How do WhatsApp Live Chat notifications work?

How do WhatsApp Live Chat notifications work?

Quick Answer: This FAQ details every rule, permission and setup step that determines when, how and to whom Live Chat notifications are delivered.


1. Notification Types

  • Sound – audible chime via system speakers.
  • In-App Toast – 5-second slide-in banner at top-right of MyOperator.
  • Desktop Push – OS-level pop-up even when the browser is minimised.

2. Message Preview in Notifications

Content TypePreview Shown
TextFirst 50 characters + …
Image📷 Image received
Video🎥 Video received
StickerSticker
Mixed (media + caption)First 50 characters of caption + …
Multiple mediaIndicator of last media type
Event-based (Bot Handover, Chat Assigned)Event label
Unsupported⚠️ Unsupported message

3. Notification Logic — Processing Order

Notifications are evaluated in this exact sequence. A suppression at any level halts further processing.

  1. Global Overrides
  2. Outside Business Hours Suppression
  3. Unassigned Chat Rules
  4. Assigned Chat Rules

4. Global Overrides

  • Unfocused BAN Suppression: Browser session receives notifications only for the BAN it is logged into.
  • Bot-Handled Chats: No sound, toast or push for a chat currently assigned to a Bot.

5. Outside Business Hours Suppression

  • All sound and push are suppressed outside the WhatsApp number’s configured business hours.
  • If no hours are configured, the number is treated as 24×7 open.
  • Agents may override per the setting “Non-Business Hours Override”.
  • Business Hours evaluation is cached; changes take ≤ 2 min.

6. Unassigned (OPEN) Chat Notifications

EventSoundToast / PushSpecial Rules
New message in Unassigned queue✅ once / 30 s window✅ every messageSound throttled to 1 per rolling 30 s.
Bot Handover to Human✅ every handover (no throttle)Bypasses throttle.
Old Chat Reopened (>48 h)Standard rules apply.

7. Assigned Chat Notifications

EventSoundToast / PushSuppressed If
New Chat Assignment / TransferSelf-assign; agent already viewing; chat with Bot.
New Message (agent not viewing)
New Message (agent viewing)Always suppressed.
Recent Chat Reopened (<48 h)Suppressed if agent is viewing.

8. Toast Notification Behaviour

  • Appear top-right, newest at bottom.
  • Visible for 5 s, then slide-right auto-dismiss.
  • Max 5 simultaneous; a 6th drops the oldest instantly.
  • Clicking a toast opens the relevant chat.

9. System Behaviour Under Degraded Conditions

  • Only notifications generated within 5 s of message receipt are delivered.
  • Backlog is not replayed after an outage, preventing floods.

10. Agent-Level Notification Settings

Path: Side Menu → WhatsApp → Notification

SettingDefaultBehaviour When OFF
Sound — Unassigned ChatsONNo audio for any Unassigned notifications.
Push — Unassigned ChatsONNo toast or desktop for Unassigned.
Sound — Assigned ChatsONNo audio for Assigned.
Push — Assigned ChatsONNo toast or desktop for Assigned.
Non-Business Hours Override (Sound)OFFON = receive sounds outside hours.
Non-Business Hours Override (Push)OFFON = receive push outside hours.

Push and Sound are linked—turning Push off automatically disables Sound.


11. Admin-Level Notification Permissions

Super Admins may lock the Notification Settings tab per role. When disabled, the tab is greyed out for that role. Default: enabled for all roles.


12. Browser Permission States

StatusWhat HappensUI Shown
GrantedAll notifications work.No banner.
Denied (Blocked)No push or in-app notifications.Dismissible yellow/red banner on Live Chat; permanent alert on Settings; toggles greyed out.
Not Yet AskedSystem nudges agent; native prompt on first login or Settings visit.Global banner + browser prompt.

CTA in blocked state: “Show me how” (docs) or “Dismiss”. Banner re-appears next login if still blocked.


13. Desktop Notification Setup

  • Windows 10/11: Settings → System → Notifications & Actions → enable browser. Then in browser: Settings → Privacy & Security → Site Settings → Notifications → Allow app.myoperator.com.
  • macOS: System Settings → Notifications → choose browser → Allow Notifications. Recommend “Alerts” so they persist. Also allow in browser as above.
  • Device-level Do Not Disturb / Focus Mode silences all desktop notifications.

14. Mobile Web Notifications

Sound and toast work in Chrome, Edge and Firefox on Android/iOS using the same rules. Agents must grant notification permission in the mobile browser. The native MyOperator app does not support Live Chat push notifications.


15. Analytics & Tracking

Mixpanel event notification_setting_changed is fired whenever an agent changes a toggle.

PropertyTracked Value
user_idAgent identifier
setting_changede.g., sound_enabled, push_enabled, override_non_working
new_valuetrue/false

AreaRequirement
Notification Latency< 3 s from event to delivery
Stale DropMessages > 5 s old at processing are discarded
Business Hours CacheRefresh every 2 min (≤ 2 min propagation)
AudioDistinct from common OS sounds
Browser CompatibilityFull support in Chrome, Edge, Firefox; Safari limited

Keywords

notifications, push, sound, toast, business hours, browser permission, throttling, settings, MyOperator Live Chat