---
# System prepended metadata

title: 'MSC0000: Remotely toggling (push) notifications for another client'

---

# MSC0000: Remotely toggling (push) notifications for another client

The [push notification API](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#push-notifications) allows clients to register HTTP pushers so that they can receive notifications. An HTTP pusher is always tied to a specific Matrix device due to its `pushkey` property which is issued by the particular platform (e.g. an APNS token). As a client is aware of its `pushkey`s, it can identify its own pushers and remove or read them as needed. There is, however, no way to modify a client's pushers from another client logged into the same account because the latter isn't aware of the former's `pushkey`s.

A similar situation exists when a client fakes notifications locally from `/sync` responses without relying on a pusher. Other clients of the same user have no way of knowing whether the client triggers notifications nor can they modify its behavior.

This is limiting because it means that in both cases push notifications can only be en- or disabled on the device that is receiving them. When the latter isn't currently at hand, this can become a point of frustration.

The current proposal solves this problem by making the connection between HTTP pushers and Matrix devices explicit and assigning an enabled state to every pusher. Additionally, for pusher-less clients the enabled state is mediated through account data events.

## Proposal

### Pusher-dependent clients

#### Disabling pushers
A new nullable field `is_disabled` is added to the `Pusher` model.

In [POST /_matrix/client/v3/pushers/set](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#post_matrixclientv3pushersset) the value is optional and if omitted, defaults to `false`.

In [GET /_matrix/client/v3/pushers](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#get_matrixclientv3pushers) the value is always returned.

Pushers that are disabled do not send [`/notify`](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/push-gateway-api/#post_matrixpushv1notify) requests to push providers, or produce email notifications.


#### Explicitly linking device and pusher
A new field `device_id` is added to the `Pusher` model. 
To be able to remove Pushers when sessions are deleted home servers must have some existing way to link a session to pusher, so exposing the `device_id` on http pushers should be trivial.
(Synapse, for instance, stores the [access token](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/blob/develop/synapse/storage/databases/main/pusher.py#L487) when adding a pusher)

In [GET /_matrix/client/v3/pushers](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#get_matrixclientv3pushers) the value is required when `kind` is `http`. If `kind` is _not_ `http`, the `device_id` field is null.

In [POST /_matrix/client/v3/pushers/set](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#post_matrixclientv3pushersset) `device_id` is an invalid parameter and should raise an invalid request error.


### Pusher-less clients

A new account data event of type `m.notification_settings.<device-id>` and content

```
{
  is_paused: boolean
}
```

is introduced.

Clients that simulate push notifications locally without relying on a pusher (such as Element Web and other web or desktop clients) take the event into account when computing notifications.



While no pause-push-notifications event exists for the current device, or a pause-push-notifications event exists where isPaused is falsy, events should be processed as normal and trigger push notifs where necessary.

While a pause-push-notifications event exists for the current device where isPaused is true, no event should trigger a push notification (sound, banner, lock screen).

Clients that obey io.element.pause-push-notifications.<device-id> during client side notification filtering should ensure a pause-push-notifications event exists for the active device to indicate silencing push is supported for that device.

UI design should communicate that silencing push notifications is only available for some clients.

When a device is removed these events will be pruned. (Existing pruning logic for DM client-info events will be reusable)

As web notifications are produced by /sync anyway, account data will be up to date at the point of event processing for notifications.

## Migration

Clients that connect to a home server that doesn't yet support this proposal should interpret a missing `is_disabled` value as `false`.

Home servers should migrate pushers that were registered before this proposal so that `is_disabled` is `false`




## Potential issues

Adding an enabled state to pushers increases the complexity of the push notification API. In addition to a pusher existing or not existing, implementations now have to also evaluate the pusher's `is_disabled` field.

## Alternatives

The spec allows for pushers to be assigned a [`profile_tag`](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#post_matrixclientv3pushersset) which can be used to define per-device push rule sets. In combination with the `notify_in_app` action proposed in [MSC3768](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-spec-proposals/pull/3768) this would allow to toggle a pusher between the `global` push rule set and a push rule set where all rules with `notify` actions were overridden to use `notify_in_app`. Furthermore, the overrides could be simplified through cascading profile tags as proposed in [MSC3837](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-spec-proposals/pull/3837). Keeping the two sets in sync would, however, not be trivial. Additionally, profile tags are only partially spec'ed and there is active interest in [removing](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-spec/issues/637) them entirely.

Another alternative is client-side notification filtering at the time of delivery which is supported on many platforms. This feature could be (ab)used to create the _impression_ of paused push notifications. The downside, however, is that this is not a true deactivation and the wasteful overhead of sending and processing push notifications still exists.

Finally, when registering a pusher, a client could store the request body for [/_matrix/client/v3/pushers/set](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.3/client-server-api/#post_matrixclientv3pushersset) in a per-device account data event. Other clients of the same user could then issue network request on the client's behalf using the body of said event. This appears somewhat kludgey though and would also conflict with existing home server logic to store access tokens when adding or modifying pushers.

## Security considerations

None.

## Unstable prefix

Until this proposal lands
    
- `is_disabled` should be referred to as `org.matrix.msc0000.is_disabled`
- `device_id` should be referred to as `org.matrix.msc0000.device_id`
- `m.notification_settings.<device-id>` should be referred to as `org.matrix.msc0000.notification_settings.<device-id>`

## Dependencies

None.
