Notifications
Notifications keep you informed about closings, emergencies, group posts, and messages — even when the app is closed.
Turning notifications on
The first time it matters, the app shows a card titled Stay in the loop:
- Tap Enable alerts, then choose Allow when your phone asks.
- Or tap Not now — the app will offer again later.
Once you allow notifications, you'll receive your school's school-wide alerts (like closings and emergencies) even if you never sign in. Signing in adds personalized notifications on top of that.
The kinds of notifications
| Type | What it is | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| School-wide alerts | Closings, severe weather, and urgent district or school messages. | Anyone with notifications turned on. |
| Group posts | New posts in a class, team, or club you follow. | Signed-in members of that group (unless you've muted it). |
| Messages | A direct message from a teacher or staff member. | Signed-in users. |
When you have unread messages, a small red number appears on the Messages tab and on the app icon.
Choose what you're notified about
Open your profile (tap the circle in the top-right), then go to Notifications. There you'll find simple on/off switches:
- Alerts — School closures, severe weather, urgent updates. Applies to this device.
- Messages — Direct messages from teachers and staff. Applies to your account on every device you use. Shown when you're signed in.
Mute a single group
Notifications for a specific group's posts are controlled per group, not on the Notifications screen. To quiet one busy class or team while keeping the others:
- Open your profile and tap Follow Groups to reach My Groups.
- Tap the bell next to the group's Joined button. It turns red and crossed out, meaning the group is muted.
- To start receiving its notifications again, tap the bell once more.
You'll still see the group's posts in your feed when you open the app — muting only stops the push notifications. See Groups.
Turning notifications off completely
To stop all notifications from the app, use your phone's settings:
- iPhone: Settings → Notifications → (your school app) → turn off Allow Notifications.
- Android: Settings → Apps → (your school app) → Notifications.
The in-app screen reminds you of this with: To stop all notifications from this app, use iOS Settings → Notifications.
Common issues
- Not getting any notifications? Make sure you tapped Allow, and check your phone's notification settings for the app.
- Not getting group posts? Confirm you're signed in, you've followed the group, and the group isn't muted.
- Tapped "Don't Allow" by mistake? Turn notifications back on in your phone's Settings for the app (the app can't ask again once you've declined).
- Still nothing — even after checking Settings? As a last resort, delete the app and reinstall it from the App Store or Play Store, then tap Allow when it asks about notifications the first time it opens. Reinstalling re-registers your phone for alerts with a fresh connection. You'll need to sign in again afterward — your groups (including private ones) and settings are saved to your account and will be right where you left them.
More fixes are in Troubleshooting.
The Alerts switch is saved on your device; the Messages switch is saved to your account and applies on every device you're signed in on. To silence a specific group, use its bell on My Groups, described above; to silence everything, use your phone's system settings.
Administrators: school-wide alerts are sent from the Commander's Mass Alerts page — see Admin Help.