AUDIO STREAM NOTIFICATION AND PROCESSING

Various embodiments provide techniques for allowing an application to opt out of system default audio stream behavior, as well as techniques for notifying applications on a computing device that a communication audio stream has been initiated. The techniques may differentiate between communication-related audio streams and audio streams that are not communication-related. In some embodiments, an application may register to receive notification that a communication stream has been initiated. The application may be configured to comply with system default audio stream handling policies, or it can perform custom behavior in response to the audio stream notification. In some embodiments, an application may register for filtered or unfiltered notification. In a filtered notification scenario, an application is notified that a communication stream has been initiated when an audio stream associated with the application has not already been modified in response to the initiation of a different communication stream. In an unfiltered notification scenario, an application/process is notified whenever a communication stream is been initiated.