How to Manage Spruce Notifications Across iPhone, Android, Web, and Desktop – Spruce Health

Spruce notification controls let each team member customize which events trigger push notifications, sounds, and badges - at the inbox, message type, and contact level. Proper notification setup ensures urgent messages reach staff immediately while routine updates do not interrupt clinical work. For security, message content will not be shown in the notification, you'll just know if it's a new patient message, voicemail, or colleague message.

Notification Settings in Spruce

Managing Notifications on Different Devices

When you’re logged into Spruce on your mobile phone or computer, the top notification settings card determines whether or not you’ll receive notifications for that platform. Keep reading for how to manage your notifications on different platforms.

Managing Notifications for Different Activity Types

You can choose what types of activity to receive notifications for:

Inbox notifications - Notifies you of new activity in your inbox by filter type.
Team conversations - Notifies you of new activity in your team chats by filter type.
Pages - Notifies you of new @ pages.
Internal notes - notifies you when a teammate posts an internal note in any conversation.

Changes to these notification settings will be applied everywhere you’re logged into Spruce, including web browsers, mobile apps, and the desktop app.

Managing Notifications on Your Computer

On your computer, Spruce notifications are managed both inside the Spruce app and through your browser or device system settings. Make sure both are set up so you do not miss alerts.

In the Spruce App

Inside Spruce, you can control if you receive notifications for when you’re logged into Spruce in a web browser or the desktop app and which types of notifications you want to receive.

Important: To receive notifications, the Spruce app must be open and running (it can run in the background). If Spruce is not open, you will not receive notifications on your computer.

In the Spruce app, go to Settings > Notifications
Turn on Receive Notifications for your Web Browser or Desktop App
Choose what you want to receive notifications for by inbox filter, team, or message type. These settings apply to all devices you use Spruce on.

In Your Web Browser Settings

To enable notifications in your web browser:

Check your browser settings
- Click the padlock or settings icon in the address bar.
- Set Notifications to Allow.
- Refresh the page after making changes.
Check your system settings to make sure your browser can send notifications
- You can find detailed OS-level notification setup steps in Troubleshooting Spruce Notifications on Windows and macOS.

In Your System Settings

For detailed steps on setting up notifications for the Spruce Desktop App in your System Settings, read Troubleshooting Spruce Notifications on Windows and macOS.

Managing Notifications on iOS Devices

On iPhone and iPad, Spruce notifications are managed both inside the Spruce app and through your device’s system settings. Make sure both are set up so you do not miss alerts.

In the Spruce App on Your iPhone or iPad

Inside Spruce, you can control if you receive notifications on your device and which types of notifications you want to receive.

In the Spruce app, go to Settings > Notifications.
Turn Spruce notifications ON for your phone.
Choose if you want to see badge icons (red dots showing the number of new messages).
Choose what you want to receive notifications for by inbox filter, team, or message type. Note: These settings apply to all devices you use Spruce on.

In iPhone or iPad Settings

Even if Spruce is set up correctly inside the app, your device can still block alerts if your system notification settings are not configured.

Go to iPhone Settings > Spruce > Notifications.
Toggle Allow Notifications ON.
Choose where notifications appear: Lock Screen, Notification Center, or Banners.
Turn Sounds ON if you want an alert tone.
Turn Badges ON if you want the red number count on the Spruce icon.

Apple Watch

Your Apple Watch can mirror Spruce notifications from your iPhone. For security, alerts will not include message details.

On your iPhone go to: Watch App > Notifications.
Scroll to “Mirror iPhone Alerts From.”
Find Spruce and toggle it ON (green).

Managing Notifications on Android

On Android, Spruce notifications are managed both inside the app and through your phone’s system settings. Be sure both are set up so you do not miss alerts.

Check App Status

The App Status screen in Spruce helps you quickly find and fix anything that might block your notifications.

In Spruce, go to Settings > App Status.
Review the list of permissions and configurations.
If something is not set up correctly, you will see a Fix button.
Tap Fix and follow the prompts to resolve the issue.

In the Spruce App on Your Android Phone

Inside Spruce, you can control if you receive notifications on your device and which types of notifications you want to receive.

In the Spruce app, go to Settings > Notifications.
Turn all Spruce notifications ON for your phone.
Choose what you want to receive notifications for inbox filter, team, or message type. Note: These settings apply to all devices you use Spruce on.

In Android System Settings

Even if Spruce is set up correctly inside the app, your device can still block alerts if your system notification settings are not configured.

To access your system settings:

In the Spruce app, go to Settings > Notifications.
Tap System Notification Settings.

Make sure your system settings are correct:

Notifications are ON for Spruce.
Spruce is allowed to show alerts on your Lock Screen, in the status bar, and with sounds or vibrations.
If you want alerts during Do Not Disturb (DND), turn on the DND Override option.

Still Having Issues on Android?

If notifications are still not working, review our Troubleshooting Spruce Notifications on Android article or contact our support team for help.

Managing Notifications with a Schedule

You can have your notifications managed by a schedule by using your phone’s built-in scheduling tools.

On iPhone or iPad

You can use a Focus mode to control when Spruce notifications are allowed.

To set up a Focus for Spruce notifications:

Open your device’s Settings app.
Tap Focus.
Choose an existing Focus (such as Work or Personal) or create a new one.
Under “People and Apps” make sure “Allow Notifications” is selected
- Under “Apps” add the Spruce app if you want to receive notifications during this time.
- Remove Spruce if you do not want to receive notifications during this time.

To schedule Focus automatically:

Go to Settings > Focus.
Select the Focus you want to schedule.
Tap Add Schedule.
Choose to turn it on based on:
- Time (specific hours)
- Location (when you arrive somewhere)
- App usage (when you open certain apps)
You can also turn on Smart Activation, which lets your iPhone automatically choose when to activate Focus based on your patterns.

To share Focus across devices:

At the bottom of the Focus screen, turn Share Across Devices ON.
This works if you are signed in with the same Apple ID on all Apple devices.

To create a Focus where you will only receive notifications for incoming phone calls:

If your calling preference for mobile is set to “Softphones” in My Call Settings

Configure your Focus Settings to allow notifications from the Spruce app
- Open your device’s Settings app.
- Tap Focus.
- Choose an existing Focus (such as Work or Personal) or create a new one.
- Under “People and Apps” make sure “Allow Notifications” is selected.
- Under “Apps” add the Spruce app to receive notifications for incoming softphone calls.
Then configure your notifications settings in the Spruce mobile app to turn off notifications for new message activity
- Open the Spruce mobile app
- Navigate to Settings > Notifications
- Turn OFF “Receive Push Notifications”

Note: When the Focus mode is inactive, if you wish to resume receiving notifications for all Spruce activity, you must manually turn “Receive Push Notifications” back on in the Spruce app.

If your calling preference for mobile is set to “Cellular Network” in My Call Settings

In your device’s contacts, create a new contact with your Spruce phone number.
Configure your Focus Settings to allow calls from your Spruce number.
- Open your device’s Settings app.
- Tap Focus.
- Choose an existing Focus (such as Work or Personal) or create a new one.
- Under “People and Apps” make sure “Allow Notifications” is selected.
- Under “People” add the contact containing your Spruce number
To only receive incoming Spruce calls when the Focus mode is active, make sure the Spruce app is removed from “People and Apps.” Otherwise you will continue to be notified for new message activity in Spruce.

On Android

Note: Menu names may vary slightly depending on your Android device manufacturer.

To create a Do Not Disturb (DND) schedule:

Open your phone’s Settings app.
Tap Notifications or Modes depending on your device.
Tap Do Not Disturb.
Turn on Schedule, Set a schedule, or select an existing schedule (such as Sleep or Bedtime), depending on your device.
Choose the days and times you want Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically.
Save your changes.
Once scheduled, Do Not Disturb will automatically activate during the selected times.

To receive Spruce notifications when DND is active:

Open your phone’s Settings app.
Tap Notifications or Modes depending on your device.
Tap Do Not Disturb.
Under Apps (or App notifications in DND), tap Add apps.
Select Spruce to allow notifications during Do Not Disturb.
Choose which notifications you want to allow when DND is active.

To only receive notifications for incoming phone calls when DND is active:

Note: This ensures that while Do Not Disturb is active, you will receive incoming calls to your Spruce number, but you will not receive new message notifications from the Spruce app.

If your calling preference for mobile is set to “Softphones” in My Call Settings, configure Do Not Disturb to allow notifications from the Spruce app:

Open your phone’s Settings app.
Tap Notifications or Modes depending on your device.
Tap Do Not Disturb.
Under Apps (or App notifications in DND), tap Add apps.
Select Spruce to allow notifications during Do Not Disturb.
Choose which notifications you want to allow when DND is active.
- To receive incoming calls, make sure “Audio Calls” is toggled ON.
- If you do not wish to receive other Spruce notifications when DND is active, turn “General Notifications” OFF.

If your calling preference for mobile is set to “Cellular Network” in My Call Settings:

In your device’s Contacts, create a contact with your Spruce phone number.
Open your phone’s Settings app.
Tap Notifications > Do Not Disturb.
Under Calls and messages (or People), choose to allow calls from:
- Starred contacts only, or a specific contact (select the contact containing your Spruce number).
Ensure the Spruce app is not added as an allowed app under Do Not Disturb.

To temporarily pause Spruce notifications when you do not want to be disturbed, use a Focus mode:

Open your phone’s Settings app.
Go to Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls.
Select Focus Mode.
Tap Turn On Now to start immediately, or choose Set a Schedule to create automatic times.
Select which apps to pause. Choose Spruce if you want to stop notifications from appearing.

While Focus Mode is on:

Paused apps will look grayed out on your Home screen and app list.
If you try to open Spruce, you will see two options:
- Use app for 5 minutes (temporarily access the app)
- OK (close the app without opening it)
To take a break from Focus Mode:
- Swipe down from the top of your screen to open quick settings.
- Tap Take a break to pause Focus Mode for a short time, or Turn off for now to stop it entirely.

Activity Reminders

For instances where a teammate or patient receives a notification but still doesn't view the activity in Spruce, we offer the ability to send reminders via email or SMS after some amount of time has passed. You can read more about activity reminders here.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I customize which events trigger my Spruce notifications?

Go to Settings > Notifications in Spruce and configure which events send alerts, which inboxes notify you, and whether to use sounds or badges per notification type.

Can I mute notifications for a specific inbox in Spruce?

Yes. User notification controls allow per-inbox muting so you can quiet lower-priority inboxes without missing alerts from critical lines.

Will message content be included in the push notification?

For security, message content will not be shown in the notification but you will know if it's a new patient message, voicemail, or colleague message.

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