Guide: Install CommentWatchDog on your phone
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/install-commentwatchdog-on-your-phone
Topic: Getting started
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/notifications?tab=device
Result when done: The app sits on your home screen and tells you when a comment needs a reply, even when it is closed.
Context: CommentWatchDog installs from the browser: no app store, no download. On an iPhone it has to be added to the Home Screen before notifications can work. On Android and on a computer, one tap installs it.

Before you start:
1. On an iPhone or iPad: iOS or iPadOS 16.4 or newer, opened in Safari. Other browsers cannot add an app to the Home Screen.
2. On Android: Chrome. On a computer: Chrome, Edge, or Safari 16.4 or newer on a Mac.
3. Notifications are per device, so turning them on here does not change your other devices.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Open Settings, Notifications, then This device.
Where: On a phone: the menu button at the top left, scroll the drawer to the profile row at the bottom, Settings, then the Notifications tab, then This device. On a computer: the profile menu at the bottom left of the sidebar, Settings, Notifications, This device.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/notifications?tab=device (Open This device)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/device-phone.en.webp (Notifications, Device: this device, and the devices already receiving notifications.)
You should see: A card for the device you are holding, and a list of the devices that already receive notifications.

Step 2 of 4: Add the app to your home screen.
Where: On an iPhone, in Safari: the Share button at the bottom of the screen, then Add to Home Screen, then Add at the top right. On Android, in Chrome: the three dots at the top right, then Install app or Add to Home screen. Show me how walks through it screen by screen.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/install-phone.en.webp (The install sheet: tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.)
You should see: The CommentWatchDog icon appears on your home screen. Opened from there, the app runs full screen with no browser bar.

Step 3 of 4: Turn notifications on.
Where: Open the app from the home screen, go back to Settings, Notifications, This device, and press Turn on notifications. Your phone asks once: choose Allow. On an iPhone the ask only appears in the installed app, never in the Safari tab. Once it is on, two switches appear under This device: comments that need a reply, and finished cleanups. Leave on the kinds you want on this phone.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/device-turnon-phone.en.webp (Turn on notifications, under This device.)
You should see: Notifications are on for this device, with the switches for what you want to receive.

Step 4 of 4: Send yourself a test.
Where: Test, beside each device in the list at the top of the Device tab. It uses the same channel every real alert uses, so a test that arrives means the real ones will.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/device-phone.en.webp (Test, beside a device in the list.)
You should see: Notifications are on arrives on this device within a few seconds. If nothing arrives, the fixes below cover each platform.

If something is off:
Problem: There is no Add to Home Screen option
Fix: You are not in Safari. On an iPhone only Safari can add an app to the Home Screen; open the link in Safari and try again.
Problem: Notifications are blocked
Fix: Allow them in your browser's site settings for CommentWatchDog, or in your phone's settings for the installed app, then come back and turn them on again.
Problem: The test never arrives
Fix: On an iPhone, notifications only work from the app on the Home Screen, not from a Safari tab. Open the app from the icon, turn notifications on there, then test again.
Problem: I opened the link inside another app
Fix: Browsers inside other apps cannot install apps or send notifications. Use that app to open the link in Safari or Chrome first.
Problem: I get the same alert on two devices
Fix: That is by design: every device you turned on gets it. Turn a device off in its own This device card, or remove it from the list.

Common questions:
Question: Is CommentWatchDog in the App Store or on Google Play?
Answer: No. CommentWatchDog installs from the browser, with no app store and no download. On an iPhone you add it to the Home Screen from Safari; on Android and on a computer one tap installs it.
Question: Will I still get notified when the app is closed?
Answer: Yes. Once the app is on your home screen and notifications are turned on under This device, it tells you when a comment needs a reply even when it is closed. On an iPhone this works only from the installed app, not from a Safari tab.
Question: Which notifications can the phone app send me?
Answer: Two kinds, each with its own switch under This device once notifications are on: comments that need a reply, and finished cleanups. Leave on the kinds you want on this phone; the choice is per device.
Question: Can I install CommentWatchDog on my computer as well?
Answer: Yes. On a computer it installs in Chrome, Edge, or Safari 16.4 or newer on a Mac, from Settings, Notifications, This device. Notifications are per device, so each computer and phone is turned on separately.

Related guides:
- Set up the daily digest: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/set-up-the-daily-digest
- Your first look at the inbox: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/your-first-look-at-the-inbox
- Turn on push notifications: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/notifications/turn-on-push-notifications

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/install-commentwatchdog-on-your-phone.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt