Overview

A heads-up notification is a high-priority push notification that briefly appears as a floating banner at the top of the screen, overlaying the current app. It captures user attention instantly and disappears after a few seconds unless interacted with.

Heads-up notifications are triggered when the priority of the push notification channel is set to High. For more information on the notification channel on Android, see here.

Use Cases

Following are some of the use cases for this feature:

• Notify the users about limited-time offers or flash sales, ensuring immediate visibility and prompt quick action.
• Remind users about an abandoned cart with an exclusive discount, encouraging them to complete the purchase.
• Alert users about payment failures or account security issues, ensuring timely awareness and response.

Heads Up Notifications in MoEngage

You can configure the heads-up notifications in MoEngage using two methods:

• Reposting method (Default method)
• Direct posting method 

Reposting Method (Default Method)

The reposting method is the default method of MoEngage. This method ensures consistent behavior across devices while maintaining message reliability. It works as follows:

1. First, the notification is posted with text content.
2. After the first post, assets are downloaded (for example, images and media).
3. The notification is then reposted with template content (for example, background color, timer, and progress bar) and the downloaded assets.

In this method:

• Any failure in asset downloads or notification updates does not impact the core message delivery. The end user always sees at least the backup text.
• The heads-up notification, which typically appears for 5–8 seconds, is dismissed abruptly without a smooth animation. As a result, users may experience a jittery transition from basic content to template content.

Direct Posting Method

In the direct posting method, assets are first downloaded, and then the notification is posted with those assets.
With this method, the user experiences heads-up notifications as intended. The template content is displayed directly in the notification, remaining in the heads-up area for 5–8 seconds.

In this method, if there's a delay in downloading media assets due to a poor internet connection or an internal error related to building the template content, the notification will not be visible to the end user. However, MoEngage SDK still generates a Notification received Android event.

To configure this method, refer here.

Limitations and Expected Behaviors of Notifications

This section outlines the observed limitations and expected behaviors of notifications across various Android devices and OS versions.

• The expanded notification view is unavailable on Android 9, 10, and 11 Devices. There is no drop-down button to expand the notification.
• Expanded View of Heads-Up Notifications
  • General behavior: When expanded, the heads-up notification remains in the floating window until the user interacts with it or receives another notification.
  • Samsung devices: To view the heads-up notification in expanded view, adjust the Notification Pop-up Style under Advanced Settings.
  • OnePlus devices: The heads-up notification does not have a drop-down button for Basic, Timer, and Timer with Progress Bar templates, preventing expansion in the floating window.
• Heads-Up Notification Dismissal on App Exit/Background
  • Mi devices: The heads-up notification is dismissed when the user exits the app or sends it to the background.
  • Samsung and Pixel devices: The notification remains visible in the floating window.
• Heads-Up Notifications in Do Not Disturb (DND) Mode
  • Samsung devices: The notification appears in a floating window with sound.
  • Mi devices: The notification appears only in the notification drawer with sound.

Best Practices

• The MoEngage SDK uses the Reposting method by default to maximize notification visibility in the notification drawer.
• If you have set up High priority channels and want better visibility in the heads-up area, use the Direct posting method. Ensure that media assets comply with size guidelines for optimal visibility. For more information, see here.
• MoEngage recommends labeling channel names as heads-up on the dashboard to help campaign creators identify these notifications and use media assets judiciously. This channel name is for internal reference only and will not be visible to end users.