XF 2.1 Chrome 80 is going to block push notifications

[dethfire]

Google’s Chrome version 80 will begin blocking website push notifications. While Chrome will allow users to opt-in to the push blocking, some sites will be automatically enrolled into the blocking feature. Publishers and developers are urged to read Google’s best practices to avoid having their push notifications blocked.

Chrome 80 Will Block Push Notification

Chrome 80 features push notification blocking. Publishers urged to take action to prevent notification blocking.

www.searchenginejournal.com

Introducing quieter permission UI for notifications

Notifications on the web enable users to receive important updates even when they are not interacting with a website. Notifications are an ...

blog.chromium.org

 

[leebo]

So maybe I’m reading this odd, but it reads to me like Google is now saying Push Notifications on websites can be a lot like Spam.

 

[jmurrayhead]

Google is now saying Push Notifications on websites can be a lot like Spam

That has been my experience with them.

 

[leebo]

I think I’ve only subscribed to one site, and it’s a major PITA relying on cookies to remember your preferences in my eyes. While I understand the frustration of the XenForo developers at Apple due to Apple not yet supporting push notifications, I also see a possible reason why Apple won’t yet support them. As is, they’re just not an enjoyable experience. I fully support Google on this and am glad they’re taking some action.

 

[djbaxter]

I don't use Chrome but I have blocked them via settings on Firefox. Most push notifications are downright annoying.

Now I'd like to see browsers take action on popup "Subscribe to our newsletter" type ads: I mean, here I am trying to read an article on your site and you just blocked it with your stupid popup? Ever hear of User Experience?

 

[Wildcat Media]

Note that they are not blocking push notifications. They are blocking the UI that automatically pops up, asking us if we would like to enable push notifications.

Please make some distinction here.

I see that many sites on the Internet have this wrong already. Look at the two links in the first post in this thread; from its clickbait title, those alleged search engine "experts" say push notifications are being blocked. They are not. The Chromium Blog on the other hand explains it for what it is--"quieting" the UI to notify us that push notifications are available on a given site.

 

[djbaxter]

@Rudy did you read the searchenginejournal.com article? Google is actually proposing to do both, including auto-blocking some sites:

Chrome 80 Will Block Push Notification

Chrome 80 features push notification blocking. Publishers urged to take action to prevent notification blocking.

www.searchenginejournal.com

Automatic Push Notification Blocking
There are two situation in which Chrome will blog push notifications.

The first scenario is for users who consistently block push notification. Those users will not have to manually turn on push notification blocking. Blocking will be enabled by default.

The second situation is for websites that have low opt-in rates to their push-notifications.

Automatic enrollment in push notification blocking will increase as Google gathers data.

Penalties for Abusive Websites
Google warned that websites that abuse push notification to deliver ads or malware or who use them for “deceptive purposes.”

The penalty details will be announced in the future.

Quiet UI
Chrome will be introducing what it calls a Quiet UI. The purpose is to alert users that a push notification has been blocked and to give users the opportunity to unblock the notification.

This is an example of the quiet UI:

And from the Google link, saying the same thing:

Introducing quieter permission UI for notifications

Notifications on the web enable users to receive important updates even when they are not interacting with a website. Notifications are an ...

blog.chromium.org

Users can be enrolled in the quieter UI in three ways.

Manual enrollment (and opt-out)

Manually enroll on Desktop or Mobile via Notifications Settings

Users can enroll for quieter prompts manually, or disable it completely. To enroll, the toggle ‘Sites can ask to send notifications’ must be enabled in Settings > Site Settings > Notifications, then the checkbox ‘Use quieter messaging’ must be checked.

Automatic enrollment for users who infrequently accept notifications

Users who repeatedly deny notifications across websites will be automatically enrolled in the quieter notifications UI.

Automatic enrollment on sites with low permission acceptance rates

Sites with very low acceptance rates will be automatically enrolled in quieter prompts. They will be unenrolled once acceptance rates improve, for example, if the developer of the site improves the notification permission request user experience. Per-site information about notification permission acceptance rates will be made available via the Chrome User Experience Report in Q1 2020 and automatic enrollment is based on Chrome usage statistics.

Developer recommendations

First, we recommend that web developers test their site’s permission request flow with the quieter notification permission UI, by enabling it manually in chrome://settings/content/notifications. At the time of writing, the feature is being rolled out gradually to Canary, Dev, and Beta channels, and can be force-enabled in chrome://flags/#quiet-notification-prompts in Chrome 80 and later. Second, we recommend that developers follow best practices for requesting the notification permission from users. Websites that ask users to sign up for web notifications when they first arrive often have very low accept rates. Instead, we recommend that websites wait until users understand the context and see benefit in receiving notifications before prompting for the permission. Some websites display a pre-prompt in the content area before triggering the native permission prompt. This approach is also not recommended if it interrupts the user journey: sites that request the permission at contextually relevant moments enjoy lower bounce and higher conversion rates. For help with user permission UX, you can refer to this 5 minute video on improving your user permission acceptance rates, and read about best practices when requesting permissions.