checkSelfPermission(POST_NOTIFICATIONS) answers DENIED on Android below 13

Fact

POST_NOTIFICATIONS was introduced in API 33. On older releases the platform has no such permission, so checkSelfPermission returns PERMISSION_DENIED for it — even though the app is free to post notifications there and always has been.

Why it matters

The natural defensive guard, "only notify if the permission is granted", silently mutes every notification on Android 10 through 12. Nothing throws, nothing logs; notifications simply never appear, and only on the older devices you are least likely to be testing on.

How to apply

Short-circuit the check by version, so it only runs where the permission exists:

val allowed = Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU ||
    ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(context, Manifest.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS) ==
        PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED

Pair it with NotificationManagerCompat.areNotificationsEnabled(), which is the check that is meaningful on every version — the user can switch notifications off from settings regardless of API level.