Android 14 Beta 1: You can now block apps from using full-screen notifications

Ben Schoon | Apr 14 2023 - 7:34 am PT

The first new beta release of Android 14 went live earlier this week on Pixel phones, and with it a good number of forward-facing and behind-the-scenes changes. Included in that is a new setting in Android 14 that blocks apps from using full-screen notifications.

Buried within “Special App Access” settings in Android 14 Beta 1, there’s a new permission for managing “full screen intents.” This permission allows users to grant or deny apps the ability to display notification content in a full-screen view, such as alarms and meeting reminders, as well as calls and such.

Apps that use full-screen notifications and pop-ups will be listed on this page and seem to be allowed by default. Changing the setting will force the apps to revert back to a notification. This can be seen with the Clock app, as Mishaal Rahman pointed out, where the full-screen pop-up is swapped with a traditional notification.

While this isn’t a permission you’ll likely need to mess with often – most of the apps listed in my case have never even used this functionality – it is nice to see. With this new setting, users get additional control over the experience, and can pull the plug on an app that’s potentially abusing this functionality.