What the notification bell shows
The bell at the top right lists what happened while you were away, such as a planner shared with you or new chat messages.
The bell sits at the top right of the screen, next to your picture, when you're in the Shop, Library, Filing Cabinet, Staff Chat or Profile. A red number on it shows how many notifications you haven't read.
- Click or tap the bell to open Notifications. The newest are at the top, and unread ones are highlighted.
- Select a notification to go to what it's about, for example a planner someone shared with you. It's then marked as read.
You get a notification when:
- someone shares a planner with you
- there are new chat messages in a planner you share (messages that arrive close together in one planner are grouped into one notification)
- our support team replies to one of your messages (selecting it opens Support messages)
- a colleague invites you to a school in Staff Chat, or posts an announcement there for you
- One Stop Teacher Shop has news or new features to tell you about
Now and then a message from us appears as a banner or a small window instead. It's kept in the bell too. A banner saying a payment didn't go through is the exception: it stays under the top bar, with no X, until the payment goes through. A note that your card is about to expire stays at the top of the bell, with no X, until your card is updated.
Replies and likes in the community appear on the community's own bell instead. See Know when somebody answers you in the community.
Staff Chat's messages never come to the bell: an orange dot in Staff Chat shows them. See Message a colleague or a group in Staff Chat.
Good to know
The bell isn't shown inside an open planner, so go back to your Library (the X at the top left) to check it. Notifications stay in the app: there are no alerts on your phone or in your browser. The bell shows your newest 50, and read notifications older than 60 days are removed. Unread ones are never removed automatically.
Updated October 19, 2026
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- Choose which notifications you getIn Privacy & Notifications, switch each kind of email and in-app notification on or off. Your choices save right away.
- Clear or dismiss notificationsDismiss one notification with its X (you can undo it), mark everything as read, or clear all the ones you've already read.
- Chat with collaborators inside a plannerEvery shared planner has its own chat. Select the chat button at the top right of the planner page to open it.
- Share your planner with another teacherSelect Share / Export in your planner, type the teacher's email address, choose Can view or Can edit, then select Add Collaborator.
- Know when somebody answers you in the communityReplies to what you wrote appear in the bell at the top of the community. Likes can too, if you turn them on.
- Message a colleague or a group in Staff ChatMessage any teacher by email, or start a group. An orange dot says something is waiting, and you can mute a conversation or block a person.