Notifications

DonutChat can notify you about new messages, mentions and thread replies. You choose what alerts you for each account on each device, and you can mute any chat or thread.

Allow notifications

On iPhone and Android, DonutChat needs your phone’s permission to show notifications. If you signed up with Google or Apple, the welcome tour asks for it on the Stay Connected step: tap Enable Notifications, or Maybe later.

To allow notifications later:

Go to Profile > Preferences > Notifications.
Under System permission:
- On iPhone, tap Allow notifications. If you turned notifications off before, tap Open system settings instead and allow them for DonutChat there.
- On Android, tap Open system settings and turn on notifications for DonutChat.

The System permission card shows the current status. On iPhone, it’s Allowed by system, Blocked by system or Permission not requested. On Android, it’s Allowed by system or Blocked by system.

Choose what notifies you

Go to Profile > Preferences > Notifications. These settings apply to the account you’re using on this device. Each account on each device has its own settings.

Setting	What it does
Use app notifications	Turns all notifications for this account on this device on or off.
Messages	New messages in your chats, including thread replies and posts in feed chats.
Mentions	Messages that mention you. When it’s off, messages that mention you don’t notify you, even if Messages is on.
Sound effects	Plays a sound with notifications.
Vibration	Android only. Vibrates for notifications.
Show preview	Shows the message text. When it’s off, notifications don’t include the text.

Reset notification preferences restores the defaults.

On iPhone, the Effective delivery card at the top sums up whether notifications can arrive, for example Enabled, Paused in DonutChat or Blocked by system. A muted chat can still stay silent when the card says Enabled.

On Android, you can also manage DonutChat’s notification categories in Android’s settings: Chat Messages, Thread Replies, General Notifications and AI Reminders.

Mute a chat

Muting silences a chat without leaving it. Messages still arrive, and the chat’s unread count still shows.

In Chats, swipe the chat left or long-press it. You can also open the chat’s Chat info.
Select Mute.
Choose 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, 1 week or Forever.

To unmute, select Unmute in the same places. Timed mutes end on their own. A mute applies to your account on all your devices.

On iPhone and Android, a message that mentions you, including @everyone, still notifies you in a muted chat. Mentions typed in the desktop app don’t send mention notifications.

In the desktop app, right-click a chat (or click ⋯) and choose Mute notifications or Unmute notifications, or use the Mute notifications switch in the chat’s details. Desktop mutes have no duration and last until you unmute. In a muted chat, the desktop app doesn’t notify you about new messages, even when someone mentions you, but it still notifies you about replies in threads you follow.

Follow or mute a thread

You’re notified about new replies in threads that start from your messages and in threads you’ve replied to, but never about your own replies. To turn notifications on or off for one thread, including one you haven’t replied to, select the bell at the top of the thread. See Follow a thread.

A mention inside a thread reply doesn’t send its own notification; you’re notified only if you follow that thread. Mentions in threads you take part in are marked in Activity.

Badges and unread counts

Where	What it shows
A chat in Chats	Unread messages in that chat, shown as 10+ at 10 or more
Chats tab	The sum of your chats’ unread counts, shown as 99+ above 99
Activity tab	Unread thread replies and mentions
Profile tab	Unread messages in your other accounts on this device
App icon on iPhone	Unread messages across all accounts on the phone
App icon on Android	Depends on your launcher
Desktop app	Unread messages in unmuted chats, on the Chats item, the window title and the Dock or taskbar icon

On iPhone and Android, muted chats still count toward unread totals.

Opening a chat marks it as read. On iPhone, Android and the web app, you can clear a chat’s count without opening it: long-press it in Chats and select Mark as Read.

If you use several accounts

Your phone gets notifications for every account signed in on it, and each account has its own notification settings.
On iPhone, when more than one account is signed in, each notification shows which account it’s for.
Tapping a notification for another account switches to that account and opens the chat.
Removing an account from the phone, or signing out of it, stops its notifications on that phone. See Accounts and sign-in.

What notifications show

Message notifications show the sender’s name and profile photo, or their initials if they have no photo. They include the message text unless Show preview is off.
Tapping a notification opens the chat or thread.
You can’t reply, mark as read or mute from a notification.
New followers appear only inside the app: in Notifications in the Chats header on iPhone, Android and the web app, and in Activity > Notifications in the desktop app.
New sign-in alerts also appear only inside the app.

Desktop app

While the desktop app is running, it shows your computer’s notifications for new messages in unmuted chats and for replies in threads you follow. It skips the chat or thread you’re viewing in the focused window. Clicking a notification opens the chat or thread. Notifications cover only the account that’s open in the app. On macOS, closing the window quits the app, so notifications stop until you open it again.

The desktop app has no notification settings screen; mute the chats you don’t want to hear from. To stop notifications to one of your devices without signing it out, see Accounts and sign-in.