Agree that it is disappointing that there is no built-in option for this seemingly basic capability.
I use the community integration Sendmail to send myself email and text notifications:
By default it can send email notifications, and you can also use it to send yourself text messages by using your mobile carrier's email-to-text gateway (e.g., for Verizon, send an email to your phone number, e.g., 123-456-7890@vtext.com). It does require a compatible email address, usually the email address provided by your ISP (e.g., I use my Spectrum email address) will work w/Sendmail. Accounts on services like Gmail or Hotmail have additional security/requirements. If you have a compatible ISP email address I highly recommend Sendmail - especially because you can use it for both email and texting.
If mobile phone notifications would work for you, you can use the HE mobile app to receive those.
On mobile you can also use the Pushover service/mobile app - it's is a very simple, very cheap option, with a lot of features and controls. Easy to set up, one-time small payment, and very reliable. Down-side (like using the HE app) is it's a separate app that everyone who wants to get notifications needs to install on their phone.
There are other email options but they get more complex to set up, require configuring email support on a RPI, etc.
