Good notifications tell you about the things that need you and leave everything else alone. Tandem App gives you control at three levels: what you're told about in each conversation, how you're told (in the app, by email, by browser push), and when you'd rather not be disturbed at all. This guide covers each one.

What you're notified about

You get a notification when someone:

  • mentions you,
  • replies to your message, or replies in a thread you follow,
  • assigns you a task,
  • comments on your task or on a file you uploaded.

Reminders you set yourself arrive the same way. Everything collects on the Notifications page in the sidebar, newest first, with unread items marked. Opening the conversation or task deals with its notifications, and Mark all as read clears the lot.

New direct and group messages don't go into Notifications; the unread count in the sidebar covers them, and they can be pushed to your devices.

Per-conversation settings: the bell

At the top of every channel and conversation you're in is a bell. Click it to choose what you hear about there.

  • In a channel: Mentions and replies to me (the default), Only @mentions, or Nothing.
  • In a direct or group message: Every new message (the default) or Nothing.
  • Mute greys the conversation out in the sidebar and hides its unread count. In a muted channel, only mentions get through.

Click Save to apply. You can also type /mute or /unmute in the message box.

Email summaries

If a notification is still unread 10 minutes later, it is emailed to you as part of a single summary, rather than one email per item. To turn this off, go to My account → Notifications and untick Email me a summary.

Browser push notifications

  1. Open My account → Notifications.
  2. Under On this device, click Turn on notifications and allow them when your browser asks.

This is set per device, so repeat it on your phone and other computers. Pushes show the sender and the channel, never the message itself, because a lock screen isn't a private place. Nothing pops up while you have Tandem App open in front of you. On an iPhone or iPad, add it to your home screen first; that's what allows notifications there.

Do not disturb

While do not disturb is on, you get no pushes and no emails. Everything still waits for you in Notifications.

  • Pause for a while: in My account → Do not disturb, choose 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours or Until tomorrow 9:00. Resume now ends it early.
  • From the keyboard: type /dnd 1h (or 30m, 2h, 4h, tomorrow) in any message box, and /dnd off to end it.
  • Quiet hours: tick Quiet hours every day and set the times, for example 18:00 to 09:00. They follow the time zone in your account details.

When your notifications are paused, your profile shows it, so colleagues know not to expect a quick answer.

A sensible set-up

  • Set busy, low-priority channels to Only @mentions, or mute them.
  • Turn on push on your phone, and set quiet hours for evenings.
  • Set a status such as /status 🌴 On holiday when you're away. See slash commands.