Resident: Set Your Notification Preferences

Resident: set your notification preferences

You choose how your society reaches you — WhatsApp, SMS, email or in-app push. Turn off what you do not want, and keep the channels that matter.

Before you start

• Signed in with a claimed flat in your society

Setting your preferences

1. Open /me/preferences.
2. Turn each channel on or off:
   • Push — in-app notifications on your phone
   • WhatsApp — messages from the society's business account
   • SMS — text messages
   • Email
3. Save.

What you can and cannot switch off

You can opt out of social messages, event announcements, community posts, and general non-essential updates. Turn these off freely — the committee should not treat it as a problem.

You cannot opt out of statutory notices. General body meeting notices, special resolutions and bills must reach you; that is a legal obligation on the society, not a marketing choice. If you switch off every channel, the society will fall back to email and physical service — but you may miss something time-sensitive.

The practical advice: keep email on even if you turn everything else off. It is the channel most likely to still reach you and the one that keeps a record you can search later.

Choosing sensibly

Turning off all four is a bad idea. Leave at least email and SMS.

If notifications never arrive

Almost always the phone, not the society:

1. Notification permissions — phone settings → Apps → Plinth → Notifications. Allow them.
2. Battery optimisation — many Android phones suspend background apps. Set Plinth to unrestricted.
3. Do Not Disturb or a focus mode, especially in the evening.
4. Check you are signed in.
5. After a phone upgrade or app update, re-check all of the above — permissions often reset.

For WhatsApp specifically, check you have not blocked the society's business number, and that you have not replied STOP at some point.

For SMS, check your phone's spam filter and any DND registration on your number.

If it still fails, tell your committee — a failed delivery shows on their side and they can see the pattern.

Keeping your contact details current

Notices go to the phone number and email on your society record. If either has changed, update your profile or tell your committee admin. This is the single most common reason a resident "never got the notice".

Frequently asked questions

Can I stop all society messages? You can switch off social and event messaging. Statutory notices — general body meetings, resolutions, bills — must still reach you, and the society will fall back to email or physical service.

I did not receive the AGM notice. What now? Tell your committee immediately and ask for a copy. Check your contact details on the society record and your notification permissions, as those are the usual causes.

Why do I get some messages on WhatsApp and some by SMS? Societies use SMS for emergencies because it works without data, and WhatsApp for routine notices.

Can I get notices by email only? Yes — turn off the other channels and keep email on. This is a sensible setup for most people.

Will the committee know I opted out? They can see delivery status per channel, which is how they know to reach you another way for a statutory notice. They cannot see message content preferences beyond that.

I keep getting messages meant for another wing. Tell your committee — it usually means your flat is recorded in the wrong wing on the roster.

Related: Admin: send a society broadcast · Reaching every resident reliably · Resident: read and acknowledge notices