Tell me more ×
User Experience Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for user experience researchers and experts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

We're including opt-in (on/off) for push notifications in an app, and I've heard feedback from project managers that some of the language might be too technical for the average shopper, like 'Push Notifications'.

I believe that on average, smart phone users are familiar with this term because of it's ubiquitous use in system settings, and in other apps.

What are your thoughts?

Is there a more obvious term to use for an on/off setting?

share|improve this question
2  
What's wrong with just "Notifications"? – Yamikuronue Nov 16 '12 at 17:37
1  
Nothing as a term, but there is a difference between the user choosing to accept messages on demand (pull, doesn't require opt-in), and the user choosing to allow the system to deliver (push) messages to the app/phone at will. (also note: SMS messages is a separate opt-in) ... Isn't it important to include the 'push' part of the concept? – Rob Nov 16 '12 at 17:54

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

In context (i.e. while using the app), "Notifications" is probably the most user friendly language choice.

Examples from iOS:

  1. iOS main settings uses "Notifications"
  2. Facebook uses "Notifications" (interestingly when you click into this, the heading reads "Manage Push Notifications")
  3. Twitter uses "Notifications"

These companies spend countless time and money on user research and usability testing, not that this means they are 100% correct all the time, but if you're unable to do your own research it's probably a safe bet to follow the patterns established by the big guys.

share|improve this answer
You're right, interestingly I have looked at the iOS setting countless times, but missed that 'Push' has been omitted from the 'Notifications' Center. The initial iOS permission request however does say 'X would like to send you push notifications' ... maybe just 'notifications' is enough to get the point across. – Rob Nov 16 '12 at 17:58
Notifications, for all intents and purposes, would always be push; if you want to pull data, you'd go to the app itself. I'm hard-pressed to think of a context in which "notification" does not imply "push" in modern smartphone context (I suppose you could have an app where you go in and click "download notifications" and get them from a central server, but you never see that in practice in this context and I'd argue that terminology would be confusing) – Yamikuronue Nov 16 '12 at 18:01
Agreed. I appreciate your feedback. – Rob Nov 16 '12 at 18:25

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.