Users get flooded with notifications they don't need while missing the ones they do. This guide shows you how to control a user's notification preferences, either by walking them through it or managing it directly as an admin.
Why notification preference management exists
Before notification preferences, every user got every notification the system generated — assignment alerts, approval requests, system updates, everything. Users couldn't opt out of anything, which meant important notifications got buried in noise. The people affected are end users drowning in irrelevant emails, help desk teams fielding complaints about notification spam, and admins trying to balance keeping people informed without overwhelming them.
How notification preferences work
ServiceNow splits notifications into two categories: subscribable notifications that users can control, and mandatory notifications that they can't. Users manage their own preferences through their profile's Notification Preferences, where they see every subscribable notification and can toggle them on or off. Admins get a broader view through the user record's Subscriptions related list, which shows both what the user has subscribed to and what mandatory notifications are hitting them. The key distinction is that subscribable notifications respect user choice, while mandatory ones fire regardless.
Making preferences work in practice
Once users understand they can control their notifications, the common next step is setting organization-wide defaults for new users and cleaning up notification definitions that shouldn't be mandatory. Many organizations audit their mandatory notifications and convert non-critical ones to subscribable. You'll also want to document which notifications users should keep enabled — assignment notifications, approval requests, and password resets typically stay mandatory, while informational updates about record changes can be subscribable.
Before you start
- •User administration role or admin role to modify other users' preferences
- •Users can modify their own preferences without special roles
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Step by step
Navigate to the user's profile
Click the user avatar in the top right corner, then select "Profile" for your own preferences. For other users, go to User Administration > Users, search for the user, and open their record. The profile method is faster for self-service, but the user record is necessary for admin management.
Access notification preferences
From the user's profile page, click "Notification Preferences" in the left navigation. You'll see a list of all subscribable notifications with toggle switches. Each notification shows its description and current subscription status. If accessing via the user record instead, scroll to the Related Lists section and click "Subscriptions".
Review current subscription status
Look at which notifications are currently enabled (toggled on) versus disabled. Subscribable notifications appear with toggle switches that users can control. Pay attention to the notification descriptions — they tell you exactly when each one fires and what triggers it.
Mandatory notifications don't appear in the user's Notification Preferences view, only in the admin's Subscriptions related list.
Toggle subscription preferences
Click the toggle switches to enable or disable subscribable notifications. Green means the user will receive that notification, gray means they won't. Changes save automatically as you toggle each switch. Focus on notifications related to the user's role — developers need different alerts than end users.
Check mandatory notifications via admin view
If you're an admin, navigate to the user record and open the Subscriptions related list to see the complete picture. This view shows both subscribable notifications the user has enabled and mandatory notifications they can't control. Look for the "User can unsubscribe" column — false means it's mandatory.
Verify notification delivery channels
While in the Subscriptions related list, check the "Delivery channel" column to confirm notifications are going to email, SMS, or other channels as intended. If a user isn't receiving notifications they're subscribed to, this is where you'll spot delivery channel mismatches with their contact preferences.
Best practices
Don't make notifications mandatory unless they're genuinely required for business operations — users will ignore everything if there's too much noise.
Document which notifications users in each role should keep enabled, especially for assignment notifications and approval workflows.
Check the Subscriptions related list when users complain about not receiving expected notifications — they might be subscribed but the delivery channel is wrong.
Audit mandatory notifications quarterly and convert informational ones to subscribable when possible.
Set reasonable default subscriptions for new users rather than subscribing them to everything or nothing.
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