iOS: Apps can deliver notifications silently – without user control
Users should actually have the option to decide for themselves whether they want to be informed about notifications. But app developers control this.
iOS notifications: Gmail, Instagram, and Facebook only notify quietly when requested – which is ultimately positive.
(Image: PixieMe / Shutterstock)
The top offer from Too Good to Go for delicious donuts that are always gone so quickly, or the information from the Airthings app that something is wrong with the air: Some iOS notifications seem to be bewitched. They only appear when you are actively using the iPhone, despite being normally activated in the system settings. There is neither a delivery tone nor, if the device is silent, a vibration. They are also visible in the overview on the lock screen – but only when you actively look. This results in even notifications considered important by the user being missed. The solution to the puzzle: Apple allows developers to also deliver notifications “secretly,” a function in the code that they must actively choose. However, the user has no control over this, which many do not know.
A constant causes annoyance
Since iOS 15, developers can choose the “Interruption Level” for notifications. The feature is called UNNotificationInterruptionLevel, a constant that defines how important a notification should be. Here, the developer can set it to “Active” and thus deliver it normally, with the screen lighting up and sound/vibration. “Critical” also outputs the notification with sound when the device is set to silent. “TimeSensitive” turns the notification into an “urgent notification” that can also break through a Focus.
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And then there is “passive.” And this is precisely the most annoying variant for users who want to stay informed: “The system adds the notification to the notification list without making the screen bright [if the device is not in use] or playing a sound.” The problem also affects the Apple Watch: here too, such notifications are delivered silently and only end up in the notification overview.
Developers take away user settings
It is difficult to say why developers sometimes choose “passive” for their notifications. Perhaps they think they shouldn't overload customers with notifications. Sometimes the setting also changes from app version to app version, as happened with the aforementioned Airthings app, which used to deliver all warnings visibly. Developers accept that important information may simply be missed. Users can do llittle;only contact the developers / app manufacturers and ask them to make a change again so that notifications are delivered normally (UNNotificationInterruptionLevel set to “Active”).
Normal means that, as usual, it can be selected via the system settings whether the notification of an app has a notification sound and/or a vibration – a matter of seconds. Developers who fear overwhelming users with too many notifications can explain to them how to proceed if necessary instead of simply taking the decision away from them. And Apple should consider whether silent delivery could not be turned off with a central button if users wish. In addition, potentially annoying apps – from Uber advertising to Facebook – naturally never deliver their notifications silently.
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