diff --git a/lib/src/event.dart b/lib/src/event.dart
index ec5b6ae6..03460610 100644
--- a/lib/src/event.dart
+++ b/lib/src/event.dart
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import 'utils/matrix_localizations.dart';
 import 'utils/receipt.dart';
 import 'utils/event_localizations.dart';
 import 'utils/crypto/encrypted_file.dart';
+import 'utils/html_to_text.dart';
 
 abstract class RelationshipTypes {
   static const String reply = 'm.in_reply_to';
@@ -286,6 +287,12 @@ class Event extends MatrixEvent {
     return '$type';
   }
 
+  /// Use this to get a plain-text representation of the event, stripping things
+  /// like spoilers and thelike. Useful for plain text notifications.
+  String get plaintextBody => content['format'] == 'org.matrix.custom.html'
+      ? HtmlToText.convert(formattedText)
+      : body;
+
   /// Returns a list of [Receipt] instances for this event.
   List<Receipt> get receipts {
     if (!(room.roomAccountData.containsKey('m.receipt'))) return [];
diff --git a/lib/src/utils/html_to_text.dart b/lib/src/utils/html_to_text.dart
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e2f4e702
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/utils/html_to_text.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+/*
+ *   Famedly Matrix SDK
+ *   Copyright (C) 2021 Famedly GmbH
+ *
+ *   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+ *   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+ *   License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+ *   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ *   along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+import 'package:html/parser.dart';
+import 'package:html/dom.dart';
+import 'package:html_unescape/html_unescape.dart';
+
+class HtmlToText {
+  /// Convert an HTML string to a pseudo-markdown plain text representation, with
+  /// `data-mx-spoiler` spans redacted
+  static String convert(String html) {
+    final opts = _ConvertOpts();
+    var reply = _walkNode(opts, parseFragment(html));
+    reply = reply.replaceAll(RegExp(r'\s*$', multiLine: false), '');
+    return reply;
+  }
+
+  static String _parsePreContent(_ConvertOpts opts, Element node) {
+    var text = node.innerHtml;
+    final match =
+        RegExp(r'^<code([^>]*)>', multiLine: false, caseSensitive: false)
+            .firstMatch(text);
+    if (match == null) {
+      text = HtmlUnescape().convert(text);
+      if (text[0] != '\n') {
+        text = '\n$text';
+      }
+      if (text[text.length - 1] != '\n') {
+        text += '\n';
+      }
+      return text;
+    }
+    // remove <code> opening tag
+    text = text.substring(match.end);
+    // remove the </code> closing tag
+    text = text.replaceAll(
+        RegExp(r'</code>$', multiLine: false, caseSensitive: false), '');
+    text = HtmlUnescape().convert(text);
+    if (text[0] != '\n') {
+      text = '\n$text';
+    }
+    if (text[text.length - 1] != '\n') {
+      text += '\n';
+    }
+    final language =
+        RegExp(r'language-(\w+)', multiLine: false, caseSensitive: false)
+            .firstMatch(match.group(1));
+    if (language != null) {
+      text = language.group(1) + text;
+    }
+    return text;
+  }
+
+  static String _parseBlockquoteContent(_ConvertOpts opts, Element node) {
+    final msg = _walkChildNodes(opts, node);
+    return msg.split('\n').map((s) => '> $s').join('\n') + '\n';
+  }
+
+  static String _parseSpanContent(_ConvertOpts opts, Element node) {
+    final content = _walkChildNodes(opts, node);
+    if (node.attributes['data-mx-spoiler'] is String) {
+      var spoiler = '█' * content.length;
+      final reason = node.attributes['data-mx-spoiler'];
+      if (reason != '') {
+        spoiler = '($reason) $spoiler';
+      }
+      return spoiler;
+    }
+    return content;
+  }
+
+  static String _parseUlContent(_ConvertOpts opts, Element node) {
+    opts.listDepth++;
+    final entries = _listChildNodes(opts, node, {'li'});
+    opts.listDepth--;
+    final bulletPoint =
+        _listBulletPoints[opts.listDepth % _listBulletPoints.length];
+
+    return entries
+        .map((s) =>
+            ('    ' * opts.listDepth) +
+            bulletPoint +
+            ' ' +
+            s.replaceAll('\n', '\n' + ('    ' * opts.listDepth) + '  '))
+        .join('\n');
+  }
+
+  static String _parseOlContent(_ConvertOpts opts, Element node) {
+    opts.listDepth++;
+    final entries = _listChildNodes(opts, node, {'li'});
+    opts.listDepth--;
+    var entry = 0;
+    if (node.attributes['start'] is String &&
+        RegExp(r'^[0-9]+$', multiLine: false)
+            .hasMatch(node.attributes['start'])) {
+      entry = int.parse(node.attributes['start']);
+    }
+
+    return entries.map((s) {
+      entry++;
+      return ('    ' * opts.listDepth) +
+          '$entry. ' +
+          s.replaceAll('\n', '\n' + ('    ' * opts.listDepth) + '  ');
+    }).join('\n');
+  }
+
+  static const _listBulletPoints = <String>['●', '○', '■', '‣'];
+
+  static List<String> _listChildNodes(_ConvertOpts opts, Element node,
+      [Iterable<String> types]) {
+    final replies = <String>[];
+    for (final child in node.nodes) {
+      if (types != null &&
+          types.isNotEmpty &&
+          ((child is Text) ||
+              ((child is Element) &&
+                  !types.contains(child.localName.toLowerCase())))) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      replies.add(_walkNode(opts, child));
+    }
+    return replies;
+  }
+
+  static const _blockTags = <String>{
+    'blockquote',
+    'ul',
+    'ol',
+    'h1',
+    'h2',
+    'h3',
+    'h4',
+    'h5',
+    'h6',
+    'pre',
+  };
+
+  static String _walkChildNodes(_ConvertOpts opts, Node node) {
+    var reply = '';
+    var lastTag = '';
+    for (final child in node.nodes) {
+      final thisTag = child is Element ? child.localName.toLowerCase() : '';
+      if (thisTag == 'p' && lastTag == 'p') {
+        reply += '\n\n';
+      } else if (_blockTags.contains(thisTag) &&
+          reply.isNotEmpty &&
+          reply[reply.length - 1] != '\n') {
+        reply += '\n';
+      }
+      reply += _walkNode(opts, child);
+      if (thisTag.isNotEmpty) {
+        lastTag = thisTag;
+      }
+    }
+    return reply;
+  }
+
+  static String _walkNode(_ConvertOpts opts, Node node) {
+    if (node is Text) {
+      // ignore \n between single nodes
+      return node.text == '\n' ? '' : node.text;
+    } else if (node is Element) {
+      final tag = node.localName.toLowerCase();
+      switch (tag) {
+        case 'em':
+        case 'i':
+          return '*${_walkChildNodes(opts, node)}*';
+        case 'strong':
+        case 'b':
+          return '**${_walkChildNodes(opts, node)}**';
+        case 'u':
+        case 'ins':
+          return '__${_walkChildNodes(opts, node)}__';
+        case 'del':
+        case 'strike':
+        case 's':
+          return '~~${_walkChildNodes(opts, node)}~~';
+        case 'code':
+          return '`${node.text}`';
+        case 'pre':
+          return '```${_parsePreContent(opts, node)}```\n';
+        case 'a':
+          final href = node.attributes['href'] ?? '';
+          final content = _walkChildNodes(opts, node);
+          if (href.toLowerCase().startsWith('https://matrix.to/#/') ||
+              href.toLowerCase().startsWith('matrix:')) {
+            return content;
+          }
+          return '🔗$content';
+        case 'img':
+          return node.attributes['alt'] ??
+              node.attributes['title'] ??
+              node.attributes['src'] ??
+              '';
+        case 'br':
+          return '\n';
+        case 'blockquote':
+          return _parseBlockquoteContent(opts, node);
+        case 'ul':
+          return _parseUlContent(opts, node);
+        case 'ol':
+          return _parseOlContent(opts, node);
+        case 'mx-reply':
+          return '';
+        case 'hr':
+          return '\n----------\n';
+        case 'h1':
+        case 'h2':
+        case 'h3':
+        case 'h4':
+        case 'h5':
+        case 'h6':
+          final mark = '#' * int.parse(tag[1]);
+          return '$mark ${_walkChildNodes(opts, node)}\n';
+        case 'span':
+          return _parseSpanContent(opts, node);
+        default:
+          return _walkChildNodes(opts, node);
+      }
+    } else {
+      return _walkChildNodes(opts, node);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+class _ConvertOpts {
+  int listDepth = 0;
+}
diff --git a/pubspec.yaml b/pubspec.yaml
index 1b7c4142..d9a2f40f 100644
--- a/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pubspec.yaml
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ dependencies:
   ffi: ^1.0.0
   js: ^0.6.3
   slugify: ^2.0.0
+  html: ^0.15.0
 
 dev_dependencies:
   pedantic: ^1.11.0
diff --git a/test/event_test.dart b/test/event_test.dart
index a0cb2c57..725aaf62 100644
--- a/test/event_test.dart
+++ b/test/event_test.dart
@@ -945,6 +945,20 @@ void main() {
       expect(
           event.aggregatedEvents(timeline, RelationshipTypes.edit), <Event>{});
     });
+    test('plaintextBody', () {
+      final event = Event.fromJson({
+        'type': EventTypes.Message,
+        'content': {
+          'body': 'blah',
+          'msgtype': 'm.text',
+          'format': 'org.matrix.custom.html',
+          'formatted_body': '<b>blah</b>',
+        },
+        'event_id': '\$source',
+        'sender': '@alice:example.org',
+      }, null);
+      expect(event.plaintextBody, '**blah**');
+    });
     test('getDisplayEvent', () {
       var event = Event.fromJson({
         'type': EventTypes.Message,
diff --git a/test/html_to_text_test.dart b/test/html_to_text_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..63803aac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/html_to_text_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*
+ *   Famedly Matrix SDK
+ *   Copyright (C) 2021 Famedly GmbH
+ *
+ *   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+ *   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+ *   License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+ *   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ *   along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+import 'package:matrix/src/utils/html_to_text.dart';
+import 'package:test/test.dart';
+
+void main() {
+  group('htmlToText', () {
+    test('stuff', () async {
+      final testMap = <String, String>{
+        '': '',
+        'hello world\nthis is a test': 'hello world\nthis is a test',
+        '<em>That\'s</em> not a test, <strong>this</strong> is a test':
+            '*That\'s* not a test, **this** is a test',
+        'Visit <del><a href="http://example.com">our website</a></del> (outdated)':
+            'Visit ~~🔗our website~~ (outdated)',
+        '(cw spiders) <span data-mx-spoiler>spiders are pretty cool</span>':
+            '(cw spiders) ███████████████████████',
+        '<span data-mx-spoiler="cw spiders">spiders are pretty cool</span>':
+            '(cw spiders) ███████████████████████',
+        '<img src="test.gif" alt="a test case" />': 'a test case',
+        'List of cute animals:\n<ul>\n<li>Kittens</li>\n<li>Puppies</li>\n<li>Snakes<br/>(I think they\'re cute!)</li>\n</ul>\n(This list is incomplete, you can help by adding to it!)':
+            'List of cute animals:\n● Kittens\n● Puppies\n● Snakes\n  (I think they\'re cute!)\n(This list is incomplete, you can help by adding to it!)',
+        '<em>fox</em>': '*fox*',
+        '<i>fox</i>': '*fox*',
+        '<strong>fox</i>': '**fox**',
+        '<b>fox</b>': '**fox**',
+        '<u>fox</u>': '__fox__',
+        '<ins>fox</ins>': '__fox__',
+        '<del>fox</del>': '~~fox~~',
+        '<strike>fox</strike>': '~~fox~~',
+        '<s>fox</s>': '~~fox~~',
+        '<code>&gt;fox</code>': '`>fox`',
+        '<pre>meep</pre>': '```\nmeep\n```',
+        '<pre>meep\n</pre>': '```\nmeep\n```',
+        '<pre><code class="language-floof">meep</code></pre>':
+            '```floof\nmeep\n```',
+        'before<pre>code</pre>after': 'before\n```\ncode\n```\nafter',
+        '<p>before</p><pre>code</pre><p>after</p>':
+            'before\n```\ncode\n```\nafter',
+        '<p>fox</p>': 'fox',
+        '<p>fox</p><p>floof</p>': 'fox\n\nfloof',
+        '<a href="https://example.org">website</a>': '🔗website',
+        '<a href="https://matrix.to/#/@user:example.org">fox</a>': 'fox',
+        '<a href="matrix:u/user:example.org">fox</a>': 'fox',
+        '<img alt=":wave:" src="mxc://fox">': ':wave:',
+        'fox<br>floof': 'fox\nfloof',
+        '<blockquote>fox</blockquote>floof': '> fox\nfloof',
+        '<blockquote><p>fox</p></blockquote>floof': '> fox\nfloof',
+        '<blockquote><p>fox</p></blockquote><p>floof</p>': '> fox\nfloof',
+        'a<blockquote>fox</blockquote>floof': 'a\n> fox\nfloof',
+        '<blockquote><blockquote>fox</blockquote>floof</blockquote>fluff':
+            '> > fox\n> floof\nfluff',
+        '<ul><li>hey<ul><li>a</li><li>b</li></ul></li><li>foxies</li></ul>':
+            '● hey\n      ○ a\n      ○ b\n● foxies',
+        '<ol><li>a</li><li>b</li></ol>': '1. a\n2. b',
+        '<ol><li>a<ol><li>aa</li><li>bb</li></ol></li><li>b</li></ol>':
+            '1. a\n      1. aa\n      2. bb\n2. b',
+        '<ol><li>a<ul><li>aa</li><li>bb</li></ul></li><li>b</li></ol>':
+            '1. a\n      ○ aa\n      ○ bb\n2. b',
+        '<ul><li>a<ol><li>aa</li><li>bb</li></ol></li><li>b</li></ul>':
+            '● a\n      1. aa\n      2. bb\n● b',
+        '<mx-reply>bunny</mx-reply>fox': 'fox',
+        'fox<hr>floof': 'fox\n----------\nfloof',
+        '<p>fox</p><hr><p>floof</p>': 'fox\n----------\nfloof',
+        '<h1>fox</h1>floof': '# fox\nfloof',
+        '<h1>fox</h1><p>floof</p>': '# fox\nfloof',
+        'floof<h1>fox</h1>': 'floof\n# fox',
+        '<p>floof</p><h1>fox</h1>': 'floof\n# fox',
+        '<h2>fox</h2>': '## fox',
+        '<h3>fox</h3>': '### fox',
+        '<h4>fox</h4>': '#### fox',
+        '<h5>fox</h5>': '##### fox',
+        '<h6>fox</h6>': '###### fox',
+        '<span>fox</span>': 'fox',
+        '<p>fox</p>\n<p>floof</p>': 'fox\n\nfloof',
+      };
+      for (final entry in testMap.entries) {
+        expect(HtmlToText.convert(entry.key), entry.value);
+      }
+    });
+  });
+}