Android - Implementing an Inbox

In this page you'll learn how to build an app inbox with all the options at your disposal to create a great messaging experience for your users.

With our library it's extremely easy to implement an in-app inbox. Implementing an inbox increases considerably the engagement rate of your notifications simply because messages will always be available inside your app.

The inbox feature is activated by default when the Actito team sets up your integration.

After activating this functionality you can start implementing your inbox in any activity or fragment of your app.

Device-level inbox

The standard approach is to use the device-level inbox. Each device will have its own independent inbox, regardless of the associated user. The device-level inbox is available via the re.notifica:notificare-inbox module. The inbox itself is exposed as LiveData, so it is really easy to hook up your activities or fragments to a list of inbox items, for example:

Kotlin

Notificare.inbox().observableItems.observe(this, { items ->
    // Do something with the items.
})

Java

NotificareInboxCompat.getObservableItems();
    // Do something with the items.

In the same way, you can listen for the number of unread messages.

Kotlin

Notificare.inbox().observableBadge.observe(this, { badge ->
    // Do something with the badge.
})

Java

NotificareInboxCompat.getObservableBadge();
    // Do something with the badge.

If you don't want to use LiveData, you can still get the items and the badge in the inbox.

Kotlin

// Items
Notificare.inbox().items

// Badge
Notificare.inbox().badge

Java

// Items
NotificareInboxCompat.getItems();

// Badge
NotificareInboxCompat.getBadge();

Managing inbox items

Assuming that you hold a reference to an item, to open an inbox item you would simply do something like this:

Kotlin

val item: NotificareInboxItem

Notificare.inbox().open(item, object : NotificareCallback<NotificareNotification> {
    override fun onSuccess(result: NotificareNotification) {
        // Optional: Present the notification with Push UI.
        Notificare.pushUI().presentNotification(activity, notification)
    }

    override fun onFailure(e: Exception) {

    }
})

Java

NotificareInboxItem item;

NotificareInboxCompat.open(item, new NotificareCallback<NotificareNotification>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(NotificareNotification result) {
        // Optional: Present the notification with Push UI.
        NotificarePushUICompat.presentNotification(activity, notification);
    }

    @Override
    public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {

    }
});

To remove items from the inbox you would invoke the following method:

Kotlin

val item: NotificareInboxItem

Notificare.inbox().remove(item, object : NotificareCallback<Unit> {
    override fun onSuccess(result: Unit) {

    }

    override fun onFailure(e: Exception) {

    }
})

Java

NotificareInboxItem item;

NotificareInboxCompat.remove(item, new NotificareCallback<Unit>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Unit result) {

    }

    @Override
    public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {

    }
});

Additionally, you can also mark a message as read by invoking the following method:

Kotlin

val item: NotificareInboxItem

Notificare.inbox().markAsRead(item, object : NotificareCallback<Unit> {
    override fun onSuccess(result: Unit) {

    }

    override fun onFailure(e: Exception) {

    }
})

Java

NotificareInboxItem item;

NotificareInboxCompat.markAsRead(item, new NotificareCallback<Unit>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Unit result) {

    }

    @Override
    public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {

    }
});

Or mark all messages as read by invoking the following method:

Kotlin

Notificare.inbox().markAllAsRead(object : NotificareCallback<Unit> {
    override fun onSuccess(result: Unit) {

    }

    override fun onFailure(e: Exception) {

    }
})

Java

NotificareInboxCompat.markAllAsRead(new NotificareCallback<Unit>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Unit result) {

    }

    @Override
    public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {

    }
});

To remove all items in the inbox you would do the following:

Kotlin

Notificare.inbox().clear(object : NotificareCallback<Unit> {
    override fun onSuccess(result: Unit) {

    }

    override fun onFailure(e: Exception) {

    }
})

Java

NotificareInboxCompat.clear(new NotificareCallback<Unit>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Unit result) {

    }

    @Override
    public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {

    }
});