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

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.

Here's a before and after of what happens when you take away this permission from an app: pic.twitter.com/3Zhd8mNrSr

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) April 13, 2023

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.

Android 14 Beta 1: You can now force a ‘transparent’ navigation bar on all apps

On-screen navigation is one of the things that made earlier versions of Android unique, and as time has gone on, that feature has evolved. In Android 14 Beta 1, Google is finally addressing a long-standing complaint with the navigation bar appearance that finally forces apps to have a “transparent” navigation bar.

Android’s navigation bar has, for years now, supported the ability to change its color to match the app on screen or to be completely transparent and show content that is “behind” the navigation buttons or gesture bar. But, in many cases, there are apps that will simply default to a black space around the buttons or gesture bar, which is a bit annoying in certain cases.

In Android 14 Beta 1, Google is introducing a new developer option that forces a “transparent navigation bar” across the system, making all apps change the color of the navigation bar to match the app itself. Google calls this a “transparent” bar, explaining it as follows:

Make navigation bar background color transparent by default

And in the right situation, that is what will happen. In our testing, though, this isn’t what you’ll usually see.

Flipping on this setting (Settings > System > Developer Options > Transparent navigation bar) will set the navigation bar on a system level to be transparent. But in most apps that lack this functionality already, it will simply match the background color of the current app. Toggling this setting won’t apply a truly transparent navigation bar because text and UI elements under the bar won’t show in that area. We believe that apps will behave in this way when a particular app is not designed to render edge-to-edge. And, frankly, it’s not surprising, given this is a developer option and not a user-facing feature.

As of Android 14 Beta 1, this setting doesn’t seem to work super reliably, but we were able to see it in action in the Fitbit app’s “Readiness” page, which usually defaults to a black bar, as well as the Sam’s Club app and UPS app. All of those usually have a black bar at the bottom with a white app interface, but this setting turns the navigation bar white on all three. Turning the toggle back off reverted all of them to that previous state.

It’s not entirely clear whether or not Google will carry this feature through the final release of Android 14 later this year, but with so many wishing for a true transparent navigation bar option, we hope this is one Google not only keeps but works to expand.

You can skip the Android 14 Beta and stay on 13 QPR3 Beta Program

With Android 14 launching into beta today, Google is making some changes to the Android Beta Program. Instead of there being two simultaneous tracks for 13 QPR3 and 14, there’s now just one OTA beta channel.

If you were on the Android Beta Program before today, it was to test Android 13 QPR1, QPR2, and QPR3. Your phone should be running Android 13 QPR3 Beta 2.1 from last week, and it will be updated to Android 14 Beta 1:

If your device is already running Android 13 QPR3 or Android 14 Developer Preview, you will automatically receive an over-the-air (OTA) update to Android 14 Beta 1.

However, you can “choose not to update to Android 14 Beta 1, but remain enrolled in the program” and “continue to receive QPR3 Beta updates.” The latter presumably refers to Android 13 QPR3 Beta 3 in the next month or so, ahead of the June stable launch.

Choosing not to update simply means ignoring the Android 14 OTA. Additionally:

You can also opt out of the beta (ignore the downgrade OTA) and wait for the stable public release of QPR3 in June which will allow you to exit the program and get back on the public release without a data wipe.

While listed as a beta, it’s probably not wise to use Android 14 as your daily driver just yet. Beta 3 and later is usually a safer bet in terms of making sure nothing critical is impacted by pre-release software that’s still under active development.

Meanwhile, Pixel 4a will automatically stay on Android 13 QPR3 as the 2020 mid-ranger is not eligible for Android 14.

Lastly, the company says it will “have more to share at Google I/O on May 10th.”