Index: README.md
===================================================================
--- README.md	(revision f574435e514e088f63bb5fa1595059f929339456)
+++ README.md	(revision 96c714f68f23cf079e786ef6c33248d540533ab2)
@@ -22,4 +22,8 @@
   sites, Mastodon, PeerTube — any fediverse server) and their public posts appear in your
   Circle. Decentralized, no central platform — built on ActivityPub.
+- **Push notifications** — a browser/PWA notification for new followers, replies,
+  mentions, likes, boosts and private messages, even with the site closed.
+  Self-hosted Web Push (VAPID): payloads are encrypted end-to-end to your
+  browser, and private messages never carry their text in the push.
 - **Themes & languages** — multiple palettes (light + dark), interface in EN/NL/DE.
 - **Installable (PWA)**, **privacy-first** (self-hosted fonts, no tracking).
@@ -168,4 +172,5 @@
 | `PUBLIC_BASE_URL` | ✅ | Canonical URL (e.g. `https://yourdomain.com`) |
 | `PAID_SECRET` | auto | Encrypts the stored Patreon secrets for **paid posts**. Leave empty to auto-generate on first use (`storage/.paid-secret`), or set your own ≥16-char string. |
+| `VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY` / `VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY` / `VAPID_SUBJECT` | auto | Identify this server to browser push services (**push notifications**). Leave empty to auto-generate on first use (`storage/.vapid`). |
 | `SMTP_HOST` / `_PORT` / `_USER` / `_PASS` / `_FROM` | — | Email for password reset + newsletter |
 | `KLONKT_DEFAULT_LANG` | — | Default language for visitors (`en`/`nl`/`de`) |
@@ -182,4 +187,6 @@
 - `PAID_SECRET` → `storage/.paid-secret` (encrypts the stored Patreon secrets for
   paid posts)
+- `VAPID_*` → `storage/.vapid` (identifies this server to browser push services;
+  regenerating it would silently break every existing push subscription)
 
 The paid-posts key lives **outside** the database on purpose: encrypting the
@@ -189,5 +196,7 @@
 **Back up the whole `storage/` directory** (database, media *and* these key
 files). Restoring the database without `storage/.paid-secret` leaves the stored
-Patreon secrets unreadable — you'd have to reconnect Patreon.
+Patreon secrets unreadable — you'd have to reconnect Patreon. Restoring without
+`storage/.vapid` breaks push subscriptions — every device would have to re-enable
+notifications.
 
 ## Stack