zapstore/spec/work/WORK-028-remove-android-notifications.md

WORK-028 — Remove Android System Notifications

Feature: FEAT-002-background-notifications.md, FEAT-007-background-auto-updates.md Status: Complete

Tasks

• 1. Remove POST_NOTIFICATIONS from AndroidManifest
  • Files: android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
• 2. Remove runtime notification permission request and local-notification plumbing
  • Files: lib/services/background_update_service.dart
• 3. Drop unused packages and notification icons
  • Files: pubspec.yaml, android/app/src/main/res/drawable*/ic_notification.xml
• 4. Stop registering the notification-only background check worker
  • Notes: With no notifications, the FEAT-002 worker has no user-visible effect
• 5. Self-review against INVARIANTS.md

Test Coverage

Scenario	Expected	Status
Cold start (release)	No Android notification permission dialog	[ ]
Background auto-updates ON	Silent installs still run; no result notification	[ ]
Background auto-updates OFF	No availability notification	[ ]

Decisions

2026-07-17 — Remove system notifications entirely

Context: Product request to remove the Android “Allow notifications?” prompt. Options: (A) Stop requesting only, keep permission + show paths; (B) Remove permission + request + show paths. Decision: B — remove both the runtime request and POST_NOTIFICATIONS, and delete show/tap plumbing so failures are not silent. Rationale: Without the permission, posts cannot succeed on Android 13+; leaving show paths would violate UX Safety (silent failures).

Spec Issues

• Issue: FEAT-002 and FEAT-007 require system notifications (availability alerts, result summaries, tap-to-install for staged manual updates).
• Question: Product chose removal anyway. Feature specs remain human-owned and still describe the old behavior until updated.
• Mitigation in code: Keep WorkManager auto-update execution and pending-install staging; drop notification-only checks and all flutter_local_notifications usage. Staged manual updates remain on disk for the Updates screen / next user-driven install (per FEAT-007 edge case when notification is never tapped).

Progress Notes

2026-07-17: Removed POST_NOTIFICATIONS, runtime request, flutter_local_notifications / permission_handler, notification show/tap paths, and notification-only WorkManager registration. Background auto-update execution kept.