# Notifications in the app, by email and on WhatsApp > The bell, email and WhatsApp alerts, verifying your WhatsApp number, turning each alert on or off for yourself, and the daily summary by email. Source: https://milvao.com/help/team-and-settings/notifications · Updated 2026-11-06 ## Key takeaways - The bell at the top of the app shows every notification for you in this workspace, with an unread count, whatever your email and WhatsApp switches. - Milvao tells you when a request needs your team by email and, once your number is verified with a 6-digit code, on WhatsApp from your community's own number. The daily summary arrives by email at 9:00 in your workspace time zone. - Each switch in Settings → Notifications saves straight away and applies to this workspace only. - Each person chooses their own notifications in Settings → Notifications. Notifications never contain a member's phone number or the words of their message. Milvao lets you know when something needs a person, so you don't have to keep the dashboard open. Every notification shows in the **bell** at the top of the app. Open **Settings → Notifications** (or **Settings → Your notifications**) to choose which ones also reach you by email or on WhatsApp. ## The bell The bell sits at the top of the app, next to the colour theme button (on a phone, at the top of the screen). A number on it shows how many notifications you haven't read yet in this workspace. 1. Click the bell to see your latest notifications: what happened, a short line about it, and when (in your workspace time zone). 2. Click a notification to open the request, member list or page it is about. It is marked as read. 3. Click **Mark all read** to clear the count. 4. Click **See all notifications** for the full list, with **All** and **Unread** views, numbered pages and **Mark as read** on each row. What the bell shows: - **Every notification for you in this workspace, whatever your switches.** The email and WhatsApp switches below decide what else reaches you; the bell always has the full list, so you can turn email off and still see everything when you are in the app. - **Everyone on the team gets their own.** Owners and operators each see every alert about the workspace in their own bell, and marking one as read doesn't change anyone else's. - **Not the daily summary.** It repeats what the bell already showed, so it comes by email only. - **Only this workspace.** If you help run more than one community, each one has its own bell and its own unread count. The count updates when you come back to the tab and about once a minute while the app is open. Notifications are kept for 90 days. In the support view (when the Milvao team looks at your workspace with your permission) the bell is hidden: staff never see your notifications. ## What you can be told about | Notification | When it's sent | On by default | |---|---|---| | **A request needs your team** | Milvao hands a request to your team: it couldn't read it, it's still unclear after one question, nobody fits, 3 members have been asked, or your workspace approves each match | Email and WhatsApp (WhatsApp once your number is verified) | | **Daily summary** | Once a day at 9:00 in your workspace time zone | Email | | **A message couldn't be sent** | An offer to a member failed, or messages to members kept failing in the last hour | Off | | **Contact details weren't delivered** | After an accept, one side didn't get the other's number | Off | | **Problem with your WhatsApp number** | Meta flagged your number's quality, lowered its daily limit, paused or rejected a template, rejected your display name, or the connection stopped working | Email for owners, off for operators | | **Directory listing reviewed** | The Milvao team approved your community for milvao.com/communities, or asked for a change first | Email for owners, off for operators | | **Badge awarded** | The Milvao team approved a seasonal badge your community earned (see [Badges and awards](/help/community/badges-and-awards)) | Email for owners, off for operators | | **Someone asked to join** | Someone asked to join from milvao.com/communities or your mini-site (only when join requests are on). At most one alert an hour | Email | Failed sends and failed contact deliveries are off by default because they already hand the request to your team (so you get **A request needs your team**) and they appear in the daily summary. Turn them on if you want to hear about them separately. Each alert links straight to the request or page you need. A request that your team has already dealt with by the time Milvao checks doesn't raise an alert. ## Turn notifications on or off 1. Open **Settings → Notifications**. 2. Under **What you get**, use the **Email** and **WhatsApp** switches on each row. ![Settings, Notifications section: email and WhatsApp switches for requests that need the team, failed deliveries and the daily summary](https://milvao.com/screenshots/settings-notifications-light.webp "Settings, Notifications (sample data)") Each switch saves straight away and covers email and WhatsApp only: the bell still shows every notification. Your choices apply to this workspace only; if you help run more than one community, set each one separately. Other people on your team choose their own. ## Add your WhatsApp number WhatsApp alerts go to your own number, sent from your community's WhatsApp number. Members never see your number. 1. In **Your WhatsApp number**, enter your number with the country code, for example **+91 98765 43210**. 2. Click **Send code**. You get a 6-digit code on WhatsApp. 3. Enter the code and click **Verify**. The code works for 10 minutes. After 5 wrong tries it stops working and you send a new one. You can send 3 codes every 10 minutes. To change the number, click **Change**; to stop WhatsApp alerts completely, click **Remove**. Your number is stored encrypted and is used only for the alerts you switch on. WhatsApp alerts need two message templates approved on your community's number: **Team alert** and **Verification code**. Milvao submits them with the others when the owner runs **Check connection** in **Settings → WhatsApp number**. Until **Team alert** is approved, you get your alerts by email and the page tells you so. ## The daily summary At 9:00 in your workspace time zone (shown on the page), Milvao emails a short summary of the last 24 hours: - new requests - offers sent, with how many were accepted, declined or got no reply - introductions made - new members - delivery problems, if any - how many requests are waiting for your team right now, with a link On days when nothing happened and nothing is waiting, no summary is sent. The owner sets the time zone in **Settings → Workspace**. ## Check that notifications reach you Click **Send me a test** at the top of **Settings → Notifications**. Milvao sends a test email, a WhatsApp message too if your number is verified, and puts the test in your bell. **Recently sent to you** lists your last notifications for this workspace with **Sent**, **Sending**, **Skipped** or **Failed**, and the reason when one didn't arrive. ## Troubleshooting | What you see | What it means | What to do | |---|---|---| | No emails arrive | They may be in spam or promotions | Search for mail from Milvao and mark it as not spam. Use **Send me a test** | | **Skipped**: The Team alert template isn't approved | WhatsApp alerts can't be sent from your number yet | The owner runs **Check connection** in **Settings → WhatsApp number**. Email still works | | **Skipped**: No verified WhatsApp number | WhatsApp is switched on but no number is verified | Add your number and verify it | | WhatsApp switches are greyed out | Your number isn't verified | Add and verify it under **Your WhatsApp number** | | **Send code** says the template isn't approved | Your community's number can't send codes yet | Use email for now, and ask the owner to check templates | | **Skipped**: Too old to send | The alert couldn't go out within a day | Nothing; check the request in the dashboard | | The bell shows no number | Everything is read, or nothing has happened yet | Click the bell to see recent notifications, or **See all notifications** for older ones | | A notification in the bell doesn't open anything | Some alerts are about the workspace as a whole | Read it and click **Mark as read** | ## Frequently asked questions ### Do notifications include the member's message or number? No. Alerts carry the short request summary members see, counts and links. The member's own words and phone number stay in the dashboard. ### Can the owner change my notifications? No. Everyone chooses their own, and only for themselves. ### If I switch email and WhatsApp off, will I miss alerts? Not in the app. The bell keeps every notification for you whatever your switches. You only miss them when you are away from the app, which is what email and WhatsApp are for. ### Can my teammates see what I've read? No. Each person's bell and unread count are their own. ### Will I get the same alert twice? No. Each event is sent once per channel, even if Milvao checks it more than once. ### Why did a WhatsApp alert come from my community's number? Alerts are sent from the number your members already know, so you don't need another app or contact. They use an approved template, because you haven't messaged that number yourself.