Search results for

All search results
Best daily deals

Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.

Android 15 is preventing Windows Phone Link from showing certain notifications 

Android 15 automatically hides notifications that have sensitive information.
By

Published on2 hours ago

Windows Phone Link icon
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
  • Updating to Android 15 introduces a new feature that blocks untrusted apps from accessing notifications deemed to have sensitive information.
  • Windows is now warning Phone Link users that because of this change, it won’t show certain notifications.
  • Phone Link should be able to bypass this restriction, but it appears to only do so for Samsung devices running One UI 6.1.1 or later.

If you’re a frequent user of the Phone Link app on Windows, then you’re probably used to seeing your phone notifications mirrored on your computer. However, if you update your Android device to Android 15, you may lose the ability to see certain notifications.

First spotted by Android Authority contributor Mishaal Rahman, Phone Link has started to warn users that certain notifications may not appear. In the warning, it explains that some notifications will be hidden due to a new feature introduced in Android 15:

With the latest Android updates, Phone Link no longer shows notifications that contain sensitive details for your protection.

What this warning is referring to is Android 15’s ability to prevent third-party apps from accessing notifications that have been labeled as sensitive. In short, Android 15 will mark a notification as “sensitive” if contains something like a two-factor authentication code. It then only allows “trusted” apps with the RECEIVE_SENSITIVE_NOTIFICATIONS permission to read these notifications, most of which are system apps. However, companion apps for smartwatches, smart glasses, and more can also get the RECEIVE_SENSITIVE_NOTIFICATIONS permission despite being third-party. You can read our full explanation to get a deeper understanding of how it works.

While the Phone Link app counts as a third-party app, it should be able to bypass Android 15’s restriction. As Rahman points out, Phone Link should be recognized as having that companion role, giving it the permission it needs to read these types of notifications. However, it seems that Phone Link only requests this role if you have a Samsung device running on One UI 6.1.1 or later.

So it looks like any non-Samsung Android owner will be out of luck here. At least until a change is made to Phone Link to start requesting the companion role for other handsets.

Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at news@androidauthority.com. You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
You might like