This hidden Android feature makes sure you never miss another notification

android notifications on a phone screen — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

I don't know about you, but I am extremely overzealous when it comes to dismissing my notifications, to the point where I am flicking away incoming notifications by mistake. I can not tell you how many times I've had to figure out exactly what I missed, and whether it was actually important.

Thankfully for the best Android phone users, there is a hidden feature that can help you avoid this problem. The system has a hidden notification history feature which logs everything that comes through to your phone. The only issue is that you have to switch it on before Android will track any notification history. Here's how to do it.

1. Open the notification settings

how to turn on notification history in Android

First up, you'll need to open the Settings on your phone, then tap the Notification option. From there, you'll see Notification history at the very top of the page. Tap this to continue.

2. Toggle on notification history

Once you're in the notification history menu, all you'll need to do is toggle on the option for Use notification history. However, turning on the toggle won't magically generate all your past notifications. Your recent history will remain blank until your phone starts notifying you about things.

Toggling this setting off will instantly wipe all your stored notification history, should you ever wish to do that.

3. Access notification history in the quick settings

If you want to check your recent notification history, then accessing it is quite easy. So long as there is something in the notification bar — it doesn't matter what — then the Notification History button will be there.

Simply tap it, and it'll bring you straight to the menu above, without forcing you to sift through the different settings menus first. But it's worth noting that this button will only appear if you have a pending notification. If the notification bar is empty, it'll be hidden away — meaning you'll have to repeat step 1 to get there.

There you have it. Toggle this hidden Android feature on and you will never accidentally miss a notification ever again. Though if you ever actually look at your notification history in great detail, you may be shocked to see just how many notifications actually get logged.

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You should also be aware that Notification History only logs stuff for 24 hours. Anything older than that gets automatically deleted and will essentially be as lost as if it were never recorded in the first place. However, if you're waiting 24 hours to check up on a missed notification, I doubt it was actually that important in the first place.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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