# Very confused, watching vs tracking a post? **URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219 **Category:** Support **Created:** [September 12, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219 "2024-09-12T16:04:06Z") **Posts on this page:** 5 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![xgpt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ed8c4c/32.png) [@xgpt](https://meta.discourse.org/u/xgpt) #### Post date: [September 12, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219/1 "2024-09-12T16:04:06Z")
When I searched for the answer I found a few posts talking about how confusing the terminology was and it seemed as though the developers were considering changing it to subscribe or something? What is the difference between watching and tracking a topic? ---
### Author: ![ondrej](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/ondrej/32/198804_2.png) [@ondrej](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ondrej) #### Post date: [September 12, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219/2 "2024-09-12T16:11:57Z")
![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/6/f/d/6fd305b23faa94770d95098b9273517af3886bc3.png) ---
### Author: ![awesomerobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/awesomerobot/32/142900_2.png) [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot) #### Post date: [September 12, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219/3 "2024-09-12T16:18:00Z")
As noted in the above screenshot, watching means you’ll receive a notification for every post made within the topic. Tracking means you’ll only be notified if someone replies to you directly (by clicking the reply button under your post), or mentions your `@username` ---
### Author: ![Lilly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/lilly/32/575047_2.png) [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly) #### Post date: [September 12, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219/4 "2024-09-12T16:20:47Z")
The settings descriptions in [https://yoursite/my/preferences/tracking](https://yoursite/my/preferences/tracking) are pretty straightforward: ![The image displays a list of categories and tags in a digital interface, possible for a social media platform or content management system. (Captioned by AI)](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/e/6/d/e6d97798b37c333b6e6e272e0795fd85d09e394d.png) These settings are affected by the ones above it in the preferences: ![The image displays a user interface with a section titled "Topics" and options for creating topics in the last 2 days, automatically track topics in the last 5 minutes, and tracking a topic set that is closed when user post in a topic. (Captioned by AI)](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/c/3/cc311125e542d0209fa6d4b553600d22c7b26b9e.png) I also inquired with the Settings helper for a full explanation: > **[Understanding Discourse Tracking Settings and Scenarios](https://meta.discourse.org/discourse-ai/ai-bot/shared-ai-conversations/ESKIjpBpa3TQaziW5HBOHg)** > > Lilly: please explain in detail the tracking settings in user preferences in Discourse. compose your answer like a help topic and give me example scenarios of how the tracking settings work for categories, topics and posts. ---
### Author: ![system](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/system/32/443519_2.png) [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system) #### Post date: [October 12, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/very-confused-watching-vs-tracking-a-post/326219/5 "2024-10-12T16:21:40Z")
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