# Updates, requests, and messages

#### Page contents

* [Overview](#overview)
* [How to view, fulfill and decline requests](#how-to-view-fulfill-and-decline-requests)

#### Overview

ResearchGate is designed to keep you connected with your research community and the impact of your work. You can find notifications and interactions in three dedicated areas: Updates, Messages, and Requests.

* **Updates:** Find out about new followers, publications added by your co-authors, answers to questions you follow, and much more.
  * **How to access:** Click the bell icon in the top-right corner of any ResearchGate page.
  * **Tip:** Clicking a specific update takes you directly to the new content, so you can easily see who is engaging with your research.
* **Messages:** This is where you can view and manage all private messages you have sent or received from researchers who follow you.
  * **How to access:** Click the envelope icon in the top-right corner of any ResearchGate page.
    * For a complete guide on how to send, archive, and delete messages, please see our dedicated article: [Contacting other researchers](/getting-started/contacting-other-researchers.md).
  * **Note:** For privacy reasons, we don't share the personal details of any researcher, nor can we forward any messages to them on your behalf. Non-members can [sign up for a profile](https://www.researchgate.net/signup.SignUp.html) to begin connecting with others.
* **Requests:** This area contains all Full-text, Author, and other types of requests that require a response or confirmation from you.
  * **How to access:** Click the speech bubble icon in the top-right corner of any ResearchGate page.

#### How to view, fulfill and decline requests

To manage all full-text requests, follow these quick steps:

1. **Access requests:** Click the speech bubble icon in the top-right corner of any ResearchGate page.
2. **View all:** If you don't see a specific request in the dropdown, click **View all** to go to your [Open requests inbox](https://www.researchgate.net/requests).
3. **Respond:** Click the **View request** button under the item, then click **Respond to...** to begin the process.
4. **Decline:** select **Decline request** and a pop-up window will appear where you can choose the appropriate option

For a complete, step-by-step guide on how to fulfill or decline a request, including the detailed options for sharing and important information on your sharing rights, please see our dedicated Help Center article: [Discovering and requesting research](/research-and-publications/discovering-and-requesting-research.md).


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.researchgate.net/profile/updates-requests-and-messages.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.