real. I feel like I’m literally being Phished for reviews here. I don’t like it.

So yes, I’m to the point where I assume all nag-ware is employing some manipulative dark pattern and I default to 1-star review. Yes I will one star review some apps that don’t deserve it. But at this point those developers are playing in the same sandbox as all the bullies and I can’t tell them apart anymore. I have to protect myself. I don’t have the mental energy to try and distinguish between the good guys and bad guys anymore.

It is my opinion that Indie developers need to find a better way to market themselves. The water has been poisoned on reviews.

Sorry if you disagree with me. But that’s where I’m at now.

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#355

Post by serverlessmom »

This is interesting to me. I'm extremely frustrated by meal delivery apps, where I need the notifications on to know when my food is here, but hate getting promotional ads at random

We're working on tools to help developers send notifications more easily at https://www.courier.com/, and working on tools like automations to hopefully make notifications a bit smarter and less spammy.

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#356

Post by Kiro »

xahrepap wrote: post #353
Kiro wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I provide a free game with no monetization and if they play more than an hour I ask if they would like to rate it. That's the only payment I get beyond donations. How is that unreasonable and worth giving me a 1 star for?

There are a few patterns here I didn’t dive into in my original comment above. 1. I don’t use a lot of apps. I prefer web for most things. It turns out the apps I do download are from bigger companies (YouTube, Netflix). It’s annoying to be nagged by these companies. I already pay them $x/mo and now they’re asking more from me? Please leave me alone. 2. Many apps are first asking if I like it THEN prompt me to review…

Well, out of hundreds of reviews I haven't received a single 1-star yet. I think you're exaggerating that the whole ecosystem of reviews has been poisoned. Maybe it's my specific audience but most reviews are great and sincere.

Fwiw, I'm not asking if they like it first. I ask them to write an honest review if they want, and that it helps support the game.

I'm just surprised this small thing is controversial considering how hard I've worked on being transparent and avoid dark patterns.

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#357

Post by wbsss4412 »

LadyCailin wrote: post #231
gpvos wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could stop using Uber and Uber Eats.

You could also be a hermit and live in the woods. Thats not really the point though. For paid services, I think it’s entirely reasonable to say that you don’t want to see ads.

Giving up on a product that only provides marginal value is hardly the same thing as becoming a hermit.

Uber eats isn’t integral to operating in modern society by a long stretch.

The hermit argument is trotted out far too often, it’s one thing if we are talking about something like a smart phone, but just because something is new or techy, doesn’t mean you are a Luddite for not using it.

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#358

Post by microflash »

pwpw wrote: post #203
microflash wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buzzkill is a godsent and should be an OS feature. Setting rules on notifications, automated actions and a history has reduced the deluge of useless distractions for me. The app is proprietary and closed source though; it also uses Accessibility access. This might be a turn off for some threat models.

I would love to help on building an open source alternative. Any clue on where to get started with documentation?

I've no idea. Although I've worked on Java for ages, Android programming never caught my interest. Maybe search for his to get started on Android and browse some open source projects to get a feel of this is your thing.

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#359

Post by bee_rider »

JonChesterfield wrote: post #254
bee_rider wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this a hypothetical? I can't think of any monopolies that I need to do business with that only do business through an app.

My bank's android app has more control over my account than any other way of interacting with them, including going into branches and posting forms. That's not strictly a monopoly but I'm on my fifth bank and they've all been similarly rubbish.

Huh, interesting. I can't think of many notifications I would want from my bank. I've got an alarm for if my balance goes under a certain threshold, which I guess could be handled via a notification, but IMO it is easier to just make the threshold high enough that I can treat it as a "check-once-per-day" thing, and get the notifications via email.

Re: I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones

#360

Post by lmm »

LadyCailin wrote: post #349
lmm wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As my friend says about salary, it's only a negotiation if you're prepared to walk away.

Or unionize. In this case it would be to petition apple or the FCC or whatever.

Sure, but a similar dynamic applies - a union can't negotiate if it's not prepared to strike.
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