# Getting 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.

```
Press 🔔 (bell) at the top right
  → the notification panel opens
  → press ⚙ (gear) at the top right of the panel
  → Notifications
```

**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.

```
Open the workspace in Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen
→ launch from the home-screen icon → 🔔 → ⚙ → Notify me on this device
```

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

```
workspace name (or conversation title) · one line of body
```

**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?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**🔔 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.
</details>

**2. How do the two toggles differ in scope?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**"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.
</details>

**3. What still arrives with everything switched off, and why?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**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.
</details>

**4. The toggle is missing on iPhone. What was skipped?**

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>

**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.
</details>

---

Next, aligning the team's vocabulary → [Glossary](/guide/cn-glossary-terms)