| ▲ | modeless 6 days ago |
| I don't understand why people leave email notifications enabled. There is almost no email I get that needs instant action. The one exception is delivery notifications, so I can retrieve the package immediately, and I used a filter to get notifications just for those. |
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| ▲ | runjake 6 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| Pro-tip: On iPhone, iPad, and macOS, you can shut off email notifications for everything except VIPs. https://www.idownloadblog.com/2018/08/28/add-senders-vip-mai... |
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| ▲ | ubermonkey 6 days ago | parent [-] | | Yeah, this is the way. And then be super parsimonious about who gets to be a VIP. Email from my boss, my wife, my sister, my mother, and like 2 best friends produces a notification. Nothing else. And if any of those folks were too chatty, I'd make a different choice. |
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| ▲ | biophysboy 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| People live different lives |
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| ▲ | crazygringo 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > There is almost no email I get that needs instant action. Different people get different e-mails. Also, some people just don't check e-mail otherwise. Why would they? Notifications tell them the 5 times a day they get a new e-mail, so they don't need to manually check their e-mail 2-3 times a day. It actually makes a lot of sense. Notifications mean you never have to check your e-mail. |
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| ▲ | jader201 5 days ago | parent [-] | | I’m a little confused by these comments about not checking stuff unless you get a notification. Do you get notified of every article on HN that you read? Or what about YouTube or other content that you consume? I’ve had email notifications turned off for years, and have no problem checking my email once or twice a day, just to see if there’s anything worth reading. (Spoiler alert: there almost never is.) Just like HN, and a couple forums that I visit. I’ll check occasionally to see what’s going on. For all of these things, it’s never anything urgent or time sensitive. Even if I went a couple days without checking, it’d be fine. If somebody needs to reach me for anything time sensitive (outside of work), there’s SMS (with notifications) or phone (of course, notifications). I think much of the issue with these comments — and this whole thread, in general — boils down to: 1. People use things outside of SMS and phone for time sensitive things (solution: move time sensitive things to SMS/phone) 2. People overestimate the criticality/time sensitivity of these things sending notifications I’d rather check my email (or other X app) once or twice a day, if that, and catch up on low priority things, rather than get interrupted 5-10 times a day for these low priority things. | | |
| ▲ | crazygringo 5 days ago | parent [-] | | > I’d rather check my email (or other X app) once or twice a day, if that, and catch up on low priority things, rather than get interrupted 5-10 times a day for these low priority things. Nobody's saying you're wrong. That's great. I'm just saying there are also people who are the opposite, and their way of doing it is also valid and works great for them. Also, stuff on HN and YouTube isn't for you personally, and it doesn't need your reply, so it's not really an analogy for personal messages. | | |
| ▲ | jader201 5 days ago | parent [-] | | > I'm just saying there are also people who are the opposite, and their way of doing it is also valid and works great for them. Agreed, but if we’re here discussing ways to reduce distractions of smartphones, I think auditing our notifications and the usage of apps that send notifications, particularly of things that are more noise than signal, is worth mentioning. > Also, stuff on HN and YouTube isn't for you personally, and it doesn't need your reply, so it's not really an analogy for personal messages. Fair point, but I’d bet that 90% of most people’s email is also not personal messages, and just more noise. Yes, we should unsubscribe from the noise, and I have, but I still have some things I get that I occasionally care about, just not enough to be notified. |
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| ▲ | 5555624 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| >I don't understand why people leave email notifications enabled. There is almost no email I get that needs instant action. People are different and have different use cases and needs. i don't have them enabled; but, the email address I use for my Android phone and tables is used only for those devices.I've neer used my primary email address on a mobile device. Email can wait until I'm at a computer. |
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| ▲ | apwell23 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I turn it on during job search. Like right now. |
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| ▲ | asimovDev 6 days ago | parent [-] | | I often considered turning my gmail notifs off just so I wouldn't excitedly pick up my phone to get hit with the "Unfortunately..." ruining my mood | | |
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| ▲ | bapak 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Email and chat apps are just about the only notifications I keep. I "archive" any unwanted email right from the notification screen, I report as spam anything I don't like. I hate people who have 4 digits in their email bubbles. I really wish Apple/Google would do something about notifications, use AI for something useful. "Hey you haven't read any of your 3454 emails, should I disable notifications for Gmail?" "Hey you're drowning in notifications with your son texting you 2 hours ago, 4 pages down. Should I prioritize him maybe?" |
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| ▲ | duderific 6 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Four digits? Rookies. | | |
| ▲ | nottorp 5 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Hey i kept my unread count on gmail at 666 for weeks! | |
| ▲ | kefabean 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Email bubbles? Rookies. (you know you can make those bubbles go away?!) |
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| ▲ | cheema33 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | > I really wish Apple/Google would do something about notifications, use AI for something useful. Yes, please, for the love of anything that is holy. Stop the SMS spam! |
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| ▲ | xboxnolifes 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| If I don't get a notification for something, there's a good chance I'll forget to check emails/texts/etc for weeks at a time. |
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| ▲ | ubermonkey 6 days ago | parent [-] | | WAT. | | |
| ▲ | crazygringo 6 days ago | parent [-] | | ...do you check for texts if you don't have any text notifications telling you to? I certainly don't. | | |
| ▲ | unethical_ban 5 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Yes, if I know I don't have notifications for them! I have email notifications disabled. I check my email in the morning. I don't get a notification every time I receive a letter. I check my mailbox every other day. | |
| ▲ | dwedge 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Something like before launcher with filtered notifications gives you a list you can go through whenever. But they don't clear (your uber is getting close) and even then I often forget to check sms for 2 days | |
| ▲ | ubermonkey 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Texts? Generally no. Mail? Absolutely. Because most mail doesn't produce a notification. | | |
| ▲ | crazygringo 5 days ago | parent [-] | | > Because most mail doesn't produce a notification. It does if you turn them on. | | |
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| ▲ | cheema33 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > I don't understand why people leave email notifications enabled. For me email on the phone uses less than 1% of my screen time during the day. |
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| ▲ | larrik 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| You can probably just use the UPS/FedEx/Amazon apps to get those notifications instead anyway. |
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| ▲ | sulandor 6 days ago | parent [-] | | suggestion to install apps in a detox thread | | |
| ▲ | serial_dev 6 days ago | parent [-] | | I don’t think that delivery service apps make you hooked on your phone. It’s high value information (assuming you care when exactly your stuff arrives) that you get quickly without distractions. IMO it’s less distracting than email apps (again, assuming you care about your emails). | | |
| ▲ | ghostpepper 6 days ago | parent [-] | | I would never install one of these apps (more for security/privacy than information detox) but if Uber can abuse the notification system for advertising then it wouldn't surprise me if these companies would too. | | |
| ▲ | nottorp 5 days ago | parent [-] | | Interesting, because my Uber has notifications disabled but my delivery apps have them on. When I'm waiting for Uber to arrive I know it will come, because I just ordered it, so I just check my phone. Maybe I'm lucky with my delivery apps because mine don't send ads. |
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| ▲ | npteljes 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Email and messages is the very few notifications I enabled on my phone. Reason is simple: I get very few of them, and most of them are either important, or if not, I appreciate knowing about it more than not knowing about it. |
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| ▲ | cyral 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| You can set email notifications (or any app) to deliver quietly. I made this change years ago for email and some social apps. You can go through the notifications when you check your phone but aren't distracted with it vibrating on every email. |
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| ▲ | dangus 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I leave my email notifications on because I don't get that much email, and most email I get is something I want to read. I don't read my work email at all unless I am specifically looking for something. |
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| ▲ | walthamstow 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| The default setting is always king |
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| ▲ | ktosobcy 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Uhm. I set the email app to check for mail every 30 minutes. But also I don't get that many messages (and mailinglists and whatnot are filtered away to subfolders that don't trigger the notification) so when I get the notification is for something I actually need. Apart from that I only have notifications for IM (telegram/whatsapp) and the phone is in constant DND mode (with sound allowed only for calls). |
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| ▲ | GuinansEyebrows 6 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| "Dear Sir stroke Madam, I am writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premises of..." no, that's too formal |
