HyperTeamsGetting notifications
What this chapter covers Where the switches are, what gets notified, why there are two switches, and where to look when nothing arrives.
Where to switch it on — the bell, not settings
There is no Notifications item in workspace settings. People get this wrong often enough that it goes first.
Where you read them and where you silence them are the same place. Put the switch in settings and people end up walking between two screens to work out which one is real.
There are two switches
The panel has two toggles and they apply at different scopes. This is the part most often confused.
| Toggle | Scope | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Notify me for every response | The whole account — all devices at once | Off |
| Notify me on this device | This browser only — per device | Off |
The lower one is "may we push to this browser", the upper one is "how often". With the lower one off, turning the upper one on sends nothing to this device.
What gets notified
Three cases. The top two arrive regardless of the switches.
| When | Switch | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A comment mentions you | N/A | A person called you |
| A conversation needs a decision, or is blocked | N/A | Nothing moves until you answer |
| A conversation simply finished | Needs "every response" on | Welcome if you waited, noise if it's every time |
Only the third row is gated. The switch means "notify me for every response", not "hide the questions I owe an answer to". With it off, anything waiting on your decision still arrives.
The short list is the design. When notifications get noisy people turn them off entirely — and the important ones go with them. That is why the default is "only what needs a decision".
This is not an admin setting
Both are personal settings. An admin cannot turn someone else's notifications on or off. A notification only an admin can enable is not a notification.
Device subscriptions are per browser. Turning it on for your laptop does not turn on your phone; switch it on once per device you use. "Notify me for every response", by contrast, is account-wide — once is enough.
iPhone and iPad need one more step
Safari tabs cannot receive push. Add the app to the home screen first.
Skip this and the toggle either doesn't appear or won't switch on. The screen also says so: "iOS can only receive notifications after adding to the home screen."
What a notification contains
Nothing more. The payload is encrypted in transit but it still passes through third-party infrastructure (Google, Apple, Mozilla), and a lock screen is readable over your shoulder.
One notification per conversation — later turns update the same one rather than stacking, because they are the same news.
The more sensitive the workspace, the more worth telling the team about this limit.
Send a test
After switching on, press send test in the same panel. If that doesn't arrive, real ones won't. With several devices it also reports how many failed — "sent to 2 of 3 devices".
| Message on screen | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Notifications require HTTPS | You are on an http address | Reconnect over https |
| This browser does not support notifications | No push support | Use another browser |
| Notifications are not configured on the server | The deployment has no push keys | Ask your admin |
| Notifications are blocked in your browser | The browser refused | Allow it in site settings |
The last is the most common. Once you press "block" the browser stops asking, so you have to undo it in the browser's site settings.
Common misunderstandings
"I can't find Notifications in settings"
It isn't there. It is 🔔 → ⚙ in the header — the result of keeping reading and silencing in one place.
"Doesn't switching it on cover all my devices?"
Not the device toggle. Each browser subscribes separately, so a new phone or a cleared browser means switching on again. "Notify me for every response" is an account setting, so once is enough.
"I turned everything off and things still arrive"
Mentions and decisions are not gated. Those are not notifications so much as work you are holding up, so they are not something to switch off.
"I left the app open so notifications would arrive"
No need. On a device you switched on, they arrive with the app closed. If they don't, it is one of the four rows above, or the device's own do-not-disturb.
Check yourself
1. Where are the notification switches?
Answer
🔔 at the top right → ⚙ in the panel. There is no Notifications item in workspace settings — splitting reading from silencing makes people walk between screens to find out which is real.
2. How do the two toggles differ in scope?
Answer
"Notify me for every response" is account-wide, so once is enough. "Notify me on this device" is one browser, so every device needs its own. With the lower one off, the upper one sends nothing to this device.
3. What still arrives with everything switched off, and why?
Answer
Mentions, and conversations that need a decision or are blocked. The switch means "notify me for every response", not "hide the questions I owe an answer to". Work you are holding up is not something to switch off.
4. The toggle is missing on iPhone. What was skipped?
Answer
Adding the app to the home screen. Safari tabs have no push; you can only switch it on when launched from the home-screen icon.
Next, aligning the team's vocabulary → Glossary