Push notifications: what they are and how to use them without getting blocked
A push notification is the message that appears on the phone's screen, with your app's icon, even when the person is not using the app. It is the only channel where your business speaks first, without the person having to open anything.
That is exactly why it is fragile. One bad notification leads people to turn them all off, and you lose the channel with that customer for good. This guide is about using it well.
Push in a native app and push in a PWA
There are two ways for an app to send notifications, and they behave differently.
| Native app (from the store) | PWA (from a link) | |
|---|---|---|
| Android | works | works |
| iPhone | works | works since iOS 16.4, only if the app was added to the home screen |
| Permission request | when the app decides, within the system's rules | only after the person taps a button |
| Delivery | through Apple's and Google's services | through the push service tied to the browser |
The row that changes everything is iPhone with a PWA. The notification exists, but it depends on the person opening Safari, tapping Share and then "Add to Home Screen". Most people do not do that without being invited. If your business depends on reaching iPhone customers by notification, the native app is the safer path.
When to ask for permission
On iPhone, no app sends notifications without asking first. On Android, that has applied since version 13. And the system prompt appears only once: if the person taps "Don't Allow", only they can turn it back on, in the phone's settings.
That is why the most expensive mistake is asking on first launch, before the person knows what the app does. The approach that works:
- Wait for a reason. Ask when the notification has clear value: after the first order, when booking an appointment, when joining the loyalty program;
- Explain first, on your own screen. A simple screen in the app saying "Want to know when your order goes out for delivery?", with a "Notify me" button;
- Only then trigger the system prompt. People who tapped "Notify me" almost always accept. People who tapped "Not now" can be invited again later, without having burned the one-time prompt.
Apple itself recommends asking in the context where the feature makes sense, not right at launch.
Segmentation: send to the people who care
Sending the same message to everyone is the fastest way to lose people. Segmenting just means splitting your base by something you already know:
- by what the person did: bought in the last 30 days, disappeared 60 days ago, never used the coupon;
- by what they chose: preferred location, favorite category, workout time;
- by where they are in the relationship: new sign-up, loyal customer, customer who canceled.
A Tuesday all-you-can-eat pizza night promotion makes sense for people who order in the evening, not for people who only buy at lunch. The same message, to the right half of the base, brings more orders and fewer people turning the app off.
To segment, the app has to store that information. That is why it is worth thinking about it when you describe the app: date of the last order, location, preferences, birthday.
Frequency: less than it seems
There are two kinds of notification, and they have opposite rules:
An update about something of the person's: the order went out, the appointment is tomorrow, the payment was approved. It can be several times a day, because they want to know.
A marketing message: a promotion, something new, an invitation to come back. Here the limit is low. For most local businesses, once or twice a week is already the ceiling, and many do better with once every two weeks.
Three practical rules:
- never in the middle of the night, nor at the hours your customer is asleep;
- one idea per notification, with what to do next;
- the tap leads to the right place: the promotion opens the promotion, not the home screen.
The notification icon on Android
On Android, a notification uses two icons: the large one, which can be colorful, and the small one, shown in the status bar. The small one is drawn by the system using only the shape, and colors are ignored.
The result is that a regular app icon, colorful and with a filled background, shows up as a white square or circle with no shape at all. To avoid that, the small icon has to be:
- a simple silhouette, just the brand's shape;
- white on a transparent background;
- free of fine detail, because it appears at a very small size.
On iPhone this does not exist: the notification shows the app's own icon.
Examples by type of business
Delivery and restaurants. Order confirmed, out for delivery, arrived. The deal of the day only for people who have already ordered at that time.
Salons, barbershops and clinics. A reminder the day before and two hours before the appointment. "It has been 30 days since your last haircut" for people who usually come back every month.
Gyms. A class spot opened up on the waiting list. A membership fee reminder close to the due date. A message for people who have not checked in for two weeks.
Pet shops. "It has been 25 days since Thor's last bath", with a button to book. A vaccine reminder based on the date on file.
Loyalty. "You are two stamps away from your free coffee." A birthday message with the gift.
Churches and associations. An event reminder the day before, a schedule change, a livestream starting. Here low frequency matters even more.
Where this fits on Fabapp
On Fabapp, push is part of the native app. In the Mobile app tab, at the Features step, you turn notifications on, and that is what makes the app ask for permission on the device. On iPhone, delivery goes through Apple with the credential the platform creates in your account. On Android, delivery uses Firebase Cloud Messaging and requires you to connect the two files from your Firebase project at the Accounts step; without them, push works on iPhone and not on Android.
What triggers each notification, and for whom, is part of the app you describe: "push when the order changes stage", "a reminder the day before the appointment". The setup details are in the guides Publishing your app to the stores and Connecting your Apple and Google accounts.
The summary
- push is the channel where the business speaks first, which is why it has to be useful to avoid being turned off;
- on iPhone, a PWA only receives push after being added to the home screen; the native app has no such barrier;
- the system permission prompt appears once: explain first and ask at the moment it makes sense;
- updates about something of the person's can be frequent; marketing, once or twice a week at most;
- on Android, the small notification icon is a white silhouette on a transparent background.
A ready request to build your own
Build a loyalty app for a chain of two coffee shops. The customer signs up with name, mobile number and birthday and picks a preferred location; at each purchase the staff member scans the customer's QR code and adds a stamp, and ten stamps become a free coffee; the customer sees the stamp card, the history and the available rewards; the app asks for notification permission only after the first stamp, explaining what it is for; automatic push when the customer is two stamps away from a reward, on their birthday and when they have not come in for thirty days; promotional push sent only to people who opted in, per location; and an admin dashboard only I can see with active customers per location, stamps this month, rewards redeemed and how many agreed to receive notifications.
Free to start. The first version arrives in a few minutes and you refine it by chatting.