ActiveNotifications is an app that lets you get important notifications even if your screen is off. It mimics the ‘Active Display‘ feature seen on the new Moto X from Motorola.
Active Display makes the Moto X screen pulse important notifications, replacing the traditional flashing red light that doesn’t give you much information. ActiveNotifications can give any Android running version 4.1.2 or above a similar feature. Part of your screen will light up when a notification comes in – but not if your phone is in your purse, pocket, or face down. You can choose which apps work with ActiveNotifications, so you only see your most important notifications.
There is a danger that ActiveNotifications will drain your battery if you don’t have an AMOLED screen – with these, only the notification area of the screen will be activated. On others the whole screen will wake up, using more power. Currently ActiveNotifications only shows one notification at a time, unlike Motorola’s Active Display, but this is likely to be addressed in future updates.
There is also a premium version of ActiveNotifications, which adds a few more features, like ‘Sleep at night’, additional privacy and and adjust notification brightness.