User Guide¶
Everything Action Notch can do, and how to set it up.
Getting started¶
- Install Action Notch and open it
- Turn on Accessibility Service when the app asks. This is required — Action Notch cannot detect touches on the notch without it, and no personal data is collected through it (see Privacy Policy)
- On Android 13 and later, allow the notification permission, used for recording status and the ongoing-action controls
- Optionally, disable battery optimisation for Action Notch so the service is not stopped in the background
Once the service is on, an invisible touch area appears around your notch or camera cutout.
Gestures¶
| Gesture | Plan |
|---|---|
| Single Touch | Free |
| Double Touch | Free |
| Long Touch | Free |
| Swipe Left | Pro |
| Swipe Right | Pro |
| Swipe Left and Hold | Pro |
| Swipe Right and Hold | Pro |
From the Home screen, tap a gesture and choose an action for it from the list. Swiping down on the notch always opens your notification shade, regardless of what else is configured.
A swipe-and-hold repeats certain actions — brightness up/down — for as long as you hold it; every other action fires once.
Actions¶
Action Notch groups its actions the same way the in-app picker does.
| Category | Actions |
|---|---|
| Apps & Shortcuts | Notch Mirror, Dynamic Widgets, Quick Notes, AI Assistant, Recently Used Apps, Most Used Apps, Choose Apps, Open An App, Open App Activity (Advanced), In-App Shortcuts |
| Navigation | Home, Back, Recent Apps, Scroll to Top, Scroll to Bottom, Open Notifications, Open Quick Settings |
| Capture & Recording | Take Screenshot, Start Screen Recording, Open Camera, Silent Photo (front or rear camera), Silent Video (front or rear camera), Silent Audio Recording |
| Media & Sound | Play/Pause Media, Next Track, Previous Track, Open Volume Panel, Adjust Volume |
| Device Controls | Toggle Flashlight, Open Power Menu, Toggle Auto-Brightness, Dim Screen, Brighten Screen, Toggle Sound/Vibrate, Turn Screen Off, Run Automation, Toggle WiFi, Toggle Bluetooth, Toggle Airplane Mode, Toggle GPS/Location, Screen Timeout, Toggle Auto-Rotate, Toggle Do Not Disturb |
| Utilities | Open Calculator, Scan QR Code, Open Favorite Website, Call a Contact, Open Assistant |
Some actions only ask for a permission the moment you assign them — Camera for the silent-capture actions, Microphone for silent audio and video, Contacts for Call a Contact, and so on. See Privacy Policy → Permissions for the full list.
Notch position, size and behaviour¶
Open Custom Notch Position to size and place the touch area yourself instead of using the detected cutout. On a foldable, the Main screen and the Cover screen each keep their own position and size — use Copy from to carry one screen's setup to the other, or Reset this screen to start over.
Other switches on the Home screen and in Settings:
- Disable in Landscape Mode — turns the touch area off while the phone is rotated
- Disable When No Notch Detected — useful on a foldable's inner screen, which usually has no cutout
- Disable on Call — needs the phone-state permission so Action Notch can tell you're on a call
- Disable on Lock Screen — turns the touch area off while the phone is locked
- Blacklisted Apps — pick apps where Action Notch should stay off entirely, such as a game
- Find My Notch — briefly highlights the current touch area so you can see exactly where it is
- Haptic Feedback — a vibration on each touch
Notch Mirror (Pro)¶
Notch Mirror turns your front camera into a live mirror, shaped to match your notch: Squircle, Portrait Oval, Perfect Circle or Wide Pill. It only asks for the Camera permission, and it never takes, saves or shares a photo or video — it is a live preview only.
Dynamic Widgets (Pro)¶
Assign the Dynamic Widgets action to a gesture to open a small widget deck over whatever you're doing. Configure which cards appear, and in what order, from the deck's own settings:
| Card | What it does |
|---|---|
| Quick Controls | Brightness and media-volume sliders. The brightness slider needs the Modify System Settings permission |
| Media | Shows the track and playback state of whatever's currently playing, with previous, play/pause and next controls. Needs notification access so Action Notch can read the active media session — see Privacy Policy |
| Timer | A countdown with Start, Pause, Resume, Reset and a completion alert, set in minutes and seconds. It keeps running, with a notification you can control, even after you close the deck |
| Stopwatch | A simple elapsed-time tracker |
| Search | Tap to open your browser's search box, or the microphone to open your device's voice assistant |
| Game | Opens Notch Bounce, see below |
Turn on Dynamic Priority to have an active timer, stopwatch or media session jump to the front of the deck automatically; your saved card order returns once it stops.
Notch Bounce¶
A small game reachable from the Dynamic Widgets deck: bounce a ball into your notch and try to beat your best score. Your best score is kept on your device.
Rule-Based Actions (Pro)¶
Rules let a gesture behave differently depending on what's happening on your phone. Open Rule-Based Actions from the Home screen to create one:
- When I use — pick the gesture the rule applies to
- And this is true — an app is open, media is playing, headphones are connected, the device is charging, or you're on a call or ringing
- Do this instead — the action to run when both are true
Rules are checked from top to bottom; the first one that matches runs instead of the gesture's normal action, and you can reorder or duplicate them by dragging. You can create up to 20 rules. Every condition is checked on your device at the moment you touch the notch — nothing is monitored in the background.
Quick Notes¶
Quick Notes gives you notes and checklists with colours and basic formatting (headings, bold, italic, underline). Reach it from the Notes tab at the bottom of the app, or assign the Quick Notes action to a gesture to jump straight to a chosen note, or a new one every time. Notes stay on your device.
Recordings (Storage tab)¶
Every screenshot, screen recording and silent photo, video or audio capture is saved to your device and listed on the Storage tab, where you can open, share, rename or delete it.
Screen recording captures device audio where Android allows it; recording your own voice or others through the microphone needs the Microphone permission, granted the first time you use a silent-audio or silent-video action.
Automation¶
The Run Automation action sends your gesture to another app on your device rather than running a built-in action itself. Set it up for Tasker, Automate or MacroDroid from within Action Notch, or choose "Other" (for example, Samsung Routines) to have Action Notch post a short notification that another automation app can react to instead. Nothing is sent off your device.
Free and Pro¶
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Gestures | Single Touch, Double Touch, Long Touch | adds Swipe Left, Swipe Right and swipe-and-hold |
| Most actions | Included | Included |
| Notch Mirror, Dynamic Widgets, AI Assistant, Rule-Based Actions | — | Included |
| Rear-camera silent photo/video, silent audio recording | — | Included |
| Next/Previous Track, Toggle Sound/Vibrate, Scan QR Code | — | Included |
| Recently/Most Used Apps, Choose Apps, Open An App | — | Included |
| Ads | Shown in the app's own screens | Removed |
Pro is available as an auto-renewing subscription or a one-time purchase; Google Play handles the payment. See the in-app upgrade screen for current pricing and trial terms.