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Messaging

Push Notifications

Choose web or native push infrastructure by transport ownership, framework, permissions, tokens, audiences, and delivery operations.

Recommendation

Choose the transport and ownership model before push features.

OneSignal manages more engagement operations, FCM supplies native transport, and Expo Push relays delivery for an Expo application.12

For: Web and mobile product teams adding permission-based browser or device push

Main trade-off

Managed push reduces transport assembly while increasing platform, token, permission, audience, data, quota, policy, and migration dependence.1234

Three push ownership routes

Managed engagement, native transport, and framework relay expose different responsibilities.

  1. Targets and framework

    Define web, iOS, Android, Expo, SDK, service worker, and platform requirements.3

  2. Permission and identity

    Own permission prompts, subscriptions, tokens, users/devices, preferences, and deletion.12

  3. Delivery operations

    Model audiences, scheduling, status, quotas, fallback, data, retention, and support.1

Push route by ownership

Select the route that matches the application framework and operations the team will own.

Managed engagement operations

Choose OneSignal

The team wants push audience, campaign, and delivery operations above platform transports.

Verify: Confirm platform support, subscribers/MAU, channels, data, retention, policy, and plan limits.1

Native transport ownership

Choose Firebase Cloud Messaging

The team will own more token, audience, permission, and product workflow above native transport.

Verify: FCM does not remove Apple platform dependencies or guarantee delivery; verify current quotas and policies.2

Expo framework relay

Choose Expo Push Service

An Expo application values a framework-centered relay to supported platform services.

Verify: Confirm Expo project, credentials, receipts, throttling, platform dependencies, and migration requirements.3

Boundary: This page does not prescribe permission UX or claim guaranteed notification delivery.

Push is not the in-app inbox

Transport, orchestration, and product-resident state remain separate responsibilities.

Push versus in-app
Push reaches a user agent through platform services; In-App Notifications owns product UI and state.13
Transport versus engagement
FCM transports messages while OneSignal can own more audience and campaign operations.1
Relay versus native dependency
Expo simplifies an Expo path but still relies on underlying platform services and credentials.3

Official resources

Verify current product scope, policy, data, retention, delivery, regional, pricing, and account boundaries in first-party material before implementation.

DocumentationW3C Push API

Sources

Official product, standard, and policy sources supporting the bounded routes on this page.

  1. 1
    OneSignal push documentation

    OneSignal · Accessed Official

  2. 2
    Firebase Cloud Messaging

    Google · Accessed Official

  3. 3
    Expo push notifications overview

    Expo · Accessed Official

  4. 4
    W3C Push API

    W3C · Accessed Official