Google is rolling out a new feature for Chrome on desktop and Android designed to automatically silence push notifications from websites that users rarely visit or interact with.
The tech giant announced on Friday that this update aims to reduce digital clutter by revoking notification permissions for sites that flood users with alerts but receive little to no engagement.
Expanding Chrome’s Safety Protocols
This initiative builds upon Chrome’s existing Safety Check tool, which already revokes camera and location access for websites that have been inactive for an extended period.
Google’s internal data highlights the necessity of this move: users are bombarded with a high volume of notifications, yet less than 1% of them actually result in any user interaction. The company effectively acknowledges that the current implementation of browser notifications has largely become a nuisance.
Targeting Spam While Protecting Web Apps
To maintain utility, Google confirmed that this auto-revocation will not apply to installed web apps. By focusing exclusively on sites with low engagement and high alert volume, Google hopes to force spam-heavy websites to rethink their notification strategies to avoid losing access entirely.
This shift mirrors broader industry efforts to curb notification fatigue. Apple previously introduced similar controls for iPhone users, allowing for daily summaries and quick-mute options after consumer frustration reached a breaking point.
User Control and Transparency
Google emphasizes that users will be kept in the loop; the browser will notify you when permissions are revoked, providing an option to revert the change if desired. Furthermore, those who prefer manual management can disable the auto-revocation feature entirely within their settings.
Testing conducted prior to the official launch revealed that these automated changes had no significant impact on the total number of notification clicks, further confirming that the vast majority of these pop-ups were being ignored by users.
