Notification archive for WindowsLocal SQLite100% on device
The notification history Windows never shipped.
Every notification lands in a searchable local log. Dismissed, expired, or cleared from Action Center, Pingr still has it. Filter by app, search by keyword, or just scroll back.
v1.0.0 beta · Windows 10 (1809+) & 11 · 64-bit · Installs without admin rights · No account
01 How it works
Install. Allow. Stop losing codes.
Install
Run the installer: no admin password, no UAC prompt. Pingr lands in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Pingr and lives in the notification area, with a window you open when you need it.
Allow notification access
Windows shows its own consent prompt the first time Pingr asks. Say yes and it starts recording immediately. No restart needed, unlike the permission dance the Mac build has to do.
It starts archiving
Pingr asks Windows for your notifications about once a second and copies each new one into a local, searchable database. Honestly, that's a poll, not an instant push; see the FAQ for why.
Search it, or grab the code
Full-text search by app, title or message body, narrowing as you type. When a one-time code arrives, it's one click away in the notification-area icon.
02 Features
Everything the Action Center forgets.
Windows deletes a notification once it's cleared. Pingr copies it out first, into a local, searchable archive that stays on this PC.
Full-text search, as you type
Every notification by app, title or message body, indexed with SQLite FTS5 and prefix matching, so results narrow the moment you start typing. The thing you swiped away this morning is a few keystrokes away.
FTS5
One-time codes, one click
Pingr recognizes one-time codes and puts a large Copy button directly on them in the detail view. The newest code is also one click away from the notification-area icon. No auto-copy, so nothing silently overwrites your clipboard.
The headline
Per-app exclusions, and it counts first
Exclude an app and it's never recorded again, and everything Pingr already stored from it is deleted, not just hidden. It names the app and counts what's about to go before it does, and asks nothing when there's no history to lose.
Retroactive
Retention you control
1 week, 30 days, 90 days, 1 year or forever, pruned at launch and hourly. The default is 90 days, matching the Mac build, rather than "keep everything," because a permanent archive of every notification is a decision worth making on purpose.
Pruned hourly
Optional code redaction
Turn on code scrubbing and Pingr blanks the stored one-time code on rows past a useful life (Never, 1 hour, 24 hours or 1 week), while keeping the notification itself. Off by default. Honestly: it removes the indexed code field, not the digits inside the message text.
Off by default
Looks like Windows, not a port
Mica window backdrop, rounded corners and a title bar that follows your light, dark or system appearance choice, all drawn with the same Windows APIs File Explorer uses, not a stretched web page.
Mica
One local file, locked to your account
The archive is a single SQLite file in
Privacy
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pingr, deliberately not the roaming %APPDATA%, so a domain profile never ships your one-time codes to a file server. A real Windows ACL restricts it to your account. No cloud, no sync, no account.Deleting really deletes
Every delete, exclusion and retention sweep overwrites the row and checkpoints the write-ahead log, not just an unlinked row sitting readable in a free page. This is an archive of codes; "delete" means it, all the way down.
secure_delete
Self-updating
Pingr checks for updates and, when you say go, downloads the new installer, verifies its Authenticode signature and version before running anything, installs over itself and reopens, the same thing Sparkle does on the Mac build, which this port doesn't need to ask you to do by hand.
In place
13 languages
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (BR), Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Korean, chosen in Settings rather than only inherited from Windows.
Localized
Built for everyone
The timeline is a real listbox (one tab stop, arrow keys, Ctrl F to search, Enter or Ctrl C to copy a code), with live announcements for search results, digit-by-digit code readout, and measured WCAG 2.1 AA contrast in light and dark.
WCAG 2.1 AA
One honest permission switch
Windows offers Pingr exactly one all-or-nothing switch for notification access, not a per-app row: an unpackaged desktop app doesn't get one. Pingr says so plainly rather than pretending otherwise, and shows the history it already has if access is off.
No hidden state
03 Speaks your language
English
Spanish
French
German
Italian
Portuguese (BR)
Dutch
Polish
Russian
Turkish
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Korean
04 Beta
You're testing the first Windows build.
Pingr has been on the Mac for a while. This is the Windows port's first public build, and a genuinely different program in one place, not just a translation: Windows has no readable notification store, so Pingr asks the OS through a consented API instead of reading anything private.
What would help most
Real notifications, all day
Banking codes, chat apps, work tools, the works. Does Pingr catch what you expect, and does anything get dropped or duplicated?
Codes you actually use
2FA and one-time codes from your own accounts. Check the detected code against what you typed in, and tell me if Pingr shows the wrong one, or misses one entirely.
The permission grant and the install
Whether the Windows notification-access prompt appeared cleanly, whether SmartScreen let you through, whether the tray icon and shortcuts look right.
Anything that looks wrong
Clipped text, an odd translation, a dialog you couldn't reach with the keyboard, a code copy that silently failed.
06 Pricing
Free. For everyone.
Pingr is free for personal and commercial use. No key, no account, no trial timer.
Personal
Free forever
For individuals and personal projects
- The full archive, unlimited history
- Full-text search across every notification
- One-time code detection and copy chips
- Per-app exclusions and retention control
- 100% on-device, nothing uploaded
- Free updates forever
At work
Free commercial too
No license, no subscription
- Everything in Personal
- Use it commercially at work, free
- No license to buy, ever
- Free updates forever
- Supports solo indie development
Pingr is free for everyone, including commercial use at work. There is no license to buy and no subscription.
07 Download & install
Get set up in about a minute.
Run the installer and Pingr lands in your own user folder: no admin password, no UAC prompt, nothing else to install.
Version 1.0.0 beta · Pingr-Setup.exe · Free updates forever
Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) or Windows 11 · 64-bit
Everything Pingr needs is inside the installer: no Python, no runtime to chase down. It does use the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime to draw its interface, which ships with Windows 11 and reaches almost every Windows 10 machine through Windows Update. On the rare PC without it, Pingr will say so on launch and Microsoft's free installer is a one-click fix.
No admin rights needed
Pingr installs per-user into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Pingr, so there's no UAC prompt and no argument with your IT department. Uninstall from Settings → Apps → Installed apps like anything else. This removes the app but deliberately leaves your notification archive in place; Clear all history in Settings is the explicit way to remove that.Yes, Pingr needs your permission to read notifications
The first time it runs, Pingr asks Windows for notification access through
UserNotificationListener, a real, consented OS API, and Windows shows its own system prompt. Say yes and Pingr starts recording immediately. No restart required. Say no, or change your mind later, and Pingr shows a plain banner and the history it already has, with a shortcut to Settings → Privacy & security → Notifications. One honest catch: Windows exposes only a single global switch for an app like Pingr, not a per-app toggle, so it's all notifications or none.Windows may warn you the first time. Here's the honest story.
Pingr is Authenticode-signed, so the publisher shows as a real, verified name rather than "Unknown publisher." But signing alone does not switch SmartScreen off: Microsoft builds reputation per file, and a brand-new build starts with none. Until this exact file has been downloaded enough times, you may still see a blue "Windows protected your PC" box.
- Click More info
- Check the publisher name shown
- Click Run anyway
08 FAQ
Common questions.
Is Pingr really free?
Personal use is free forever: the whole archive, unlimited history, no account, no trial timer, no nag screens. Pingr is free for personal and commercial use. No license key needed.
Does Pingr really need permission to read my notifications?
Yes. That's the whole feature, so there's no way around asking. On Windows, that permission is
Windows.UI.Notifications.Management.UserNotificationListener, a real OS API that shows Windows's own consent prompt; Pingr never reads another app's files or private data to get at your notifications. That's actually a narrower, more revocable permission than the Mac build needs, which has to ask for Full Disk Access because macOS offers nothing more specific. The one catch: Windows only exposes a single all-or-nothing switch for an app like Pingr, not a per-app row in Settings.Does it catch every notification the instant it arrives?
Not quite, and it's worth being precise about why. Windows has no readable notification store the way macOS does, and the API's push event (
NotificationChanged) doesn't work for an app like Pingr that isn't installed as a packaged MSIX with a registered identity, so instead Pingr polls the listener, by default about once a second. That poll costs effectively no CPU (it's an API call that waits, not work), but a notification dismissed faster than the interval can, in principle, be missed. You can tighten the interval down to half a second in Settings if you want to trade a little more polling for a little more certainty.Does anything leave my PC?
No. The archive is a single SQLite file in
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pingr\. There's no account, no server, no sync and no usage analytics. The only things that ever touch the network are the update check and, if you activate one, a commercial license key.How does it find one-time codes?
It reads the wording around a run of digits, not just the digits themselves. Phone numbers, prices, times, dates, versions and order numbers are explicitly excluded. The bias is deliberately toward showing no code rather than the wrong one: a missing chip costs you one extra copy from the message text; a wrong one costs a failed login.
Can I keep some apps out of it entirely?
Yes. Excluded apps are never recorded, and excluding one also deletes everything Pingr has already stored from it, rather than just hiding it going forward. Because that's a real deletion, Pingr names the app and counts what's about to go before it happens, and asks nothing when there's no history to lose.
What if I delete something by mistake?
Honestly: in this beta, there's no undo yet. A delete is immediate and, by design, thorough (Pingr overwrites the row and checkpoints the write-ahead log rather than leaving a readable trace). The Mac build has an undo toast; this Windows build doesn't yet. If that's a problem for how you'd use it, exclude apps you don't want recorded rather than deleting individual rows you might want back.
How long does it keep things?
Whatever you choose (1 week, 30 days, 90 days, 1 year or forever), pruned at launch and hourly. The default is 90 days, the same as the Mac build, rather than "keep everything," because a permanent archive of every notification you've received is a decision worth making on purpose.
Is the archive encrypted?
No. It's a plain SQLite file, readable by anyone with access to your Windows account, the same honest limitation the Mac build has. What Pingr does add on Windows is a real access-control list restricting the file to your account (an actual Windows ACL, not the no-op that
chmod would be here). That stops another standard user on the same PC; it does not, and cannot, stop a local administrator. Choose a retention period and exclusions that make sense for what you're comfortable this archive holding.Why did Windows show a blue "protected your PC" warning?
Because the file is new, not because it's unsigned. SmartScreen builds trust per file over downloads and time, and a fresh build starts from zero. Code signing gives you a verified publisher name in the dialog but does not skip it. Click More info → check the publisher → Run anyway. See the install section for the full explanation.
How do I update Pingr?
It updates itself. Pingr checks periodically and tells you when there's something new. It's never a pop-up out of nowhere. Say go, and it downloads the new installer, verifies its signature and version before running anything, installs over itself and reopens. If any of those checks fail it deletes the download and sends you here instead. Your settings and archive carry over.
How is this different from the Mac version?
Same idea, same guarantees about staying local. The capture engine is genuinely different underneath, not just translated. macOS has a readable notification database that Pingr watches instantly; Windows offers only a consented, polled API, so this build checks about once a second instead of reacting the moment a notification lands. In exchange, Windows's permission model is narrower and more honest (a real "allow notifications" consent rather than the broad Full Disk Access macOS requires), and this build updates itself in place, where the Mac build asks you to re-download by hand. Two Mac features aren't here yet: exporting a search to CSV/JSON/Markdown, and undo after a delete.
Where do my settings live, and what does uninstalling remove?
Preferences (language, theme, retention choice) sit in
%APPDATA%\Pingr\prefs.json; your notification archive sits separately in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Pingr\archive.sqlite3, deliberately not in the roaming profile. Uninstalling removes the app from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Pingr but leaves your archive and preferences in place on purpose: a product whose entire point is keeping a record shouldn't silently delete that record when you remove the program. Use Clear all history in Settings, or delete the folders yourself, if you want every trace gone.