The only Marvel films released to date are two, Avatar was released, and Apple introduced the iPhone 3GS. It featured a completely new push-notification system that, among other things, mandated that apps request users’ permission before sending them notifications.
It is the year 2022. The Marvel Cinematic Universe now includes 29 movies in addition to a variety of series on Disney+. In December, the second Avatar will be released. Additionally, Android 13 just included a feature that mandates that apps request users’ permission before sending notifications. Overdue is putting it mildly.
Alert Me
Apple didn’t imitate Android’s pull-down notification drawer until 2011, despite the fact that Android has historically had a fairly robust notification system. The ability to individually block particular categories of notifications has long been available on Android. As a result, you may choose to block notifications for the latter in the app’s settings if all you want to know about is Instagram direct messages.
However, all of Android’s notification controls are post-notification. An app automatically receives permission to send notifications when you install it. I’m done now. There isn’t even a notification that it’s happening or an initial prompt. By default, downloading the app signifies your consent to receive any alerts it decides to send on Android. Android basically takes the position that it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission when it comes to notifications.
And since the beginning of Android, consumers have lived in that manner. At least recently, Google has made it simpler to turn off specific warning types. You can choose to make a notification “quiet” (meaning it won’t buzz) or completely turn it off by long-pressing a notice, for instance.
Play Nice
Even worse, only developers are allowed to establish notification categories. But programmers are not required to act civilly. For instance, Amazon simply uses the three categories of “notifications,” “account authentication,” and “Alexa” on the Android system but further customizes them within the app. You might unintentionally disable shipping notifications if you attempt to hush or disable a push notification advertisement.
Not all of this will be resolved by requiring apps to request permission before sending notifications. Because they still desire delivery updates, they are still likely to give Amazon permission to send notifications. And even if that means some advertisements will still get through. However, it is preferable to be able to remove some of the trash before it comes and then look for it after the fact.
Final thought
Android alerts are now a minor nightmare. It grew too exhausting to search through all the junk notifications, so I had to uninstall apps I would otherwise use. I no longer believe that when my phone buzzes, something essential must be happening. And the effort I need to invest in ensuring that apps operate as intended has increased significantly. I’m delighted Google is now requesting consent rather than pardon. Just that I wish it had been done so much earlier.
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