This article details how to manage notifications and communication preferences in the Finalsite Mobile App, including how to control push notifications and chat quiet hours, and how to configure SMS reminders and email digest frequency.
All notification settings live in one place: tap the profile bubble (the circle with initials) in the top right corner of your app, then tap Notifications. Read on to customize exactly what arrives and when.
💡 Quick answers
- Where are all notification settings? Tap the profile bubble (top right), then tap Notifications.
- How do push notifications get controlled? Go to Profile > Preferences > Notifications and toggle individual news boards and mailing lists on or off.
- How are chat notifications limited to certain hours? Under Notifications > Chat messages, choose Always, Every day, Weekdays, or Custom. (Finalsite Chat required.)
- How is a single chat room silenced? Open the room, tap its name at the top, and toggle Mute on. What is the bell icon? A chronological inbox of all alerts, news, calendar, and chat. Always accessible, even if push notifications are off on the device.
- What is the email digest? A bundled summary of unread chat conversations, sent daily, every 3 days, or weekly. (Finalsite Chat required.)
- How do SMS reminders get turned off? Reply STOP to any reminder, or toggle off under Profile > Notifications > Chat reminders. US only.
- Can emergency notifications be turned off? No. Important announcements are always on and cannot be disabled.
💬 Not seeing a Chat option in your app?
Some features in this article, including SMS reminders, email digest, and chat notification settings, are only available if the district has enabled Finalsite Chat. Reach out to a school administrator to find out if it's available.
In this article
- Types of notifications in the mobile app
- Manage SMS and email digest reminders
- Manage notifications
Types of notifications in the mobile app
Before managing settings, it helps to understand the different ways information can arrive from the school app.
| Notification type | How it arrives | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Push notifications | Lock screen / banner | An app notification sent directly to the device when the app is in the background, for any subscribed content: news, mailing lists, chat messages, and emergency alerts. |
| SMS reminders | Text message (US only) | A nudge sent when the app hasn't been opened and unread content is waiting. Includes a deep link that opens the app, a branded landing page, or web chat. Requires Finalsite Chat. |
| Email digest | Email (all regions) | A bundled summary of unread chat messages sent at a chosen cadence: daily, every 3 days, or weekly. Requires Finalsite Chat. |
🔔 Bell icon inbox
All push notifications also appear in the bell icon inbox, where they stay accessible even if the original alert was dismissed. The bell provides a chronological record of all alerts received, including news, calendar, and chat, and remains accessible even when push notifications are disabled on the device. A red bubble on the bell indicates unread updates.
Use the filter buttons at the top of the notification screen to view only news, calendar, or chat updates.
Manage SMS and email digest reminders
SMS and email digest reminders act as a safety net. They are designed to reduce noise, not add to it: they only send when there is unread content and the app has not been opened recently. These features are only available if the district has enabled Finalsite Chat.
SMS reminders
For US-based users, the school may send automated text messages from a dedicated school number. There are three types:
- Welcome message: A one-time text sent when first added as a user. It includes a direct link to help get started in the app and is never repeated.
- Unread message reminder: Sent when there is unread content and the app hasn't been opened in a few days. At most two reminders arrive per week, only between 8 AM and 9 PM local time.
- Dormant re-engagement: Sent after an extended period of inactivity with unread messages pending, bundling a summary to help catch up.
Each text includes a deep link. Tapping it opens the app (if installed), a branded school page with download links (if the app is not installed), or web chat (on desktop).
⚠️Opt-out and opt-in for SMS
- Reply STOP to any SMS reminder at any time to immediately stop all text messages.
- Reply START to opt back in.
- Reminders can also be turned off in the app under Profile > Notifications > Chat reminders.
Email digest reminders
The email digest is available for all users regardless of location.
- It sends a bundled summary of unread chat conversations, including up to 10 conversations with the two most recent messages from each.
- Each digest email's links open any conversation directly in the app, mobile browser, or desktop web chat.
- A digest only sends when there are unread messages. Users who are actively reading their messages will not receive one.
⚠️ Unsubscribe from email digest
Click the Unsubscribe link in the footer of any digest email, or toggle off Unread chat messages digest in the app under Profile > Notifications.
Manage notifications
Most notification settings are in the same place: tap the profile bubble (the circle with initials) in the top right corner of the app, then tap Notifications.
Step 1: Personalize news, calendar, and mailing list subscriptions
Navigate to the profile bubble, then go to Preferences > Notifications to manage which categories of school content arrive as push notifications.
Subscribe to mailing lists and news
Toggle individual boards on or off (for example, Athletics, Fine Arts, or school-wide announcements) to control which content generates an immediate push notification.
Subscribe to calendar reminders
Open any calendar event in the app and tap Subscribe to receive reminders for it. Tap Add to calendar to sync the event to a personal device calendar (Apple or Google).
To remove a synced event from a personal calendar, delete it directly from the phone's native calendar app. Changes made in the phone's calendar do not affect the school's calendar.
Important announcements
Important announcements cannot be turned off and are always enabled. They cannot be toggled off because they are reserved for urgent, emergency communications.
Step 2: Manage chat messages, reminders, and email digests (Chat only)
⚠️ Don't see these settings?
Finalsite Chat required. The settings below are only visible in the app if the district has enabled Finalsite Chat. If these options don't appear, check with a school administrator.
Chat notifications have more granular controls because conversations can be high volume. Navigate to the profile bubble, then click on the Notifications button to access all of the following settings.
Set a notification schedule
Manage Chat messages area
Choose when the phone is allowed to send notifications about new chats. Use this to set quiet hours for evenings, weekends, or any other times.
- Always: Receive notifications 24/7, any day of the week.
- Every day: Set a specific start and end time window for daily notifications (for example, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM).
- Weekdays: Receive alerts all day on weekdays, or during a specific weekday time window.
- Custom: Define a unique combination of days and times that fits a specific family schedule.
Manage SMS Chat reminders
In the Chat reminders screen, toggle off to stop receiving SMS nudges entirely. Replying STOP to any SMS message also works immediately from any device.
A personal inactivity threshold can also be set here: the number of days after which a reminder should send if there is unread content. The school sets a district-wide default, but a personal setting always takes priority and is never overwritten when the school updates their defaults.
Manage the Unread messages digest
Under Unread messages digest, toggle the digest on or off and choose a preferred frequency:
- Daily: A digest for each day there are unread messages.
- Every 3 days: A digest every three days if there are unread messages.
- Weekly: A single weekly digest with all missed conversations.
To stop receiving digest emails, toggle the setting off or click the Unsubscribe link in any digest email footer.
Mute a specific chat room
For active group chats that don't need real-time alerts, individual rooms can be silenced:
- Open the chat room and tap the room name at the top.
- Toggle Mute on. New messages will still appear when the room is opened, but the phone will not send a notification for each one.
To leave a room entirely, select the Leave chat room button at the bottom of room settings.
Privacy and security in Chat
- SMS reminders come from a dedicated, official school number.
- Saving it in contacts as "[School Name] Updates" ensures messages are recognized as trusted communications.
- While a reminder or digest arrives by text or email, the actual conversation always stays inside the secure, encrypted Finalsite app. Links in texts and digest emails open within the app environment to keep family communications protected.
Learn more in the article, "Chat for community members: Security and privacy."
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