Show HN: DoNotNotify – Log and intelligently block notifications on Android

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Notification pain points

  • Many users are overwhelmed by ad/marketing notifications mixed with critical ones (rides, deliveries, banking, healthcare, transport, gated-community access, school apps).
  • Some apps deliberately avoid using separate notification channels so users can’t disable ads without also losing essential alerts.
  • People feel “trapped” by apps they’re forced to use (e.g., gate access, school communication) that aggressively push ads and upsells.
  • Several commenters now disable almost all notifications, keep phones on silent or permanent Do Not Disturb, or apply “one strike and you’re out” to spammy apps.

Existing workarounds & alternatives

  • System tools: per-app notification blocking, categories/channels (Android), Do Not Disturb, silent mode, notification cooldowns (newer Android), and selective exemptions for calls/messages.
  • Third‑party tools mentioned: BuzzKill, FilterBox, AutoNotification + Tasker, Good Lock, Before Launcher, older apps like Spren, and open‑source filters on F-Droid.
  • Some rely on firewalls (NetGuard, ROM-level network toggles) to restrict apps, or avoid installing “could-be-a-website” apps altogether.

DoNotNotify’s approach & feedback

  • App intercepts notifications via Android’s notification-access permission, applies user-defined rules (including regex), and can block/log them.
  • It’s fully on-device, requests no internet permission, and is reported as low battery impact.
  • Can’t dismiss true “persistent” system notifications; these show as blocked with a warning.
  • Users like the free model, rule-based control, and built‑in rules for common apps. Several say it directly solves their MyGate/“gated community” spam problem.

Privacy, security & open-source debate

  • Strong concern that any closed-source notification filter can see OTPs and message content.
  • Some are only willing to use it if open-sourced and ideally distributed via F‑Droid; multiple explicit calls for this.
  • Others argue no INTERNET permission plus OS-level network blocking is sufficient, but critics note permissions can be silently added in future updates or data exfiltrated via side channels.

Platform and policy discussions & feature wishes

  • iOS is seen as much more restrictive: no general notification-filter APIs, weaker channeling, and Apple itself now sending ad notifications.
  • Many want app stores to strictly ban ad/recommendation notifications or force them into separable channels, with real enforcement.
  • Requested features: notification digests on a schedule, time-limited “allow for X hours,” grouping/batching (e.g., WhatsApp bursts), and possibly local ML/LLM-based spam classification.