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Migrating from another Provider

If you were already sending Push notifications through another provider and chose to use Actito's integrated solution to include it in your multi-channel marketing activation strategy, the following guide will help you migrate your push subscribers into Actito.

Data Migration

In the context of push notifications, the migration implies transferring the device information, the end-customer associated (if known) and the subscription from the previous push provider to Actito. No campaign history is migrated.

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We strongly recommend keeping your current push provider until you finish and validate the migration, as well as exporting and saving all devices information before cancelling your contract.

Workflow

This workflow can be applied to iOS, Android and Web push migration.

Step 1. Removing the current push provider SDK code

  • Remove the current push provider SDK initialization code that you added on your website/ your app when you followed their set-up guide.
  • Remove any JavaScript code or any code/dependency added during the setup of the current push provider SDK.

Step 2. Implement the SKD provided by Actito

  • Follow our section related to 'Setting up Push Notifications' on your mobile app or website.

Once the setup of the push channel is done, push subscribers will be migrated progressively and automatically:

  • When they download the new version of the native app (for the app push notification)
  • When they visit your website (for the web push notification)

In both cases, existing push subscribers don’t have to give new permission.

Only active push subscribers (who make one of actions described above) will be migrated and will be contactable through Actito. Push subscribers who don’t update the app or visit your website again will still be associated to the SDK of the older push provider.

How to increase the number of migrated push subscribers?

Push tokens linked to older versions can still be reached by the old provider, so you could send one final message just after finalizing the implementation of the Actito push notification channel, in order to invite your subscribers to update the app of visit your website.

For mobile apps

On mobile, there is a local install on the device of the subscriber, so the SDK version is entirely dependant on the app version downloaded by the profile.

Older app versions can still be reached by the old provider, so you can send one final message just after your updated app version went live on the app stores, to invite subscribers to update it.

After that, only new app versions will receive notifications from Actito.

For websites

On websites, there is no local install. This means that you can and should remove the SDK of the previous provider, as mixing up SDKs can lead to unwanted behaviors (see below).

But after installing the Notificare script, you will still be able to send a message from your old provider to people who haven't visited the website yet.

Simply visiting the website will be enough to migrate the subscriber.

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Final messages from the old provider should not deviate from the standard (i.e. no exclusive feature from the older provider), in order to be handled correctly.

About importing push tokens from the other push provider

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Actito doesn’t provide a way to import push tokens because the nature of such tokens entails some limitations.

We only recommend a progressive migration like we introduced above.

What is a push token?

A Push Token is a unique identifier that is used by a platform to deliver messages to a specific app on a specific device.

A push token is associated with the SDK of the push provider.

Why does it prevent token transfers?

Migrating a database of push tokens doesn't work like migrating an e-mail database, where you can export from your former ESP to the new one and directly run a campaign.

All functionalities provided by a push provider only works with the SDK of this push provider. If a push token is associated to the old SDK, new notifications won't be able to load their content or to track openings, clicks...

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If you export push tokens from Firebase, please note, Firebase will not provide you with the actual iOS APNS tokens, so it is impossible to import iOS devices from Firebase into other Push Providers. If you do import these tokens, sending them push notifications will deactivate them as invalid tokens. Moreover, they will never register again with that token from the previousSDK and never be reachable anymore.

All in all, using a mix of Push tokens and SDKs leads to unwanted behaviors on the different platforms.