Subscribe from your Phone

You can use the NotifyHero-compatible mobile apps to receive notifications directly on your phone.

Download the App

The Google Play and F-Droid releases are largely identical, with the one exception that the F-Droid flavor does not use Firebase.

Alternatively, you may also want to consider using the progressive web app (PWA) instead of the native app.

Getting Started

  1. Install the app from your preferred store
  2. Add a topic by tapping the + button
  3. Subscribe to receive notifications on that topic
  4. Send a message using curl or any HTTP client

Topics don't have to be created beforehand - just pick a name and start using it!

Connecting to NotifyHero

To use the NotifyHero server instead of the default:

  1. Open the app settings
  2. Tap "Default server"
  3. Enter https://app.notifyhero.com

Or when adding a new topic, check "Use another server" and enter the NotifyHero URL.

Message Priority

When you publish messages to a topic, you can define a priority. This priority defines how urgently your phone will notify you:

| Priority | Behavior | |----------|----------| | min (1) | No vibration, no popup | | low (2) | No vibration | | default (3) | Short vibration | | high (4) | Long vibration, shows as popup | | max (5) | Long vibration, shows even with DND |

You can customize these settings per priority level in Android's notification settings.

Instant Delivery (Android)

Instant delivery ensures you receive messages immediately, even when your phone is in doze mode (screen off, on desk for a while).

Without instant delivery, messages may arrive with significant delays (sometimes hours later) due to Firebase Cloud Messaging limitations.

To enable instant delivery:

  1. Open the app
  2. When subscribing to a topic, enable "Instant delivery"

This creates a persistent notification (required by Android for foreground services).

Notification Settings

Per-Topic Settings

For each topic, you can configure:

  • Mute notifications - Disable sound/vibration
  • Minimum priority - Only notify for messages at or above this priority
  • Auto-delete - Automatically delete messages after a time period

Global Settings

In the app settings, you can:

  • Set the default server
  • Configure connection timeouts
  • Enable/disable notification LED
  • Set up Do Not Disturb overrides

UnifiedPush (Android)

The app supports UnifiedPush, an open standard for push notifications. This allows other apps to use NotifyHero as their push notification provider instead of Firebase.

To use UnifiedPush:

  1. Install the ntfy app
  2. In the app that supports UnifiedPush, select ntfy as the distributor
  3. The app will automatically create a topic for push notifications

Troubleshooting

Messages not arriving?

  1. Check the topic name - Topic names are case-sensitive
  2. Check the server URL - Make sure you're connected to the right server
  3. Enable instant delivery - Without it, messages may be delayed
  4. Check battery optimization - Disable battery optimization for the app
  5. Check Do Not Disturb - High priority messages can override DND

Battery usage

The app is optimized for low battery usage. Instant delivery uses a foreground service which keeps a connection open, but the battery impact is minimal.

If you're concerned about battery:

  • Use Firebase delivery (default) instead of instant delivery
  • Accept that messages may be delayed when phone is in doze mode

Tips

  • Use descriptive topic names you'll remember
  • Set up different topics for different notification types
  • Use priority levels to control urgency
  • Enable instant delivery for critical notifications
  • Use the mute feature for less important topics