Notifications on mobile phones can be helpful, but sometimes they can verge on the annoying or can cause technical issues. Case in point: today, someone asked on the eBay discussion boards, “How do I keep from these eBay Live events from popping up on my screen? I have (to) reboot my phone everyday bc the eBay app freezes up on my phone and I think that’s the cause.”
eBay Live is an interactive livestream shopping experience, which eBay describes as follows: “This real-time platform allows eBay buyers to shop curated livestream events, hosted by their favorite influencers, brands, and sellers.”
The eBay customer who asked how to turn off notifications isn’t alone. For instance, “dovpanda” asked how to do so on a Reddit thread several months ago, writing:
eBay live. Make it stop!
For the love of everything, how do I stop these annoying notifications? I’ve already turned it off in my settings but I keep getting those push notifications for things that I am not interested in at all. It’s very annoying. Please tell me the secret. Please.
eBay has a help page on Push Notifications where it lists the following types of notifications available to buyers and sellers, including the eBay Live notifications:
- Order updates: Get the latest on items you’ve purchased
- Shopping updates: Updates about items you’re interested in, listings that are ending, offers you’ve made, and changes to items in your cart
- Recommendations and rewards: Personalized recommendations, eBay rewards and offers, what’s trending on eBay
- Selling: Auctions, offers/counteroffers, order updates and listing help
- General: Messages received, daily and special deals
- Saved Searches: Notifications on the searches you’ve saved
- eBay Live: Event reminders, Followed Sellers, and Event Recommendations
On the Push Notifications help page, eBay explains users can choose to receive notifications by email, text, or through the eBay app. It also explains how to turn on and off notifications for iOS and for Android devices.
eBay user “wastingtime101,” who often responds to people’s questions on the eBay boards (and other industry boards), posted a dedicated thread with instructions and screenshots because, they said, people frequently asked how to turn off eBay Live push notifications.
eBay user “brstri1705” said that alone wasn’t always enough, however, adding the following advice:
“”For iOS users”, Toggling off eBay Live under Shopping Updates in Notifications by itself doesn’t stop the Live Auction/Breakers Notifications whatsoever; but by toggling off General Promotions under Recommendations & Rewards as well ~ seems to resolve the issue. Hope that helps other iOS users who may be experiencing the Live Auction spamming issue. Best Regards…”
To which wastingtime101 responded:
“I appreciate that added info. Users should still shake their phone to report. Turning off eBay Live notifications should take care of it because it’s a separate setting.
“In my opinion it’s wrong for eBay Live to be included with General Promotions when the user already indicated they specifically do not want to receive eBay Live notifications.
“We shouldn’t have to turn off all General Promos just to get rid of eBay Live. I’m sure eBay intentionally programmed it this way, but I see it as a tech error and think users should report it that way.”
Learning what types of notifications you can turn on and off on the platforms and apps you use can take some time, but may spare you the constant drip of aggravation you may experience every day.
