A push notification is the little banner your phone shows even when
OutaStory is closed — a new instalment of a serial you follow, a reply to
your comment, a narration that has finished.
This article is the short version: how to switch it on and what to do
when nothing turns up.
First, the honest part
Until 27 August 2026, push notifications did not reach any phone at
all. Not yours, not anyone's. It was a fault in the apps, not in your
settings and not in anything you did.
It is fixed. If you tried before then, gave up and assumed you had
broken something — you had not. Update to the current version, follow
the two steps below, and it works.
Updating is covered in
Keeping the app up to date.
Two switches, both needed
Push needs a yes from two different places, and it stays silent
until it has both.
- Your device has to allow OutaStory to show notifications.
- OutaStory has to be set to send you the kinds of notice you want.
Neither one on its own is enough. Most "nothing arrives" reports are one
of the two being off.
Step 1 — let your device allow it
The first time it matters, your phone or browser asks once: may
OutaStory send you notifications? Tap Allow.
That question is asked only once. If it was dismissed, declined, or
appeared while you were doing something else, OutaStory cannot ask again
by itself — you have to grant it by hand:
- On an iPhone or iPad: Settings → Notifications → OutaStory →
switch Allow Notifications on. - On Android: Settings → Apps → OutaStory → Notifications →
switch them on. - In a browser: click the small icon at the left of the address bar,
find Notifications, and set it to Allow. Then reload the page.
Step 2 — choose what you want to hear about
Open /settings/notifications. Every kind of
notice is listed separately, and each one can be switched on or off for
in-app, push and email independently.
A brand-new account has everything switched on, so this page is usually
about turning things off rather than on.
Account and security notices are the exception — those are always sent.
Where push works, and where it does not
Push works on iPhone and iPad, on Android, and on the web.
There is no pop-up notification on macOS or on Windows. That is not a
setting you have missed; those apps simply do not do it. Nothing is
lost, though — every notice still lands in the notification centre at
/notifications, which works identically everywhere.
Small differences worth knowing
- iPhone and iPad: the permission prompt appears the first time you
open OutaStory after signing in. If your phone is in Focus or
Do Not Disturb, notices are delivered quietly and wait in your
notification list. - Android: recent Android versions ask for notification permission
when the app first opens. Some phones also have a battery
optimisation setting that delays background notices; if yours is
aggressive about that, allow OutaStory to run unrestricted. - The web: push here is tied to the browser you allowed it in. Allow
it in Chrome and it will not arrive in Firefox.
Still nothing arrives
Work through these in order.
- Are you signed in? Push is tied to your account. A signed-out app
has nobody to notify. - Check the device permission using the list in step 1 above. This
is the single most common cause. - Check
/settings/notificationsand confirm the type you are
waiting for is switched on for push and not only for in-app. - Are you on macOS or Windows? Then there is nothing to fix — see
the section above. - Update the app. If it has not been updated since August 2026,
push cannot work at all. - Send the app a test. Do something that notifies you — following
an author who publishes often is the easy one — and give it a few
minutes.
If it still stays quiet, open a ticket at
/help/contact and say which device, which app, and
what you have already tried.
Related
- Push notifications, platform by
platform — the longer
version, including the timing rules behind each notice. - Managing your
notifications — reading,
clearing and dismissing what has arrived. - Notifications and how to manage
them — the preference
page in detail.