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I have a settings page in this web app where a user can configure the categories of notifications that they want to show or hide.

How can I inform the user that these settings are not global (i.e. saved on the server and apply to all users), but are saved in localstorage, and apply to this browser only?

If I should use some sort of message, I'm not sure how to word it without getting too technical.

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Does the application also offers server sync, or is it purely local storage one? – Izhaki Aug 25 '12 at 16:19

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I wouldn't store in the localstorage. Localstorage is mainly for cache only. Store on the server, bind the data to the username. You can loose localstorage data when reinstalling computer, upgrading browser or working from home. Use it only for browser-specific settings, if any. Most people expect user-name authenticated webapps to magically work from anywhere.

On the other side, these are system admins according to your previous question, just tell them the truth: "this gets stored only in your browser, not in your user profile - it won't be accessible from a different browser or after reinstall.", and that's it. They're sysadmins, they know what this means I guess.

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local storage is the sensible choice if the app supports offline mode. Also, could be the sensible choice for allowing users to quickly try the application without the need to open an account. – Izhaki Aug 25 '12 at 16:21
@Izhaki: even then it's mostly for cache - eg. if you did GMail or GDocs offline, the localStorage would only provide a cache for the "real" data until the next opportunity for online connection. Trying out was done with server-side session mgmt for ages (see amazon basket), for consistency reasons, but you're right, it could be viable. However, from the linked previous question, we know the target audience and likely use cases I guess (when I was a sysadmin, I didn't need offline anything) – Aadaam Aug 25 '12 at 16:55

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