In Planner, you have two ways to stay informed. Planner can send email notifications and mobile app notifications. Looking for how to turn notifications in Planner on or off? Checkout these articles:
Difference between email notifications, group email notifications, and mobile app notifications
Planner email notifications
Planner email notifications are email messages sent only to you and are delivered to your inbox.
Group emails
Group email notifications are email messages sent to all group members. Emails are sent from Microsoft Planner to the group mailbox.
For those following the plan's group, these email notifications are not delivered to their inbox. However, if a user posts a comment on a task, the user will receive email notifications in their inbox for each subsequent comment made on that task (even for comments made by other users).
The following two images show group email messages. In the first one, a plan member is the first person to comment on a task asking for the status.

In the second image, a plan member has replied to the task.

Planner mobile app notifications
The other type of notifications that you can receive are push notifications on the Planner mobile app. Planner mobile app notifications display just like any other notifications on your phone or device. When you tap on the Planner mobile app notification, it will open the Planner app.

For more information or for a link to download the mobile apps, check out the following topics:
The following table describes the types of notifications you'll receive, the activities that triggers them, and where you can change the setting.
Activities |
Who receives? |
Email notifications |
Planner mobile app notifications |
Change settings? |
A task is assigned to someone |
All plan members who are following the group in their inbox |
Yes |
No |
Yes. |
A task is marked as Completed |
All plan members who are following the group in their inbox |
Yes |
No |
Yes Group owners: turn group emails about task activity on or off for a plan |
You create a plan |
All plan members |
Yes |
No |
No. You can't turn this off. |
You are added to a plan |
You |
Yes |
No |
No. You can't turn this off. All plan members receive a welcome email from Microsoft letting them know they've been added to the plan, tips and tricks on using plans, and a link to the plan. |
Any plan member comments after your comment |
You |
Yes |
No |
No. You can't turn this off. |
Someone assigns a task to you |
You |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes. This is on by default. |
Someone comments on a plan |
All plan members who are following the group in their inbox |
Yes |
No |
No. You can't turn this off. |
You have tasks that are near or past their due dates |
You |
Yes |
No |
Yes. This is on by default. |
When are notifications sent?
Notifications are sent every day of the week, including weekends.
Someone assigns a task to you
One email and one mobile app notification will be sent for each task that is assigned to you. The email will contain a link to the task in Planner. And the mobile app notification displays just like your other notifications on your phone. When you tap on the Planner mobile app notification, it will open the task in the Planner app.
You have tasks that are near or past their due date
You will receive email notifications once a day if you have at least one task assigned to you that meets the following:
-
7 days late
-
Due yesterday
-
Due today
-
Due tomorrow
-
Due in 7 days
You won't get email notifications for the following types of tasks:
-
Completed tasks
-
Tasks that are more than 7 days overdue
-
Tasks that are due more than 7 days in the future
Too many email messages?
When you create a plan in Planner, an Office 365 group is created. It’s through the Office 365 group that you can post comments and have conversations around tasks. So sometimes you’ll receive email from both Planner and Groups about the same activity. To reduce the number of messages you receive, check out this topic:Plan members: manage group emails for your Planner plans.
Not getting email from Planner?
If your organization’s product licenses include Exchange Online, you can receive email reminders. If you are using on-premises Exchange Server, there may be issues. For more information talk to your administrator or see How do I make sure all my people can get emails for Planner?.
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