Step-by-Step Guide: Accessing and Understanding Your Android Device’s Notification Log

Key Takeaways

• Android has a feature called “Notification History” that keeps a log of dismissed notifications.
• To enable Notification History, swipe down from the top of the screen, tap the “Gear” icon to open Settings, select “Notifications,” and toggle on the switch in “Advanced Settings.”
• The log will store notifications after enabling the feature, and tapping them will take you to the associated app.

Notifications are a key component of the Android experience, but they’re also easy to swipe away accidentally. Thankfully, Android has a feature called “Notification History” that keeps a running log of notifications. We’ll show you how to find it.

Introduced in Android 11 , 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 “Notifications” option from the menu.

Now you might see “Notification History” right here, or you may need to go to “Advanced Settings” first.

Once you’re there, simply toggle on the switch to use Notification History. The log will be blank at first, but it will start storing notifications after you enable the feature. Once notifications appear in the log, tapping them will take you to the associated app, just like a regular notification.

If you have a Google Pixel phone, you can also access the Notification History by expanding the notification shade and tapping the “History” button at the bottom.

The next time you accidentally remove a notification, you can visit this section to see what it was! This is an extremely handy feature to enable, and it just might save you from some serious trouble.