Quiet Devices Now More Than Ever

Back in 2022 I wrote that it had already been three years since I decided to quiet my phone and computers.

I disabled all notifications and sounds on all my devices. No more pings or other distractions.

Last week, it became public that the FBI can use push notifications to read secure messages on iPhone. In this case, if Signal message previews appear on the lock screen, iOS can preserve those notification contents in internal storage, where forensic tools may later extract them.

So it seems that keeping devices quiet is not just about focus or minimizing annoyances. It also plays a role in security and privacy. Turning off message previews, tightening lock-screen behavior, and keeping the phone updated all help reduce exposure and improve device security.

Keep them quiet. Keep them secure.