Modern users often juggle multiple devices—phones, laptops, tablets—and receive the same notifications across all of them. This redundancy can be distracting, especially when actively using one device (e.g., a laptop) while notifications keep popping up on another (e.g., a phone). Current solutions either require manual configuration or are limited to specific device ecosystems, creating inefficiencies. One way to address this could be an automated system that intelligently reroutes notifications to the device in use, reducing clutter and improving focus.

How It Could Work

The idea revolves around proximity-based notification management. When a mobile device detects it's near a designated secondary device (like a laptop), it could automatically forward notifications to that device instead. Bluetooth or Wi-Fi could determine proximity, while existing notification APIs handle the rerouting. Users might customize:

• Which notifications get rerouted (e.g., only work emails or all alerts)
• Proximity thresholds (e.g., reroute when within 1 meter)
• Device activity (e.g., only reroute if the laptop is actively in use)

For privacy, sensitive notifications (like banking alerts) could be excluded by default or encrypted during transfer. The system might also queue notifications if the secondary device is asleep, delivering them once it's active.

Potential Benefits and Stakeholders

This approach could appeal to professionals, students, or anyone juggling multiple devices, as it reduces distractions and streamlines workflows. Device manufacturers might integrate it to enhance ecosystem stickiness, while app developers could adopt compatible APIs. Compared to existing solutions like Apple Continuity or Microsoft Phone Link—which require manual intervention or are ecosystem-locked—this idea could offer cross-platform automation. For example, it could reroute a Slack notification from a phone to a Windows laptop when the user starts typing, without any manual setup.

Execution Pathways

An MVP could start with a mobile app that forwards notifications to a companion laptop app via Bluetooth, supporting basic alerts like texts or emails. Early testing could refine reliability and battery efficiency (e.g., optimizing Bluetooth usage). Later phases might integrate with OS-level APIs for broader compatibility or add features like priority filtering. Monetization could follow a freemium model—basic functionality for free, with advanced customization or multi-device support as paid upgrades.

While challenges like cross-platform compatibility or battery drain would need addressing, the core idea leverages existing tech (Bluetooth, notification APIs) to solve a tangible pain point: notification overload in a multi-device world.