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Using CM Chat

Notifications

Always on

Desktop and phone notifications (browser)

CM Chat can show a notification when a message arrives and the app is not in front of you.

  1. Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then Preferences.
  2. Under Notifications, click Turn on desktop notifications.
  3. Your browser asks for permission. Choose Allow.

The screen then says Desktop notifications are on for this browser. Each browser or device is set up separately.

If it says Notifications are blocked in your browser settings for this site, open your browser's site settings for your workspace address and change Notifications to Allow. If it says This browser does not support desktop notifications, try another browser. On an iPhone or iPad, first add CM Chat to your Home Screen (see Getting started).

What gets a notification

By default you are alerted for direct messages, @yourname mentions, and @channel/@here. Muted channels stay quiet except for mentions. If CM Chat is open and in front of you, no system notification is shown. Notification text previews are on by default.

Choose what you hear about, channel by channel

Open a channel, click the channel name at the top to open Details, and find Notifications. Under Notify me about, pick one:

  • All new messages: a notification for every message in this channel. Good for alert channels.
  • Mentions only: only mentions and @channel/@here.
  • Nothing: no notifications for normal messages or @channel. You are still told when someone names you or writes to you directly. To silence even that, turn on Mute.
  • Use default: follow the channel's default (set by your admins), and if there is none, your own general setting.

The order CM Chat follows is: your choice for the channel, then the channel default, then your general setting. Turning your general setting to no notifications switches all push notifications off. Mute, quiet hours and being active in the app still hold notifications back. Messages posted by bots and integrations notify you the same way as messages from people.

Email summaries

By default, if you miss mentions or direct messages, CM Chat can email you a short summary after about 30 minutes. Every summary email has an unsubscribe link.

Settings screens for choosing what is sent, quiet hours, and previews are rolling out: they are not on the Preferences page yet.

The Android app

The Android app can alert you when it is closed. You turn it on once per phone. It needs the app version 1.1.0 or newer. See The Android app.

  1. In CM Chat on the web (in your browser or in the app), open Settings, then Security.
  2. Under Phone notifications, tap Pair a phone. A code appears. It works once and expires after 10 minutes.
  3. In the Android app, open the menu, tap Settings, and find Phone notifications.
  4. Type the code and tap Pair this phone. If Android asks to allow notifications, tap Allow.

The app then says On for and your workspace address. Phone alerts follow the same rules as the browser ones: direct messages, mentions and @channel/@here by default, muted channels stay quiet, and nothing is shown while you are looking at CM Chat.

Phone alerts say where a message arrived, for example New message in #general or New direct message. They never contain the message text or the sender's name, even when previews are turned on for browsers. Alerts reach your phone through Google's notification service, which is why the text is kept generic.

To check it works, tap Send a test under Phone notifications on the web. To stop alerts on one phone, tap Remove next to it on the web, or tap Turn off in the app's Settings. Signing out of CM Chat, or using Clear sign-in data in the app, also turns phone alerts off for that phone.