Android Notifications

Priority: P2 (OPTIONAL)

Push notifications using Firebase Cloud Messaging.

Implementation Guidelines

• Channels: Create

  NotificationChannel

  with a unique ID (required for API 26+). Notifications without a valid channel are silently dropped. Use

  NotificationCompat

  for backwards compatibility.
• Permissions: Explicitly request

  POST_NOTIFICATIONS

  on Android 13+ (API 33). Avoid requesting system permission on app launch; show a priming dialog first to explain the benefit.
• Service: Implement

  FirebaseMessagingService

  with

  onMessageReceived

  and

  onNewToken

  for background push handling. Declare the service in

  AndroidManifest

  with the

  MESSAGING_EVENT

  intent action.
• Flow: Handle notification taps in both

  onCreate

  and

  onNewIntent

  using

  PendingIntent

  . Pass data between activities via

  Intent

  extras.
• Payload: Limit the notification payload to essential IDs. Perform background data fetching via WorkManager if more data is needed.

Anti-Patterns

• No Missing Channel: Notifications fail silently without channels on API 26+.
• No Unconditional Requests: Don't spam permission dialog on first launch.
• No Missing Manifest: Service must be declared with

  MESSAGING_EVENT

  action.

References

• Implementation Details