Delayed or suspended alerts with multiple devices in proximity

A method with a plurality of personal electronic devices, comprising:

• determining, with a first personal electronic device in a plurality of personal electronic devices, that an alert event associated with each of the plurality of personal electronic devices has occurred;
• determining, with the first personal electronic device, whether the first personal electronic device is one of a primary alerting device and a secondary alerting device with respect to the alert event;
• detecting, with the first personal electronic device, that it is in proximity with at least a second personal electronic device in the plurality of personal electronic devices;
• and
• inhibiting, by the first personal electronic device, playing an alert associated with the alert event by the first personal electronic device based on the determining that the first personal electronic device is a secondary alerting device and based on the detecting that it is in proximity with the at least a second personal electronic device.

A portable electronic device comprising:

• a processor/controller;
• a short range communications device;
• memory, communicatively coupled with the processor/controller;
• an alert controller, communicatively coupled with the processor/controller and the memory, the alert controller being configured to
• determine whether the portable electronic device and at least one other personal electronic device are in proximity with each other;
• determine that a same message was received by the portable electronic device and the at least one other personal electronic device;
• and
• determine, based at least on the determining that the portable electronic device and the at least one other personal electronic device are in proximity and the determining that the same message was received by the portable electronic device and the at least one other personal electronic device, whether to inhibit producing by the portable electronic device a notification that indicates the same message was received by the portable electronic device.

A computer program product for controlling notification of arrival of a message, the computer program product comprising:

• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising instructions for performing a method comprising:
• determining, by a communication device, that the communication device and at least one other communication device are in proximity with each other;
• determining that a same message was received by the communication device and the at least one other communication device;
• and
• determining, by the communication device based at least on the determining that the communication device and the at least one other communication device are in proximity and the determining that the same message was received by the communication device and the at least one other communication device, to inhibit producing a notification that indicates the same message was received by the communication device.