Systems, methods, and apparatus for controlling provisioning of notifications based on sources of the notifications

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for minimizing distractions caused by notifications. Notifications can be limited by scoring sources of notifications according to an activity that a recipient is involved in, previous interactions between a user and the source, and/or any other data that can be associated with a notification. For example, a user that is driving can limit the sources from which notifications can be received, unless a score for a particular sources satisfies a notification threshold while driving. Otherwise, if the score fails to satisfy the notification threshold, the user can be presented with the notification at a different time or via a modality that is less distracting than a typical modality for presenting the notification. As a user indicates preferences for receiving notifications from particular sources, the scores for those sources can be dynamically adapted to a user's predilection for particular sources and/or notifications.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method implemented by one or more processors, the method comprising:
 determining that a computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications for a first user according to contextual data that characterizes a location of the computing device;   receiving, while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications, an indication that a second user has initialized sending of a message to the first user;   determining, during or before receiving the indication that the second user has initialized sending of the message to the first user, whether the computing device has departed from the location;   when the computing device is determined to have departed from the location:
 causing, based on determining that the computing device has departed from the location, a notification to be rendered via a modality of the computing device,
 wherein the notification indicates that the computing device has received the message from the second user; and 
 
   when the computing device is determined to not have departed from the location:
 determining, by accessing one or more settings of the computing device, whether the first user has indicated a willingness to communicate with the second user while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications, and 
 causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device according to whether the first user has indicated a willingness to communicate with the second user while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual data includes calendar data that is accessible via the computing device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of the certain notifications, the computing device causes an audio modality and a visual modality to not render any output responsive to the indication. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 when the computing device is determined to not have departed from the location:
 determining content of the message to be sent to the first user,
 wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device is at least partially based on content of the message. 
 
   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 when the computing device is determined to not have departed from the location:
 causing the computing device to bypass rendering the notification via the modality of the computing device, and 
 causing a subset of content of the message or a rewrite of content of the message to be rendered via the modality of the computing device. 
   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, based on the contextual data, the location of the computing device; and   causing, based on determining the location, the computing device to operate to suppress rendering of certain notifications.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying, during or before receiving the indication that the second user has initialized sending of the message to the first user, an application corresponding to the message,
 wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device is at least partially based on the identified application. 
   
     
     
         8 . A method implemented by one or more processors, the method comprising:
 determining that a computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications for a first user according to contextual data that characterizes a location of the computing device;   receiving, while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications, an indication that a second user has initialized a transfer of data to the computing device;   determining, during or before receiving the indication that the second user has initialized the transfer of data to the computing device, whether the computing device has departed from the location; and   when the computing device is determined to have departed from the location:
 causing, based on determining that the computing device has departed from the location, a notification to be rendered via a modality of the computing device,
 wherein the notification indicates that the second user has initialized the transfer of data to the computing device. 
 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 when the computing device is determined to not have departed from the location:
 determining whether the first user has indicated a willingness to communicate with the second user while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications, and 
 causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device according to whether the first user has indicated a willingness to communicate with the second user while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 when the computing device is determined to not have departed from the location:
 causing the computing device to bypass rendering the notification via the modality of the computing device, and 
 causing a subset of content of the data or a rewrite of content of the data to be rendered via the modality of the computing device. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the contextual data includes calendar data that is accessible via the computing device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein, while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of the certain notifications, the computing device causes an audio modality and a visual modality to not render any output based on the certain notifications. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 when the computing device is determined to not have departed from the location:
 determining content of the data to be transferred to the first user,
 wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device is at least partially based on content of the data. 
 
   
     
     
         14 . A method implemented by one or more processors, the method comprising:
 causing a computing device to suppress rendering of certain notifications to a first user based on a location of the computing device;   receiving, while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications, an indication that a transfer of data to the computing device has been initialized;   determining, during or before receiving the indication that the transfer of data to the computing device has been initialized, whether the computing device has departed from the location; and   causing, based on whether computing device has departed from the location, the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, a notification via a modality of the computing device that is selected from a plurality of different modalities of the computing device,
 wherein the notification indicates that the transfer of data to the computing device has been initialized. 
   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device includes:
 determining whether the first user has indicated a willingness to receive notifications associated with the data while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications, and   causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device further based on whether the first user has indicated a willingness to receive notifications associated with the data while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of certain notifications.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device:
 causing a subset of content of the data or a rewrite of content of the data to be rendered via the modality of the computing device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining whether the computing device has departed from the location is based on calendar data that is accessible via the computing device. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein, while the computing device is operating to suppress rendering of the certain notifications, the computing device causes an audio modality and a visual modality to bypass rendering any output based on the data. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 determining content of the data to be transferred to the computing device,
 wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device is at least partially based on content of the data to be transferred to the computing device. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 identifying, during or before receiving the indication that the transfer of data to the computing device has been initialized, an application that corresponds to the transfer of data,
 wherein causing the computing device to render, or bypass rendering, the notification via the modality of the computing device is at least partially based on the identified application.