Browsing the modern web can feel like a barrage of popups, privacy settings, and notifications every time you visit a website. Of all the online interruptions you have to deal with, notification requests from websites have got to be one of the most annoying and, arguably, pointless. So let’s put a stop to these requests by turning them off in Chrome, once and for all.
Are Websites Constantly Asking to Send You Push Notifications?
If you feel like you’re seeing more requests from websites to send notifications as you browse the web, you’re not imagining things. According to a recentInsider Intelligencestudy, the use of web push notifications increased by 283.3% between 2014 and 2019.
An earlier study fromNetcorefound media and eCommerce websites were the most likely to send notification requests. Which could explain why you’ve seen a lot more of this in recent years.
Unfortunately, Chrome makes it incredibly easy for companies to send notification requests as soon as you visit their website. The good news is, Chrome makes it even easier for users to stop this happening, but the default browser settings can leave you getting bombarded by these requests until you take action.
Are Push Notifications Ever Helpful?
Web push notifications are certainly helpful to companies–provided you agree to them. If you click theAllowbutton on a request in Chrome, the company can send you notifications in the browser as you go about your business online.
You don’t need to be on their website to see these notifications or visit any specific pages. They’ll pop up as a Chrome notification at any given time, triggered by their automated system.
Unfortunately, it turns out most users find push notifications less than useful. According to a report conducted byFrizbitin 2020, the vast majority of users either deny, ignore, or dismiss web notification requests.
You’ll also notice desktop users are by far the least likely to accept requests and also the most likely to simply ignore them, presumably because requests take up a relatively small amount of screen space.
So, if you think of push notifications as an unhelpful, annoying distraction online, then you’re not alone. The obvious exception is instances where you set up notifications yourself, such asGmail notifications in Chrome–a far cry from the constant notification requests from endless websites.
How to Stop Websites Asking to Send Notifications in Chrome
If you’re sick of receiving notification requests, you can easily put a stop to them by following these steps.
1. Open Chrome on Your Desktop
First, open up the Chrome browser on desktop. You can make the same changes on mobile but we’re using screenshots from the desktop so, if you’re not too familiar with Chrome settings, it’s easier to follow these steps on a laptop or computer.
If you use Chrome across multiple devices, verify you’re signed in before changing these settings–this will apply your preferences across all devices (as long as you’re signed in).
2. Open the Settings Menu
Next, open up the settings menu by clicking on the three-dot icon at the top-right of the browser window and clickingSettingsfrom the dropdown menu.
This will take you to the main settings dashboard in Chrome, which looks like this:
3. Manage Notifications in Site Settings
From the Chrome settings dashboard, clickPrivacy and security > Site settings > Notificationsto change your notification settings. At the top of theNotificationspanel, you’ll see three options underDefault behavior:
Sites can ask to send notificationsis selected by default, which means any website can send a notification request to you via Chrome. Next, you’ve got theUse quieter messagingoption, which allows sites to send requests, but Chrome blocks the default popup and adds requests to a notification icon instead.
4. Block Sites From Asking to Send Notifications
If you want to block all websites from sending notification requests, you may simply selectDon’t allow sites to send notificationsunder theDefault behaviorsection in theNotificationstab.
This automatically prevents sites from sending you notifications and notification requests, which means you’ll see no more popups. Keep in mind that any features that rely on notifications to function won’t work. In reality, this will only be a problem if you rely on notifications from web apps for any reason.
For example, if you’re using Google Drive and you want to continue receiving notifications in real time. In this case, you can add Google Drive and any other sites/web apps to your list of allowed sites.
If you’re using Windows, you can alsoblock Chrome from triggering any notifications. That being said, getting to know the notification settings in Chrome gives you far more control over how you manage notifications.
Say Goodbye to Unwanted Notification Requests in Chrome
As annoying as notification requests can be, Chrome gives you all the tools you need to control which websites can send notifications–or block all websites from even asking. Ideally, the default settings in Chrome could be a little less intrusive out of the box but, with a little customization, you can easily tame the barrage of notification requests.
