Google Chrome Could Make Notification Prompts Less Annoying on Android

Google appears to be working to improve the user experience of Chrome on Android. The company confirmed that it is bringing a new redesigned notification permission interface. This change will start rolling out with Chrome 155. The company has also demonstrated what the update looks like for users. Google recommends tying the prompt to a relevant action or context instead of displaying a permission request as soon as a webpage loads.

Chrome 155 for Android Gets Redesigned Notification Permission UI

In a post on the Chrome for Developers blog, Google announced that it is bringing changes to address notification prompt fatigue when browsing the web. Chrome on Android will show a notification user experience starting with Chrome 155. Google Chrome 150 for Android is currently available through the Play Store.

Google says the redesigned notification permission interface for Chrome on Android has "less intrusive Notification UI has similar comprehension to the previous version, but significantly lower user friction". The company notes that the change helps users to make informed decisions about subscribing to site notifications without interrupting their activity.

For this, Google has added a new dedicated notification subscription option within Chrome's Site Controls menu. The blog post includes a screenshot showing this option. With this update, users who choose not to respond immediately when a website has first prompted them can subscribe later by accessing the Site Controls interface. This is likely to give users more flexibility in browsing. 

Google also noted that the new non-blocking notification prompt will automatically expire if users do not respond. Developers may need to modify code that checks for permission granted.

Google has asked developers to tie prompts to relevant context to improve user engagement. The tech giant has offered some examples for developers, such as an e-commerce site that can request notification permission for delivery updates right after placing an order. Similarly, a news website can suggest topic alerts after they read several related news articles, and travel sites could prompt users for fare alerts after they search for a specific flight.