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Custom push payloads

You can send highly customized push notifications using a Custom Payload. If you’ve integrated with our SDK, custom payloads let you send images and link customers to pages in your app when they tap your message.

Getting started with custom payloads

Creating a custom payload for your push notification grants access to a greater range of push features, like images and deep links—provided that your app is set up to support those features.

To enter a custom payload, click Custom Payload when composing your push notification.

You can then write or paste your custom code into the editor. There are different tabs for Android and iOS so that you can send custom code for each platform separately but, if you are using Firebase Cloud Messaging, you can just use the Android tab to send custom code that will be used for both Android and iOS.

Before you begin

Figure out what you want your message to do: do you want to send people to a deep link in your app or show them an image? Before you compose your message, make sure that your app supports that functionality. You may have to develop your app to handle some custom payload features.

If your payload includes links (like the link key, supported by our SDKs), you may need to know the format of deep links—links to pages within your app. Talk to your development team if you need help understanding the link scheme within your app.

You should also understand which push provider(s) you use. If you use Firebase Cloud Messaging, you may be able to construct a single payload supporting both Android and iOS devices. If you use Apple’s Push Notification service (APNs), you’ll need to enter different payloads for both iOS and Android devices.

When you have your payload, you’ll need to ensure that:

1. Your JSON code is valid.

2. The code you use follows the guidelines for the specific provider:

   • Apple Push Notification Service (APNs - iOS notifications)
   • Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM - Android and iOS notifications)

{
  "message": {
      "notification": {
        "body": "YOUR MESSAGE BODY HERE",
        "title": "YOUR MESSAGE TITLE HERE",
        "image": "YOUR IMAGE URL HERE"
      }
  }
}

{
  "aps": {
    "alert": {
      "body": "YOUR MESSAGE BODY HERE",
      "title": "YOUR MESSAGE TITLE HERE"
    }
  }
}

Personalize push notifications

You can use liquidA syntax that supports variables, letting you personalize messages for your audience. For example, if you want to reference a person’s first name, you might use the variable {{customer.first_name}}. in your custom payload. While you can technically use liquid in any string field, you probably want to limit yourself to the body, title, and subtitle (on iOS) fields.

Here’s a basic Android (and iOS via FCM) example using customer and event data:

{
  "message": {
      "notification": {
         "body": "Hi {{customer.first_name}}, your {{event.event_title}} has been booked!",
         "title": "All set!"
      }
  }
}

This results in a push notification that looks like this on iOS:

Custom push payload reference

While you can send push notifications to both iOS and Android devices using FCM, if you want to provide a custom payload, you must provide separate payloads for your iOS and Android audiences.

If your custom payload does not match the shape below, or you provide an incorrect data type for a key, your notification may fail.

FCM custom push payload

Your custom payload’s shape and keys depend on whether you use Customer.io’s SDKs or developed your own custom integration with our API. If you send a message with our SDKs, you can place the entire message within the message.data object or use the notification; our SDK handles both payload structures flexibly. This works for both Android and iOS platforms.

The message.data object can also contain custom data that your app to interpret. Custom data isn’t supported natively; it takes additional development. Talk to your app’s developer(s) to understand the custom data that you can pass to your app.

If you developed a custom integration, you can set a global notification—for both Android and iOS—in the message.notification object. You can pass additional options for the android push in the message.android.notification object.

You’ll find example payloads below depending on whether you’ve integrated with our SDK or wrote your own custom integration.

{
  "message": {
    "data": {
      "title": "string", //(optional) The title of the notification
      "body": "string", //The message you want to send
      "image": "string", //https URL to an image you want to include in the notification
      "link": "string", //Deep link in the format remote-habits://deep?message=hello&message2=world
    }
  }
}

{
    "message": {
        "notification": {
            "title": "string", //(optional) The title of the notification
            "body": "string", //(optional) The message you want to send
            "image": "string" //https URL to an image you want to include in the notification
        },
        "data": {
            //Use if you've integrated with our SDK.
            //Optional key-value pairs that your app interprets.
            //We don't validate the keys or values you provide.
        },
        "android": {
            "notification": {
                //(Optional) Contains options specific to an android notification. 
                "icon": "string", 
                "sound": "string",
                "tag": "string",
                "color": "#rrggbb",
                "click_action": "string",
                "body_loc_key": "string",
                "body_loc_args": "stringified,array",
                "title_loc_key": "string",
                "title_loc_args": "stringified,array"
            }
        }
    }
}

iOS custom push payload (FCM)

Before you send a push notification, make sure you understand how you’re integrated with Customer.io. If you use one of our SDKs, make sure you set mutable_content to 1. This ensures that your push notifications show images and report “delivered” metrics.

{
  "message": {
    "apns": {
      "payload": {
        "CIO": {
          "push": {
            "link": "string", //Deep link in the format remote-habits://deep?message=hello&message2=world
            "image": "string" //https URL to an image you want to include in the notification
          }
        },
        "aps": {
          // mutable_content must be set to 1 to support images
          // and "delivered" metrics from the Customer.io SDK
          "mutable-content": 1,
          "sound": "default",
          "alert": {
            "title": "string", //(optional) The title of the notification.
            "body": "string" //(optional) The message you want to send.
          }
        },
        // additional custom data
        "additionalProperties": "custom keys"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "message": {
    "notification": {
      // default notification
      "title": "string",
      "body": "string"
    },
    "apns": {
      "headers": {
        // headers defined in Apple Push Notification Service.
        "apns-priority": 10
      },
      "payload": {
        "aps": {
          // iOS message options go here
          "mutable_content": true,
          "sound": "default"
        }
      }
    } 
  }
}

iOS custom push payload (APNs)

Whether you use our SDK or developed your own integration, your push notification will normally include a aps.alert object with a body, reflecting the message you want to send. You can pass additional options for the push in the aps object (outside of the alert). Where the alert represents the message, these settings tell the device how to handle the message—whether to play a sound or add the message to a thread of notifications, etc.

If you use our SDK, you’ll include additional options—like deep links or images—in the CIO.push object. You should also set mutable_content to 1. This ensures that your push notifications show images and report “delivered” metrics.

Otherwise, you can pass additional, custom data outside the aps object. This custom data is something you’ve extended our SDK, or done your own development, to support. Talk to your app’s developer(s) to understand the custom data that you can pass to your app. You can omit the alert and send a silent push, with just custom data (setting "content-available": 1), though it’s not the most common use case.

{
  "aps": {
    "alert": { 
    //can be string or object
    //alert object keys
      "body": "string",
      "title": "string",
      "subtitle": "string",
      "launch-image": "string",
    // localization arguments
      "title-loc-key": "string",
      "title-loc-args": ["array", "of", "strings"],
      "subtitle-loc-key": "string",
      "subtitle-loc-args": ["array", "of", "strings"],
      "loc-key": "string",
      "loc-args": ["array", "of", "strings"]
    },
    // message options
    "badge": 0, // number
    "sound": "default",
    "thread-id": "string",
    "category": "string",
    "content-available": 0, // number, 0 (default) or 1
    // mutable_content must be set to 1 to support images
    // and "delivered" metrics from the Customer.io SDK
    "mutable-content": 1, // number, 0 (default) or 1
    "target-content-id": "string",
  },
  // options supported by Customer.io's SDK
  "CIO": {
    "push": {
        "link": "string", // deep links in the format remote-habits://deep?message=hello&message2=world
        "image": "string" // https URL to an image, including the file extension
    }
  },
  // additional custom data
  "additionalProperties": "custom keys"
}

Got feedback?

We’re hoping to get your feedback on how you’re using custom payloads, if there’s anything you’re struggling with, or if there’s anything you’re really enjoying about it and want to make sure we keep.

Let us know!