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SGymerATComitFS's avatar
SGymerATComitFS
Copper Contributor
Apr 14, 2026

Web Notifications API from Personal Tab app doesn't work

I have a client-side web application that we're trying to get to run as a Teams personal tab app.

I have the app working as a teams app, as long as we "open in new window" so that the app doesn't get put to sleep as it needs a permanently up session with something else.

Our app uses Web Notifications API (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notification) to create desktop notificiations, but this does not seem to work when running as a Teams tab app popped out into a new window. No notifications are displayed.

Permissions have been requested correctly and given and Windows is set to allow notifications, but these web notifications never make it out of teams to the desktop.

There are no errors in the browser console to say the web notifications are not supported in Teams.

Is this not supported as a teams app? The inbuilt activity feed is useless for our purpose (for a few reasons), so please don't suggest I use graph to make use of that instead.

 

developer
microsoft teams

2 Replies

  • SGymerATComitFS's avatar
    SGymerATComitFS
    Copper Contributor
    Apr 16, 2026

    Thanks for the reply:

    1. As our app needs to be run in popped out window (it has WebRTC), it shouldn't matter if Teams has focus or not and whether our app is minimised or not. The whole point of our notifications is to tell the user something is happening so they go back to the app and do something about it.
    2. Our app already has a PWA manifest (although it's not a true PWA as it can't be run offline) and that is another way to install our app. Adding the ability to run inside Teams is a customer requirement that for us isn't right, but that's what they ask for. It's basically being treated like the OS (like a browser can be), where they want to house and run apps. It's bonkers really as the OS is designed for that and they could run our app in any browser or as a PWA, but that's what they all want, everything integrated into Teams. It's a passing fad I'm sure, but it's one we're all having to deal with.
  • Sayali-MSFT's avatar
    Sayali-MSFT
    Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
    Apr 15, 2026

    Hello SGymerATComitFS,
    Web Notifications created using the standard browser Notifications API (new Notification(...)) do not reliably surface as native desktop toasts when your web app is running inside a Microsoft Teams personal tab—even if the tab is popped out into a new window and permissions are granted. This is because Teams hosts tab content within its own controlled runtime environment rather than a full standalone browser, and that host does not consistently forward web-based notification requests to the operating system’s notification center. As a result, the API may appear supported and run without errors, but no system-level notifications are displayed. The Notifications API is designed to allow browsers to show system notifications outside the web page viewport, but actual delivery depends on the host environment, and embedded shells like Teams may restrict or ignore them for security or platform consistency reasons.

    Couple clarification questions:

    1. Do you need notifications while the user is not actively focused on Teams, or only while Teams is open?
    2. Are you able to support an installed PWA (same URL, installable) as the “always-on + notifications” runtime, with Teams acting as the entry point?