Notifications tell members when something in your community involves them: a reply, a mention, a new follower, an event reminder, or a moderation decision. This article explains what members are notified about, how the three channels work, the defaults, and which parts you control as an admin.
Who can do this: Each member controls their own notifications. Owners and admins manage the community's email settings. · Where: Members: web and the iOS and Android apps. Admin settings: web, in the admin console. · Plan: Notifications work on every platform plan. A custom sender address and custom SMTP depend on your platform plan.
Notification channels: in-app, email, and push
Each notification can reach a member through up to three channels. Each channel has its own switch, and they work independently: turning off in-app notifications doesn't turn off email or push.
- In-app: the notification appears in the member's Notifications list on the web and in the app. The list has All, Interactions, Mentions, Follows, System, and Messages tabs.
- Email: sent to the member's email address. With Email Digest Frequency, members can get notification emails Real-time, Daily, Weekly, or Off.
- Push: sent to the Mateflow app on the member's phone or tablet. There are no browser push notifications, so members who only use the web get in-app and email notifications.
What community members are notified about
Members see the notification types on the web under Settings → Notifications → Categories:
| Group | Category | Sent when… |
|---|---|---|
| Social | New Followers | someone follows the member |
| Social | Likes | someone likes or reacts to their posts |
| Social | Comments & Replies | someone comments on or replies to their posts |
| Social | Mentions | someone @mentions them in a post, comment, or chat |
| Social | Reposts & Quotes | someone reposts or quotes their posts |
| Activity | Direct Messages | new direct and group messages (by push only, not in the list or by email), group invites, and reactions to their messages, including in chat spaces |
| Activity | Event Reminders | an event they're attending is coming up or was updated |
| Achievements | Badge Earned | they earn a badge or achievement |
| Achievements | Courses | course enrollments, new lessons, completions, reviews, and certificates |
| System | System Notices | moderation decisions, space membership changes, and other account notices. Admins also get billing notices here: new paid members, cancellations, and refunds. |
A few security notices, such as a sign-in from a new device or a notice that an admin signed in to the member's account, have no category switch. As push notifications, they follow only the member's main push switch.
Members aren't notified about every new post in a space, or every message in a chat space. To announce something, use an announcement tool instead (see the last section).
Default notification settings for new members
- Email is off by default. A member gets no notification emails until they turn on Email Notifications and the categories they want. If members say they get no emails, this is the first thing to check.
- Every space starts at All activity (@mentions and reactions in a chat space). Members hear about everything in the spaces they join until they change the level.
As an admin, you can't change members' notification settings for them, and there's no community-wide default to override.
Space notification levels
Each member chooses how much they hear from each space they've joined:
| Level | What the member gets |
|---|---|
| All activity | Everything from the space, including likes and reposts on their posts |
| Highlights | Replies, quotes, @mentions, accepted answers, and course updates. No likes or reposts. |
| Mentions only | Only @mentions. Course updates are silenced too. |
| Off | Nothing from the space. Reminders for events they've joined still arrive. |
To change it on the web, open the space and click the Notifications button, or go to Settings → Notifications → Spaces. In the app, open the space and tap the bell to open Notify me about.
Chat spaces have three levels instead: @mentions and reactions, @mentions only, and Off. Regular chat messages never notify anyone, and no level hides unread badges. Members set a chat space's level on the web, from the chat's ⋮ menu (Notifications) or Settings → Notifications → Spaces. The app has no bell in chat spaces.
Where members change their notifications
- Web: Settings → Notifications, with the Preferences, Categories, Spaces, and Muted tabs. Changes on Preferences and Categories apply after Save Notification Settings. Space levels save as soon as they're picked.
- App: Settings and privacy → Notifications. The app also shows whether push notifications are allowed on the device.
See Choose your notifications and Turn on push notifications on your phone.
Admin email and notification settings
Go to Admin → Settings → Email & Notifications:
- Sender Identity: From Name, From Email Address, and Reply-To Address for your community's emails. If your plan doesn't include a custom sender, the section shows Upgrade to unlock.
- System Notifications: Send Welcome Email sends an email when someone registers. Set its Welcome Email Subject and Welcome Email Body.
- Admin Notifications: Notify on New Members emails administrators when a new member joins.
- Custom SMTP: send your community's email through your own server. This depends on your plan.
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. See Customize community emails and notifications.
Send announcements to members
Regular notifications only react to what happens in the community. To reach members on purpose:
- Broadcast: a one-off announcement by in-app notification, email, and push. See Send a broadcast by email and in-app.
- Community digest: a weekly email with top posts. See Set up the community digest.
- Site-wide banner or pop-up: a message at the top of every page. See Show a site-wide banner or pop-up.
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