Glossary
Push Notifications
Messages delivered to a user’s device even when your app is closed or in the background, sent through platform services like Apple Push Notification service and Firebase Cloud Messaging.
General definition
A push notification is a short message that appears on a device, as a banner, sound or badge, delivered even when the app is not open. Push is the main way apps re-engage users with new messages, alerts and reminders.
Delivery goes through the operating system’s push service rather than directly from your server:
- APNs (Apple Push Notification service) for iOS and macOS
- FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) for Android and web
- Web Push for browsers via the Push API and service workers
Each device registers and receives a unique device token. Your backend sends the notification, addressed to that token, to APNs or FCM, which then delivers it to the device. Notifications can be visible alerts or silent, data-only messages that wake the app to sync in the background.
Push notifications and chat
In messaging, push is what makes a chat feel instant even when the app is closed: a new message triggers a notification so the recipient knows to open the conversation. Getting this right means handling tokens, per-user preferences, badges and unread counts, and doing so reliably across iOS, Android and web.
Push notifications in the Ethora ecosystem
Ethora includes push notifications as part of its backend so new messages and events reach users on iOS, Android and web without building the token and delivery pipeline yourself. It integrates with APNs and FCM and ties into backend features like unread counts. Learn more in the Chat SDK.
