Android users had lost a simple gesture to mute notifications. Google is reversing its decision by reintroducing quick access to Do Not Disturb mode. This improvement is already visible in the latest beta of Android 16.
For several years, Android has been evolving to offer ever more features and customization. But sometimes, certain decisions from Google confuse users. The sudden disappearance of certain practical shortcuts has often been criticized, especially when it made it more difficult to access simple functions like Do Not Disturb mode. With Android 15 QPR2, Google removed the direct shortcut to activate Do Not Disturb mode, merging it into a new interface called Modes. This decision caused considerable discontent among users, who now had to perform multiple gestures to quickly silence notifications. Faced with the outcry expressed on Reddit and other platforms, Google seems to have revised its copy. In Android 16 Beta 4, a dedicated shortcut makes its big comeback.
Android 16 makes it easier to activate Do Not Disturb mode again with a single tap
Spotted According to Android Authority, the new Do Not Disturb shortcut works as it did originally: a single tap is enough to activate or deactivate the mode, without going through intermediate menus. This button now coexists with the Modes shortcut, which remains available for those who prefer to configure custom profiles like Night or Driving. Some users were so frustrated by the previous removal that they created their own apps to regain this quick access, welcomed by dozens of positive comments on Reddit. Finding a native function now simplifies users' daily lives.
Google has not officially announced this change, just as it did not communicate about the initial removal of the shortcut. However, the function is present and operational in the very latest beta. It remains to be seen whether this restoration will be retained in the final version of Android 16, or postponed to a future update like QPR1. In the meantime, this small victory shows that the American firm remains attentive to feedback from its community, even for features that may seem as innocuous as this one.
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