ChatPager
Google Chat notifications when Chrome is closed
Close Chrome, or close the Chrome profile you use for an account, and Google Chat stops alerting you on your computer. Messages still arrive, but you won't know until you open Chat again.
Why it happens
Google Chat's desktop notifications come from Chat running in Chrome: a chat.google.com tab, Chat in Gmail, or the Google Chat desktop app. The desktop app looks like a separate app, but it's a web app installed by Chrome, and Google's help says Chrome needs to be open to use it. When Chrome or that profile is closed, nothing is running to notify you.
What you can do in Chrome
- Open the Chat app when you log in. In Chrome, go to
chrome://apps, right-click Google Chat and choose Launch at startup. Chat then opens with your Mac, but it still stops if you quit Chrome or close that profile. - Keep Chrome running. Leave a Chat window open in each profile you need alerts for.
- Rely on your phone. If the Google Chat mobile app is set up, Google can notify you there. Google notes that if you don't respond on your computer, notifications also go to your other signed-in devices.
Alerts without Chrome open, with ChatPager
ChatPager is a small Mac app that fixes this. You sign in to each Google account once, and it watches Google Chat for all of them from the menu bar, whether or not their Chrome profiles are open. When a message arrives it shows a Mac notification, and clicking it opens the conversation in the right Chrome profile. If a profile is already open, ChatPager stays quiet and lets Chrome alert you, so you don't get told twice.
It reads messages directly from Google on your Mac; nothing passes through us. It's US$19, once, with a 14-day free trial. Join the beta list to hear when it's ready to download.