Settings & Preferences

BrewHoard provides comprehensive settings to customize your experience. Manage notification preferences, enable or disable features, and configure Progressive Web App (PWA) options.

Settings Overview

Access your settings from the user menu or navigate directly to /settings. The settings are organized into three main sections:

Notification Settings

Control how and when BrewHoard sends you email notifications.

Master Toggle

The Enable Email Notifications toggle controls all email communications. When disabled, no emails will be sent regardless of individual preferences.

Notification Types

Email Configuration Status

The settings page displays your email configuration status:

• Green indicator: Email notifications are configured and active
• Yellow indicator: Email notifications are not fully configured (may require server-side setup)

Feature Settings

Customize which BrewHoard features are available to you.

Available Features

Collection (Always On)

The core beer collection feature is always enabled. Track, rate, and manage your beer collection.

Marketplace

Enable to buy and sell beers with other collectors.

• List beers for sale
• Browse available listings
• Complete transactions
• Track purchase history

Social Features

Enable to connect with other beer enthusiasts.

• Follow other users
• View activity feed
• Like and comment on beers
• Discover new collectors

Discoverability

When Social Features are enabled, you can toggle Discoverability:

• Enabled: Your profile appears in user discovery and search results
• Disabled: Your profile is hidden from discovery (you can still follow others)

Note: Discoverability automatically disables when Social Features are turned off.

PWA Settings

Manage Progressive Web App features for an enhanced mobile experience.

App Installation

Install BrewHoard as a standalone app on your device:

• Desktop: Click “Install App” in the browser address bar
• Mobile: Add to Home Screen from browser menu
• Benefits: Faster loading, offline support, full-screen experience

Installation status indicators:

• Installed: App is running in standalone mode
• Install Available: Click to install the app
• Not Available: Installation not supported on this browser

Push Notifications

Control browser push notifications:

• Enable notifications to receive real-time updates
• Test notifications to verify they work correctly
• If blocked, update your browser settings to re-enable

States:

• Enabled: Notifications are active
• Disabled: Click to request permission
• Blocked: Change browser settings to enable

Storage Management

Monitor and manage app storage:

• View current storage usage (MB used / quota)
• Storage bar shows usage percentage with color coding:
  • Green: under 60% used
  • Yellow: 60-80% used
  • Red: over 80% used
• Clear Cache: Remove cached data to free up space

App Updates

Manage application updates:

• Auto Updates: Toggle automatic update downloads
• Update notifications appear when new versions are available
• Click “Update Now” to apply pending updates
• Version status shows if you’re running the latest version

Network Status

Real-time network connectivity indicator:

• Online: Connected to the internet, full functionality
• Offline: Using cached data, changes sync when reconnected

API Reference

Get Notification Preferences

GET /api/v1/notifications/preferences

Response:

{
  "preferences": {
    "email_enabled": true,
    "welcome_emails": true,
    "transaction_emails": true,
    "rating_emails": true,
    "marketplace_emails": true,
    "collection_reminders": false,
    "marketing_emails": false
  },
  "email_config": {
    "enabled": true,
    "provider": "resend",
    "from": "noreply@brewhoard.com",
    "hasApiKey": true,
    "environment": "production"
  },
  "can_send_emails": true
}

Update Notification Preferences

PUT /api/v1/notifications/preferences
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email_enabled": true,
  "welcome_emails": true,
  "transaction_emails": true,
  "rating_emails": false,
  "marketplace_emails": true,
  "collection_reminders": true,
  "marketing_emails": false
}

Response:

{
  "preferences": { ... },
  "email_config": { ... },
  "can_send_emails": true,
  "message": "Notification preferences updated successfully"
}

Update Feature Preferences

Feature preferences are updated via form submission to /settings/features:

POST /settings/features
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

feature_marketplace=on&feature_social=on&discoverable=on

Privacy Considerations

• Email notifications: Your email is only used for selected notification types
• Discoverability: Control whether others can find you in search results
• Feature toggles: Disabled features don’t collect or share related data
• Offline storage: Cached data stays on your device
• Account deletion: You can permanently delete your account and all data from the Profile page (GDPR compliant)

Account Deletion

Users can permanently delete their account and all associated data from the Profile page. This implements GDPR Article 17 (Right to Erasure).

How to Delete Your Account

1. Navigate to your Profile (click your avatar in the navigation)
2. Scroll to the Danger Zone section at the bottom
3. Click Delete Account
4. Type DELETE in the confirmation dialog
5. Click Yes, delete my account

What Gets Deleted

When you delete your account, all of the following data is permanently removed:

• Your user account and profile information
• All beers in your collection
• All ratings and tasting notes you’ve written
• All marketplace listings you’ve created
• All transaction history (as buyer or seller)
• All social connections (followers and following)
• All notification preferences
• All API keys
• All active sessions

This action is irreversible. Consider exporting your collection before deleting your account.

Best Practices

1. Start minimal: Enable features as you need them
2. Review notifications: Disable types you don’t need to reduce email volume
3. Install the PWA: Better performance and offline access
4. Clear cache periodically: Free up storage if running low
5. Enable auto-updates: Stay secure with the latest version

Related Documentation

• Social Features - Social feature details
• Marketplace - Marketplace feature details
• Collection - Collection management
• Social API - Social API endpoints
• Authentication - Account deletion technical details