What Half-Mast does
Half-Mast monitors official federal and state government sources for flag status and half-staff orders. The website (half-mast.com) shows current and historical status for the U.S. and all 50 states, with links to the original government order behind every status. The iOS app shows the same verified status and can send you a push notification when it changes for the topics you choose.
Turning on notifications
Open the app and go to Settings, then choose “Enable notifications.” iOS will ask you to allow notifications — this only happens when you take that action, not automatically when you install the app.
Choosing which states you get alerts for
In the app’s Settings, you can select federal alerts and any specific states you want to follow. You can change this selection at any time; it takes effect the next time the app registers your device.
Notifications aren’t arriving
If you’ve enabled notifications in the app but aren’t receiving them, check:
- iOS Settings → Notifications → Half-Mast — confirm notifications are allowed there.
- That you have at least one topic selected in the app’s notification settings.
- Whether the state or event you’re expecting actually had a status change — not every day has one.
If you previously denied the permission prompt, iOS won’t ask again automatically — you’ll need to turn it on directly in iOS Settings.
A state shows “verification unavailable”
Some states don’t have a way for us to positively confirm current status from their official website at a given moment — rather than guess, we show “verification unavailable” until we can confirm it from the source. This is intentional: we’d rather tell you we can’t confirm something than show you a status we’re not sure is right. The federal status and a link to the state’s official source are still shown on that state’s page.
Email alerts
Email alerts are a separate feature available on half-mast.com (not inside the app). You can sign up for federal alerts, specific state alerts, or both. After signing up, check your inbox for a confirmation link — alerts don’t start until you confirm. Every alert email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also request a new confirmation email if the first one expires or doesn’t arrive.
Questions about your data
See our Privacy Policy for what the website and app collect, why, and how long it’s kept.
Contact us
Still stuck, or have a question this page didn’t answer? Email half.mast.patriot@gmail.com.