diff -aur 11.9-1/FreeFileSync/Source/Makefile 11.9-2/FreeFileSync/Source/Makefile
--- 11.9-1/FreeFileSync/Source/Makefile	2021-05-06 16:24:53.987902373 -0400
+++ 11.9-2/FreeFileSync/Source/Makefile	2021-05-06 17:09:31.512474440 -0400
@@ -21,6 +22,13 @@
 #treat as system headers so that warnings are hidden:
 cxxFlags  += -isystem/usr/include/gtk-3.0
 
+with_notifications ?= NO
+ifeq ($(with_notifications),YES)
+# package libglibmm-2.4-dev or glibmm24-devel
+cxxFlags  += `pkg-config --cflags giomm-2.4` -Dwith_notifications
+linkFlags += `pkg-config --libs   giomm-2.4`
+endif
+
 #support for SELinux (optional)
 SELINUX_EXISTING=$(shell pkg-config --exists libselinux && echo YES)
 ifeq ($(SELINUX_EXISTING),YES)
diff -aur 11.9-1/FreeFileSync/Source/ui/progress_indicator.cpp 11.9-2/FreeFileSync/Source/ui/progress_indicator.cpp
--- 11.9-1/FreeFileSync/Source/ui/progress_indicator.cpp	2021-05-06 15:20:34.286831934 -0400
+++ 11.9-2/FreeFileSync/Source/ui/progress_indicator.cpp	2021-05-06 17:11:45.486004158 -0400
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@
 #include "../perf_check.h"
 #include "../icon_buffer.h"
 
+#ifdef with_notifications
+#include<giomm-2.4/giomm.h>
+#endif
 
 using namespace zen;
 using namespace fff;
@@ -1359,6 +1362,22 @@
     pnl_.m_staticTextPhase->SetLabel(getSyncResultLabel(syncResult));
     //pnl_.m_bitmapStatus->SetToolTip(); -> redundant
 
+#ifdef with_notifications
+    // Desktop notification for Linux
+    char title[] = "FreeFileSync";
+    // from https://stackoverflow.com/a/12097772
+    std::wstring ssR {getSyncResultLabel(syncResult)};
+    std::string body;
+    std::transform(ssR.begin(), ssR.end(), std::back_inserter(body), [] (wchar_t c){ return (char)c;});
+    char icon[] = "freefilesync";
+    auto Application = Gio::Application::create("org.zenju.freefilesync", Gio::APPLICATION_FLAGS_NONE);
+    Application->register_application();
+    auto Notification = Gio::Notification::create(title);
+    Notification->set_body(body);
+    auto Icon = Gio::ThemedIcon::create(icon);
+    Notification->set_icon (Icon);
+    Application->send_notification(Notification);
+#endif
     //show status on Windows 7 taskbar
     if (taskbar_.get())
         switch (syncResult)