Verify and publish notification template

Verify your sender profile by sending a test notification, create a notification template in Review Channels, test it, and publish it to your site. This topic is for Account Administrators or Technical Administrators and with help from a developer or tester who has a test device. It is part of the setup described in the Set up push notifications in Portal article.

Before you begin

Your developers added the SDK to your app. Refer to Android integration or iOS integration for platform-specific instructions.
You have the Device ID of a test device from your developers or testers.

Setup overview

To verify your setup and publish a notification template, complete the following steps:

Step 1: Verify your sender profile

A sender profile stays in Pending status until a test notification is accepted for delivery. You can't publish a template that uses an unverified profile.

Before you send the test, confirm the following on the device:

Android: The app was installed from a Google Play testing track on a real phone and opened at least once.
iOS: The app is on a real iPhone (from Xcode or TestFlight), notifications are allowed, and the app has been opened at least once.
The app has a Device ID. In the BV Garner test app, it's on Home (Copy device ID) and on the Details tab. In your app, BVPush.deviceId isn't null.
Notifications are allowed for the app.
A user is linked. A test notification doesn't need this and appears even with no user signed in, but real review requests do. In the BV Garner test app, sign in on the Account tab. In your app, sign in so linkIdentity runs.
Quiet hours are off, or the device time is between 08:00 and 20:00. Opt-out and quiet hours apply to test pushes too. In the BV Garner test app, go to Account > Quiet hours > Off.
Receive pushes is on (the customer isn't opted out).
The device is online, Do Not Disturb is off, and the app wasn't force-stopped since it was last opened.

To send the test notification:

In the Portal, go to Settings > Sender Profiles and select the Push notification tab.
In the Sender profile details table, select the action menu next to the profile, and then select Send test notification.
Enter the Device ID. A Device ID has 36 characters, for example 01923f6e-8b7a-7c3d-9e21-4f5a6b7c8d9e. Paste it instead of typing it.
Select Send test notification.
Check the device. When the notification arrives, the profile status changes to Verified.

Portal message	Meaning
"We have sent the push notification to your device ID."	Firebase accepted the notification and the profile status changes to Verified. Check the device.
"We couldn't send the test push. Review your SDK implementation and credentials, then try again."	The Portal couldn't send it. Refer to "Troubleshoot" in this topic.
"Device ID must be a valid UUIDv7…"	The ID isn't in the right format. Copy it again from the app.

Note: A "sent" message means Firebase accepted the notification for delivery. It doesn't confirm that the device displayed it, so always check the device. You can send up to five test notifications per minute for your account.

Step 2: Create a notification template

In the Portal, go to Settings > Review Channels and select the Push notification tab.
Do one of the following:
- If you haven't set up a sender profile, select Start setup and create one. Refer to "Create a sender profile for push notifications" topic.
- If you've set up a sender profile, or templates already exist, select Create template.
In the Create template dialog, enter a name for the template, and then select Create template. The Edit template page opens. If you created a template at the end of sender profile setup, it's already on this tab.
From the Locale list in the upper-right corner, select the locale you want to send the notification in. Repeat steps 5 through 10 for each locale.
Under Sender profile, select the profile to send the notification from. If it shows Not Verified, select Send test notification to verify it.
Under Notification type, select Review Request or Review Request Reminder.
In Push title, enter the title (up to 50 characters).
In Push body, enter the message (up to 160 characters).
Under Template tokens, select the tokens to insert into the title or body, for example ${PRODUCT_NAME} or ${USERNAME}.
Use Live preview to check the notification on iOS and Android. The preview is for reference only. Appearance varies by device.

Changes save automatically. Last saved on shows the time. To keep your changes as a draft, select Save.

Step 3: Send a test notification from the template

On the Edit template page, select Send test notification.
Enter the Device ID of your test device, and then select Send test notification.
Check the device. The title and body appear as you wrote them, with tokens replaced.

The device needs the same setup as in Step 1. If nothing appears, refer to "Troubleshoot" in this topic.

Step 4: Publish the template to your site

Publish the template to Staging first, and then deploy it to Production.

On the Edit template page, select Continue to publish. This option isn't available until the sender profile is verified.
In the Map your deployment zone dialog, select the Deployment zone and the Environment, and then select Continue. Only zones with Push Notification & Email or Push Notification selected as the review collection method will appear.
In the Review & publish dialog, compare the Old value and New value columns, and then select Publish.

The Portal displays "The template has been published successfully." If another template is already live for that zone and environment, the Portal warns that publishing replaces it.

Note: Real review requests follow your review request schedule after a purchase. They aren't sent immediately.

Step 5: Confirm your app is ready to release

After you publish the template to Production, confirm that your app is ready for release.

Android and iOS

The App ID is correct.
The configuration file comes from the same Firebase project as the key you uploaded to the Portal. On Android, this is google-services.json. On iOS, this is GoogleService-Info.plist.
linkIdentity runs on sign-in and unlinkIdentity runs on sign-out.
A test notification arrived on a real device. On Android, use a build installed from Google Play. On iOS, use a real iPhone.
Your data disclosures cover Device ID, user ID, and email address. These are the Data safety answers in Google Play and the privacy details in App Store Connect. The SDK collects no location and no advertising ID.

Android only

applicationId matches the package name on the sender profile.
The app requests notification permission on Android 13 and later.
Messages and tokens are forwarded to the SDK, if your app has its own FirebaseMessagingService.

iOS only

The bundle ID and Team ID match the sender profile.
Push Notifications, Background Modes (Remote notifications), and App Attest (production) are turned on.
Tokens and background pushes are forwarded to the SDK.

Manage templates

Go to the Review Channels page in the Portal and select the Push notification tab.
Select the ellipsis on a template tile for the following options:
- Edit: Change the template and publish it again.
- Deploy to production: Available for templates published to Staging.
- Duplicate: Creates a copy named template name (copy) with the Unpublished status. The copy isn't sent until you publish it.
- Archive: Stops the template from being used for new notifications. You can restore it later.

Each tile shows the template's status: Published, Unpublished, Staging, Production, or Archived. Use Filters and the time range to find templates. The Deployment zone tab lists your zones and shows which have push notifications turned on and where each template is live.