[DanBC]

> I'm not terribly concerned about the NSA logging “you have $n new messages!” notifications.

But you can appreciate that as part of risk assessment some people might have a valid reason to be concerned about leaking even that much information?

GCHQ / NSA are good at finding patterns in data, so a collection of "You have $n new messages!" notifications can provide insight into the organization of a group.

[nthj]

Yes, I certainly understand. Most people wouldn't be concerned—and would be far more likely to use the technology if they could enable a feature like "You have $n new messages."

I propose it as an option, not a default.