How do I set my Canvas notification preferences as an observer?

[#1]

You can receive Canvas notifications for the courses you are observing. Notifications are sent to Canvas contact methods listed in your account User Settings. Canvas includes a set of default notification preferences. However, you can change the default settings by setting your own notification preferences. Your notification preferences only apply to you; your notification settings do not affect course notifications sent to the student you are observing.

Some notifications may not apply to the observer role. To learn more about each notification, default settings, and notification triggers, view the Canvas Notifications PDF.

You can select one of four delivery frequency options for each notification type:

• Notify me right away
• Daily summary
• Weekly summary
• Don't send.

If you change a setting, the change is effective immediately to your account.

If you reply directly to email notifications from outside of Canvas, your reply also appears in your Canvas Inbox. However, attachments added as part of an external reply are not included with the Canvas Inbox message.

Notes:

• You may be able to select notification preferences for an individual course. Learn more about managing notifications for a single course.
• SMS notifications are only available for Announcements and Grading notification types.
• Some notification categories include limited availability for push notifications. Full details about supported notifications for push notifications can be found in the Canvas Notifications PDF.

Open Account Notifications

In Global Navigation, click the Account link [1], then click the Notifications link [2].

View Account Notification Settings

The Account Notification Settings page displays a banner reminding you that account-level notifications apply to all courses [1].

View the account-level notification types [2] and your listed contact methods [3].

Each notification has a default delivery frequency preference. To view the current notification delivery frequency for a notification type and contact method, hover over the notification icon [4].

View Notification Details

To view details for a notification, hover over the notification name.

Set Notification Preferences

To view an observed student's name in notifications, click the Show name of observed students in notifications checkbox [1]. Currently only grade update notifications include observed student names.

To change a notification delivery frequency for a contact method, locate the notification and contact method. Then click the notification icon [2]. You can select one of four delivery frequency types:

• Notify immediately [3]: receive these notifications right away. These notifications may be delayed by up to one hour in case an instructor makes additional changes, which prevents you from being spammed by multiple notifications in a short amount of time.
• Daily summary [4]: receive a daily summary for this notification type.
• Weekly summary [5]: receive a weekly summary for this notification type.
• Notifications off [6]:  no notifications sent for this notification type.

Notes:

• Account-level notification preferences automatically apply to all of your courses. However, you may be able to manage notifications for a single course.
• Twitter and SMS notification preferences do not support daily summary or weekly summary options.
• Unregistered contact methods display on the Account Notification Settings page but notifications will not be sent until you confirm the registration.

View Privacy Notice

If you've set a notification preference for an email address that is not associated with your institution, a Privacy Notice may display. To close the warning, click the OK button. Once the warning displays and is dismissed once, it will not display again.