Stale token management for Android and iOS push tokens

Understanding Stale Tokens and Our Approach to Managing Them

Push notifications are targeted to push tokens generated by FCM/APNS. Previously, we sent notifications to all tokens in our system, including inactive devices with stale tokens. This practice had an adverse effect on our delivery rates, resulting in a misleading drop in reported deliveries.

To address this, FCM recommends adopting a two-month threshold window to identify stale tokens. Tokens older than two months are likely associated with inactive devices (users not launching the app and not receiving any notifications) since active devices regularly refresh their tokens or token timestamp.

You can learn more about this recommendation here.

How We Manage Stale Tokens at Netcore

We have now implemented a system to track token statuses and will adhere to the two-month window to identify inactive user tokens. These tokens will be removed from the sent count of campaigns. When this feature is gradually rolled out, you may notice a decrease in the sent count initially, but please note that this change does not affect valid absolute deliveries. Any inactive devices that become active in the future will again be included in the reachable user base.

Please note that this feature is available for both Android and iOS push tokens.