Design a push strategy

Push is one of the strongest retention levers — apps that use it well see 3–5× higher 90-day retention. But the system prompt is one-shot: if denied, you can't re-trigger it without sending the user to Settings. And up to 60% of users opt out once it became opt-in. The strategy is almost entirely about earning the permission and then not wasting it.

The blunt truth first

Research-validated: "Push notifications don't create retention. They reveal whether retention already exists. If users only come back because you ping them, you don't have retention." (r/expo) Build the retention loop first (design-retention-loop); use push as the trigger in that loop, not as a substitute for it.

Earning the permission (the opt-in is the whole game)

Expected opt-in rate by strategy: