A push notification is a message that appears on your phone or computer without you asking for it
When an app or website wants to send you information, it can use push notifications to reach you directly. Instead of you opening the app to check for news, the notification arrives on its own — as a small popup, a banner at the top of your screen, or a badge with a number on the app icon. The message appears whether or not you are using that app at the moment.
The word "push" means the sender is pushing the message to you, rather than you pulling it by opening the app yourself. A weather app might push a notification about rain. A social media site might push a notification that someone liked your post. A bank might push a notification about suspicious activity on your account.
Push notifications work because your phone or computer stays connected to the internet in the background, even when you are not actively using it. The app or service sends the message through a notification service — Apple uses Apple Push Notification service, Google uses Firebase Cloud Messaging — and that service delivers it to your device.
Key Takeaways
- Push notifications arrive without you opening an app, sent through background internet connections that run constantly on your device.
- You control which apps can send you notifications by changing settings in your phone's notification menu, and you can turn them off entirely for any app.
- Apps use notifications to tell you about updates, messages, reminders, and activity — some useful, some designed to keep you checking the app more often.
- Notifications themselves do not collect personal data, but the fact that you received and opened one does tell the app something about your behavior.
Why apps send notifications instead of waiting for you to check
Notifications serve two different purposes, and understanding which one is at work helps you decide whether to allow them. Some notifications are genuinely useful: a banking app notifying you of a large withdrawal, a weather app warning of severe storms, a calendar app reminding you of an appointment in ten minutes. These notifications save you time because you do not have to open the app to find out something has changed.
Other notifications are designed to pull you back into the app more often. A social media app might notify you that someone liked your post, or that a friend is online, or that there is new content to see. A shopping app might notify you about a sale. These notifications work because they create a small moment of curiosity or urgency — you see the notification and open the app to see what happened. The more often you open the app, the more ads you see and the more data the company collects about your behavior.
Both types of notification use the same technology. The difference is in the intent. Knowing which kind you are dealing with helps you decide whether to keep notifications on or turn them off.
How to control which notifications you see
Every phone and computer lets you decide which apps can send you notifications, and how they appear. On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Notifications, and you will see a list of every app that has asked for permission to send notifications. Tap any app name to see your options: you can turn notifications off entirely, choose whether they appear as banners or in the notification center, decide whether they make a sound, and control whether they show a badge number on the app icon.
On an Android phone, the path is similar: Settings, then Apps and Notifications, then Notifications. You can turn notifications off for individual apps or adjust how they appear. You can also long-press a notification when it arrives and choose "Don't show these notifications" to block them without opening settings.
On a computer, the process depends on your operating system. On a Mac, go to System Settings, then Notifications, and choose which apps can send notifications and how. On Windows, go to Settings, then System, then Notifications, and you can control notifications app by app.
The key point: you have control. If an app sends notifications you do not want, you can turn them off without uninstalling the app. You can also turn notifications off for a specific app but keep them on for others.
What information notifications reveal about you
A notification itself — the message that appears on your screen — does not contain personal information like your name or address. But the fact that you received a notification, opened it, or ignored it does tell the app something about your behavior. If you consistently open notifications about sales but ignore notifications about new features, the app learns what interests you. If you open a notification at 3 a.m., the app knows you were awake and using your phone at that time.
This behavioral data is valuable to companies because it helps them understand what keeps you engaged. They use it to decide what notifications to send you in the future, and they may sell or share this data with advertisers. The notification itself is not the privacy risk — the tracking of whether you opened it is.
If you are concerned about this tracking, turning off notifications for apps you do not trust is one way to limit what they learn about you. You can also check an app's privacy policy to see whether it tracks notification behavior, though many policies are vague on this point.
The difference between notifications and other types of messages
Push notifications are different from text messages, emails, and in-app messages, even though they all deliver information to you. A text message goes through your phone carrier and appears in your Messages app. An email goes through an email service and appears in your email app. An in-app message only appears when you open the app itself. A push notification can reach you even if you have never opened the app, because it uses a background connection that the phone maintains automatically.
This is why push notifications are so effective at getting your attention — they bypass the step of you deciding to open an app. It is also why they are more intrusive than other message types. You cannot avoid seeing a push notification the way you can avoid opening an email or text message.
Why some apps ask for notification permission when you first open them
When you install an app on an iPhone or Android phone, it may ask for permission to send you notifications. This permission request exists because of privacy regulations: apps are not allowed to send notifications without your explicit consent. If you tap "Allow," the app can send notifications. If you tap "Don't Allow," it cannot — though you can change your mind later in settings.
Apps ask for this permission early because they want you to say yes while you are still interested in the app. If they wait until you have used the app for a while, you are more likely to say no. Some apps ask for notification permission before asking for other permissions like access to your location or contacts, because notification permission is less sensitive and more likely to be granted.
You do not have to grant notification permission to use an app. Saying no means you will not receive notifications, but the app will still work. Some people say no to all notification requests and then turn on notifications only for apps they trust or find genuinely useful.
How notification services know where to send your message
When you install an app, it registers with a notification service — Apple Push Notification service for iPhone apps, Firebase Cloud Messaging for Android apps. The notification service assigns your device a unique identifier, kind of like a mailing address. When the app wants to send you a notification, it tells the notification service "send this message to device ABC123," and the notification service delivers it.
This system means the app does not need to know your phone number or email address to reach you. It only needs to know your device identifier. The notification service keeps track of which devices are online and where to send messages. If your phone is offline when a notification is sent, the notification service may hold it briefly and deliver it when your phone comes back online, or it may discard it — this depends on the app and the notification service.
The notification services themselves (Apple and Google) can see that a notification was sent to your device, but they typically do not see the content of the message. The app developer sees whether the notification was delivered and whether you opened it, but the notification service does not share that information with other apps or advertisers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off notifications for one app but keep them on for others?
Yes. On both iPhone and Android, go to your notification settings and find the specific app. You can turn notifications off for that app while leaving them on for every other app. You can also customize how each app's notifications appear — whether they make a sound, show a badge number, or appear as a banner.
If I turn off notifications, will the app still work?
Yes. Turning off notifications only stops the app from sending you messages. The app itself will function normally when you open it. You just will not receive alerts when you are not using the app.
Do notifications use data or battery?
Notifications use very little data — usually just a few kilobytes per message. Battery impact is also minimal because the background connection that receives notifications is designed to be efficient. If you are concerned about battery life, turning off notifications for apps you do not need them from will have a small positive effect, but it will not dramatically extend your battery life.
Can I see old notifications I missed?
On iPhone, swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification center, which shows recent notifications. On Android, swipe down twice from the top to open the full notification panel. Notifications typically stay visible for a few hours to a few days depending on the app, then disappear from the notification center.
Why do some apps send notifications even though I turned them off?
If you see notifications from an app you turned off, check your settings again — the app may have re-enabled notifications after a software update. Some apps also send notifications through email or text message instead of push notifications, which are controlled separately. If you want to stop all communication from an app, check its in-app settings for email and SMS preferences as well.