- For families
Location alerts and area watches
A location alert tells you when a new activity matching what you chose is listed on Famlo. You set one up on your account, or, without an account, you can ask Famlo to email you about an area. Library events aren't included in either.
Set up a location alert
You need to be signed in. The State is the only thing you must choose; everything else narrows the alert down.
- Open your account menu (your initial or photo, top right) and select Location alerts.
- Under New alert, choose a State (1).
- If you want, fill in City (optional), Category (optional), Type (optional), Min age (optional), Max age (optional) and Keywords (optional).
- Select Save alert (2).
Famlo shows "Location alert saved. We'll notify you about new matching activities." and the alert appears under Your alerts.
You can also reach the same page from:
- the Location alerts row at the top of your Saved page, which shows how many areas you're watching;
- Account settings › Notifications, under Location alerts, with Add an area;
- on a phone, Account settings, under Your family.
What each field matches
An activity has to match every field you filled in. Fields you leave blank match anything.
| Field | What has to be true |
|---|---|
| State | The activity is in that state. |
| City (optional) | The activity's town is spelled the same as yours (capital letters don't matter). A nearby town doesn't count, so "Fort Myers" won't match "North Fort Myers". |
| Category (optional) | The activity is listed under that category. |
| Type (optional) | The activity is that type: Class, Field trip, Meetup, Workshop, Drop-in, Co-op or Camp. Leave it on Any type to hear about all of them. |
| Min age (optional) and Max age (optional) | The activity's age range overlaps yours. An activity for ages 6 to 10 matches an alert for ages 8 to 12. Ages go from 0 to 21. |
| Keywords (optional) | At least one of your keywords appears in the activity's title, description or venue. |
Separate keywords with commas. "robotics, chess" matches an activity that mentions robotics or one that mentions chess. Words without a comma between them, such as "lego robotics", are looked for together, as you typed them. Capital letters don't matter.
There's no distance or radius setting. To cover several towns, make one alert for each town, or leave City (optional) blank to watch the whole state.
When you hear about a match
- You're alerted when an organization lists a new activity publicly on Famlo. Activities only members can see, and activities shared only by link, don't trigger alerts.
- Library events aren't included.
- If you created (or claimed) an organization's listing, that organization's new activities don't trigger your alerts.
- You hear about each activity once, even if several of your alerts match it.
- If an organization lists many classes at once, you get one notice instead of one for each, such as "8 new classes near you".
A single new activity arrives as New activity near you with its title and town. The email's subject is "New activity near you:" followed by the title, with a View activity button.
These notices follow your Activity updates settings in Account settings › Notifications, so you choose there how they reach you. See Notifications.
Each alert under Your alerts shows "Last match" and a date, or "No matches yet".
Change or remove an alert
- Open your account menu and select Location alerts.
- Under Your alerts, select Remove (3) next to the alert.
- Confirm when asked "Remove this location alert?"
You can also select Remove next to an alert in Account settings › Notifications.
You can't edit or pause an alert. To change one, remove it and save a new one. To stop all of them for a while without removing them, clear the boxes on the Activity updates row in Account settings › Notifications, then select Save preferences. That also pauses other news about activities, such as freed-up spots and announcements from organizations.
Watch an area without an account
Some pages offer a small card with an Email address field and a Watch this area button. It's headed "Tell me when something appears" or names the place, such as "Tell me when something is posted in Wyoming". You'll find it:
- in activity search, when nothing matches and your search names a state;
- on famlo.co/activities when nothing is listed near you yet, headed "Tell me when Famlo reaches" and your town;
- on a state's activities page when nothing is listed there yet;
- on a state guide when nothing is posted in that state yet;
- on an organization's schedule page when it has nothing posted there, to watch the area around it (not just that organization).
The card watches what you were looking at, such as the state, the town and your search words. The line under the button sums it up, for example "New activities in Wyoming · no account needed".
- Type your email in Email address (1).
- If you'd also like Famlo's own news, check "Email me occasional Famlo updates as well — new classes and groups near me, and product news. Unsubscribe anytime." It's unchecked to start with, and you don't need it for the watch to work.
- Select Watch this area (2).
The card changes to "You're watching this area", with a summary and the address Famlo will email. Library events aren't included.
When a new activity matching your watch is listed, Famlo emails you about it, with a View activity button. If an organization lists many classes at once, you get one email about them instead. The watch stays on after the first email: Famlo keeps watching and emails you again when something else comes up, until you stop it.
Asking for the same watch twice gives you one watch, not two.
If you're signed in, the card has no email field. The watch is added to your Location alerts instead, and the confirmation has a Manage your alerts link.
Stop an area watch
Every email from a watch has its own link to stop it.
- Open the stop link in the email.
- On "Stop this alert?", select Stop these emails.
The page then says "Stopped". Opening the link alone doesn't stop anything; you have to select the button.
The link stops only that one watch. If you're watching other areas, they keep going. It also doesn't change the Famlo updates box. If you checked it, use the unsubscribe link in one of those update emails.
To watch the same area again later, fill in the card again.
Troubleshooting
I'm not getting alerts. Check that the activity is public and in the state you chose, and that its town is spelled the same as your City (optional). Library events never send alerts. If you're signed in, check that the boxes on the Activity updates row are checked in Account settings › Notifications.
The card says "This form has been open a while". The page sat open too long. Reload it and fill in the card again.
Nothing happens when I select Watch this area. The card accepts five requests in ten minutes. Wait a few minutes, reload the page and try again.
The stop link says "That link has expired". That watch is already stopped, or the link was cut short. If you haven't stopped it yet, open the link straight from the email, or copy the whole link. Either way, this page means nothing is being sent from that link.
I want to hear about one organization, not an area. Alerts can't watch a single organization. Follow the organization instead. See Finding organizations and reading their page.