Notifications have gotten out of control.
You might needsomebut you dont need as many as you have right now.
Which notifications do youreallyneed?
Sure, we all joke that a smartphone is used for everythingbutphone calls, but its not true.
Youd probably regret sending all these people to voicemail.
But software features such as Silence Unknown Callers have improved the situation.
You dont need to disable phone alerts altogether to keep most spam at bay.
Next up, messaging.
Most of us dont want to miss out on messages from friends and family.
While most texts arent timely or indicate an emergency, we still want to be in the loop.
Not to mention, these notifications are stacked, so the true number is always something ridiculous.
Who can read through them all anyway?
Some apps are taking things even further, too, abusing their alerts to spam you with ads.
I received an alert from them at5 a.m.advertising a free trial for their paid subscription service.
So as of now, the Furbo is unplugged (sorry if my dog barks, neighbors).
If you cant disable all notifications, tweak your tweaks
Everyones use case is different, though.
If youre someone who lives off of calendar and to-do app notifications, those could be tricky to disable.
You dont want to check Google Cal only to see you missed three appointments this morning.
TakeBeReal, for example.
When you have some time, look through the notification parameters for different apps.
Companies are working on notification issue, as well.
For Android 13,Google now forces apps to request notifications as an initial permission.
No longer will apps be able to spam you by default.
If you say no from the get-go, youll never hear from that app again.
Getting in the habit of disabling notifications for each new app you download will pay off big time.
Apple employs this strategy, too, among others.
Our smartphones should make our lives easier, and even help keep us focused.
It doesnt need to be the other way around.
