Mobile App Subscriptions¶
Get real-time push notifications on your iOS and Android devices with the Notifer mobile app.
Overview¶
The Notifer mobile app provides:
- 📱 Native push notifications - Receive alerts even when app is closed
- ⚡ Real-time updates - WebSocket connection when app is active
- 🎯 Smart filtering - Per-topic notification settings (priority, tags)
- 🔔 Custom sounds - Different tones for different priorities
- 📊 Message history - Browse past notifications
- 🌙 Dark mode - Automatic or manual
- 🔗 Deep linking - Tap notification → open topic
Download and Install¶
iOS App (TestFlight Beta)¶
The iOS app is currently in beta testing via TestFlight.
Requirements: - iOS 14.0 or later - iPhone or iPad
Installation:
- Install TestFlight (if not already installed)
-
Download from App Store
-
Request beta access
- Email: support@notifer.io
- Subject: "iOS Beta Access Request"
-
Include: Your Apple ID email
-
Accept invitation
- Check email for TestFlight invitation
- Tap "View in TestFlight"
-
Tap "Accept" → "Install"
-
Launch app
- Open Notifer from home screen
- Grant notification permissions when prompted
Note: TestFlight beta slots are limited (10,000 users). Full App Store release planned for Q1 2026.
Android App (Coming Soon)¶
Android app is in development and will be available via Google Play Store in Q1 2026.
Target release: January 2026
Meanwhile: Use the mobile web app at app.notifer.io which works great on Android browsers!
Getting Started¶
1. Create Account¶
First launch:
- Open Notifer app
- Tap "Sign Up"
- Enter email and password
- Verify email (check inbox)
- Log in
Or login with: - Email + Password - Google (Sign in with Google)
2. Enable Push Notifications¶
On first login:
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Allow "Notifer" to send you │
│ notifications? │
│ │
│ Alerts, Sounds, and Badges │
│ │
│ [Don't Allow] [Allow] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Important: Tap "Allow" to receive push notifications!
If you missed it: - iOS: Settings → Notifer → Notifications → Allow Notifications - Android: Settings → Apps → Notifer → Notifications → Enable
3. Subscribe to Topics¶
Browse Public Topics¶
- Tap "Discover" tab (🔍)
- Browse available topics
- Tap topic to preview
- Tap "Subscribe" button
- Configure notification settings (optional)
- Tap "Save"
Subscribe with Token¶
For private topics:
- Tap "+" button (top right)
- Enter topic name
- Enter access token (from topic owner)
- Tap "Subscribe"
Subscribe via Link¶
Tap notification links:
App automatically opens and subscribes.
App Interface¶
Home Screen (My Topics)¶
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ☰ My Topics 🔔 👤 │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🚨 production-alerts NEW │
│ CRITICAL: Database Down │
│ 2 minutes ago │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📊 analytics │
│ Daily report generated │
│ 1 hour ago │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🚀 deployments │
│ v2.1.0 deployed successfully │
│ 3 hours ago │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Home Discover Settings
Features: - Real-time message feed - Unread badge counts - Swipe to delete message - Pull to refresh - Tap to view details
Topic View¶
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ← production-alerts ⚙️ ⋮ │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🚨 CRITICAL: Database Down │
│ Priority: 5 │
│ Tags: critical, database │
│ │
│ Server prod-db-01 is unresponsive │
│ │
│ **Action Required:** │
│ 1. Restart primary database │
│ 2. Failover to replica if needed │
│ │
│ 2025-11-22 10:30:45 │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ⚠️ High Memory Usage │
│ Priority: 4 │
│ ... │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Actions (⋮ menu): - Mark all as read - Clear all messages - Topic settings - Unsubscribe
Discover Tab¶
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🔍 Search topics... │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🌍 weather-updates │
│ Global weather alerts │
│ 1.2k subscribers │
│ [Subscribe] │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📰 tech-news │
│ Latest tech industry news │
│ 890 subscribers │
│ [Subscribe] │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Sort by: - Most active - Most subscribers - Newest
Push Notifications¶
How It Works¶
When message published:
- App Closed/Background:
- Push notification delivered instantly
- Notification appears in notification center
- Sound/vibration based on settings
-
Badge count updates
-
App Active:
- WebSocket real-time update
- In-app banner notification
- No duplicate push notification
Delivery: - iOS: Apple Push Notification service (APNs) - Android: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) - Expo Push: Unified push service
Notification Example¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Notifer • production-alerts now │
│ 🚨 CRITICAL: Database Down │
│ Server prod-db-01 is unresponsive │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Tap notification: - Opens app to topic - Shows message details - Marks notification as read
Long press (iOS): - Quick actions (Mark as read, Delete) - Reply (if enabled)
Notification Settings¶
Global Settings¶
Location: Settings tab → Notifications
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Notifications │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ☑ Enable push notifications │
│ │
│ Sound │
│ ☑ Play notification sound │
│ [Default ▼] │
│ │
│ Vibration │
│ ☑ Vibrate on notification │
│ [Medium ▼] │
│ │
│ Badge │
│ ☑ Show badge count on app icon │
│ │
│ [Save] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Per-Topic Settings¶
Location: Topic → ⚙️ Settings → Notifications
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Notification Settings │
│ production-alerts │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ☑ Enable notifications for this │
│ topic │
│ │
│ Minimum Priority │
│ ○ All ○ 3+ ⚫ 4+ ○ 5 only │
│ │
│ Tag Filter (optional) │
│ [critical, database____________] │
│ Only notify for these tags │
│ │
│ Sound │
│ ☑ Override global sound │
│ [Urgent Alert ▼] │
│ │
│ Vibration │
│ ☑ Override global vibration │
│ [Strong ▼] │
│ │
│ [Save] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Examples:
Critical alerts only:
Filter by tags:
Minimum Priority: All
Tag Filter: production, critical
→ Only notify for messages with "production" OR "critical" tags
Silent monitoring:
Sound Options¶
Built-in Sounds¶
iOS: - Default - Standard notification - Alert - Attention-grabbing tone - Urgent - Loud, repetitive (for priority 5) - Subtle - Soft chime (for low priority) - Silent - No sound
Android: - System notification sounds - Custom sounds (coming soon)
Custom Sounds (Pro Feature)¶
Upload your own notification sounds:
- Settings → Sounds → Upload Sound
- Select .mp3 or .wav file (max 5 seconds)
- Name your sound
- Use in per-topic settings
Priority-Based Behavior¶
Priority 5 (Max/Urgent) 🚨¶
- Sound: Urgent, loud tone
- Vibration: Strong, repeated
- Banner: Full-screen alert (iOS)
- Badge: Red dot
- Notification: Stays until dismissed
Priority 4 (High) ⚠️¶
- Sound: Alert tone
- Vibration: Medium
- Banner: Standard notification
- Badge: Orange dot
- Notification: Auto-dismiss after 30s
Priority 3 (Default) ℹ️¶
- Sound: Default chime
- Vibration: Light
- Banner: Brief notification
- Badge: Blue dot
- Notification: Auto-dismiss after 10s
Priority 2 (Low) 📝¶
- Sound: Soft tone (optional)
- Vibration: None
- Banner: Minimal
- Badge: Gray dot
- Notification: Silent (badge only)
Priority 1 (Min) 🔍¶
- Sound: None
- Vibration: None
- Banner: None
- Badge: Optional
- Notification: In-app only
Managing Subscriptions¶
View All Subscriptions¶
Location: Settings → Subscriptions
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ My Subscriptions (5) │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🚨 production-alerts 🔔 ON │
│ Priority: 4+ │
│ [Settings] │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📊 analytics 🔕 OFF│
│ Notifications disabled │
│ [Settings] │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🚀 deployments 🔔 ON │
│ Priority: All │
│ [Settings] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Actions: - Toggle notifications on/off - Edit settings - Unsubscribe
Unsubscribe¶
Method 1: From topic view 1. Open topic 2. Tap ⋮ menu → Unsubscribe 3. Confirm
Method 2: From subscriptions list 1. Settings → Subscriptions 2. Swipe left on topic 3. Tap "Unsubscribe"
Real-Time Connection¶
WebSocket (When Active)¶
When app is open and in foreground:
Connection status:
🟢 Connected - Real-time updates active
🟡 Connecting - Establishing connection
🔴 Offline - No network connection
Features: - Instant message delivery (no delay) - Live typing indicators (future feature) - Presence updates (future feature)
Benefits: - Faster than push notifications - No push quota limits - Interactive features
Background Push¶
When app is closed or backgrounded:
- Push notifications via APNs/FCM
- Wake app on notification tap
- Background sync for new messages
Offline Mode¶
Message Caching¶
App caches recent messages for offline viewing:
- Last 100 messages per topic
- Downloaded images/attachments
- User preferences and settings
Offline indicator:
Queue Outgoing Messages¶
Send messages while offline:
- Messages queued locally
- Auto-send when connection restored
- Failed messages marked with ⚠️
Deep Linking¶
Notification Deep Links¶
Tap notification to open specific topic:
Supported links:
- notifer://topic/{name} - Open topic
- notifer://message/{id} - Open specific message
- https://app.notifer.io/{topic} - Universal link
Share Links¶
Share topics with others:
- Open topic → ⋮ → Share
- Choose method (Message, Email, etc.)
- Recipient taps link → Opens app
Link format:
Account Settings¶
Profile¶
Location: Settings → Profile
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Profile │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Email │
│ user@example.com │
│ │
│ Display Name │
│ [John Doe__________________] │
│ │
│ Timezone │
│ [America/New_York ▼] │
│ │
│ [Save] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Security¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Security │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Change Password] │
│ [Enable Two-Factor Auth] (soon) │
│ [Manage Sessions] │
│ [Delete Account] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
App Settings¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ App Settings │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Theme │
│ ⚫ Dark ⚪ Light ⚫ Auto │
│ │
│ Language │
│ [English ▼] │
│ │
│ Data Usage │
│ ☑ Download images on WiFi only │
│ ☑ Auto-play videos │
│ │
│ [Save] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Subscription Plans¶
Location: Settings → Subscription
View and upgrade subscription:
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Current Plan: Pro │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Messages this month: │
│ 456 / 1,000 │
│ │
│ Topics: 12 / 50 │
│ │
│ Billing: $5.00/month │
│ Next billing: Dec 22, 2025 │
│ │
│ [Upgrade to Team] │
│ [Manage Subscription] │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
Tiers:
Free¶
- 100 messages/month
- 3 topics
- Push notifications
- Basic features
Pro ($5/month)¶
- 1,000 messages/month
- 50 topics
- Custom sounds
- Priority support
Team ($15/month)¶
- Unlimited messages
- Unlimited topics
- Team collaboration
- Advanced features
- SLA support
In-App Purchase: - Upgrade via App Store/Play Store - Seamless billing - Cancel anytime
Best Practices¶
1. Configure Per-Topic Settings¶
Don't rely on global settings:
Production alerts: Priority 4+, urgent sound
Staging alerts: Priority 3+, default sound
Debug logs: Notifications OFF
2. Use Tag Filters¶
Focus on relevant messages:
3. Test Notification Settings¶
Send test messages to verify:
- Create test topic
- Publish messages at different priorities
- Verify sound/vibration
- Adjust settings as needed
4. Manage Battery Life¶
For better battery performance:
- Disable notifications for low-priority topics
- Use tag filters to reduce noise
- Close app when not actively monitoring
- Enable "WiFi only" for images
5. Regular Cleanup¶
- Unsubscribe from unused topics
- Clear old messages (swipe to delete)
- Review notification settings monthly
Troubleshooting¶
Not Receiving Push Notifications¶
Solutions:
- Check app notification permissions:
- iOS: Settings → Notifer → Notifications → Allow
-
Android: Settings → Apps → Notifer → Notifications
-
Verify topic settings:
- Open topic → ⚙️ → Notifications
- Ensure notifications enabled
-
Check minimum priority
-
Check network connection:
- Ensure device has internet
-
Try sending test message
-
Reinstall app:
- Delete app
- Reinstall from TestFlight/App Store
-
Re-register device for push
-
Check subscription status:
- Settings → Subscriptions
- Verify topic is subscribed
Delayed Notifications¶
Causes: - Network latency - Device in low-power mode - Too many apps using push - Server issues
Solutions: - Check connection status - Disable low-power mode (iOS) - Close background apps - Check status.notifer.io
App Crashes¶
Solutions: 1. Force quit and reopen 2. Update to latest version 3. Clear app cache (Settings → Storage) 4. Reinstall app 5. Report to support@notifer.io
Messages Not Loading¶
Solutions: 1. Pull to refresh 2. Check internet connection 3. Verify topic access (private topics) 4. Clear cache and reopen
Battery Drain¶
Solutions: 1. Disable notifications for low-priority topics 2. Reduce WebSocket connections (close unused topics) 3. Enable "WiFi only" for images 4. Update to latest app version
Privacy and Security¶
Data Collection¶
The app collects:
- ✅ Push notification tokens (required)
- ✅ Message read/delivery status
- ✅ App usage analytics (anonymous)
- ❌ Location data (not collected)
- ❌ Contacts (not collected)
Data Security¶
- End-to-end encryption for messages (coming soon)
- Secure token storage (iOS Keychain, Android Keystore)
- HTTPS for all network requests
- No third-party analytics
Permissions¶
Required: - Notifications - Receive push alerts - Network - Connect to Notifer servers
Optional: - Camera - Scan QR codes for topic tokens - Photos - Attach images to messages (future)
Platform-Specific Features¶
iOS-Only Features¶
- 3D Touch quick actions
- Siri Shortcuts (coming soon)
- Apple Watch app (coming soon)
- iCloud sync for settings
Android-Only Features¶
- Custom notification channels
- Per-app battery optimization
- Notification grouping
- Widget support (coming soon)
Beta Testing (TestFlight)¶
Providing Feedback¶
Help improve the app:
- Open TestFlight app
- Tap Notifer
- Tap "Send Beta Feedback"
- Describe issue or suggestion
- Include screenshots (optional)
Known Issues (Beta)¶
- Occasional notification delay (< 5s)
- WebSocket reconnection improvements needed
- Dark mode color refinements in progress
Upcoming Features¶
Next beta (v1.1): - Message search - Export messages - Custom notification sounds - Rich notifications (images, actions)
Future releases: - Apple Watch app - iPad optimization - Siri integration - Voice messages
App Versions¶
Current Version¶
iOS: v1.0.0-beta (TestFlight) Android: Coming Q1 2026
Release History¶
- v1.0.0-beta (Nov 2025) - Initial TestFlight release
- v0.9.0 (Oct 2025) - Internal alpha testing
Minimum Requirements¶
iOS: - iOS 14.0+ - iPhone 6s or later - 50 MB free space
Android (coming soon): - Android 8.0+ - 50 MB free space
Support¶
Getting Help¶
- In-app: Settings → Help & Support
- Email: support@notifer.io
- Docs: docs.notifer.io
- Status: status.notifer.io
Bug Reports¶
Include: - Device model (e.g., iPhone 13, Pixel 6) - OS version (e.g., iOS 16.1, Android 13) - App version (Settings → About) - Steps to reproduce - Screenshots/screen recording
Next Steps¶
- Web Dashboard - Use Notifer on desktop
- SSE Guide - Programmatic subscriptions
- Publishing Guide - Send notifications
- API Reference - API documentation
Pro Tip: Enable priority-based filtering to avoid notification overload - only get alerts that matter! 🔔