How to Disable the “Notify Group Members of These Changes” Option by Default

Introduction

When editing group settings in BuddyBoss, the “Notify group members of these changes” checkbox is enabled by default. If you prefer this option to be unchecked automatically to prevent sending notifications unintentionally, you can achieve this by adding a small custom script to your active theme. This guide explains how to disable the “Notify Group Members of These Changes” option by default

Custom Workaround

Before proceeding, make sure you have a complete site backup.

1. Go to Appearance > Theme Editor in your WordPress admin dashboard.
   
2. Under Select theme to edit, choose your active theme (preferably BuddyBoss Child Theme), then click Select.
   
3. From the Theme Files list, select Theme Functions (functions.php).
   
4. Add the following code just before the closing PHP tag (?>):
   

add_action( 'wp_footer', 'modify_group_notify_members_checkbox' );

function modify_group_notify_members_checkbox() {

    ?>

    <script>

        document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {

            var checkbox = document.getElementById('group-notify-members');

            if ( checkbox ) {

                checkbox.removeAttribute('checked');

            }

        });

    </script>

    <?php
}

5. Click Update File to save your changes.
   

After applying this code, the “Notify group members of these changes” option will be unchecked by default when editing group settings.

Note: Modifications are typically considered custom work, but we are making an exception in this case. Please review the BuddyBoss Support Policy.

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Q: The checkbox is still checked by default.
A: Make sure the code is added to the active theme’s functions.php file and that caching (browser, plugin, or server) is cleared. Also confirm that the checkbox ID has not been modified by custom templates or plugins.

Q: Will this completely disable group notifications?
A: No. This only changes the default state of the checkbox. Group admins can still manually enable notifications if needed.

Q: Does this affect existing groups?
A: This applies when editing group settings going forward. It does not retroactively change notifications that have already been sent.

Q: How can I undo this change?
A: Simply remove the added code from functions.php and save the file.