Smuggled Promotional Notifications: Will Google do anything to stop app authors from doing this?

utopianfiat@lemmy.world to Android@lemmy.world – 48 points –

A couple of times I've been presented with notifications from commercial apps downloaded from the Play store that are very clearly promotional material. Thankfully, Android allows me to block particular notification channels if I swipe the notification lightly and hit the gear icon. I can disable the particular "Promotion" channel.

However, with some apps, the "Promotion" channel is already turned off, and now they're sending promotions under other channels ("General Notifications", "System Alerts"). Does anyone else think this is shady enough to report, and how would you go about reporting it?

9

Notifications of all types are getting seriously out of hand again. Some apps (looking at you Whatsapp 🤨) have "preferred notifications" turned on by default effectively bypassing DND.

I'm seriously about to nuke ALL notifications on my phone except for my bank, significant other, and my boss.

Some apps have taken to using notifications like a social media feed. Fucking hell. And they don't distinguish them, so either live with them or delete the app, which is terrible if you need to rely on the app in some way.

Short answer : yes.

I never reported an app because i mostly use foss apps or just side load modded ones but the app store should have it somewhere.

To properly report this kind of behavior you need to first uninstall the app and stop doing business with the company

Unfortunately the company is one of two major parcel carriers in this case.

Then they're just being abusive. Do you need to use the app? Can they send you text alerts?