diff --git a/doc/help/settings.asciidoc b/doc/help/settings.asciidoc
index d5511dff0..1973418ad 100644
--- a/doc/help/settings.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/help/settings.asciidoc
@@ -1738,6 +1738,8 @@ Valid values:
 
 Default: +pass:[ask]+
 
+This setting is only available with the QtWebKit backend.
+
 [[content.pdfjs]]
 === content.pdfjs
 Enable pdf.js to view PDF files in the browser.
diff --git a/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml b/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
index 9f47a7d70..7e7f024f3 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
+++ b/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
@@ -524,6 +524,7 @@ content.netrc_file:
 content.notifications:
   default: ask
   type: BoolAsk
+  backend: QtWebKit
   desc: Allow websites to show notifications.
 
 content.pdfjs: