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What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

jacquescorbytuech.com

111–120 of 428 posts

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#111
Android is better because they allow you to change individual notifications right from the notifications themselves + granularly do it there also.

On iOS I have to find the right setting page and then all notifications are either on or off. Doesn’t make sense.

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell me use iOS without telling me you do. Android has separate notification channel toggles, so I've turned off the marketing ones. I was shocked and aghast when I spent a year trying to use an iPhone that it didn't do this. Part of the reason I went back to my trusty Pixels.

While iOS doesn’t do this at the OS level I’ve never seen an app that didn’t have these options. I assumed it’s required by Apple.

Most apps are cross-platform. If you're already required to do it on Android, going out of your way to avoid it on iOS doesn't make a lot of sense.

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell me use iOS without telling me you do. Android has separate notification channel toggles, so I've turned off the marketing ones. I was shocked and aghast when I spent a year trying to use an iPhone that it didn't do this. Part of the reason I went back to my trusty Pixels.

While iOS doesn’t do this at the OS level I’ve never seen an app that didn’t have these options. I assumed it’s required by Apple.

They technically allow you to, but make it really annoying to. Uber for example:

Account > Settings > Accessibility > Communication Settings

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While iOS doesn’t do this at the OS level I’ve never seen an app that didn’t have these options. I assumed it’s required by Apple.

Lots of iOS apps have the option, but ignore it and send you push ads anyway. Apple may require it to be present during app review, but they don't seem to enforce that it's used correctly.

Does Google actively police app's use of channels? Is there any mechanism to stop apps abusing "time critical" channels and sending unwanted marketing?

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#115
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest problem are apps that do both. For example, I want Uber to notify me when my driver has arrived, but I don't want it to notify me when they have a special 10% discount on my next 5 rides. It's not straightforward to block one but not the other.

And the worst part is that Apple could fix this in a heartbeat. Uber is straightforwardly in violation of App Store policies about "no advertising in push notifications", but a) they're too big to fail and b) Apple advertises via push notifications all the fucking time, so they have no leg to stand on here. It's infuriating that the one thing the App Store monopoly could be useful for isn't even actually used in prac…

Instagram is the worst offender, I only want to receive message notifications, but I got notifications about inane random stuff I've tried to disable but it won't work. I ended up having to disable notifications altogether.

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I order an Uber, I already know it is coming. I was the person who ordered it. This is how taxis worked for decades before smartphones existed. You phoned for a taxi, then remained vaguely aware that it would arrive shortly. The question is whether a single “it has arrived” notification is worth the surrounding noise: “driver accepted”, “driver is nearby”, “rate your driver”, “here’s 10% off your next ride”, and s…

The point of notifications is the convenience of not having to constantly check your phone for every single app you have (amazon delivery? just eats delivery? uber booking? claude finished its task?).

> The point of notifications is the convenience of not having to constantly check your phone for every single app you have (amazon delivery? just eats delivery? uber booking? claude finished its task?).

My phone has been on DoNoDisturb since 2010 or so. Here's the reality: I don't check for any of those things. Delivery drivers can ring the door bell. If I'm very hungry I'll keep the app open and check where they are. I literally do not care to be notified about any of the things that apps want to notify me off.

Anyone who cares to reach me knows to ring the phone twice in case of emergency to get through DnD. Anyone else? The best time to call is text me. Or schedule a time.

As for Claude, the point of clankers is that they work in the background. The robot can wait, their infinite patience is a feature.

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snapchat has to be the all time worst offender to me about abusive level of notifications. Luckily, you can turn them off, but holy cow batman, that's a lot of notification options to deal with.

Remember when Android used to let notification senders hijack turning your screen on, Snapchat used that one a lot.

That's "growth hacking" for you

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#118
post #111

Android is better because they allow you to change individual notifications right from the notifications themselves + granularly do it there also. On iOS I have to find the right setting page and then all notifications are either on or off. Doesn’t make sense.

You can long press on the notification (or swipe left?) and pick "Turn Off..." among other options

https://support.apple.com/en-us/108781#manage-alerts

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#119
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, it's quite straightforward. If an app makes an unsolicited spammy push, it's notifications-off. No exceptions.

Snapchat has to be the all time worst offender to me about abusive level of notifications. Luckily, you can turn them off, but holy cow batman, that's a lot of notification options to deal with.

For me the worst is NextDoor. I don’t have the app installed, but they also have email notifications. There are seemingly 100 options and I turned them all off when I first made the account. Periodically they add new ones and auto-enable them for everyone. There is not universal way to shut them off, short of blocking them all together or deleting my account. The account was such a pain to setup that I’m hesitant to delete it, for the 1 time every couple years where it’s useful.

Re: What Apple and Google are doing to push notifications

#120

If my phone interrupts me, it should either mean someone genuinely needs my attention right now or it should not be disrupting me at all. That's my notification set up. Apps allowed to receive push notifications Phone, Messages, Whatsapp, Apple Health, [brand] bank. That concludes the list. There is no reason any other app needs to be able to instantly ping me. Most apps are not notifying you because something matter…

Yeah, this entire article is pretty transparent that it's from the sender perspective, and worried about platforms taking over "sender control". Who is he kidding? The vast majority of apps have absolutely proven they can't be trusted to respect your attention. From my perspective, the more roadblocks the platforms put between unnecessary notifications and my phone, the better. And I don't think Apple or Google are s…

> From my perspective, the more roadblocks the platforms put between unnecessary notifications and my phone, the better.

I know lots of apps behave badly when it comes to notifications but I'd still prefer if the apps controlled the level of notifications they sent. I could, of course, reduce that client-side, but I don't see why I'd want Google or Apple or any other intermediary see or control the notifications.

If an app behaves inappropriately, I could uninstall it. If a gatekeeper like Google or Apple prevent an app from sending me notifications, I'd have to change my OS, usually my hardware, too.

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