How to see your notification history in android
Daniel Hoffman
Published Mar 29, 2026
Notifications are a key component of smartphones, so it can be annoying if you accidentally swipe one away before reading it. Introduced in Android 11, “Notification History” is a log of every notification you’ve dismissed. Here’s how to use it.
The Notification History feature is not enabled by default. Once turned on, it will keep a log of every notification that was dismissed over the past 24 hours. This includes system notifications and alerts that appeared and disappeared on their own.
On your Android phone or tablet, swipe down from the top of the screen (once or twice depending on your device’s manufacturer), then tap the “Gear” icon to open the “Settings” menu.
Select the “Apps & Notifications” option from the menu.
Next, tap “Notifications.”
At the top of the screen, select “Notification History.”
Lastly, toggle the switch on at the top of the screen for “Use Notification History.”
The log will be blank at first, but it will start storing notifications after you enabled the feature. Once notifications appear in the log, tapping them will take you to the associated app, just like a regular notification.
The next time you accidentally remove a notification, you can visit this section to see what it was!
Works on Pixels and other phones with stock Android
Share this story
- Share this on Facebook
- Share this on Twitter
Share All sharing options for: How to view your notification history on Android
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If you’ve used Android for quite some time, it’s likely you’ve mistakenly swiped away a notification or two for one reason or another. Maybe you’re swiping in a hurry, or you accidentally cleared everything in the notification drawer without meaning to, or maybe you just wonder where all your notifications go and if there’s a historical list of them after you’ve dismissed them.
But don’t worry. You can find everything from missed messages, emails, app updates, and even system messages in the stock Notification Log option — if your phone can access it.
How to find your Notification Log
- Long-press anywhere on your home screen.
- Select “Widgets” from the pop-up menu.
- Scroll down and long-press the “Settings” widget, then place it on your home screen.
- You’ll get a list of features that the Settings shortcut can access. Tap “Notification Log.”
- Tap the widget and scroll through your past notifications.
What if I can’t find the Notification Log?
Every Android phone may not have the stock Notification Log. I tested this shortcut on the Google Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Razer Phone 2 — all phones with stock or near-stock versions of Android. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and LG G7 didn’t have the log listed anywhere within Android’s system settings. But if your phone doesn’t offer the log, there is a workaround for this, as written up by Rita El Khoury on Android Police.
The notification log is super user unfriendly and not the same as bringing back the swiped away notification at all.
We seriously need this as a standard Android feature, an undo button.
For phones that don’t have the default log (or if you want a more user-friendly experience), you can also download Unnotification. The app brings back your last dismissed notification, as well as your notification history. You can find the app on the Play Store.
Update April 2nd, 2020, 4:50PM ET: This article was originally published on October 19th, 2018, and it has been updated to slightly change the directions and to link directly to the review of Unnotifcation.
Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.
- You can see your Android notification history on Android 11 through the Settings app.
- In Settings, go to “Apps & Notifications,” then “Notifications.”
- You can think of this feature like a recycle bin for accidentally deleted notifications.
- Visit Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.
Clearing notifications is a double-edged sword; there’s a satisfying sense of accomplishment to dismissing them, but every once in a while, you might be overeager and discard a notification you needed to read in more detail.
If you have ever deleted a notification a moment before you realized you needed it, Android 11 has a handy new feature. Its notification history lets you browse dismissed alerts from the previous 24 hours. It’s like a recycle bin for your app messages.
How to enable your Android notification history on Android 11
Before you can begin using Android 11’s Notification history, you need to turn it on.
- Open the Settings app and tap “Apps & Notifications.”
- Tap “Notifications.”
- Tap “Notification history.”
- When you first come to this page, it should be empty except for the toggle at the top. Turn on Notification history by swiping the button to the right.
How to see your Android notification history on Android 11
After you enable the notification history, recently dismissed notifications will populate this same page. To see your notification history, just come back:
- Open the Settings app, then tap “Apps & Notifications.”
- Tap “Notifications.”
- Tap “Notification History.”
You should see all the recently dismissed notifications (anything from the last 24 hours). You can interact with the notification by tapping it, just as if it were in the phone’s pull-down notification shade.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Works on Pixels and other phones with stock Android
Share this story
- Share this on Facebook
- Share this on Twitter
Share All sharing options for: How to view your notification history on Android
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If you’ve used Android for quite some time, it’s likely you’ve mistakenly swiped away a notification or two for one reason or another. Maybe you’re swiping in a hurry, or you accidentally cleared everything in the notification drawer without meaning to, or maybe you just wonder where all your notifications go and if there’s a historical list of them after you’ve dismissed them.
But don’t worry. You can find everything from missed messages, emails, app updates, and even system messages in the stock Notification Log option — if your phone can access it.
How to find your Notification Log
- Long-press anywhere on your home screen.
- Select “Widgets” from the pop-up menu.
- Scroll down and long-press the “Settings” widget, then place it on your home screen.
- You’ll get a list of features that the Settings shortcut can access. Tap “Notification Log.”
- Tap the widget and scroll through your past notifications.
What if I can’t find the Notification Log?
Every Android phone may not have the stock Notification Log. I tested this shortcut on the Google Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Razer Phone 2 — all phones with stock or near-stock versions of Android. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and LG G7 didn’t have the log listed anywhere within Android’s system settings. But if your phone doesn’t offer the log, there is a workaround for this, as written up by Rita El Khoury on Android Police.
The notification log is super user unfriendly and not the same as bringing back the swiped away notification at all.
We seriously need this as a standard Android feature, an undo button.
For phones that don’t have the default log (or if you want a more user-friendly experience), you can also download Unnotification. The app brings back your last dismissed notification, as well as your notification history. You can find the app on the Play Store.
Update April 2nd, 2020, 4:50PM ET: This article was originally published on October 19th, 2018, and it has been updated to slightly change the directions and to link directly to the review of Unnotifcation.
Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.
Notification History is a dirt-simple, but extremely useful app for scouring out other apps that are spamming notifications. The simple history list shows which apps have made notifications, how many of them, and offers the ability to drill down into apps to see what those notifications were. Not happy with what you see? There’s a shortcut to uninstall the app from there. If you pay up $0.99, you can export the list of notifications.
Style
There’s really not much to be said about Notification History’s user interface. It’s really bare-bones with a single banner ad at the bottom of the free version. Sure, there’s something to be said about a spartan layout, but there’s so much you could with notification data; generate a pie chart so users can see which apps are the most obnoxious, or color-code apps based on how many notifications they’re sending out, with a big red “warning” section at the top. It would also be useful to only track certain kinds of notifications; some of the ones an app sends out are actually useful, but others I’d like to have tracked.
Function
A single tap on any of the items on the list drills down into the notification history where users can view full details of each notification and when it was sent out. Some apps, like the download manager and system UI, are going to leave notifications all the time and aren’t really something you’re worried about. Luckily, select apps can be put onto an ignore list if you’re not worried about tracking them with a long press on any app on the list.
There is one caveat to Notification History that may turn off many privacy-conscious users from bothering with Notification History: it apparently needs access to just about everything you type in order to get the job done. The only thing that it doesn’t track is passwords, which for me is enough, but might not be for many people. The developer is also very clear on where to go to turn off that tracking and Notification History’s functionality as well.
Functionality can be increased in a number of ways too; how about a home screen widget that offers to uninstall apps that have pushed out too many notifications within a certain time frame? Better yet, with all of the permissions it requires, why not find a way to automatically dismiss specific notifications? How about tracking notifications on other devices as a kind of remote monitoring solution? There are lots of directions an app like this could go in.
- Easy identification and removal of spammy apps
- Requires deep permissions
- Dull user interface
- Conclusion
Some apps really are obnoxious with notifications, and having an easy way to get them out of the picture is great. However, it might not be worth having an open permission to tracking everything you type in order to do that. The convenience provided by Notification History is quickly undermined by the need to constantly turn permissions on and off.
The app could also use some spiffying up, both in terms of UI and functionality, but if you want to track down the source of fishy notifications, this is a great way to do it.
New Google Play Store UI kills the hamburger menu, for better or for worse
Google is rolling out an updated UI for the Play Store, which moves the menu to a new location and condenses some UI elements.
Google I/O will be back this year in virtual form — dates already revealed
The dates for this year’s virtual Google I/O developer’s conference have already been revealed.
Samsung brings its newest Galaxy A smartphones to the US starting at $110
Samsung’s latest mid-range smartphones arrive in the U.S., with models like the Galaxy A52 5G and Galaxy A32 5G bringing great value with faster connectivity and high refresh rates.
These are the best cases you can get for your Galaxy S21 Ultra
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is a big slab of awesome, but it’s also a large, heavy phone that can get slippery, so take precautions. Cover that big slab of beautiful power with the best cases around in order to keep your S21 Ultra safe for years to come.
Most of us receive countless notifications on our phones on a daily basis. But how many times have you swiped them away too quickly, and because you weren’t really looking, you ended up dismissing something important? The good news is that it’s possible to retrieve your notifications if the need arises. Here is how you can view your notification history on Android.
Once dismissed, your notifications don’t have to go to the land of oblivion permanently. From missed messages and emails to notifications about game updates or event updates, it’s all still there on your Android phone. You just have to learn how to gain access to that information.
Note: you won’t be able to access the notifications you’ve received prior to turning on the feature discussed below, but if you want to keep track of your notifications in the future, then this guide is for you.
Check to See If Your Phone Has a Notification Log
Many Android smartphones have a Notification Log feature baked in. Since it’s a bit hidden from view, the trick here is to learn how to find it. Follow these steps on your Android device to see whether the feature is available for you.
1. Long-press anywhere on the Home screen – preferably in an area that’s not taken up by apps.
2. Select Widgets from the options that appear in the lower part of the display.
3. Scroll down until you find the Settings widget.
4. Long-press on it and drag it to your Home screen.
5. Tap on it to access a list of features.
6. If your device has it, you’ll find the Notification Log listed here. Tap on the widget, and you’ll be granted access to your notifications.
It should be mentioned that the view offered by the Notification Log is rudimentary. Basically, it looks like code, and you’ll have to look very carefully for the information you want to recover (like the title of an email). Moreover, it’s not possible to interact with these retrieved notifications the same way you would the originals. For starters, you won’t be able to click on a link or quickly reply to a message. Another low point is that Notification Log only shows you the notifications you received during the day in the process of deleting the older ones.
We tried checking various phone models to see if they have Notification Log. The OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T, and Honor 7S all had the feature; however, the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) did not. If that’s the case for your phone as well, don’t worry, as you can still get access to your notification history.
No Notification Log? Try this Workaround
If you own a phone that doesn’t have Notification Log listed anywhere or if you simply want a more intuitive way to look at your old notifications, we recommend installing the Notification History Log app from the Google Play Store. The app requires Android 4.4 KitKat or above to function and therefore should be compatible with the vast majority of devices out there right now.
After the installation, open the app and choose your language of preference, then read the Terms of Use and Privacy and agree to continue. Quickly swipe through the tutorial slides by pressing the Next button. At the end, you’ll be asked to give the app notification access. You can do so directly from the app by pressing the “Enable Permission” button at the bottom of the screen. You’ll be taken to the Notification access panel on your phone. Find the “Notification History Log” listing and toggle it on.
To start viewing your notification log, tap on the “Advanced History” button. Here you’ll find all your notifications grouped by app. Simply tap on a specific app to view the notifications associated with it.
Interact with Your Notifications
Unlike the default notification logs in Android, you will be able to interact with the notifications in this app, although in a limited manner.
For example, a restored BBC News notification did give us the option to “Open” the link. However, when we tapped on it, it simply redirected us to the BBC News app and not to the exact story. Obviously, you can use the information in the quick preview to look for the news article using BBC’s own search function, but it would have been nice to have a more direct route available.
Similarly, a recovered WhatsApp notification only shows the app’s icon and message, but it won’t allow you to send a quick reply. It is possible to click on the notification, but that will have the effect of taking you straight to the app and not that particular conversation.
Another advantage of Notification History Log is that it does not delete older notifications, so you can check on those older than the current day
How to Filter Notifications
The app has a very handy filter function you can use to search the notification log. Tap on a specific app and then on the inverted pyramid icon in the upper right to open the filter and select the specifics. For example, you can filter to view new or old notifications first or arrange them alphabetically A to Z or Z to A.
The app also includes a free-to-use search function that allows you to look for specific notifications – for instance, to quickly check whether you’ve received an email from PayPal you might have missed.
In addition, there are few extra options for Pro Version users. For example, one can filter notifications based on their estimated time of arrival. An export feature is available, too, but to unlock the Pro Version, users will need to spend $5.99.
Now that you know how to check your notification history, you may also be interested in expanding your knowledge on the matter. Learn how to how to hide sensitive notifications from your Android’s lock screen and how to see Android notifications on your Windows 10 desktop.
Related:
Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.
You might be a social bird or a busy person having lots of notifications or emails stacking up in your notification center and there would be a lot of instances where you might have deleted an important notification by mistake or by irritation.
In this post, we are going to teach you how you can view deleted notifications on android without using any 3rd party android apps.
The Notification Log allows you to view the deleted notifications. To view the notifications log first you need to enable developer options.
To unlock the developer options, you can go to Setting > About Phone and tap on Build number 5 times to enable it.
How to View Deleted Notifications on Android
Step 1: Long Tap on the main screen and then tap on Widgets.
Step 2: Then swipe down and search for Settings shortcut widget
Step 3: Long-press the widget until it appears on the home screen.
Step 4: In the Settings shortcut menu search for Notification Log and tap the option.
Step 5: A Notification log shortcut will appear on the home screen, now you can open the widget and you can see all the notification history.
Tada! and now you can view all your Notification Logs.
Note: Notification log is only available on Android 4 and above. If you are still using an old version of android you have to use third-party applications.
If you liked this article do let us know in the comments and share it with your friends too
We receive a lot of notifications on your smartphone throughout the day and sometimes you swipe them up without looking. And because you are not looking, the notification might be important but you just dismissed it. So how you are going to know about that notification now?
Well, we are not going to leave you stranded thinking about what that notification may be or from which app. Here is a quick and simple trick that lets you check those notifications even after dismissing them from the notification drawer.
The notification which you have dismissed already can’t be found before enabling this feature unless your phone supports it.
Steps to View Notification Log on Your Android Smartphones
- Unlock your phone and go to the home screen.
- Tap and hold on the empty area on the home screen and select Widgets from the options.
- Look for Settings widget and put it on on the home screen.
Alternate Method: Notification History Log
If you cant use the above method then you have to use this app on your smartphone to check ou the notification log. In this method, you won’t be able to see your prior notification which you received before installing this app.
This app records all the notifications for you so you can go inside the app and check it out. Notification History Log app comes with a bunch of features that will help you sort and read the text on the notification easily.
Wrapping up
This is how you can enable a notification history log on your Android smartphone. This way you won’t miss any notification on your smartphone even if you dismissed it accidentally.
Clearing notifications is a double-edged sword; there’s a satisfying sense of accomplishment to dismissing them, but every once in a while, you might be overeager and discard a notification you needed to read in more detail.
If you have ever deleted a notification a moment before you realized you needed it, Android 11 has a handy new feature. Its notification history lets you browse dismissed alerts from the previous 24 hours. It’s like a recycle bin for your app messages.
How to enable your Android notification history on Android 11
Before you can begin using Android 11’s Notification history, you need to turn it on.
- Open the Settings app and tap “Apps & Notifications.”
- Tap “Notifications.”
- Tap “Notification history.”
- When you first come to this page, it should be empty except for the toggle at the top. Turn on Notification history by swiping the button to the right.
How to see your Android notification history on Android 11
After you enable the notification history, recently dismissed notifications will populate this same page. To see your notification history, just come back:
- Open the Settings app, then tap “Apps & Notifications.”
- Tap “Notifications.”
- Tap “Notification History.”
You should see all the recently dismissed notifications (anything from the last 24 hours). You can interact with the notification by tapping it, just as if it were in the phone’s pull-down notification shade.
