Configure Mobile Settings and Push Notifications

Rocket.Chat provides mobile apps for iOS and Android, so you can stay connected while on the move. To keep communication secure, administrators can configure mobile app settings and push notifications to match their organization’s policies.

Configure mobile settings

Administrators can manage mobile settings by going to: Manage > Workspace > Settings > Mobile

From here, you can define how the Rocket.Chat mobile app behaves on users’ devices.

Available options

Mobile app push notifications

Rocket.Chat supports push notifications on mobile devices so users don’t miss important messages. You can configure this in two ways:

• Push Gateway (recommended): This is the recommended method if your users rely on the official Rocket.Chat mobile applications. With this option, Rocket.Chat securely manages the keys required to send notifications through Apple’s APN and Google’s FCM services. This means you don’t have to handle sensitive credentials yourself, and push alerts will reliably reach users through the official apps.

• Self-Configured: This is required if you prefer not to use Rocket.Chat’s gateway. In that case, you will need to run your own push server and white-label the Rocket.Chat mobile app so it can communicate with your infrastructure. For detailed instructions on how to do this, refer to the Mobile App White Labeling guide.

If your server is behind a firewall, make sure to allow access to the Rocket.Chat gateway URL: gateway.rocket.chat

You can find the complete list of required URLs in the Firewall Configuration documentation.

Configure push notifications

To use push notifications, you must first accept the Cloud Service Privacy Terms Agreement in Manage > Workspace > Settings > Setup Wizard > Cloud Info.

After that, go to Manage > Workspace > Settings > Push to configure the following options.

General push settings

Important notes:

• Cloud-hosted workspaces always use the Rocket.Chat gateway by default. This cannot be changed.

• Self-managed workspaces can either use the default Rocket.Chat gateway or configure a custom gateway.

• Community edition workspaces include up to 10,000 free push notifications per month. For unlimited push notifications, upgrade to one of Rocket.Chat’s premium plans .

Certificates and Keys

If you disable the gateway, Rocket.Chat falls back to direct communication with Apple (APN) and Google (FCM). In that case, you need to provide valid certificates and keys:

• APN Passphrase

• APN Key

• APN Certificate

• APN Dev Passphrase

• APN Dev Key

• APN Dev Certificate

• Google FCM API Credentials

For more details, see the Configuring Push Notifications guide.

Privacy

Use these settings to control how much information is included in push notifications:

• Show Channel/Group/Username in Notification: Displays the channel name, group name, or username in notifications.

• Show Message in Notification: Makes the message text visible in the notification.

• Hide message content from Apple and Google (and the Gateway, if enabled):

  Available only on a Premium plan. Instead of sending message content, Rocket.Chat sends only a message ID. The mobile client then fetches the message content directly from the server before displaying it. If the fetch fails, the notification displays “You have a new message.” This option is useful for compliance scenarios where sensitive information must not be exposed to third-party services.

When Enabled

When privacy is enabled, contextual information (such as message content) is included in push notifications.

When Disabled

When privacy is disabled, push notifications are sent without contextual information.

• The user only receives a generic notification.

• To see the full message details, the user must open the Rocket.Chat application.

• This setup is often required for compliance-sensitive environments (e.g., HIPAA) to prevent sensitive information from being disclosed in push notifications.

Next steps for notification management

• After completing push configuration, set default user notification preferences via the Default User Preferences guide.

• Manage channel-based notifications using the Channel Notifications guide.

On some channels, notifications may stop if the number of users exceeds the set limit. You can adjust this under Manage > General > Notifications.  See Notifications guide for more details.

Cloud sync

For self-managed customers who purchase a push notification package:

1. Go to Manage > Workspace > Subscription.

2. Click Sync license updates.

3. This updates your workspace with the latest push notification entitlements from Rocket.Chat Cloud.

Managing notifications

Checking notification usage

To check the number of notifications used per month:

1. Go to cloud.rocket.chat.

2. Open the Workspaces tab and select your workspace.

3. In the Push notifications block, you’ll see the number of notifications used against your monthly limit.

Setting notification preferences

After completing push configuration, users can update their notification settings in several ways:

• Account preferences: Users can manage their notification preferences in their profile.

• Room preferences: Users can manage notification preferences for individual rooms they belong to.

These settings do not affect other workspace members.

Workspace administrators can define default notification settings for all users under: Manage > Workspace > Settings > Accounts > Default user preferences.

Push notification rules

Notifications are determined by server settings, user preferences, and subscriptions.

• User status (online, away, offline) is no longer considered.

• Notifications are queued and sent based on the following rules:

Additional rules:

• When a user reads a channel, all their queued notifications are cleared.

• When a notification is processed, any other scheduled notifications for that user are rescheduled to the current time. The current notification is re-queued and ordered by creation date.

Troubleshooting: why notifications may not be delivered

Notifications will not be sent if:

• Room notifications are disabled.

• The user ignores the sender.

• @here and @all notifications are disabled, and the message includes one of these mentions.

• The user is not active or their status is set to Busy.

• The user’s device is not connected (Desktop/Mobile).

• The user has not enabled Always display mobile notifications.

• User or room preference is set to Nothing.

• The room member count exceeds the notification limit set in Administration.

Push notifications workflow

Rocket.Chat’s push notification workflow ensures that notifications are delivered quickly, reliably, and with flexibility. This process allows users to stay updated with new messages and channel activity, even when they are not actively using the app.

The diagram below illustrates the complete workflow, from the moment a message is sent in Rocket.Chat to when the push notification is received on a user’s mobile device.