# Receiving direct message notifications

https://help.circle.so/p/chat/dm/receiving-direct-message-notifications

Category: [Chat](https://help.circle.so/p/chat) › [Direct messaging](https://help.circle.so/p/chat/dm)

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_Last updated: July 05, 2023_

Never miss an important direct message within your community! This guide covers everything you need to know about receiving and managing your notification preferences.

## **Desktop notifications **

When you are viewing your community using a web browser or desktop app, a visual indication is displayed on the notification and threads icon for new unread activity.

### **In-app notifications**

When you have an unread _non-threaded_ message in your DM, the **Direct messages** icon will appear with a numbered badge in _red_ representing the number of unread DMs.

When you click the **Direct messages** icon, you can see the DMs with blue dots beside it_._ You can also click the **Unread** tab to see all the unread DMs separately.

 ![](https://assets-v3.circle.so/7lmap6vzkanyqcz0j9iycp9ogydn)

### **Threads notifications**

When you have unread replies or mentions in threads within direct messages, a numbered badge in red representing the number of unread threads will appear on the **Threads** icon located in the community header.

> ℹ️ **Note:** Please note that we do not display a notification badge on the **Direct messages** icon for unread messages or mentions inside threads.

 ![](https://assets-v3.circle.so/4f1ffd6psyrrib5nw5c6e5cz92nm)

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## **Email notifications**

You’ll receive email notifications for direct messages when they’re enabled in your account’s notification settings.

> ℹ️ **Note:** If you are already [**online**](/p/audience/member-management) or reading the DM on your desktop/mobile, you won’t receive an email notification.

Here’s how it works:

**New conversations**

You’ll receive an email when someone starts a new direct message with you. This applies to one-to-one messages and new group DM conversations.

After the first message, additional replies in the same conversation do not trigger individual email notifications for each new message. If enabled, you will still receive push notifications for new messages in a conversation.

**One-to-one unread messages**

For one-to-one direct messages, you’ll receive unread email notifications when you’re **offline or idle**.

- We send one email per conversation every 30 minutes if there are new unread messages in a conversation within the last hour. Each email only includes messages you haven’t already been notified about, so you won’t receive duplicates.

- If you have unread messages in multiple one-to-one conversations, you’ll receive a separate email for each conversation.

Additionally, to help you stay connected, you'll get an email notification if a new message arrives more than 24 hours after the previous message in a one-to-one conversation.

## **Mobile notifications**

### **Push notifications**

Both iOS and Android apps support push notifications for unread threaded and non-threaded messages inside DMs.

> 💡 **Tip:** If you are inside the app, you will see a notification badge on the 💬 DM icon at the bottom-right corner of the app.

 ![](https://assets-v3.circle.so/in3zczwouyb8fw1ztiyzd9vcca3z)

### **In-app notifications**

When you have unread replies or mentions in threads within direct messages, you’ll see them in the **Threads** section of your in-app notifications. Tap the **Notifications** icon, where the **Threads** tab shows a numbered badge indicating how many threads have unread activity.

> ℹ️ **Note:** Please note that we do not display a notification badge on the direct messages icon for unread messages or mentions inside threads.

## **Manage DM notifications**

On desktop, members and admins can set their personal notification preferences from the notifications settings by clicking their profile photo on the top navigation bar and selecting **Notifications.**

> 💡 **Tip:**   To manage this on our mobile apps, tap your profile photo at the top right of the screen and select **Manage notifications**.

📚 To learn more about how admins and members can set notification preferences for their community account, see [Manage your notification preferences](/p/members/account-access-management/manage-your-notification-preferences) **.**

## **Relevant articles**

- [Send and manage one-to-one direct messages](/p/chat/dm/send-and-manage-one-to-one-direct-messages)

- [Create and manage group messages](/p/chat/dm/create-and-manage-group-messages)

- [Understanding chat threads](/p/chat/chat-spaces/understanding-chat-threads)