How to Receive Anniversary Notifications
Kwame, a 48-year-old high school basketball coach, lost his wife eleven months ago. The one-year anniversary of her death is approaching. He doesn't want to be surprised by it — he wants the app to acknowledge it with him, quietly, the day before. Not with a cheerful notification. Not with a reminder that says "one year!" in a way that sounds like a celebration. Just: we know this day is coming. We're here.
Anniversary notifications in Grief Companion are designed around that need. They arrive gently, give you options, and disappear without pressure.
How Anniversary Notifications Work
Anniversary notifications are triggered by dates you've entered in two ways:
- Milestone journal entries — any entry you've created as a Milestone type with a specific date attached (like "Anniversary of her death" or "Her birthday")
- Your grief profile — the date you entered when you set up your grief type during onboarding (if you included a specific date of loss)
When an anniversary date approaches, the app sends a notification the evening before.
What the Notification Looks Like
The notification arrives the evening before the significant date. It reads:
"Tomorrow is a day that matters. We're here if you need us."
There is no confetti, no "Happy" anything, no celebratory language. The notification does not say "one year anniversary" or name the date or count how long it's been. It simply says the day is coming and the app is here.
Tapping the notification opens the app directly to a compassionate acknowledgment screen for that day.
What Happens When You Open the App on the Anniversary Day
On the significant date itself, your dashboard shows an acknowledgment card at the top — above the daily check-in card, below the crisis resource banner. The acknowledgment reads:
"Today is a day that matters. Whatever you're feeling right now is right."
Below the acknowledgment, the app offers three options — all equally prominent, none more encouraged than the others:
- Write a journal entry — opens a new entry pre-labeled as a milestone
- Revisit memories — opens your memory timeline or a relevant collection
- Just sit with it — dismisses the card without taking any action
There is no notification about which option is "recommended." All three paths are valid.
Dismissing the Anniversary Acknowledgment
Tap Just sit with it or use your phone's back button to dismiss the card. The acknowledgment does not reappear the same day. No follow-up notification is sent asking how you're doing after dismissing it.
Customizing Anniversary Notifications
To adjust how anniversary notifications work, go to Settings → Notifications → Anniversary Reminders.
From there, you can:
- Turn off all anniversary notifications — the app will not send any reminders for significant dates
- Adjust notification timing — receive the notification two days before instead of one, or on the day itself instead of the evening before
- Manage individual dates — see the list of dates that will trigger notifications and remove any you'd rather not be reminded of
What to Expect
Grief Companion will never send an anniversary notification that uses celebratory language, counts how long it's been, or suggests you should feel a particular way on that date. The notification is an acknowledgment that the date exists, not a directive about how to experience it.
If you didn't set up any milestone dates during onboarding, you won't receive anniversary notifications until you create a milestone journal entry with a specific date. You can do this at any time from the Journal tab.
Anniversary notifications are available on all plan tiers, including Free. They require notification permissions to be enabled on your device.
Was this article helpful?