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Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way (I’m not), but the way I'm marketed to in the Sonos S2 app feels thirsty and crass. Most companies allow their users to opt out of marketing communications because that decision should really be up to the users.

And before anyone suggests App Preferences > Allow Pop-up Messages, it's more than just disabling pop-up ads. The little blue badge that appears over the Inbox icon and also over the My Sonos tab icon in the app tray preys on the learned behaviour that notification badges are calls-to-action and get many users to try to figure out how to make them go away. Users are forced to view these ads in order to clear the badge. It's manipulative and encourages the notification anxiety/addiction problems that most ethical app developers are finally starting to move away from.

It's especially crass because I have literally paid for your products already, so putting self-promoting ads in an app that only works if I/someone gave you money for something feels like a naked cash grab. I get that you want to let folks know of the services you're offering--that is a reasonable expectation--but give users prominent options to disable notifications and/or opt out of the marketing communiques if they so desire. (And pay attention to the rate at which people opt out--that should tell you whether the effort required to craft these ads is worth it.)

I'm a fan of your products. I have invested significantly in your ecosystem. (In the thousands, though, admittedly, that isn’t hard to get to.) I evangelize them to my friends and family. I will buy more or subscribe when I'm good and ready.

I’ve selected that option, and I do not get these badges that you speak of on my ‘inbox’. 

There is such an option to opt out, on the website, when you log in. I’ve done so, and don’t get any of these so called marketing pop ups in my clients.

Does it disable the badges that notify you that you have messages in your Inbox? Can we just disable the inbox entirely if all it gets used for is marketing?

Sorry, I misread your original post, I’ve altered mine in response. 

Just double checked in my iOS client. Had to find where the inbox was, and confirmed there is nothing in it to pop up a necessary badge. And no, I don’t go in there and clean things out, I can’t recall the last time I’ve looked at it. The only ‘blue badge’ I have is on the alarm icon, to tell me I have an alarm set. 

Thanks for this, Airgetlam. Like so many before me, my Internet Rage is somewhat overblown. (I still think it reflects poorly on Sonos to have made these decisions, and the option to disable is somewhat buried.)

Understood. Those kinds of things annoy me too, which is why I turn them off anywhere and as often as I can. Perhaps I’m an untypical consumer, but pummeling me with offers is a sure fire way to ensure I don’t purchase anything further. 

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