Push Notifications ================== The mobile app can deliver three different kinds of messages to your members. All three are sent from the same `Send Message/Notification` page in TouchPoint and are tracked in the same `Notifications Log`. .. note:: Push Notifications require version 3.10 or later of the mobile app. 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 .. tip:: An Alert Banner or System Message can also send a push at the same time. Use the `Send Push Notification` checkbox on those two types to get the member's attention on the device while leaving the full message waiting for them in the app. 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. .. figure:: images/MobileAppAdminMenu.png :target: # The `Mobile App` section of the `Admin > Communication` menu +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **Setting** | **Default**| **Purpose** | +=====================================+===========+==================================================================+ | Enable Push Notifications | False | Turns on the Push Notification type. Must be True before anyone | | | | can send a push | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable Alert Banners | True | Turns on the Alert Banner type | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable System Messages | True | Turns on the System Message type | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable Channel Post Notification | False | Notifies members when a new post is added to a channel they | | | | follow | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable Chat Notification | False | Notifies members of new chat messages | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable Prayer Request Notification | False | Notifies members when a new prayer request is posted | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable Prayer Received Notification | False | Notifies a member when someone prays for their request | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Enable Comment Added Notification | False | Notifies a member when someone comments on their post | +-------------------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+ .. figure:: images/MobileSettingsNotifications.png :target: # The `Notifications` settings on the Mobile Application Settings page .. note:: `Enable Push Notification Images` is turned off and hidden by default. Images in push notifications are enabled per church on request - contact TouchPoint Support if you would like this feature turned on. 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. .. figure:: images/SendNotificationMenu.png :target: # `Send Notification` under the `Mobile` heading of the blue toolbar's `Email` menu **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. .. figure:: images/SendNotificationPush.png :target: # The `Send Message/Notification` page with the Push Notification type selected .. note:: A Push Notification cannot be sent if no one in the search has a push-enabled device. Alert Banners and System Messages only require that someone in the search has the app, since those messages wait in the app until the member opens it. **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 :doc:`DeepLinks` 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 .. figure:: images/SendNotificationAlertBanner.png :target: # The Alert Banner type, with its `Expiration Date` and `Send Push Notification` options **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. .. admonition:: Use Case To promote a last-minute schedule change for a retreat, run a search for the Involvement's members, choose the Push Notification type, set the `Deep Link` to the event so members land on the retreat screen when they tap, and use `Test Notification` to check it on your own phone. Then send. Members see the alert on their lock screen and arrive on the event in one tap. 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. .. figure:: images/NotificationsLog.png :target: # The `Notifications Log`, with its filters and delivery columns **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. .. figure:: images/NotificationDeliveryDetail.png :target: # Delivery detail for a Push Notification, showing each recipient's delivery status **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 .. caution:: A Push Notification cannot be recalled once it is sent. Use `Test Notification` to check your message first, and use the `Send Date` field if you want a window in which you could still cancel. 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. .. note:: A member must also allow notifications for the app at the device level, in their phone's own settings. Someone who denied that prompt will not receive pushes even though nothing in TouchPoint shows them as opted out. | | +--------------------+------------------+ | **Latest Update** | **09/14/2026** | +--------------------+------------------+ 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.