--- title: Push Notifications — definition | RGM® Glossary url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/push-notifications/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/push-notifications/ --- # Push Notifications push no·ti·fi·ca·tions/pʊʃ ˌnoʊtəfəˈkeɪʃənz/noun A direct line to the pocket — revoked the moment you abuse it. Term : Push Notifications Born : Apple Push Notification service, 2009 Gate : User permission (opt-in) Twin jobs : Re-engagement + transactional utility ## Forms & parts of speech push · noun (clipped form) The notification channel. "Don't burn **push** on promos — it's the channel that wakes the phone, and the user remembers." ## Definition in plain terms Push notifications are messages delivered straight to a device's lock screen or notification tray by an app (mobile push, born with Apple's APNs in 2009) or a website (web push, 2015 era). They arrive without the user opening anything — which makes push simultaneously the highest-attention owned channel and the easiest to get fired from: permission is granted once and revoked forever. ## The mechanics The economics run on the permission gate: iOS asks explicitly (opt-in rates hinge on WHEN and WHY you ask — priming screens before the system prompt roughly double acceptance), Android historically defaulted on (then tightened). The craft splits by job: transactional push (order shipped, seat assigned) builds the trust that promotional push spends; re-engagement push works when triggered by user-relevant events (your order, your team, your streak) and churns users when batch-blasted. Deep links, rich media, and quiet-hours discipline separate professionals from spam; notification-fatigue research keeps finding the cost of over-sending is app DELETION, not just opt-out. ## When it matters Push matters where timing IS the value — commerce status, breaking relevance, streak mechanics, marketplace activity — and as the retention channel for apps whose habit loop needs an external trigger (the Hooked model's first step). It's the wrong channel for what email does better (long-form, browsing-time content). The strategic frame: push is rented intimacy; every send is a withdrawal, and only genuinely useful sends are deposits. **Worked example.** A food-delivery app blasts identical lunch promos daily; opt-outs climb and deletions follow. The push rebuild treats permission as a balance sheet: transactional messages stay sacred (and excellent), promos become triggered and personal (your usual restaurant has a 20-minute window; the storm's coming — order early), frequency caps and quiet hours go system-wide, and the permission ask moves to right after a successful first delivery, with a priming screen stating exactly what push will be used for. Opt-in rises 2x, opens triple, and deletion-rate per send finally bends down — the channel started earning its place on the lock screen. **Failure modes to watch.** Batch-blasting promos to the whole base; asking for permission at first launch before any value exists; skipping deep links so taps land on the home screen; and ignoring quiet hours until the 3 a.m. promo writes the one-star review. ## Synonyms & antonyms ### Synonyms push notificationspushapp notifications ### Antonyms pull channels (email, feeds)in-app messages (the gentler sibling) ## Origin & history Born as the Apple Push Notification service (APNs), announced 2008 and launched June 2009 with iPhone OS 3.0 — Apple's answer to background-process battery drain: a single system channel through which servers could 'push' messages to apps. Android's equivalents (C2DM 2010, then GCM/FCM) and the W3C's web push (2015-16) generalized the channel. Etymology: [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_technology). ## Usage trends Search interest for this term over the last five years: [View interest-over-time on Google Trends →](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=push%20notifications&date=today%205-y) ## Common questions What are push notifications? : Messages apps and websites send directly to a device's lock screen — permission-gated, high-attention, easily revoked. When did push notifications start? : Apple launched the Apple Push Notification service in June 2009 with iPhone OS 3; Android's C2DM followed in 2010. What makes push effective? : Triggered relevance (the user's own events), transactional trust, frequency discipline, and a well-timed permission ask. ## Related tools & calculators - tool[Funnel drop-off analyzer](/tools/funnel-drop-off-analyzer/) ## Resources & people to follow - referenceApple — APNs documentation (the origin) - book*Hooked* — Eyal (push as external trigger) - referenceBraze/OneSignal — opt-in and fatigue benchmarks Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term. ## Related training - module[Growth marketing foundations](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Disciplines Areas of marketing where push notifications is a core concern: [Channels](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/)[Brand strategy](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Read next ## Related terms [Hooked (book)](/glossary/hooked-book/)[Retention](/glossary/retention/)[SMS marketing](/glossary/sms-marketing/)[Email marketing](/glossary/email-marketing/)[DAU](/glossary/dau/) ## Sources 1. trends[Google Trends — "push notifications"](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=push%20notifications&date=today%205-y)