This Pixel safety feature is making my driving less safe

Our hearing is important, and it’s something we should want to protect. Google agrees; Pixel phones have something called “Sound Exposure Notifications” that monitor how loud your audio is and provide a warning if it thinks things are too loud. That sounds all well and good, but in some situations, like when driving, this feature puts users in danger instead of protecting them.

So, why do I feel like Sound Exposure Notifications are compromising my safety? The notifications trigger whenever the phone hears what it thinks is an unsafe sound level, and it doesn’t matter what situation you’re in. When the notification shows up, ignoring it leads to the phone lowering the volume on its own to what it considers a safe level. In my experience, that’s only one button click above total silence, making anything that’s playing unintelligible.