Overview

Push (also called remote) notifications are essential for re-engaging users when they’re not actively using your app. They can display text and rich content like images, buttons, and sounds.

Push notification examples.

For push to work on mobile:

  • Your users must have your mobile app installed
  • You must configure the correct platform credentials (e.g., FCM for Google Android, APNs for iOS, HMS for Huawei, ADM for Amazon)
  • Users must grant permission to receive notifications

This guide walks through every step—from SDK setup to sending personalized push messages—to help you successfully implement OneSignal push notifications.


Mobile push developer guides

Before you can send mobile push notifications, your developer needs to complete the following steps.

Not a developer? See Manage Team Members to invite a teammate with developer access to your OneSignal project.


Ask users for permission to send push

Mobile platforms have users subscribe (aka “opt-in”) to receive push notifications. This involves displaying a prompt to users asking for permission. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines recommends that apps “Create an alert, modal view, or other interface that describes the types of information they want to send and gives people a clear way to opt in or out.”

You can build this experience using OneSignal’s In-App Messages.

Create Push Prompt



Understanding users and subscriptions

Once our SDK is active, OneSignal automatically creates user and subscription records as visitors open your app.

Mobile subscriptions are created when users:

  • Open the app for the first time on a device
  • Uninstall and reinstall the app on the same device, then open the app again

Important notes:

  • Each device creates a separate subscription
  • Mobile subscriptions remain anonymous until you assign them an External ID

Audience > Subscriptions



Design push notifications

Crafting a good push notification involves more than writing text. Design matters. Learn what elements are customizable and how to use them effectively.

Mobile Push Anatomy

  1. Title: Attention-grabbing headline (recommended: under 50 characters)
  2. Message: Main notification content (recommended: under 120 characters)
  3. Icons: Your brand icon or notification-specific image
  4. Large Image: Eye-catching visual content
  5. Action Buttons: Call-to-action buttons
  6. Timestamp when push was received
  7. App name: The name of your app

Message personalization and localization

You can customize push messages to match each user’s preferences and language.


Configure mobile push behavior

Control how your notifications behave after being sent, including delivery timing, display/dismiss behavior, and user interactions.

Delivery, display, and dismiss settings

Data & background notifications

Include custom data that can be accessed and handled within the app whether sending displayable or data/background notifications.

Click behavior & deep linking

Control what happens when a user clicks a notification.


Push analytics and troubleshooting

Measure and improve notification performance:


Congratulations! Your mobile push notification setup is complete.

Next steps: