Manage Your Notifications

Introduction to notifications

Notifications keep you posted on new activity in Spruce, helping you catch every message in a timely manner. If you choose to turn on your notifications, you'll see them appear the way other notifications on your personal phone appear. We will not reveal the details of any particular message for security reasons, but will let you know when you're receiving a new patient message, voicemail, or message from a colleague.

Notifications for mobile and web will mirror each other. 

Managing notifications on an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

To manage Spruce app notifications on your iPhone: 

1. Select the Gear Icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your Spruce mobile app screen to open your Settings.
2. Select Notifications (under "My Account" section)
3. Select when and how you would like to be notified on your mobile phone.

Your options for notifications include receiving any notifications at all, badge icon notification, notifications by inbox filter, team, pages and internal notes. 

To manage general notifications for Spruce on your iPhone and iPad:

1. Go to your iPhone's general settings app (not in Spruce). 
2. Scroll down to the section that lists all your apps
3. Select Spruce
4. Select Notifications
5. Make sure "Allow Notifications" is toggled on (green) to receive notifications (this must be on in addition to Spruce in-app settings for notifications)
6. Set additional preference for types of notifications for your specific iPhone

To manage Spruce app notifications on your Apple Watch: 

Note: Apple Watch can mirror your iPhone's notifications with alerts with no message copy for security purposes.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone
2. Select Notifications
3. Scroll down to section "Mirror iPhone Alerts From" and find Spruce
4. Toggle on (green) to have notifications on and mirror your iPhone Spruce settings.

Managing notifications on an Android

To manage notifications on your Android: 

1. Select the small icon in the upper left-hand corner from within the app.
2. Select the "Settings" option.
3. Scroll down to "Account" where you'll see "Notification Preferences."
4. Change/update your preferences.

In addition to this, please check your general Android settings on your phone to make sure you have allowed notifications for the Spruce app. To do so, swipe up from your home screen to view all applications. Scroll down until you reach your settings. Within settings, look for "Apps & Notifications." Then find Spruce among your list of apps. Click into it and make sure your notifications are turned on.

If you are still having notification issues, please review our Troubleshooting article for android.

Managing notifications on Web

To turn on desktop computer notifications: 

1. Log into Spruce on your computer's browser.
2. Select Settings in bottom left-hand corner (gear icon) to open your Settings 
3. Under Section "Account" select Notifications or click here. 
4. Toggle on "Receive Desktop Notifications (blue is on)

Note: When updating individual notifications settings like per Inbox this will update across all platforms (mobile app and desktop.) The notifications mirror each other. However, you can turn off notifications for an entire device. 

Managing Notifications with a Schedule

Many of our customers prefer to have Spruce notifications turn on/off based on a schedule. This is something you can control with your phone’s built-in settings.

To manage notifications with a schedule on Android:

• Open the settings app and navigate to “Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls” > “Focus Mode”.
• Click the “Turn On Now” button or create a schedule for it to run automatically by tapping "Set a Schedule."
• Choose distracting apps to pause temporarily with Focus Mode on Android.
• When enabled, Focus Mode stops selected apps from sending notifications or being opened.
• Once Focus Mode is enabled, your Android’s Home screen and app drawer will display restricted apps grayed out.
• When you try to open a restricted app, you’ll be presented with two options: “Use app for 5 minutes” and “Ok”.
• Opt for the first option to use the app for 5 minutes; it will automatically close afterward.
• Access options by swiping down from the top of the screen.
• Select “Take a break” from the persistent Digital Wellbeing reminder.
• Alternatively, temporarily disable the feature by tapping “Turn off for now”.

To manage notifications with a schedule on iOS:

• Go to Settings  > Focus
• Specify which apps and people can send you notifications during your Focus. See Allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPhone.
• After you specify which people and apps to allow notifications from, an Options link appears.
• Tap Options, then do any of the following:
  • Show silenced notifications on the Lock Screen or send them to Notification Center: Turn Show On Lock Screen on or off.
  • Darken the Lock Screen during this Focus: Turn on Dim Lock Screen.
  • Hide notification badges on Home Screen apps: Turn on Hide Notification Badges.
• When you’re finished selecting options, tap the Back button at the top of the screen.
• To change the Lock Screen to use with this Focus, tap the Lock Screen preview below Customize Screens, select a Lock Screen, then tap Done at the top of the screen.
• To choose a Home Screen page to use with this Focus, tap the Home Screen preview below Customize Screens, select a page, then tap Done.
• The Home Screen options that appear include the apps and widgets most relevant to the Focus you’re setting up.
• To make changes to the Home Screen to customize it further for your Focus, see Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen.
• To share your Focus across your Apple devices, tap the Back button, then turn on Share Across Devices (you must be signed in with the same Apple ID on all your devices).
• After setting up your Focus, you can return to Settings > Focus at any time and change any of the options you chose above.
• To set your Focus to a schedule go to Settings  > Focus, then tap the Focus you want to schedule.
• To have this Focus turn on automatically based on cues like your location or app usage, tap Smart Activation, turn on Smart Activation, then tap the Back button at the top left.
• Tap Add Schedule, then set the times, a location, or an app you want to activate this Focus.