Notification Types¶

Push Notification

Delivered to the device itself. The message appears on the lock screen or in the device’s notification center even when the app is closed, the same way any other app notifies the user.

• Title limit: 85 characters

• Body limit: 500 characters

• Reaches only people who have the app installed, are signed in, and have allowed notifications on their device

Alert Banner

A banner pinned to the top of the member’s feed the next time they open the app. It stays there until the member dismisses it or its expiration date passes.

• Title limit: 85 characters

• Message limit: 1,000 characters

System Message

A message delivered to the member’s message feed inside the app. It waits there until the user opens the app, so it does not depend on anyone being signed in at the moment you send it.

• Title limit: 85 characters

• Message limit: 1,000 characters

Enabling Notifications¶

The notification settings are found under Admin > Communication > Mobile App > Settings on the Features > Notifications tab, and require the Admin or AppAdmin role.

Sending a Notification¶

Getting to the page

1. Build or run a search that returns the people you want to notify.

2. On the blue toolbar, open the Email menu.

3. Under the Mobile heading, choose Send Notification.

This opens the Send Message/Notification page for that search.

Roles required

Sending a Push Notification requires the Admin, ManageSMS, or SendSMS role. Without one of these, the Push option does not appear and only Alert Banners and System Messages are available.

Sending To

The top of the page shows who your search will actually reach:

• Active Mobile Users - people with the app who can receive a push right now

• Inactive Mobile Users - people in your search who do not have an active device

• Opted Out - people who have turned off notifications themselves. Shown only when you are sending a Push Notification

Click any of these counts to see exactly who is in that group.

Completing the message

• Title - required, 85 characters

• Body / Message - required. 500 characters for a push, 1,000 for a banner or app message. A character counter warns you as you approach the limit

• Image - an image to display with a push notification. Paste a URL or upload a PNG, JPG, or GIF. Only shown when your church has push images enabled

• Deep Link - where the notification takes the member when they tap it. See Deep Links for the links you can use here

• Send Date - leave blank to send immediately, or schedule it for later. The time you enter is your church’s local time, which is shown beneath the field

• Expiration Date - when an Alert Banner should stop displaying. Alert Banners only

• Send Push Notification - on an Alert Banner or System Message, also send a push

Testing before you send

When you are composing a Push Notification, use Test Notification to send the message to yourself first. This is the best way to confirm your title, image, and deep link all behave the way you expect before sending to the whole list.

Notifications Log¶

The Notifications Log shows everything that has been sent or scheduled. Go to Admin > Communication > Mobile App > Notifications Log. This page requires the AppAdmin role.

Filtering

Filter by date range, notification type, or use Quick Search to find a notification by keyword.

Columns

Column	Shows
Scheduled/Sent	When the notification went out, or is set to go out
Expires	When an Alert Banner stops displaying
Status	Whether the notification is scheduled, sent, or expired
Sent From	Who sent it. Links to that person’s record
Title	The notification title. Click to see delivery detail
Type	Push Notification, Alert Banner, or System Message
Recipients	How many people it was sent to
Push	Whether a push was attached
Push Sent	Whether that push has actually gone out

Delivery detail

Click a notification’s title to open its detail, including the list of recipients. When a push was attached, the delivery detail also shows how the push was delivered.

Stopping and deleting

Stopping and deleting require the Admin or ManageSMS role.

• Stop ends an Alert Banner or System Message early, before its expiration date. A Push Notification cannot be stopped, because a push is delivered to the device immediately and cannot be recalled

• Delete removes the notification. A notification with a push attached can only be deleted while that push is still scheduled - once the push has fired, it can no longer be deleted

An individual person’s notification history is also available on their record, on the Communications tab.

What Members See¶

Receiving a notification

A push arrives on the member’s device like any other app notification. Tapping it opens the mobile app - and if a Deep Link was included, it opens directly to that screen with the member already signed in.

Alert Banners appear inside the app until they expire. System Messages are collected in the app’s Notifications list, reachable from the app’s menu.

Member preferences

Members control what they receive from Settings > Push Notifications in the mobile app, where each category of notification can be turned on or off individually.

Members who have turned notifications off appear in the Opted Out count on the Send Message/Notification page, and they do not receive pushes regardless of how your church settings are configured.

New article documenting mobile app push notifications, including the three notification types, the settings that enable them, sending and testing, the Notifications Log, and member notification preferences. Added screenshots of the Admin menu, the Notifications settings, the toolbar menu, the Send Message/Notification page, the Notifications Log, and a notification’s delivery detail. Renamed the App Message type to System Message to match the application, and clarified how an Alert Banner is displayed and dismissed.