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Program messaging channel: Push notifications - set up
Program messaging channel: Push notifications - set up

Set up your push notification profile and find out what changes need to be made to your app.

Laura Russell avatar
Written by Laura Russell
Updated over a week ago

A push notification is a message that you send to your app users from the push notification node in the program builder or using our API.

To send push notifications, you need to complete some set up steps to configure a profile and ready your app to work with Dotdigital.


Before you start

Things you need to know:

Android Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) credentials

From 20 June 2024, Android are changing the way you need to provide credentials for sending mobile push messages. If you’re currently sending mobile push through Dotdigital, you must update your credentials to re-authenticate your messaging profile.


Push notification profile

A push notification profile lets Dotdigital know how to communicate with your app using Apple's APNS and Google's FCM push systems, as well as how to authorise a user for push.

You only need one profile set up to send push notifications to both Android and iOS devices.

Create a push notification profile

  1. Go to Connect > Digital marketing channels.

  2. Select Push Notification, and then NEW PROFILE.

  3. On the New profile page, enter the name of your app.

  4. Under Authentication, make a note of the values that are pre-populated in each field.

    You must use these values to create a JSON Web Token (JWT) in your app and pass that token to our SDK to authorise the user for push.

  5. Now you need to configure your app’s push systems. Depending on the operating systems you built your app for, enter your FCM details and your APNS credentials.
    Learn more under Enter your FCM details. and Enter your APNS credentials.

    Once this is done, return to Dotdigital to complete the setup.

  6. Select SAVE.

  7. You now see a value in the API space ID field. Make a note of this, and use it to initialise an SDK.

Enter your FCM details (Android)

Our Android SDK uses Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to send push notifications to your Android app users. You must enter some details about your Firebase project.

Tip

Make this task easier by using two browser tabs. One for Dotdigital and one for the Firebase console, so you can switch quickly between the two.

  1. Open the Firebase console.
    If you don't have a Firebase project, you must create one. Learn more in the Firebase documentation.

  2. In the Firebase console, select the cog icon, then select Project settings.

  3. Select the General tab, and copy your package name.

  4. In Dotdigital, under the heading App system: Android, enter your package name.

  5. Select ADD FILE and upload your FCM JSON file.
    Learn how to access this file in Google’s documentation.

  6. Select SAVE.

Enter your APNS details (Apple)

Our iOS SDK uses the Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) to send push notifications to your contacts. Therefore, you must configure your APNS token details for us to send pushes to your app.

We use APNS tokens rather than APNS Certificates, as the tokens do not expire annually. You can find instructions for creating an APNS token in the Apple Developer Portal.

If you don't have an app ID with the Push Notifications service enabled, you must create one.

Tip

Make this task easier by using two browser tabs. One for Dotdigital and one for the Apple Developer Portal, so you can switch quickly between the two.

  1. In your Apple Developer Portal, go to Certificates, IDs & Profiles.

  2. Select Keys > All, and then select the + button to create a new key.

  3. Enter an appropriate name for the key, ensure the Apple Push Notifications service (APNs) option is selected, and then select Create key.

  4. Download the key (.p8 file) and store it securely; also, copy the Key ID.

  5. In Dotdigital, under the heading App system: iOS, for Private key, select Choose file and upload your APNS Key file (.p8).

  6. For Key ID, enter the value of your APNS key's ID.

  7. For Team ID, enter the value of your team ID.

  8. Select SAVE.

Find your API space ID

You use the API space ID to initialise our mobile SDKs. The API space ID is displayed at the bottom of your push notification profile page.


Delete or disable a push notification profile

Before you start

  • You can't delete or disable a profile that's in use in an active program.

  • Deleting a profile deletes all usage statistics for that profile.

  • Disabling a profile stops users from selecting the profile in a push notification node until you enable the profile again.

To delete a push notification profile:

  1. Go to Connect > Digital marketing channels.

  2. Select the profile name.

  3. Select the checkbox next to the name of the profile.

  4. Select Delete.

To disable a push notification profile:

  1. Go to Connect.

  2. Select the Push notifications tile.

  3. Expand the Status drop-down menu and select Disabled.

  4. Select SAVE.

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