Users Whitelist Only 4 Notification Types, Mute Everything Else: Study

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A six-week study involving 60 user interviews found that people consistently allow only four categories of app notifications: social interactions involving them, self-set reminders, expected transactions, and time-critical alerts from trusted systems. All other notification types — including promos, streaks, and re-engagement prompts — were muted or disabled within two weeks. The research also revealed that users make muting decisions based on notification category, not the quality of the copy, making A/B testing of push text largely ineffective. One test showed that offering per-category in-app consent, rather than a single system-level prompt, raised opt-in rates from 41% to 73% and cut 30-day mute rates from 34% to 9%. The findings suggest app developers should focus on ensuring every notification fits a whitelisted category and implement granular consent flows using platform-supported notification categories.

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