Separate useful from urgent
An update can be relevant without needing immediate attention. A changed appointment time may need a prompt alert. A weekly summary can wait. Treating both messages the same makes it harder for people to recognise what matters. Start with the consequence of missing the message, then choose an appropriate place and time to show it.
Write the next step
A notification should explain what changed and what, if anything, the person needs to do. Your request has an update is less useful than a short explanation of that update. Keep private information out of previews when it does not belong on a visible lock screen. Open the relevant item when someone taps, rather than leaving them to search the home screen.
Offer meaningful choices
People have different routines. Give them understandable controls for reminders, important account messages, and optional updates. Avoid a single switch that mixes everything together. Where possible, let people choose a quiet period or a summary. Explain which messages are necessary for an action they requested and which ones they can decline.
Review the quiet moments
A notification system also needs rules for when to say nothing. Do not send a reminder for a task already completed, repeat an alert because the same event arrived twice, or continue a campaign after a person has opted out. Review examples from an ordinary week. If each message cannot justify the interruption, change the message or remove it.