diff --git a/synapse/storage/event_push_actions.py b/synapse/storage/event_push_actions.py
index 22025effbc83..b01a12528f6b 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/event_push_actions.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/event_push_actions.py
@@ -124,8 +124,8 @@ def _get_unread_counts_by_receipt_txn(
     def _get_unread_counts_by_pos_txn(self, txn, room_id, user_id, stream_ordering):
 
         # First get number of notifications.
-        # We don't need to put a notif=1 clause as all rows always have
-        # notif=1
+        # We ignore the notif column, given we want unread counts irrespective of
+        # whether the notification actually sent a push or not.
         sql = (
             "SELECT count(*)"
             " FROM event_push_actions ea"
@@ -223,6 +223,7 @@ def get_after_receipt(txn):
                 "   AND ep.user_id = ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering > ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering <= ?"
+                "   AND ep.notif = 1"
                 " ORDER BY ep.stream_ordering ASC LIMIT ?"
             )
             args = [user_id, user_id, min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering, limit]
@@ -251,6 +252,7 @@ def get_no_receipt(txn):
                 "   AND ep.user_id = ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering > ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering <= ?"
+                "   AND ep.notif = 1"
                 " ORDER BY ep.stream_ordering ASC LIMIT ?"
             )
             args = [user_id, user_id, min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering, limit]
@@ -323,6 +325,7 @@ def get_after_receipt(txn):
                 "   AND ep.user_id = ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering > ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering <= ?"
+                "   AND ep.notif = 1"
                 " ORDER BY ep.stream_ordering DESC LIMIT ?"
             )
             args = [user_id, user_id, min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering, limit]
@@ -351,6 +354,7 @@ def get_no_receipt(txn):
                 "   AND ep.user_id = ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering > ?"
                 "   AND ep.stream_ordering <= ?"
+                "   AND ep.notif = 1"
                 " ORDER BY ep.stream_ordering DESC LIMIT ?"
             )
             args = [user_id, user_id, min_stream_ordering, max_stream_ordering, limit]
@@ -400,7 +404,7 @@ def get_if_maybe_push_in_range_for_user(self, user_id, min_stream_ordering):
         def _get_if_maybe_push_in_range_for_user_txn(txn):
             sql = """
                 SELECT 1 FROM event_push_actions
-                WHERE user_id = ? AND stream_ordering > ?
+                WHERE user_id = ? AND stream_ordering > ? AND notif = 1
                 LIMIT 1
             """
 
@@ -429,14 +433,15 @@ def add_push_actions_to_staging(self, event_id, user_id_actions):
             return
 
         # This is a helper function for generating the necessary tuple that
-        # can be used to inert into the `event_push_actions_staging` table.
+        # can be used to insert into the `event_push_actions_staging` table.
         def _gen_entry(user_id, actions):
             is_highlight = 1 if _action_has_highlight(actions) else 0
+            notif = 0 if "dont_push" in actions else 1
             return (
                 event_id,  # event_id column
                 user_id,  # user_id column
                 _serialize_action(actions, is_highlight),  # actions column
-                1,  # notif column
+                notif,  # notif column
                 is_highlight,  # highlight column
             )