🔔 Notifications: What They Are and How to Manage Them

See exactly what triggers a Bestboy notification — follows, views, reservations, donations — and how to turn any of them on or off in Settings.

## 🔔 Notifications: what they are and how to manage them

The bell icon in the top bar shows notifications for activity on your own lists and wishes, plus updates on lists you follow:

- **List gets followed** — someone signed in [followed](/help/following-wishlists) one of your public lists (shows their name). - **List is viewed** — someone opened one of your shared list links (anonymous). - **Wish is reserved** — someone [claimed](/help/reserving-a-gift) something off one of your lists (anonymous). - **A donation came in** — someone confirmed sending money toward a [donation-enabled wish](/help/donating-to-a-wish). - **A new wish from someone you follow** — a list you follow got a new item. This one's in-app only, never emailed.

Click a notification to jump straight to the wish or list it's about. Bestboy keeps your most recent 30 notifications; older ones are cleared out automatically.

### Choosing what you get notified about

[Settings → Notifications](/settings/notifications) splits toggles into three groups:

- **In-app: get notified when** — turn the bell-icon notification for list-followed, list-viewed, and wish-reserved on or off individually. - **Email me when** — the same three, plus a separate toggle for donations, each sent to your account email. - **Notify others when** — this one's about what *you* let a list owner know (always anonymously) when *you* reserve one of their gifts or contribute to one of their donations. Turn either off and that owner won't be told at all, in-app or by email.

"A new wish from someone you follow" doesn't have its own toggle yet.

Frequently asked questions

How many notifications does Bestboy keep?

Bestboy keeps your most recent 30 notifications and automatically clears out older ones, so your bell icon never gets cluttered.

Can I stop people from being notified when I reserve their gift?

Yes — turn off the relevant toggle under "Notify others when" in Settings → Notifications. Reservations and donations are always anonymous either way; this only controls whether the owner is told at all.

Will I be notified the moment someone adds a new wish to a list I follow?

Not instantly — Bestboy waits a little while after a new wish is added before notifying followers, so the list owner has time to make changes first.

Can I get an email when someone reserves or donates to my wishes?

Yes — under "Email me when" in Settings → Notifications, turn on Wish is reserved and/or Wish gets a donation.

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