What Are Push Notifications? How Do They Work?

Push notifications have simplified the way people access and use information. Push notification is a technology invented by Apple for a few of its devices such as the iPhone, iPhone 3.0 operating system and the iPod Touch. It helps in dealing with multi-tasking of a phone or a device by eliminating the need to open an application.

Imagine how your mobile phone or cellular phone pings or beeps to alert you whenever it receives a text message – and that’s exactly how the push notification works. Primarily it eliminates the necessity of having various applications open and running in the background and guzzling up battery life. Push notifications work for many different types of apps including emails, gaming and news alerts to name a few.

These notifications can also work when the phone or device is engaged elsewhere. For instance, if a user of the device is playing a game and his inbox has received a message then, the notification will alert him of the message and he can then choose to disconnect from the game and check the message’s contents. One of the most popular examples of such push notifications is an application that can alert the user of the device on sports.

 Such an application will alert the user on score changes and updates so all he has to do is check for it without even pulling up or loading the application. In fact push notifications are also combined with numbers. Thus, a push notification for an SMS will not only alert you about the fact that you have received a text message but will also tell you how many new messages you have.

This kind of a number + notification can happen for alerts for your social networking accounts and for emails as well to name just a few. You can even subscribe to alerts from websites that you follow so you can check on updates whenever you are notified.

How do push notifications work?

Push notifications work when a provider establishes a server which will send a notification to the APNS or Apple Push Notification Service. This notification is then pushed onto the device of the user. Knowing which device to send which notification to is achieved with the help of registering that particular device with the server that has been established by the provider of the notification in the first place. The information has to be relevant and interesting for the customer.

The user has total control over such push notifications. He can install, uninstall and unsubscribe from whichever application he chooses. In fact, the user can even choose the time and type of notification he wants. When a user chooses to turn off the notifications or uninstalls a notification,

Apple provides that information to the provider of the notification through its Feedback Service. This enables the provider to keep track of who has discontinued the use of their applications too. Therefore it becomes critical for the provider to maintain a high standard for his notifications and respect the wishes of the end user as well.

     James J

About the Guest Author:

James J is a writer and blogger with 5 years experience.