Notifications checklist

Every rule in the notifications playbook, by chapter, required rules first. Each links to its own page with how we built it and how to check it.

Channels and preferences

• Required Keep every notification type in one catalogue
• Required Ask before any marketing message
• Required Let people choose per type and channel
• Required Send one message per event
• Required Hold messages during quiet hours
• Required Cap how many messages one person gets
• Required Never text or push customers from test systems
• Recommended Batch small updates into a digest

Push notifications

• Required Ask for permission after a clear action
• Required Send web push with VAPID and an encrypted payload
• Required Use the current APNs and FCM interfaces
• Required Delete dead subscriptions and tokens at once
• Required Keep push payloads short and safe on a lock screen
• Recommended Give every push a lifetime and a topic
• Recommended Open the exact page the push is about

Text messages

• Required Register every sender before you send
• Required Confirm each text opt-in
• Required Stop at the first STOP
• Required Guard text sending against SMS pumping
• Required Store phone numbers in E.164
• Recommended Format code texts for automatic fill
• Recommended Keep each text to one segment
• Recommended Track what happened to each text

In-app notifications

• Required Store every notification in a server-side inbox
• Required Announce new items without stealing focus
• Recommended Keep read state the same everywhere
• Recommended Deliver new items live and catch up after a gap
• Recommended Delete old inbox items on a schedule