How to mute or follow a channel
Set a notification level on one channel with the bell in its header, overriding your workspace-wide default.
Your default covers every channel you have not thought about. The bell in a channel's header covers the ones you have. See How to set quiet hours and your default chat level for the default itself.
How do you set a level on one channel?
Click the bell in that channel's header and pick one of three:
- Every message: a push for everything said there.
- Mentions & replies: only when somebody addresses you.
- Muted: no push from this channel at all.
The choice applies to that channel alone and beats your workspace-wide default.
Leave it alone and the channel follows your default. Until you choose explicitly, the bell shows the mentions state.
The same control is on a channel in the iPhone app.
Which channels deserve which level?
Every message for the one or two channels where the conversation is your job. A warehouse lead might set it on the fulfilment channel and nowhere else.
Mentions & replies for everything you are genuinely part of, which is most channels.
Muted for the channels you belong to for visibility rather than participation. Announcement channels, other teams' working channels, anything you read weekly rather than hourly.
Muting is underused. Being in a channel and not being buzzed by it is a perfectly normal way to belong to one.
Does muting hide the channel?
No. Muting affects pushes only.
The channel stays in your sidebar, unread badges still count normally, and everything is there when you open it. You have turned off the interruption rather than the information.
Does Every message buzz me for every single message?
Not literally. Rapid-fire chatter is collapsed rather than producing a buzz per message, so a busy exchange does not empty your battery.
Do quiet hours still apply?
Yes, on top of whatever level you choose. A channel set to Every message is still silent inside your quiet hours.
Quiet hours are the outermost layer and nothing overrides them. See How to set quiet hours and your default chat level.
What is the sensible setup?
Default to Mentions & replies only, then raise Every message on the one channel that is your actual job, and mute the ones you are in for visibility.
That takes about a minute and is the difference between notifications being useful and being something you learn to ignore.
How to set quiet hours and your default chat level
Set a nightly window when nothing buzzes, and choose how much chat notifies you before you tune individual channels.
How to control task, stock and order alerts
Three categories have a personal on/off switch. Here is what each one covers and what it does not.