You Can Control Your Notifications Using Fastmail Apps

Take charge of your notifications with our new settings that only make alerts for important messages.

Before notifications, most of us felt in charge of how we use technology. But now it seems like our devices are telling us what to do! Luckily, Fastmail’s new notification controls help take back control over the alerts you receive.

Only you know what has meaning in your mail and you work better when you are in the driver’s seat. Here’s every option you have to customize notifications using new features in Fastmail mobile apps.

Prioritize mail from the people you know

Mail from someone you know is likely more interesting to you than the rest of your inbox, especially when it’s a response to a conversation that you initiated. This is why you can choose to only get notifications for emails from people in your Fastmail contacts.

Did you know Fastmail can work in the background to automatically build your contact list from the people you email? To do this, turn on auto-save new contacts. You can also, of course, add your contacts manually.

Once you have your list ready, go to your notifications page under Settings → Notifications and select “My contacts.” This will eliminate annoying alerts from senders you don’t even know.

Alerts for VIP contacts only

We take this idea one step further by offering a way to be even more selective. Use our “alert me just for VIP contacts” feature to only get notifications for your closest network, your VIP contacts.

Your VIPs could be your spouse or partner, family or friends who always get your response, clients, someone you’ve contacted about a job, or anyone you’ve been emailing related to an urgent matter. Edit this list anytime to include whoever you want based on who’s most important when.

Add or remove VIPs by tapping or clicking on any contact in your contact list. Next to their picture in an email find a menu under the “More” button. Here you can add or remove VIPs. Under Settings → Notifications in your account, select VIP contacts and your devices will chill until you hear from them.

Use rules to power your notifications and workflow

Another way to set apart mail of a higher priority level is by its type. Instead of receiving notifications for all mail to your inbox, you can choose to get notifications for only mail in certain folders. You can have your mail automatically sorted for you, and get pinged about the mail most likely to interest you.

To do this, use our powerful rules tools to create folders that capture certain mail as it is delivered. Then select the folders to send alerts.

Here are some examples of how this feature could work for you:

• Create folders for mail related to planning personal events that can’t be missed such as “Beach Trip” or “Surprise Party.”
• Establish folders for highly anticipated responses to career-related inquiries such as an application for a job or fellowship.
• Designate a folder for volunteer work and turn on or off notifications depending on the time of year you do this work.
• If you are a freelancer, you might find it helpful to create folders for each client you serve and use notifications as deadlines approach.

In the notifications settings be sure to add that folder to start sending alerts.

For all the good that our devices offer, unfiltered notifications can overwhelm us needlessly, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Fastmail lets you choose to receive only the most relevant alerts so you can focus on what’s essential.

Download the Fastmail app for your phone and tablet on the Apple App Store and Google Play.