I've just acquired an Android 9 phone. It is part of the Android One scheme, so the software should be really stock Android. I do not currently wish to install a custom ROM, or otherwise mod the OS at a root level.

I've turned it on, and obviously it started catching up with updates :-).

I don't like that it keeps showing an animated download icon at the top of the screen. I don't want my attention repeatedly drawn to this, thanks. (I don't know why anyone would?)

I have set "Remove animations" in the accessibility settings. However, the animation still keeps appearing.

Is there a way to disable this animation?

(Presumably I could go in "Manage Notifications" and disable Google Play Store. If so, what are the implications of this? Will it then disable notifications for critical security updates to Chrome, Play Services, and so on?)