Relay — Phone Link notifications, routed to your PC

RELAY

// Phone Link notifications, routed to your PC apps

WINDOWS 11 · LOCAL-ONLY · NO TRACKING

What is Relay?

Relay is a small Windows 11 desktop app that makes Phone Link notifications useful on your PC. When a message arrives on your phone, Phone Link shows a toast on your computer — but clicking it only opens Phone Link, not the actual app the message came from.

Relay watches those notifications, figures out which app each one came from (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, and more), and when you click it, opens the matching app or website right on your PC. You decide the mapping — every source app can point to a protocol link, a website, an installed program, or a Store app.

Relay is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft. “Phone Link”, “Windows”, and related names are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, used here only to describe what Relay works with.

Features

🔀 Smart routing

Detects the source app from each Phone Link toast and opens it on your PC.

🧩 Editable mappings

Map any app to a protocol, website, .exe, or Store app — tried in order.

🔔 Cleaner toasts

Replaces the Action Center entry with a clickable one that routes correctly.

🚀 Runs in the tray

Closes to the system tray and can start quietly at sign-in.

🔒 Local-only

Everything runs on your device. No accounts, no servers, no tracking.

🪟 Native Windows

Built with WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK using public Windows APIs.

How to use

Requirements

Windows 11 with Phone Link set up and connected to your phone.
Notifications enabled for Phone Link.

First run

Install and launch Relay.
When Windows asks, allow Relay to access your notifications. This is required for it to see Phone Link toasts. You can revoke it any time in Settings → Privacy & security → Notifications.
Leave Phone Link running and connected. New phone notifications now appear in Relay.

Routing your apps

Open Settings inside Relay.
Each binding has a Source (the app name as it appears in the notification) and one or more targets tried top to bottom.
Pick a target type — Protocol, Website, Local app, or Store app (AUMID) — and set its value. For protocols, use Change to pick from the supported list.
Click Save. Add new bindings for any app Phone Link reports.

Everyday use

When a notification arrives, click it (in Action Center or in Relay) and the matching app or site opens on your PC. If no mapping matches, Relay falls back to a web search for the app name so you can still reach it. Close the window to keep Relay running in the tray; use the tray menu to reopen or exit. Enable Run at Windows startup in Settings to have it ready after every sign-in.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 16, 2026

The short version: Relay runs entirely on your device. It does not collect, transmit, store on any server, sell, or share your data. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no telemetry.

Who this covers

This policy describes how the Relay desktop application (“Relay”, “the app”, “we”) handles information. It does not cover Microsoft Phone Link, Windows, or any third-party app or website Relay may open — those are governed by their own policies.

Information the app accesses

Data	Why	Where it lives
Notification content (the source app name and text of notifications, including Phone Link toasts), read via the Windows UserNotificationListener API	To detect Phone Link notifications, infer which app each came from, and route your click to the right app or site	Processed in memory on your PC while the app runs; shown in the in-app list during the session. Not written to disk by Relay and not sent anywhere.
Your app-binding settings (source-name → how to open) and the “run at startup” toggle	To remember how you want each app opened	Saved locally in the app’s private storage on your PC (`bindings.json`). Never leaves your device.

What the app does NOT do

No data is sent to any server operated by Relay or its developer — there is no such server.
No analytics, telemetry, advertising, tracking, or fingerprinting.
No accounts, sign-in, or cloud sync.
Your information is never sold or shared with third parties.

Network activity

Relay makes no network requests on its own. The only outbound action happens when you click a notification and Relay opens your chosen target — a protocol handler, an installed app, a Store app, or a website in your default browser.

If a notification has no matching mapping, clicking it opens a web search for the app’s name in your default browser. Only that app name is included, and only when you choose to open an unmapped item. From that point the search is handled by your browser and search provider under their own privacy policies — Relay is not involved further.

Permissions Relay requests

Notification access (userNotificationListener) — requires your explicit consent; needed to see notifications. Revocable in Windows Settings at any time.
Run full trust (runFullTrust) — needed to launch other apps and programs on your PC.

Data retention & deletion

Notification data is not retained by Relay — it is cleared when the app closes. Your settings persist on your device until you change them, use Reset to defaults, or uninstall the app. Uninstalling Relay removes its locally stored settings.

Children

Relay is a general-purpose utility and is not directed to children under 13.

Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected here with a new “Last updated” date.

Contact

Questions, privacy requests, or bug reports? Email .