Uninstalled due to constant nagging

I tried the free version of Bitdefender for a few months, but the popups are incredibly annoying and I don't see a way to turn them off, so I've uninstalled it. I understand that there are actual people making this product that need to be paid, but nagging customers to death with incessant notifications is not the way to get people to pay you. Rather than get me to give you any money with a quality product, you got me to uninstall because I found Bitdefender so annoying.

I'm only creating this thread because I think I accidentally closed the browser window that would have popped up a survey about why I uninstalled. I hope you will someday put some thought into how you treat potential customers and how you want that relationship to start.

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Gjoksi

Hello.
Open your Bitdefender program and go to:

Settings -> General and disable "Special offers" and "Recommendation notifications" (for the "Password Manager" notification)
Protection -> Antivirus -> Settings -> Scan flash drives and select "Autoscan" or "Disabled", do not select "Ask every time" (for the "USB Immunizer Recommendation" notification)
Protection -> Antivirus -> Settings -> Scan CD & DVD and select "Autoscan" or "Disabled", do not select "Ask every time" (for the "CD/DVD Recommendation" notification)
Protection -> Vulnerability -> Settings and disable "Wi-Fi Security Advisor"
Privacy -> Safepay -> Settings and disable "Safepay notifications" and "Automatically open Bitdefender Safepay"
Privacy -> Video & Audio Protection -> Settings and disable "Notify when allowed applications connect to the webcam", "Notify when an application tries to access the microphone" and "Notify when browsers access the microphone"
Utilities -> Profiles -> Settings and disable "Activate profiles automatically" (for the Profile notification)
After doing that, in the future no pop-up notifications will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen.
REMEMBER: When a threat is detected, a pop-up notification will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen and you can't disable those pop-up notifications.
Next, as an option to fully disable the Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups, open your Bitdefender program, go to Utilities -> Profiles -> Settings and enable/activate "Work Profile" or "Game Profile".
When "Work Profile" or "Game Profile" is enabled/activated, all Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups are disabled.
Finally, as for the Bitdefender VPN pop-ups, you can simply uninstall Bitdefender VPN from your device by following the steps provided here (just select "Bitdefender VPN"):
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2791/
or
open the Bitdefender VPN program, go to Settings -> Notifications and disable "Allow notifications".
It is recommended that you also review the privacy preferences set in your Bitdefender Central account:
On any internet-connected device launch a web browser, visit
https://central.bitdefender.com
and sign in to your Bitdefender Central account.
Click on your username in the top right corner and select "Bitdefender Account" in the menu. This option will launch in a new browser tab.
Access the "Data & Privacy" tab, then click on the "Privacy preferences" section.
Uncheck both boxes to stop promotional messages:

Receive in product insights regarding threats, news, and offers.
Receive insights regarding threats, news, and offers via email.
Regards.

Alexandru_BD

Hello @mike-v,

Most of the notification preferences can be set by the user, as can be seen from the comment above. I think it's important to know which notifications you're referring to. This way we can provide more tailored advice and recommendations.

Another thing to keep in mind — the fact that various types of notifications were suppressed doesn't mean that the product will no longer communicate operation or detection issues. There are still many situations where the user must be aware of what is happening. Whenever something relevant to the security of your system or data happens, such notifications play a key role in raising awareness of the events happening on the device and send assurances that the product is operating as expected. Options may be provided to take further action, if needed. So was it a security-related event that triggered those notifications?

Being a security product by design, it does not have a toggle to disable security-related notifications, as this would defy the whole purpose of having an interactive antivirus that provides feedback and alerts the user of any potential threats or attacks coming their way.

Just a few additions here, when you see pop-ups from the antivirus, these are usually usage recommendations or security-related events. There's also an option that displays special offers customized for you, for related Bitdefender product and services, and you can of course disable that as well, in the event you don't require it. Although this may come in handy when there are ongoing campaigns and also when the subscription/license is nearing its expiration date, since Bitdefender often provides generous renewal discounts.

The in-product recommendations are generated by the security software itself to guide you toward better security practices, fix detected issues, or enable specific protective features. They are mainly intended to improve your system’s security posture, rather than directly upsell you an unrelated product, so these don't fall into the advertising category, because they refer to features already included in the security suite you are using.

On the other hand, since you already use a Bitdefender antivirus, the special offers might be for related products that would further enhance your overall protection (like a Premium VPN or a Password Manager).

Here's to hoping you'll come back to Bitdefender and if not, regardless of your choice, stay safe.

Regards