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Get started: web and in-app messages

In-app messages let you incorporate dynamic, personalized content into your app or website with very little development or engineering and help you continue conversations across channels. By personalizing messages based on the activities your audience performs in- or outside your app, you can maintain highly relevant interactions with your audience.

What is an in-app message?

An in-app message is a message sent to a user inside your app or on your website. It’s distinct from a push notification in that a user must be in your app or on your website to receive it. They can’t get your message if they don’t open your app or log in to your site.

While we refer to in-app messages as messages, you can make them persistent and use them as banners or other UI elements. They aren’t necessarily one-time messages!

How it works

When you send an in-app message, the message waits in a queue until your recipient opens your app or website on one of their devices. When a recipient opens your app or website, we poll for new messages and send messages in the queue. When someone gets a message, we log events based on their responses—whether they tap an action in the message, dismiss it, etc.

You’ll target your message to your audience by their ID or email rather than by device or browser. In-app messages appear in the first device or browser that the person visits after you send a message. After a person receives your message, they won’t get it on another device or browser session (unless they enter a campaign again or you re-broadcast your message).

Before you begin

To send in-app messages, you’ll need to install an SDK (software development kit) in your website or mobile app. If you’re not a developer, this can sound intimidating, but don’t worry! All you need to do is copy a block of code to your website.

For your mobile apps, this process probably requires a mobile developer, but you can still start drafting messages in Customer.io without setting up your app.

Set up web and in-app messaging

You’ll need to update your website and/or mobile app to receive in-app messages.

Test your in-app setup

On the Workspace Settings > In-App page, we’ll show you the platforms we support with links to documentation. Until you send and receive your first message, the Connect your app step will show Required—because we assume that you have more setup to do.

You can send a test message to prove your integration on this page. When you send, and successfully display, your first in-app message, we’ll show that setup is complete and you’re ready to send messages to your audience!

Disable in-app messaging

Disabling in-app messaging cancels all outstanding in-app messages and prevents your campaigns from sending in-app messages in the future. If you have campaigns with in-app messages in them, you may want to remove those messages first to make sure that your campaign and broadcast workflows still make sense.

1. Go to Settings > Workspace Settings > In-App.
2. Click Enable or Disable.

Polling for messages

We normally check for new in-app messages every 10 seconds. But we adjust this rate when people don’t have active messages in queue to minimize unnecessary network traffic.

When you first start sending in-app messages, it may take a few minutes to ramp up in-app polling frequency to the normal rate. This won’t affect your users. But, if you have your website or app open when you send your very first test message, you’ll want to clear your cache or restart your app to see messages at the normal polling rate.