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Notifications

TellDone uses notifications to keep you on track without forcing you back into the app. Push notifications on iPhone are powered by Apple Push Notification Service (APNs), with a built-in local fallback when push isn't available.

What you can be notified about​

These notifications appear on your lock screen, in the iOS Notification Center, and as banners while the app is open.

  • Task reminder - fires at the time you set a reminder on a task. Tap to open the task.
  • Event reminder - fires the configured number of minutes before an event starts. You can attach more than one reminder to the same event (for example, 1 day before and 15 minutes before).
  • Report ready - lets you know when a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly report has been generated and is ready to read.
  • Gift activated - confirms that a gift subscription or promo code has been applied to your account.
  • Promo warning - reminds you that a gift trial or promo period is about to end so you can decide whether to keep your plan.
  • Plan change - confirms when a promo or trial period has ended and your plan has changed.

Silent background notifications​

These you don't see - the app uses them quietly to keep your data fresh.

  • Sync update - when something changes on another device or on the server (for example, you finish a task on the web app), TellDone receives a silent push and refreshes the data in the background so the next time you open the app, everything is up to date.

Local fallback​

If push isn't available - for example, if you denied notification permission, you're offline, or push delivery is delayed - TellDone schedules local task and event reminders every 5 minutes using your device's notification system. These reminders fire on the device itself, no server round-trip needed.

note

Local reminders only cover tasks and events you can see on this device. They do not require any data to leave your phone, and they keep working even with no internet connection.

App icon badge​

A red badge with a number on the TellDone app icon means you have unread Inbox messages (for example, a billing receipt or a webhook failure alert). The badge clears as soon as you open the Inbox or bring the app to the foreground.

Inbox bell​

A bell icon in the recording screen indicates unread inbox messages. The bell pulses in two ways:

  • Soft pulse (badge only) - you have unread messages to check.
  • Strong pulse (full icon) - one or more messages require your explicit acknowledgement before you can dismiss them (for example, an account deletion confirmation or a legal notice).

When Reduce Motion is enabled in iOS Settings, both pulse animations are disabled.

Settings toggle​

In Settings the toggle "Event & task reminders" controls whether TellDone sends task and event reminder notifications.

  • When on: you receive push reminders for tasks and events at their scheduled times.
  • When off: TellDone stops sending reminder notifications, but it can still deliver silent sync updates so your data stays current.
tip

The "Event & task reminders" toggle only affects task and event reminders. Report-ready pings, gift confirmations, promo warnings, and Inbox alerts follow your iOS-level notification permission for TellDone, not this toggle.

Granting and changing permission​

The first time you're asked for notification permission is on slide 3 of the onboarding flow ("Notifications"). You can change your decision at any time:

  1. Open the iPhone Settings app
  2. Scroll to and tap TellDone
  3. Tap Notifications
  4. Toggle Allow Notifications on or off, and pick your preferred alert style (banners, sounds, badges)

If you turn permission off in iOS Settings, TellDone falls back to local reminders only.

Web app​

Web push notifications are not yet available. While you have the web app open in a browser tab, TellDone can schedule local reminders inside that tab, but you will not receive notifications when the tab is closed. For full push delivery, use the iOS app.

See also​

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