Turn on notifications
Choose which notifications you get — and fix a red Alerts tile on Home.
Notifications tell you the moment someone comments on a post or a photo goes up. The same page holds your families' time zone, which decides when parents at home get the push notifications for your announcements.
- Step 1
Look for a red Alerts tile
If Home shows a red Alerts tile 1, your phone is blocking PassportsGo's notifications. Tap it.
This isn't the bell at the top of Home: that one lists group alerts, like someone leaving a geofence.
- Step 2
Turn notifications on
Settings opens. Under Devices, your phone says "notifications off" 1. Tap Turn on notifications 2: your phone asks you to allow them or, if you said no before, opens PassportsGo's page in your phone's settings, where you switch notifications on.
- Step 3
Choose what you hear about
Under Push Notifications there's a switch for each kind, like Group Leader Announcements 1 and Photo Posts 2. Change them, then tap Save Settings at the bottom of the page.
Meeting points and head counts always come through, whatever the switches say.
- Step 4
Set your families' time zone
Your families' time zone 1 is where the parents at home live. Your posts email everyone at once. Push notifications to people at home wait for 8 AM in this zone if it's between 9 PM and 8 AM there, so nobody is woken at night. Pick the zone 2; it saves at once.
On tour, the travelers and chaperones with you get your announcements right away, whatever the time at home.
Only you can change it. Your admins see it but can't edit it.
Good to know
Can I send something to parents at night?
Yes: tick Urgent — notify everyone right now when you post. It skips the wait, so parents at home get the push notification straight away. See Post an announcement.
Do my announcements reach families without the app?
Yes, by email. Every announcement goes by email to everyone who can see it, whether they have the app or not. People signed in to PassportsGo also get a push notification. Announcements never go out as texts.
What happens when I tap a notification?
It opens what it's about: a chat notification opens that chat, a photo notification opens the Photos tab, and a post on Updates or a meeting opens that post or meeting. That works whether PassportsGo is open, in the background or closed. If it's for another of your tours, PassportsGo switches to that tour first. Your other notifications stay on your phone.
What does the number on the app icon count?
The same as the red inside the app, across all your tours: unread posts, chats, photos and group alerts, plus Helpdesk replies and to-dos in My Account, like updated terms to agree to. Notifications stay on your phone, even when you open the app, until that number reaches 0 or you sign out. A to-do keeps the number above 0 until you finish it, so swipe away any notifications you're done with.
Can I get notifications on a computer?
Yes, on passportsgo.com: in Settings, under Devices, tap Enable notifications on this browser and allow them when your browser asks.
Screens show a sample family and tour — your names, dates and amounts will differ. Checked against the app November 3, 2026.
Call us. A real person in Worcester picks up.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm Eastern — and around the clock once your group is on tour. Or email passportsgo@passports.com.