Survey says many readers use this Android notification function, however not everybody trusts it

The notification system is a core a part of the Android expertise. With out my telephone pinging me a couple of new message, the most recent duck reel, or a juicy new gross sales promotion, I’ll greater than seemingly miss all of it. After I do miss these, or unintentionally swipe them away, I can depend on Android’s notification historical past function to maintain me in control.

Launched with Android 11, it’s now top-of-the-line Android options. I actually assume so, as does my colleague, Hadlee Simons. Do you agree? And, extra importantly, do you utilize it?

We ran a reader ballot to seek out out; listed here are the outcomes.

We obtained over 5,200 votes on this one, and there’s a transparent winner. 29.8% of the votership use notification historical past “on a regular basis,” whereas one other 29% use it “every now and then.” In whole, which means practically three in each 5 respondents use this Android function. That’s a pretty big portion of voters, contemplating that the function arrives deactivated by default on some gadgets.

For some readers, notification historical past is a big accessibility profit. As amberstoneart writes:

I’m neurodivergent and must set alarms to remind me to take treatment. I overlook A LOT. The historical past function is a godsend. I can see what time my alarm went off and if I MAY have taken my pill- like, oh, that was quarter-hour in the past and I simply kicked the cat off my lap so I undoubtedly didn’t take it, or I completely forgot to set my subsequent alarm. […] It’s been extremely useful and I’ve been utilizing it for years.

After all, as with each function, notification historical past has its detractors. 14.5% of respondents don’t use it and don’t plan to sooner or later, whereas 26.7% don’t use it however are contemplating it.

Some take into account it a safety threat. Commenter djwhyte writes:

Simply needless to say notification historical past can also be one other manner for folks to spy in your info. Even in the event you delete a textual content message, the notification historical past for it might nonetheless be there.

Both manner, it’s clear that almost all of respondents would like to see this function activated from the get-go, or no less than supplied throughout Android’s preliminary setup steps. I’d actually welcome this addition.