The Android Notification Permission
Most Families Miss During Setup
One tap during setup decides whether safety alerts actually reach you. It's easy to dismiss without realizing what it controls.
July 2026 · 4 min read
What Changed on Android 13 and Above
Starting with Android 13, every app has to separately ask permission just to show notifications — a change from earlier versions where notifications worked by default once the app was installed. It's a one-time popup that looks easy to dismiss, and that's exactly the problem: dismissing it, or tapping "Don't allow" without reading it, quietly turns off every alert the app would otherwise send.
Why This Specifically Matters for Safety Alerts
An SOS alert, a safe zone arrival notification, a low battery warning for someone's phone — all of these depend entirely on this one permission. If it was denied during setup, the app keeps working normally in every other way, which is what makes this so easy to miss. There's no error message, no broken feature to notice. The alerts simply never arrive, and the first sign is usually a family member asking "didn't you get my SOS?"
How to Check and Fix It
Open Settings → Apps → Raksha → Notifications
Make sure the main toggle is switched on
Check that safe zone, SOS, and battery alert categories are all individually enabled, not just the top-level switch
Do this on every family member's phone, not just your own — this setting is per-device
A Good Habit After Any Android Update
Major Android updates occasionally reset app-level permissions, notification settings included. If alerts that used to work suddenly stop after a phone updates itself, this is the first place to check — before assuming anything is wrong with the app itself.