Calling Javascript Notification API on Google Chrome for Android not working directly from a web page

Question

I'm working with the JavaScript Notification API to show a small message to my users. It works on every desktop browser I've tested with, including Chrome...but not Chrome for Android (KitKat, at least). Everything I've read says that Android Chrome supports the Notification API as of April 2015, and the app even has settings for Notification permissions...yet nothing happens when I call new Notification(...) from within it. In fact, even the official Mozilla Notification API demo page doesn't show them, despite being able to grab permissions information, etc.

Is there something special I need to do to make Notifications compatible with Android Chrome?

Answer 1

On Chrome for Android you can only open a notification via a Service Worker. A service worker is a script that runs alongside the browser and can be loaded even when the page or browser are currently closed.

The main reasoning behind the service worker requirement is that a notification can outlive the length of the browser's lifetime (i.e, the user can close the browser) and the notification will still be active, therefore when a user clicks on the notification Android needs to wake "something" up, this "something" is the Service Worker.

This Notification Guide is a good introduction to the current state of Notifications on the Web and in Chrome - it focuses a little on Push messaging but also has all the details of how to trigger a notification from the Service Worker.

This might seem like an extra hoop to jump through but it actually is a net benefit: your notification will still work when clicked even when the browser is closed.