Phone and desktop alerts put a notification on your phone or computer when a page you monitor changes. There is no app to download from an app store, nothing to configure, and nothing to pay: the channel is free on every plan. Turn it on once per device and PageCrawl sends an alert there whenever a check detects a change.
What do the alerts look like?
Each alert names the page that changed and, when AI summaries are on for that page, includes a short summary of what changed, so you can decide from the lock screen whether it is worth a look. Tap the notification to open the change in PageCrawl. Alerts arrive even when PageCrawl is not open.
Every member of your workspace who has turned alerts on receives them on their own devices, so a shared watchlist reaches the whole team without any extra setup.
How do I turn on alerts on my computer?
Open Settings > Notifications, find the Phone and desktop alerts card, click Turn on alerts on this computer, and choose Allow when your browser asks whether pagecrawl.io may show notifications. That is the whole setup. The computer then appears under Your devices, and Send a test alert confirms that alerts reach it.
- Open Settings > Notifications.
- In the Phone and desktop alerts card, click Turn on alerts on this computer.
- When the browser asks for permission, choose Allow.
- Click Send a test alert to check that a test alert appears.
This works in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari 16 or later on a Mac. The browser has to be running for a desktop alert to show, but the PageCrawl tab can be closed.
How do I get alerts on my iPhone?
iPhones only deliver website notifications to sites that have been added to the Home Screen, so first add PageCrawl there from Safari's Share menu, open it from the new icon, then turn alerts on under Settings > Notifications. This needs iOS 16.4 or later, and the same steps work on an iPad.
- Open pagecrawl.io in Safari and sign in.
- Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up).
- Scroll down, tap Add to Home Screen, leave Open as Web App switched on if you see it (it is on by default), then tap Add.
- Open PageCrawl from the new icon on your Home Screen. Alerts only work when PageCrawl is opened this way, not from a Safari tab. If the icon opens a normal Safari tab, it was added with Open as Web App switched off: delete the icon and add it again with the switch on.
- Go to Settings > Notifications and tap the Turn on alerts on this phone button in the Phone and desktop alerts card (on an iPad the button reads Turn on alerts on this tablet).
- Choose Allow when your iPhone asks for permission.
The Home Screen icon is the same PageCrawl website with its own icon; nothing is downloaded from the App Store. Once it is set up, alerts arrive like any other app notification, even when PageCrawl is closed, and you can change the sound and banner style under your iPhone's Settings > Notifications > PageCrawl.
If you open pagecrawl.io in a normal Safari tab, the Phone and desktop alerts card shows these same steps instead of a button, because Safari itself cannot show the alerts.
How do I get alerts on my Android phone?
On Android, open pagecrawl.io in Chrome, go to Settings > Notifications, tap the Turn on alerts on this phone button in the Phone and desktop alerts card and choose Allow. Nothing needs to be installed, and alerts arrive even when Chrome is closed. Adding PageCrawl to your Home Screen is optional and gives it its own icon.
- Open pagecrawl.io in Chrome and sign in.
- Go to Settings > Notifications.
- In the Phone and desktop alerts card, tap Turn on alerts on this phone.
- Choose Allow when Chrome asks for permission.
- Optional: open Chrome's menu (the three dots) and choose Add to Home screen to get a PageCrawl icon next to your other apps.
Firefox for Android works the same way.
Which browsers and devices are supported?
| Browser | Desktop | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Yes | Yes (Android) |
| Firefox | Yes | Yes (Android) |
| Edge | Yes | - |
| Safari 16 or later | Yes (Mac) | Yes (iPhone and iPad on iOS 16.4 or later, opened from the Home Screen) |
You can turn alerts on for as many devices as you like. Each one is listed under Your devices on the Phone and desktop alerts card, where you can also remove a device you no longer use.
Why did my alerts stop?
Alerts stop for one of four reasons: notifications were blocked for pagecrawl.io in your phone or browser settings, the device was removed under Your devices, the browser replaced its notification address (this can happen after a browser update or a long stretch of not opening PageCrawl), or, on iPhone, the Home Screen icon was deleted or now opens in Safari. Opening PageCrawl on that device repairs only the replaced address; the other three need the steps below. Send a test alert tells you whether it worked.
- Notifications are blocked. On iPhone, open your iPhone's Settings > Notifications > PageCrawl and allow notifications. On Android, open Android's Settings > Apps > Chrome > Notifications and check that pagecrawl.io is allowed. On a computer, click the lock or site icon in the address bar, find Notifications and set it to Allow. Then reopen PageCrawl.
- The device was removed, or you cleared site data. Open Settings > Notifications and look at Your devices. If the device is missing, or you cleared site data for pagecrawl.io on that device, turn alerts on again from that device.
- The browser replaced its notification address. Open PageCrawl on that device (from the Home Screen icon on iPhone). PageCrawl registers the device again on its own.
- The Home Screen icon was deleted or opens in Safari (iPhone). Add PageCrawl to the Home Screen again, leave Open as Web App switched on if you see it, and turn alerts on from the new icon.
After any of these, press Send a test alert in the Phone and desktop alerts card on that device. If the test arrives but change alerts do not, two settings can be holding them back: a page covered by a scheduled report delivers its changes in the report instead of one at a time, and a device with a Min Priority set only receives changes rated at or above that score.
Can I get fewer alerts on my phone?
Yes. When AI summaries are on for your workspace, every device under Your devices has its own Min Priority slider. Set it to 70 or 80 on your phone and only the changes the AI rates as important reach you there, while your computer keeps receiving everything. For a daily or weekly roundup instead of single alerts, use scheduled reports.
- Min Priority per device. The slider runs from All (every change) to 100. A phone set to 80 only gets changes scored 80 or higher. Price, number and availability monitors do not receive a score, so their alerts are always sent, and if the AI analysis fails for a change the alert is still sent rather than lost.
- Scheduled reports. A scheduled report bundles the changes from the pages it covers into one daily, weekly or monthly message, and those pages stop sending single alerts. Escalation rules in the report can still send a single alert for a change that scores above a threshold you choose.
- Notification conditions. Add notification conditions to a page to be alerted only when, for example, a price drops or a keyword appears.
How do phone alerts compare with other channels?
Every channel is sent when a check detects a change, so none is faster than another; the difference is where the alert lands and what it is good for.
| Channel | Setup | Speed | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone and desktop alerts | None | On the next check | Personal watchlists, price drops and restocks you want to see on your phone |
| None | On the next check | A searchable record of every change, with the full diff and screenshots | |
| Slack | Webhook URL | On the next check | Teams that discuss changes in a channel |
| Discord | Webhook URL | On the next check | Communities sharing one watchlist |
| Teams | Webhook URL | On the next check | Companies working in Microsoft 365 |
| Telegram | Chat ID | On the next check | Chat-based alerts, including groups and channels |
Can I combine phone alerts with other channels?
Yes. Phone and desktop alerts cover every page in your workspace once a device is turned on, and the other channels are chosen per page under Notify me via in the page settings, so they layer naturally. A common setup:
- Phone and desktop alerts for the pages you want to act on quickly (price drops, restocks, appointment slots)
- Email for a searchable archive of every change
- Slack or Teams for changes that need team discussion
Other channels: email notifications, Telegram, Slack, Discord and Microsoft Teams.