ntfy/docs/subscribe/phone.md

# Subscribe from your phone
You can use the [ntfy Android App](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.heckel.ntfy) to receive 
notifications directly on your phone. Just like the server, this app is also [open source](https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy-android).
Since I don't have an iPhone or a Mac, I didn't make an iOS app yet. I'd be awesome if [someone else could help out](https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy/issues/4).

<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.heckel.ntfy"><img src="../../static/img/badge-googleplay.png"></a>
<a href="https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.heckel.ntfy/"><img src="../../static/img/badge-fdroid.png"></a>

You can get the Android app from both [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.heckel.ntfy) and 
from [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.heckel.ntfy/). Both are largely identical, with the one exception that
the F-Droid flavor does not use Firebase.

## Overview
A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are a few screenshots showing what the app looks like. It's all pretty
straight forward. You can add topics and as soon as you add them, you can [publish messages](../publish.md) to them.

<div id="android-screenshots" class="screenshots">
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-main.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-main.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-detail.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-detail.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-pause.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-pause.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-add.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-add.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-add-instant.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-add-instant.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-add-other.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-add-other.png"/></a>
</div>

If those screenshots are still not enough, here's a video:

<figure>
  <video controls muted autoplay loop width="650" src="../../static/img/android-video-overview.mp4"></video>
  <figcaption>Sending push notifications to your Android phone</figcaption>
</figure>

## Message priority
When you [publish messages](../publish.md#message-priority) to a topic, you can define a priority. This priority defines
how urgently Android will notify you about the notification, and whether they make a sound and/or vibrate.

By default, messages with default priority or higher (>= 3) will vibrate and make a sound. Messages with high or urgent
priority (>= 4) will also show as pop-over, like so:

<figure markdown>
  ![priority notification](../static/img/priority-notification.png){ width=500 }
  <figcaption>High and urgent notifications show as pop-over</figcaption>
</figure>

You can change these settings in Android by long-pressing on the app, and tapping "Notifications". You can then configure
the settings (and custom sounds or vibration) for each of the priorities:

<figure markdown>
  ![notification settings](../static/img/android-notification-settings.png){ width=500 }
  <figcaption>Per-priority sound/vibration settings</figcaption>
</figure>

## Instant delivery
Instant delivery allows you to receive messages on your phone instantly, **even when your phone is in doze mode**, i.e. 
when the screen turns off, and you leave it on the desk for a while. This is achieved with a foreground service, which 
you'll see as a permanent notification that looks like this:

<figure markdown>
  ![foreground service](../static/img/foreground-service.png){ width=500 }
  <figcaption>Instant delivery foreground notification</figcaption>
</figure>

Android does not allow you to dismiss this notification, unless you turn off the notification channel in the settings.
To do so, long-press on the foreground notification (screenshot above) and navigate to the settings. Then toggle the 
"Subscription Service" off:

<figure markdown>
  ![foreground service](../static/img/notification-settings.png){ width=500 }
  <figcaption>Turning off the persistent instant delivery notification</figcaption>
</figure>

**Limitations without instant delivery**: Without instant delivery, **messages may arrive with a significant delay** 
(sometimes many minutes, or even hours later). If you've ever picked up your phone and 
suddenly had 10 messages that were sent long before you know what I'm talking about.

The reason for this is [Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)](https://firebase.google.com/docs/cloud-messaging). FCM is the 
*only* Google approved way to send push messages to Android devices, and it's what pretty much all apps use to deliver push 
notifications. Firebase is overall pretty bad at delivering messages in time, but on Android, most apps are stuck with it.

The ntfy Android app uses Firebase only for the main host `ntfy.sh`, and only in the Google Play flavor of the app.
It won't use Firebase for any self-hosted servers, and not at all in the the F-Droid flavor.

## Integrations

### UnifiedPush
[UnifiedPush](https://unifiedpush.org) is a standard for receiving push notifications without using the Google-owned
[Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)](https://firebase.google.com/docs/cloud-messaging) service. It puts push notifications 
in the control of the user. ntfy can act as a **UnifiedPush distributor**, forwarding messages to apps that support it. 

To use ntfy as a distributor, simply select it in one of the [supported apps](https://unifiedpush.org/users/apps/). 
That's it. It's a one-step installation 😀. If desired, you can select your own [selfhosted ntfy server](../install.md)
to handle messages. Here's an example with [FluffyChat](https://fluffychat.im/):

<div id="unifiedpush-screenshots" class="screenshots">
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-unifiedpush-fluffychat.jpg"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-unifiedpush-fluffychat.jpg"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-unifiedpush-subscription.jpg"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-unifiedpush-subscription.jpg"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-unifiedpush-settings.jpg"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-unifiedpush-settings.jpg"/></a>
</div>

### Automation apps
The ntfy Android app integrates nicely with automation apps such as [MacroDroid](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arlosoft.macrodroid)
or [Tasker](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm). Using Android intents, you can
**react to incoming messages**, as well as **send messages**.

#### React to incoming messages
To react on incoming notifications, you have to register to intents with the `io.heckel.ntfy.MESSAGE_RECEIVED` action (see
[code for details](https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy-android/blob/main/app/src/main/java/io/heckel/ntfy/msg/BroadcastService.kt)).
Here's an example using [MacroDroid](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arlosoft.macrodroid)
and [Tasker](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm), but any app that can catch 
broadcasts is supported:

<div id="integration-screenshots-receive" class="screenshots">
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-overview.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-overview.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-trigger.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-trigger.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-action.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-action.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-profiles.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-profiles.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-event-edit.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-event-edit.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-task-edit.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-task-edit.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-action-edit.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-action-edit.png"/></a>
</div>

For MacroDroid, be sure to type in the package name `io.heckel.ntfy`, otherwise intents may be silently swallowed.
If you're using topics to drive automation, you'll likely want to mute the topic in the ntfy app. This will prevent 
notification popups:

<figure markdown>
  ![muted subscription](../static/img/android-screenshot-muted.png){ width=500 }
  <figcaption>Muting notifications to prevent popups</figcaption>
</figure>

Here's a list of extras you can access. Most likely, you'll want to filter for `topic` and react on `message`:

| Extra name | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `id` | *string* | `bP8dMjO8ig` | Randomly chosen message identifier (likely not very useful for task automation) |
| `base_url` | *string* | `https://ntfy.sh` | Root URL of the ntfy server this message came from |
| `topic` ❤️ | *string* | `mytopic` | Topic name; **you'll likely want to filter for a specific topic** |
| `muted` | *bool* | `true` | Indicates whether the subscription was muted in the app |
| `muted_str` | *string (`true` or `false`)* | `true` | Same as `muted`, but as string `true` or `false` |
| `time` | *int* | `1635528741` | Message date time, as Unix time stamp |
| `title` | *string* | `Some title` | Message [title](../publish.md#message-title); may be empty if not set |
| `message` ❤️ | *string* | `Some message` | Message body; **this is likely what you're interested in** |
| `tags` | *string* | `tag1,tag2,..` | Comma-separated list of [tags](../publish.md#tags-emojis) |
| `tags_map` | *string* | `0=tag1,1=tag2,..` | Map of tags to make it easier to map first, second, ... tag |
| `priority` | *int (between 1-5)* | `4` | Message [priority](../publish.md#message-priority) with 1=min, 3=default and 5=max |

#### Send messages using intents
To send messages from other apps (such as [MacroDroid](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arlosoft.macrodroid)
and [Tasker](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm)), you can 
broadcast an intent with the `io.heckel.ntfy.SEND_MESSAGE` action. The ntfy Android app will forward the intent as a HTTP
POST request to [publish a message](../publish.md). This is primarily useful for apps that do not support HTTP POST/PUT
(like MacroDroid). In Tasker, you can simply use the "HTTP Request" action, which is a little easier and also works if 
ntfy is not installed.

Here's what that looks like:

<div id="integration-screenshots-send" class="screenshots">
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-send-macro.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-send-macro.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-send-action.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-macrodroid-send-action.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-profile-send.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-profile-send.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-task-edit-post.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-task-edit-post.png"/></a>
    <a href="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-action-http-post.png"><img src="../../static/img/android-screenshot-tasker-action-http-post.png"/></a>
</div>

The following intent extras are supported when for the intent with the `io.heckel.ntfy.SEND_MESSAGE` action:

| Extra name | Required | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `base_url` | - | *string* | `https://ntfy.sh` | Root URL of the ntfy server this message came from, defaults to `https://ntfy.sh` |
| `topic` ❤️ | ✔ | *string* | `mytopic` | Topic name; **you must set this** |
| `title` | - | *string* | `Some title` | Message [title](../publish.md#message-title); may be empty if not set |
| `message` ❤️ | ✔ | *string* | `Some message` | Message body; **you must set this** |
| `tags` | - | *string* | `tag1,tag2,..` | Comma-separated list of [tags](../publish.md#tags-emojis) |
| `priority` | - | *string or int (between 1-5)* | `4` | Message [priority](../publish.md#message-priority) with 1=min, 3=default and 5=max |

## iPhone/iOS
I almost feel devious for putting the *Download on the App Store* button on this page. Currently, there is no iOS app
for ntfy, but it's in the works. You can track the status on GitHub.

<a href="https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy/issues/4"><img src="../../static/img/badge-appstore.png"></a>