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What are Push Notifications?
Push notifications are real-time alerts that appear on your phone, tablet, or computer - even when you are not using PointWiseSystem. The notifications you receive depend on your profile type:
🎯 Personal/Habit Profiles
🌅 Morning Briefing
Start your day with today task count and current streak
🌙 Evening Briefing
End-of-day check-in with incomplete tasks and streak warnings
🔥 Streak Milestones
Celebrate 7, 30, 100 day achievements
🏆 Goal Completions
When you hit a target
👨👩👧👦 Family, Homeschool and Classroom Profiles
📋 Task Approvals
When an earner submits a task for approval
🔥 Streak Milestones
Child achievements (7, 30, 100 days)
⚠️ Streak at Risk
When a child might lose their streak
🎁 Redemptions
When points are redeemed for rewards
🏆 Challenge Updates
Wins and completions
🌙 Daily Summary
End-of-day family report with tasks per child
📱 iPhone Setup (iOS)
⚠️ IMPORTANT: iPhone requires extra steps!
Push notifications on iPhone ONLY work when PointWiseSystem is installed as an app on your home screen. They will NOT work in regular Safari.
Requirements
- iOS 16.4 or later (check in Settings → General → About)
- Safari browser (not Chrome or other browsers)
- Must add to Home Screen (required for notifications)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1Open Safari
You MUST use Safari. Push notifications do not work in Chrome, Firefox, or other browsers on iPhone.
2Go to PointWiseSystem
Visit www.pointwisesystem.com and log in to your account.
3Tap the Share Button
Tap the Share icon (square with arrow pointing up) at the bottom of Safari.
4Tap "Add to Home Screen"
Scroll down in the share menu and tap "Add to Home Screen". Then tap "Add" in the top right.
5Open from Home Screen
Find the PointWiseSystem icon on your home screen and tap it. You must use this app icon - not Safari!
6Enable Notifications in Settings
Go to Settings → scroll to "Push Notifications" → toggle Enable Push Notifications ON.
7Allow When Prompted
When iOS asks "Allow Notifications?", tap "Allow".
8Test It!
Tap "Send Test Notification" to verify it is working. You should see a notification appear.
⚠️ Not Working?
• Make sure you opened PointWiseSystem from the Home Screen icon, not Safari
• Check iOS version is 16.4 or later
• Try removing and re-adding to Home Screen
🤖 Android Setup
Android makes push notifications easy! They work in Chrome, Firefox, and most browsers.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1Open Chrome (or your browser)
Chrome works best, but Firefox and Edge also support notifications.
2Go to PointWiseSystem
Visit www.pointwisesystem.com and log in to your account.
3Go to Settings
Tap the gear icon on the dashboard and enter your PIN.
4Enable Push Notifications
Scroll to "Push Notifications" and toggle Enable Push Notifications ON.
5Allow When Prompted
When your browser asks "Allow notifications?", tap "Allow".
6Test It!
Tap "Send Test Notification" to verify it is working.
💡 Pro Tip: Add to Home Screen
For the best experience, add PointWiseSystem to your home screen:
• In Chrome: Tap menu → "Add to Home screen"
• This makes PointWiseSystem feel like a native app!
If Notifications Are Blocked
If you previously blocked notifications:
- Tap the lock icon in the address bar
- Tap "Site settings" or "Permissions"
- Find "Notifications" and change to "Allow"
- Refresh the page and try again
💻 Desktop Setup (Computer)
Push notifications work great on desktop browsers - Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari (macOS).
Step-by-Step Instructions
1Open your browser
Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari (macOS Ventura or later).
2Go to PointWiseSystem
Visit www.pointwisesystem.com and log in.
3Go to Settings
Click the gear icon and enter your PIN.
4Enable Push Notifications
Scroll to "Push Notifications" and toggle it ON.
5Allow in Browser
Click "Allow" when your browser asks for permission.
6Test It!
Click "Send Test Notification" to confirm it works.
💡 Multiple Devices
You can enable notifications on your phone AND computer. Each device needs to be set up separately, and you will receive alerts on all of them!
🔧 Troubleshooting
iPhone: "Notifications not working"
Most common cause: Not using the Home Screen app.
Fix: You MUST open PointWiseSystem from the icon on your Home Screen, not from Safari. If you do not have the icon, follow the iPhone setup steps above to add it.
iPhone: "I do not see Add to Home Screen"
- Make sure you are using Safari (not Chrome or another browser)
- Tap the Share button (square with up arrow) at the bottom
- Scroll down in the share sheet - "Add to Home Screen" may be below the fold
iPhone: "Allow Notifications never appeared"
- Make sure iOS is version 16.4 or later
- Try removing PointWiseSystem from Home Screen and adding it again
- Check Settings → Notifications → PointWiseSystem and ensure notifications are allowed
Android/Desktop: "Notifications blocked"
- Click the lock icon (or info icon) in the address bar
- Find "Notifications" in the permissions
- Change from "Block" to "Allow"
- Refresh the page and enable again in Settings
"Test notification sent but nothing appeared"
- Check Do Not Disturb: Make sure DND/Focus mode is off
- Check notification settings: Ensure PointWiseSystem/browser notifications are enabled in your device settings
- Wait a moment: Sometimes there is a few seconds delay
- Check notification center: It may have appeared silently
Removing a Device
If you want to stop notifications on a device, or if a device is showing as subscribed but not working:
- Go to Settings → Push Notifications
- Find the device in "Subscribed Devices"
- Click "Remove" next to it
- Re-subscribe if you want to try again
Customizing Notifications
Notification options vary based on your profile type. Go to Settings → Push Notifications to customize.
🎯 Personal/Habit Profiles
Daily Briefings - Scheduled reminders for your habits:
- 🌅 Morning Briefing - Choose what to include:
- 📊 Today task count
- 🔥 Current streak
- 🌙 Evening Briefing - Choose what to include:
- 📊 Incomplete tasks
- ⚠️ Streak at risk warning
- ✅ Completion percentage
Instant Alerts - Sent immediately when triggered:
- 🔥 Streak milestones - 7, 30, 100 day achievements
- 🏆 Goal completions - When you hit a target
👨👩👧👦 Family, Homeschool and Classroom Profiles
Instant Alerts - Sent immediately when triggered:
- 📋 Task approval requests - When a child submits a task
- 🔥 Streak milestones - Child achievements
- ⚠️ Streak at risk - When a child might lose streak
- 🎁 Reward redemptions - When points are redeemed
- 🏆 Challenge updates - Wins and completions
Daily Summary - End-of-day family report:
- 🌙 Evening Summary - Choose what to include:
- 📊 Tasks per child
- 💰 Points earned
- 🔥 Streak updates
- 📋 Pending approvals
Toggle each type on or off in Settings. Changes save automatically.
💡 Per-Profile Settings
Notification preferences are saved per profile. If you have multiple profiles (Family, Personal, etc.), you can have different notification settings for each one! Switch profiles to customize notifications for each.
Privacy
- We only send notifications for events you have enabled
- You can disable notifications at any time
- Notification data is not shared with third parties
- Removing a device stops all notifications to that device immediately