Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Push notifications
Raised as a usability problem by 18 people on Hacker News over 15 years (2012–2026), in 12 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
- 1
- 2
Every issue, all time, most people first
Important notifications buried among irrelevant, vague ones and can't be refoundUnreviewed
20122026- Notifications pop up constantly and interrupt typing, making it hard to finish a message2026-05-28
- Users can't figure out how to turn off unwanted notifications, and preferences get reset2026-05-28
- Important notifications drown in irrelevant ones, are vague, and can't be found again2026-05-27
Apps request push permission so often users keep denying itUnreviewed
20122026- Users must individually manage notification settings across dozens or hundreds of apps2026-05-28
- Apps flood users with daily and multiple daily notifications and ads2020-09-16
- Apps request push notification permission so often that users must keep denying them2017-07-27
Senders control push notifications that light up devices constantlyUnreviewed
20122026- Push notifications disappear too quickly to be seen or checked again2026-08-17
- Phones constantly beep and flash, and dismissed notifications are immediately replaced, obscuring the top buttons2026-05-28
- Push notifications are annoying, sender-controlled, and make devices light up constantly2022-03-23
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 18 complaints
- Push notifications disappear too quickly to be seen or checked again2026-08-17
- Users must individually manage notification settings across dozens or hundreds of apps2026-05-28
- Notifications pop up constantly and interrupt typing, making it hard to finish a message2026-05-28
- Phones constantly beep and flash, and dismissed notifications are immediately replaced, obscuring the top buttons2026-05-28
- Users can't figure out how to turn off unwanted notifications, and preferences get reset2026-05-28
- Marketing notifications stay on despite being turned off, and delivery alerts can't be enabled alone2026-05-27
- Important notifications drown in irrelevant ones, are vague, and can't be found again2026-05-27
- Dozens of ambiguous toggles make it unclear which one stops unwanted notifications2026-05-27
- Promotional alerts mixed with useful notices make the phone buzz for upsells2025-04-23
- Can't turn off individual notification types because channels aren't separated2024-01-02
- Forced to immediately delete or act on each notification, no way to save for later2022-06-09
- Important messages get buried under repeated nagging app-open notifications2022-05-26
- Push notifications are annoying, sender-controlled, and make devices light up constantly2022-03-23
- Apps flood users with daily and multiple daily notifications and ads2020-09-16
- Apps request push notification permission so often that users must keep denying them2017-07-27
- Stop button for notifications may be buried deep in settings menus2016-01-27
- Unexpected notifications confuse and unsettle novice users who don't know why they appeared2015-11-28
- Only offers all-or-nothing notifications with no middle ground, so users are flooded or must opt out entirely2012-08-21