New feature: Your APKs can now send push notifications to users! This means you can reach your app’s users even when they’re not actively using it — send updates, reminders, or important messages directly to their phones.
What Are Push Notifications?
Push notifications are those messages that pop up on your phone from apps — even when you’re not using them. Think of:
- A message from your messaging app
- A news alert from a news app
- A reminder from your calendar app
- An update about your order from a shopping app
Now your AI Studio APK apps can do the same thing!
How It Works
When you build your app with AI Studio APK, we automatically add push notification support. Here’s what happens:
- Your app gets built with Firebase Cloud Messaging (the industry standard for push notifications)
- When users install and open your app, they automatically subscribe to receive notifications
- You can send messages to all your users from the AI Studio APK dashboard
- Messages appear instantly on users’ phones — even if the app is closed
What You Need
To use push notifications, you’ll need:
- A Firebase project (if you use Firebase Auth, you already have one)
- Your
google-services.jsonfile uploaded during the build process - A Firebase service account key (this lets you send notifications)
Note: Push notifications use your own Firebase project, so you’re responsible for your own Firebase usage and any associated costs through Firebase.
Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Step 1: Build Your App
Build your APK as usual through the New Build page. If you’ve already uploaded your google-services.json file for Firebase Auth, push notification support is automatically added — no extra steps needed!
Step 2: Get Your Firebase Service Account Key
This key lets you send notifications from the AI Studio APK dashboard. Here’s how to get it:
- Go to Firebase Console
- Select your project
- Click the gear icon next to “Project Overview” and choose “Project Settings”
- Go to the “Service Accounts” tab
- Click “Generate new private key”
- Save the downloaded JSON file to your computer
Step 3: Upload the Service Account Key
You can upload this key in two places:
Option A — During build (Firebase Setup wizard):
When building an APK with Firebase Auth, the Firebase Setup wizard now includes “Step 5: Enable Push Notifications (Optional)” — just upload your service account JSON file there.
Option B — Push Notifications page:
Go to “Push Notifications” in the sidebar, select your app, and upload the service account JSON in the “Firebase Service Account” section.
Step 4: Install and Open the App
After building your APK:
- Install the APK on your phone (or distribute it to users)
- Open the app at least once — this is important! Opening the app registers it with Firebase and subscribes it to receive notifications
- If you’re on Android 13 or newer, the app will ask for notification permission — tap “Allow”
- Wait about 1 minute for everything to connect
Step 5: Send Your First Notification
Now for the fun part — sending a notification:
- Go to “Push Notifications” in the AI Studio APK sidebar
- Select your app from the dropdown
- Fill in the notification details:
- Title — The bold heading (e.g., “New Update!”)
- Message — The body text (e.g., “Version 2.0 is here with new features”)
- Target Type — Choose “Topic”
- Target Value — Enter “all” to send to all users
- Click “Send Push Notification”
You should see a success message. The notification will appear on your phone within a few seconds!
Who Receives the Notifications?
By default, all users who have your app installed and have opened it at least once will receive notifications. You can target different groups:
| Target | Who Gets It |
|---|---|
| All users (topic: “all”) | Everyone with your app installed |
| Specific topic | Users subscribed to that topic (e.g., “premium-users”) |
| Single device | One specific user (using their device token) |
What Users See
When you send a notification:
- It appears in the phone’s notification tray — even if the app is completely closed
- It shows your app’s icon and name
- Tapping the notification opens your app
- If the user is actively using the app, they still see the notification
What If Users Are Offline?
No problem! Firebase handles this automatically:
- If a user’s phone is offline when you send a notification, Firebase saves it
- When they come back online, the notification is delivered
- Notifications are stored for up to 28 days
Troubleshooting
“I sent a notification but didn’t receive it”
- Did you rebuild the APK? Push notifications only work with newly built APKs
- Did you open the app at least once? The app needs to be opened to register with Firebase
- Did you allow notifications? On Android 13+, you need to grant permission when prompted
- First-time delay? The very first notification can take up to 5 minutes. Try again.
“It says ‘Service account required'”
You need to upload your Firebase service account key. Follow Step 2 and Step 3 above.
“The Push Notifications page says ‘No builds found'”
You need to build at least one APK before you can send notifications. Go to “New Build” and create a build first.
Ready to Add Push Notifications?
Push notifications are a powerful way to stay connected with your users. Whether you want to announce updates, send reminders, or engage users with timely content, it’s now built right into AI Studio APK.
👉 Build your app with push notifications at aistudioapk.com
Questions or need help? Join our community at r/aistudioapk
