Account Settings Guide
Manage your profile, security, notifications, privacy, and more
Last updated: February 2026
Quick Overview
Your account settings let you control how your profile appears, how you receive notifications, and who can see your information. Both providers and clients have a settings page, though providers have a few extra options like messaging controls and quick replies.
Getting to Your Settings
The settings page is accessed from your dashboard. Depending on your account type, the path is slightly different:
Provider Settings
Go to your Provider Dashboard and click "Settings" in the sidebar, or navigate directly to /provider/settings.
Client Settings
Go to your Client Dashboard and click "Settings", or navigate directly to /client/settings.
Both settings pages are organized into tabs along the left side (or a scrollable row on mobile). Click any tab to switch between sections. The page remembers your scroll position when switching tabs.
Profile Settings
The Profile tab is where you manage your basic account information. Here's what you can change:
For Both Providers and Clients
- Username — Your unique account identifier. This is set when you create your account and cannot be changed. It's displayed as read-only.
- Display Name — The name that appears on your profile and in conversations. You can update this anytime.
- Email Address — Used for account notifications and password recovery. If you change your email, you'll need to verify the new address before it takes full effect.
Client-Only Profile Fields
Clients have a couple of additional profile fields:
- Birthday — Your date of birth. This helps with age verification.
- Bio — A short description about yourself (up to 500 characters). This is visible to providers and can help them get to know you before your first meeting.
Password & Security
The Security tab (called "Password" for clients) is where you manage your password and account security settings.
Changing Your Password
Go to the Security tab (or Password tab for clients) in your settings.
Enter your current password in the first field.
Type your new password in the "New Password" field.
Type the same new password again in the "Confirm New Password" field.
Click "Update Password" to save. You'll see a confirmation message when it's done.
Each password field has a toggle button (eye icon) that lets you show or hide what you've typed, so you can double-check for typos.
Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring a second verification step when you log in. This feature is coming soon and will be available in the Security section once launched.
Verification Status (Providers)
Providers have a dedicated Verification tab that shows the status of their account verifications:
- Email Verification — Whether your email address has been confirmed. If not, you can request a new verification email with one click.
- Phone Verification — Confirms your phone number. Coming soon.
- ID Verification — Full identity verification for the verified badge on your profile. Coming soon.
Messaging Settings
Providers only: The Messaging tab lets you control how clients can reach you through the platform's built-in messaging system. Clients do not have a messaging settings tab.
Accept Messages Toggle
The "Accept Messages" checkbox controls whether clients can send you new messages. When turned off:
- Clients will see a notice that you're not accepting messages when they try to contact you
- Existing conversations remain accessible — you can still read and reply to them
- If you've set up an auto-reply, clients will see your custom message explaining the situation
Auto-Reply
Enable auto-reply to automatically send a message when someone contacts you. This is especially useful when:
- You're on vacation or taking a break
- You want to share your screening requirements upfront
- You want to direct people to your preferred contact method
- You're not accepting messages but want to explain when you'll be back
Your auto-reply message can be up to 2,000 characters. Toggle it on, write your message, and click "Update Messaging" to save.
Quick Replies (Providers)
Quick replies are pre-written message templates that save you time when responding to common questions in conversations. They appear in the Messaging tab of your provider settings.
Setting Up Quick Replies
Go to Provider Settings and click the Messaging tab.
Scroll down to the Quick Replies section below the auto-reply options.
Click "Add Quick Reply" to create a new template.
Enter a short label (what you'll see in the picker) and the full message text.
Click "Add" to save. The reply is immediately available in all your conversations.
Managing Your Templates
- Each quick reply has a label (up to 50 characters) — the short name you see in the picker
- And a message text (up to 2,000 characters) — the full message that gets inserted
- You can have up to 20 quick replies
- Click the pencil icon to edit an existing reply
- Click the trash icon to delete one
- Changes save automatically when you add, edit, or delete a reply
Using Quick Replies in Chat
Once you've created quick replies, they're available in every conversation. Tap the lightning bolt icon next to the text input in any conversation to see your templates. Tap one to insert it into the message field, then edit it if needed before sending.
Notification Preferences
The Notifications tab gives you granular control over how and when you're notified about activity on your account. There are three categories of notifications.
Email Notifications
Control which events trigger an email to your registered address:
- New Messages — Email when you receive a new message (delayed 90 minutes to avoid spam)
- New Reviews — Email when a client leaves you a review
- Reference Requests — Email when a provider requests a reference for a client
- Boost Reminders — Email when your boost is about to expire or you have unused boost slots
- Plan Alerts — Email about subscription expiration and billing updates
- Marketing Opt-Out — Stop receiving promotional emails and platform updates
- Email Notifications — General email notification toggle
- Message Notifications — Email when you receive a new message (delayed 90 minutes)
- Review Notifications — Email about review-related activity
Both providers and clients have a "Disable All Email Notifications" master switch. When enabled, it turns off all emails except password reset. Individual toggles are grayed out when the master switch is on.
In-App Notifications
In-app notifications appear in the bell icon in your navigation bar. These are separate from email notifications — you can have emails off but still see in-app alerts.
- Message Notifications — Bell alerts for new messages
- Review Notifications — Bell alerts for new reviews
- Boost Notifications — Bell alerts about boost status and expiration
- Reference Notifications — Bell alerts for reference requests and approvals
- Subscription Notifications — Bell alerts about payments and subscription status
- Message Notifications — Bell alerts for new messages
- Review Notifications — Bell alerts about your reviews (approved, denied, responses)
- Reference Notifications — Bell alerts about references and vouches
Browser Push Notifications
Push notifications let you receive alerts even when you're not on the site. To set them up:
Check browser support
Your settings page will show whether your browser supports push notifications. Most modern browsers do.
Click "Enable"
In the Browser Push Notifications section of the Notifications tab, click the Enable button.
Allow browser permission
Your browser will ask for permission to show notifications. Click "Allow" when prompted.
You're set
You'll now receive browser notifications for new messages, reviews, and other important updates — even when you're not on the site.
Privacy Settings
The Privacy tab lets you control your visibility on the platform and what information others can see.
Provider Privacy Options
Profile Visible
Controls whether your profile appears in search results and listings. Turn this off to hide your profile from the directory entirely.
Show Online Status
When enabled, clients can see the green "online" indicator on your profile and provider card.
Show Last Seen
Displays when you were last active on the platform. Turn this off if you don't want others to know when you were last online.
Client Privacy Options
Clients have all of the above plus some additional privacy controls:
Anonymous Mode
Hides your name, avatar, and personal details. You appear as "Anonymous Member" to providers and other users.
References Visibility
Choose how your references appear to providers: show the full list, show to TOB providers only, show just a count, or hide them completely.
Trust & Screening (Clients)
Clients have a dedicated Trust & Screening tab that helps build credibility with providers. This section is not available for provider accounts.
Verification Status
At the top of the Trust tab, you'll see your current verification status — whether your email is verified, with phone verification coming soon.
Screening Ready
The "Screening Ready" toggle indicates to providers that you're prepared to provide screening information (references, ID, etc.) when requested. This is a signal of good faith and can help providers feel more comfortable communicating with you.
P411 ID
If you have a Preferred411 account, you can enter your P411 ID here. This lets providers quickly verify your screening history through the P411 platform. Enter it in the format shown (e.g., "P12345").
Security Best Practices
Use a Strong Password
Choose a long, unique password that you don't use on any other site. Mix letters, numbers, and special characters.
Don't Share Login Credentials
Never share your password with anyone — not even someone claiming to be from TheOtherBoard. We will never ask for your password.
Keep Key Notifications On
At minimum, keep message and security notifications enabled so you don't miss important communications or account alerts.
Review Privacy Regularly
Check your privacy settings periodically to make sure they still reflect your preferences, especially if your situation changes.
Set Up Quick Replies (Providers)
Save time by creating templates for common responses: greetings, screening requirements, availability, and polite declines.
Verify Your Email
A verified email ensures you can always recover your account and receive important security notifications.
Common Questions
No, usernames are permanent and cannot be changed after account creation. Your username is your unique identifier on the platform. However, you can change your display name at any time, which is what other users see in most places.
When you update your email address, a verification email is sent to the new address. You'll need to click the verification link in that email. Until you verify the new address, your old email remains active for account recovery. If you're a provider, your email verification badge will be removed until the new address is confirmed.
This master switch turns off every email notification except password reset emails (which are always sent for security). You'll still receive in-app notifications (the bell icon) and push notifications if enabled. Individual email toggles are grayed out when this is on.
Browser push notifications require your browser's permission. If you previously denied the permission, you'll need to manually re-enable it:
- Click the lock icon (or site info icon) in your browser's address bar
- Find the Notifications permission
- Change it from "Block" to "Allow"
- Refresh the page and try enabling push notifications again
Note: Push notifications are not supported in all browsers. If your browser doesn't support them, you'll see a message saying so in the settings.
Hiding your profile (turning off "Profile Visible" for providers, or "Public Profile" for clients) removes you from search results and listings. However, people who already have your profile link or an existing conversation with you can still reach you. To fully stop incoming messages, providers can also turn off "Accept Messages" in the Messaging tab.
You can create up to 20 quick reply templates. Each template has a label (up to 50 characters) and message text (up to 2,000 characters). If you reach the limit, you'll need to delete an existing one before adding a new template.
Need more help?
Check out the full Knowledge Base for guides on messaging, searching, reviews, and more. If you can't find what you're looking for, reach out to our support team.
Knowledge Base