Google Chrome To Hide Notification Spam Starting February 2020 (zdnet.com) 50
Following in Mozilla's footsteps, Google announced today plans to hide notification popup prompts inside Chrome starting next month, February 2020. ZDNet reports: According to a blog post published today, Google plans to roll out a "quieter notification permission UI that reduces the interruptiveness of notification permission requests." The change is scheduled for Google Chrome 80, scheduled for release on February 4, next month.
Starting with Chrome 80 next month, Google's browser will also block most notification popups by default, and show an icon in the URL bar, similar to Firefox. When Chrome 80 launches next month, a new option will be added in the Chrome settings section that allows users to enroll in the new "quieter notification UI." Users can enable this option as soon as Chrome 80 is released, or they can wait for Google to enable it by default as the feature rolls out to the wider Chrome userbase in the following weeks. According to Google, the new feature works by hiding notification requests for Chrome users who regularly dismiss notification prompts. Furthermore, Chrome will also automatically block notification prompts on sites where users rarely accept notifications.
Starting with Chrome 80 next month, Google's browser will also block most notification popups by default, and show an icon in the URL bar, similar to Firefox. When Chrome 80 launches next month, a new option will be added in the Chrome settings section that allows users to enroll in the new "quieter notification UI." Users can enable this option as soon as Chrome 80 is released, or they can wait for Google to enable it by default as the feature rolls out to the wider Chrome userbase in the following weeks. According to Google, the new feature works by hiding notification requests for Chrome users who regularly dismiss notification prompts. Furthermore, Chrome will also automatically block notification prompts on sites where users rarely accept notifications.
Stop asking me if I want notifications (Score:5, Insightful)
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My god this, ever since that european law got passed every bloody site keeps asking me if i want to accept cookies, or want popups etc its actually more annoying than popups ever were. I just want to read my magazines and forums in peace without having my flow constantly interrupted...
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It's a self defeating problem. You want privacy so you ban cookies. But when you ban cookies websites can't remember if you wanted privacy or not so they ask you again.
But at least that has a purpose. No Mr Website you will not ever get permission to send me OS level notifications. The fact that you ask makes me think you're stupid.
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The GDPR specifically allows you to store some cookies, including a cookie that keeps track of your privacy preferences. If you are seeing the pop-up over and over again, then the developers have screwed up, or the settings on your browser are too aggressive.
Another example of cookies that are allowed are accessibility preferences, like larger text or high contrast theme, so that you don't have to reset those on every page load.
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What I can't understand is how they didn't see this coming a mile away when they first implemented notification requests.
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You can at least disable them completely in the settings. Then it doesn't ask.
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Browsers can be overly keen to promote some feature without thinking through the negative consequences of making that feature default to on, or by implementing it in such a way that it becomes a nuisance.
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That is why every new version of Firefox you have to read the release notes so you can find out what shit they added that needs to be turned off. I cannot think of one "feature" that was added in the last ten years that I did not immediately disable.
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There is a _very tiny_ subset of websites where this might be useful. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is online brokerages.
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I can think of a few more uses of web notifications to which I wouldn't object, mostly in web applications focused on communication among users.
- Chat sites like Slack and Discord want to notify you when someone mentions your name in a channel.
- Q&A sites like Stack Overflow and Codidact want to notify you when someone posts an answer to your question or a comment to your question or answer.
- Microblog sites such as Twitter and your nearest Mastodon want to notify you when someone replies to or forwards
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I want Flash back. Really. I know that's a controversial opinion, but back then you could easily block most of this shit.
It was only in the later years of Flash that you could easily block flash video thanks to browser plugins. Since that time browser extensions have been added to at least block sound so we are no worse off.
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It's called about:config (Score:2)
An advanced flag setting form exists in Firefox and is called about:config.
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What I can't understand is how they didn't see this coming a mile away when they first implemented notification requests.
I think it's easy to explain when you consider the google's new motto: "All your attention are belong to us." The google thought that this mal-feature would give them an inside track on capturing more of our attention. They were focused on squeezing more blood out of the turnips and (once again) didn't really consider the potential for abuse.
However I'm still most annoyed at the google's "Live and let spam" policies in Gmail. Such an ancient problem, and it remains as ever. Well, actually it seems to be get
That's what they're doing, though (Score:3)
Notifications? (Score:2)
Turned off as soon as they were added. Like most crap on the web (such as JavaShit), it is best turned off.
I don't see this as a problem. (Score:2)
Why block them? Say no once, problem solved. I accept notifications on webapps like Slack or Trello, I block them on trashy sites.
What I like about browser notifications is that they are standardised and the amount of control over the UI the server has is minimal. This is a good thing and makes handling of these popups manegable and somewhat safe.
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Obviously this is a case of different strokes for different folks. I have not found a single site that I want push notifications from, and I don't expect to, so I have new notification requests turned off in Firefox; so if I was a Chrome user, I'd be happy with this news. Being interrupted by several pop-ups daily, when the answer is always going to be "no", seems completely pointless in my case, and even if the total time spent clicking those pop-ups is relatively small, the pointlessness of the interrupti
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I block them on trashy sites.
Works well when you only visit one trashy site. The browser already blocks them once you say no. There however still is an insane amount of notification spam from the internet.
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Never seen a single "notification spam", nor even a single notification, nor even a question about whether I want notifications or not.
I think you are just doing too much LSD -- or perhaps you didn't turn the crap off.
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Why block them? Say no once, problem solved. I accept notifications on webapps like Slack or Trello, I block them on trashy sites.
To lay my cards on the table, first, I see absolutely no value to notifications. The basic idea that anyone gets to grab my attention and interrupt my concentration whenever they want for whatever trivial reason (Socks On Sale Now at Macy's!) is insultingly rude and presumptuous.
That I need to answer "no" to a non-trivial number of web sites requesting a periodic slice of my attention for all future time, represents an abuse of their privilege to present anything to me at all. I should be able to select "
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There is some value to notifications. I actually have web apps that I want to receive notifications from, especially on mobile, so I can for instance do other things while waiting for a response without keeping the web app in the foreground. The problem is more that every web developer and their dog thinks their trashy site is important enough to get notifications from. The worst offenders are clickbait sites that offer nothing of value at all.
An equal problem to this is autoplaying videos. Chrome needs
Disabling autoplay easier said than done (Score:2)
An equal problem to this is autoplaying videos. Chrome needs to follow Firefox in disabling them.
Both Chrome and Firefox disable autoplaying videos with sound by default. They allow autoplaying silent videos because it's less bad than the alternative. Fully disabling autoplaying videos is easier said than done, as I show in Video blocking test suite [pineight.com].
- If you disable autoplaying MP4 and WebM, websites can fall back to animated GIF which uses even more bandwidth and runs your cap out even faster.
- If you disable autoplaying MP4, WebM, and GIF, websites can fall back to swapping individual JPEGs and PNGs
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Honestly, I'd be satisfied with disabling the sound at this point. In my experience, Chrome on mobile, at least when used embedded into another app like Facebook, continues to autoplay videos with sound. My mother can be on Facebook one moment, then click a link, and it will go to a page with noisy autoplaying video. This despite me having disabled autoplay for her in both Facebook and Chrome. Drives her up the wall, and annoys the crap out of me that I can do nothing about it for her. Not sure what my
Media engagement index in Chrome (Score:2)
Chrome on mobile, at least when used embedded into another app like Facebook, continues to autoplay videos with sound.
Google Chrome allows autoplay with sound if you have clicked within the domain to interact with it. It also exhibits this behavior on sites with a high media engagement index [google.com]. This can happen if you have previously opted into watching videos with sound on this website for longer than 7 seconds. (To see if this is true of the site you're viewing, copy chrome://media-engagement into the address bar.) It also whitelists autoplay with sound if you have chosen to the app as a Progressive Web App.
But it appears y
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"That I need to answer "no" to a non-trivial number of web sites requesting a periodic slice of my attention for all future time, represents an abuse of their privilege to present anything to me at all. I should be able to select "never, ever present any requests for notifications" and have it stick. That worked, for a while under Firefox, but it seems to have broken recently."
Perhaps you forgot to disable the "feature" that permits Mozilla to fuck about with your browser settings without your permission.
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If it was just one or two sites, it wouldn't be a problem. However, when every site you load prompts you for notifications (and then sometimes access to your location) and you need to click Yes or No before proceeding, it can quickly get annoying. By all means, let me know passively that the site supports notification or have sites include a "notify me" button that will show the prompt if I want notifications. Showing the prompt on load on every site I visit is just annoying, though.
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Yes. And this should be right next to the RSS icon in the URL bar.
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There is an RSS icon in the URL bar?
News to me, I've never seen it. Probably something else I've already turned off. Sounds bloody obnoxious if you ask me. I do not want your RSS and I never will, so go shove it up your waste disposal orifice.
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Never seen any of those prompts when visiting a web page. You must be doing something wrong ...
While at it (Score:1)
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Hey you guys wanted to be in control of your privacy. Now you're saying you don't want control? Make up your mind. Chose from the following list:
a) Not have any control of your privacy. Let companies screw you over.
b) Have control of your privacy without impacting functionality through the use of regulations forcing companies to get your consent.
c) Have privacy but no control through regulations that directly impact useful technology.
Privacy mechanism (Score:5, Interesting)
Off course such a mechanism already exists, but no website wants to use it. The vast majority of websites does not ask for permission, it demands the acceptance of user stalking through third-party cookies.
If those websites would just abide the no-track HTTP header, this whole mess did not exist in the first place. Session cookies need no agreement, and the websites could just demand from advertising companies that "unpreferenced" ads will be served for users with no-track headers. Ads without "user preference" (as if any user ever stated their preference) would not use cookies, so no consent is need for those ads either. This removes all need for consent.
However, the major advertising companies will never abide no-track (which is a user preference) or offer ads without digital stalking. Off course the EU should have make digital stalking as illegal as real-life stalking, not target a tiny part of the stalking process.
Google is so slow (Score:1)
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How did it take this long to get those 100% worthless notifications popup gone? Nobody in their right mind wants any random website that request notification to have notification rights. It boggles my mind how Google can suck so bad a developing finished products. Everything they do is half completed crap other than perhaps the search engine itself. Gmail hasn't been updated in forever and it's text entry box is really outdated. It's not as fast and easy to use as Outlook for most people because the gmail web based app is so limited compared to a native app. It's just not fast and responsive and simple drag and drop folders make more sense. Google Music is unfathomably bad for how important it should be and how long it's been around with any major updates. Google gets a pass on that because youtube carries the Google Music service and makes up for that fact it's nearly worthless. Google Doc is a a near total joke.
Guess their slow response to technologies usage factors is the real reason why Microsoft is using Google's HTML engine for Edge. ROFL Either that or Microsoft can't afford to constantly be updating .net for all Windows users who are getting so pissed at .net security issues and constant updates that take them off line with reboots.
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Fanboy much?
It's 2020. We hate google as much as we hate microsoft nowadays.
At least you didn't spell it "Micro$oft"
What about? (Score:2)
Ambivalent on this one. (Score:1)
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This is still a good thing. The prompt will be passive. It'll be there for you to say "yes, I want notifications", but it won't prompt you before letting you read an article when your only interaction with that site is going to be that one article.
Advertising executives are unstoppable (Score:2)
You know that Google made most of the internet paid for by advertising? So that means that advertisers effectively control most of the web. Have you ever spent any time with advertising executives? If you haven't, it's not a pleasant experience & there's no way you'd want to put those arseholes in control of the web. They're the reason that so much of the web is so f*%king annoying.
Blocking popups is a temporary measure. Those advertising executives will just pay someone to come up with other ways to be
Three rules.. (Score:2)
1. Sites that pop notifications immediately on my first visit - Strike One.
2. Sites that pop subscription requests on my first visit - Strike Two.
3. Sites that offers before I've even had a chance to read the titles - Strike Three.
Instant notification pops when I've not even had a chance to read the heading, below stupid. They are just dying for me to accidentally click.This is trolling not even disguised Same with pops for subscriptions before I've read anything. Or discount/free whatever offers before I'v
Ungoogled chromium (Score:1)
Ungoogled Chromium lets you block by default. I never see any notification popups. Same on firefox. Works for everything except ad.fly which points to the non existent dialog.
Awesome (Score:2)
Thank the deity! On the entire internet there are MAYBE 3 websites that I actually want notifications from - one of which is Gmail, but I get multiple prompts per day asking "Can we send notifications?". I'd be willing to give the feature up all together if it meant silencing the requests.
And while we're at it - fsck the EU for causing every website in the world to start displaying an annoying "We use cookies!" message. We get it. All websites use cookies.
Cookie notices, please (Score:2)
I live in Europe, and thanks to our EU cookie law [cookiebot.com] we must be annoyed by a useless banner in each and every website we visit. And I say useless because you must always accept cookies to access the site (otherwise, you are typically redirected out), and because you can always clean cookies by yourself.
Could you please also allow us to hide these (compulsory by law) cookie notices, please? Thanks in advance.