Managing notifications

Notifications live behind the bell in the top navigation. The number on the bell is your unread count; open the bell to read them, and select “View all notifications” for the full history.

You have three levels of control: snooze everything for a while, turn off one kind, or set each kind in Settings.

Snooze the badge

Open the bell and select Snooze. This hides the unread count so you stop being nudged. Your notifications are still created and still listed when you open the bell, so you do not lose anything. Select Unsnooze to bring the count back.

Snooze is the right choice when you want a break without changing what you receive.

Turn off one kind from the notification

Many notifications carry a “Turn these off” link, right on the notification in the bell menu and on the full notifications page. Select it to stop receiving that whole category. For example, turning it off on a feedback request stops feedback-request notifications.

This is the fastest way to silence a category you do not want. You can switch it back on any time in Settings.

Set each kind in Settings

For full control, open Settings › Notifications. Each kind of notification is one row in a grid, and each column is a way it can reach you: In Inkbreaker, Email, Browser, and Phone. Switch any box on or off, so a kind can stay in the bell and never buzz your browser or your phone. A dash means that kind is never sent that way.

• Comments and replies on your work
• Reactions to your work
• Feedback requests
• New competitions
• Streak news
• Chapter forum activity
• Creator Site news
• Site updates and announcements

The Everything row at the top turns all of them on or off at once. This browser turns browser notifications on for the browser you are using; your browser asks for permission the first time. Browser and phone notifications follow what you get in Inkbreaker, so a kind switched off there stays off everywhere.

Results and placements for competitions you entered always send, so you never miss the outcome of something you are part of.

You first set most of these when you create your account, so your starting choices already match what you asked for. Settings is where you adjust them later.

Who can reach you

Under Who can reach you, on the same page:

• Allow direct messages decides whether writers can start a new conversation with you. See Messages.
• Feedback exchange is the reciprocal queue: being in it lets you request reads and makes you available to review others. Turning it off removes you from both. See Peer feedback.
• Allow direct feedback requests decides whether writers you follow each other with can ask you for a read directly.

Exquisite Corpse invitations have their own switch, Notify me when a story needs a writer, on the Streaks and games page.

Email

The Email section of the same page decides what else reaches your inbox. Turn on the Weekly digest email and choose How often it comes: weekly or monthly. If your account goes untouched for a while, a short catch-up note folds into it.

Writing reminders have their own page, Reminders, and are off until you turn them on. Switch them on and pick how often you want a nudge back to the page: daily, a few times a week, weekly, or occasionally. Under Where to reach you, choose whether a reminder arrives in Inkbreaker, by email, or on your phone, and check Your time zone so it comes at a sensible hour. A reminder arrives only when you have been away from the page for that long, never on a day you already wrote, so it stays a nudge and never a pester.

To stop email altogether, switch on “Unsubscribe from all non-essential emails”. That one switch turns off every non-essential email at once: digests, announcements, feedback requests, invites, and nudges.

You can also unsubscribe straight from any email, without signing in. Every non-essential email carries an Unsubscribe link in its footer, and most mail apps show their own Unsubscribe button at the top. Either one stops all non-essential email in a single click, and you can resubscribe from the same page whenever you want.

A few emails always send, because your account depends on them: password resets, email verification, billing and subscription notices, and legal updates. Unsubscribing never touches those.

See also: Peer feedback, Your profile.