Notification preferences let you decide which kinds of updates may enter your personal notification center. They belong to your account, so you can keep one calm default across Visual Space and make focused exceptions for the places that need more or less attention.
Choose a Default for All Spaces
Open Account Settings, then choose Notifications. The All spaces section is the starting point for every notification family shown on the page. Turning a family on allows supported updates of that kind to reach your notification center; turning it off blocks that family unless you create an exception for a particular area.
The available families cover different kinds of attention, including:
Each row includes a short description, so you can make the choice from its purpose instead of guessing from the name. All spaces is a default, not a one-time bulk edit. Areas that still inherit the family will follow later changes to its global switch.
Some preference families can appear before their notifications are available. For example, Meeting Reminder can be configurable even though meeting reminders do not currently arrive in the center. A visible switch controls eligibility for that family; it does not guarantee current delivery.
Use Exceptions for Particular Places
The Space area exceptions section shows the spaces you have joined, with their subspaces and activities nested underneath. Use it when one part of your workspace deserves a different choice from All spaces.
Typical reasons include:
Select a space, subspace, or activity to see the notification families available at that scope. On a desktop-sized screen, the selected area's settings appear beside the area tree. On mobile, they open inline beneath the selected row so the choice stays close to its context.
An area setting applies to that exact scope. A space exception does not become the default for its subspaces or activities, and a subspace exception does not automatically flow into its activities. Each area starts from All spaces unless it has its own explicit exception.
The selected activity keeps its exact place in the hierarchy while its unchanged family values follow the global default.
Understand Inheritance and Overrides
An inherited value follows the matching switch under All spaces. It does not need a separate saved choice. This keeps the page manageable even when you belong to many spaces.
An override is created when an area's switch differs from the current global value. For example, if Post reactions is on under All spaces and you turn it off for one activity, only that activity has an explicit exception. Other spaces, subspaces, and activities continue to follow the global setting.
The relationship works in both directions:
This distinction matters when you adjust a global family later. A saved override remains an area-specific choice; an inherited row moves with the new global default.
Read the Override Counts
On desktop, an area branch can show a label such as 3 overrides. The count helps you find deliberate exceptions without opening every row.
A count beside a space branch includes overrides saved directly on that space and inside its visible subspaces and activities. A subspace branch likewise includes its own overrides and those in its activities. After you select an area, the count beside its name refers to the exceptions on that selected area itself.
Counts describe saved differences, not unread notifications. They do not indicate how many updates are waiting or how often an area produces activity.
Keep Saved Exceptions Visible
Visual Space builds the area tree from your joined spaces and the space areas currently available to your account. It also preserves explicit exceptions when their original space, subspace, or activity is missing from that current view.
You may therefore see a fallback branch for a saved exception even when the area is not otherwise present in your joined-space tree. This can happen when current area details are unavailable or no longer part of the loaded workspace view. Keeping the row visible prevents a personal choice from being silently lost and gives you a chance to review it.
If neither joined areas nor saved fallback exceptions are available, the section shows No spaces available.
Know What These Preferences Control
These settings control whether supported updates can become rows in the global notification center. They do not choose email, device push, sounds, quiet hours, or a delivery schedule.
They also do not replace the unread systems used by conversations:
Use the durable page under Account Settings > Notifications for personal notification-center choices. The older notification-mode dialog available from a space menu is separate: its local selections are not persisted as these account preferences and should not be relied on as an equivalent configuration path.
Common Questions
Who can change my notification preferences?
These are personal settings for the signed-in account. They are not shared space settings, and changing them does not change what other members receive.
Does turning a family on create notifications immediately?
No. The switch allows supported future updates in that family. A notification still depends on a relevant event being produced, your access to its destination, and the product supporting that notification source.
Why does an area switch already have a value when I have never changed it?
The row is inheriting its value from All spaces. It becomes an explicit override only when you choose a different value for that area.
Why is an override shown under a place I no longer recognize?
Visual Space keeps saved exceptions visible even when it cannot place their original area in the current joined-space tree. This protects the preference from disappearing without your knowledge.
Why did a switch return to its previous value?
The page updates a switch immediately. If the preference cannot be saved, Visual Space restores the previous setting and shows an error, so the page does not leave you with a choice that only appears to be stored.
Will these settings remove notifications already in the center?
No. Preferences affect whether supported future updates may create notification rows. Existing rows and their read state are handled by the notification center.
Related Guides
For the full task, including choosing a baseline and verifying area exceptions, see Manage your notification preferences. To understand the inbox these settings affect, return to Notifications.