What is the difference between Firebase push-notifications and FCM messages?

Question

Heloo, I am building an app where I am using push notifications via Firebase Console. I want to know what is a difference between simply push-notification and cloud message? Is it that messages from cloud messaging are data messages(have key and value) and notifications are just text without key and value?Am I right?

Answer 1

Firebase API has two types of messages, they call them:

• notification
• data

Explanation:

1. notification - messages that goes directly to Android's Notification tray only if your application is in background/killed or gets delivered to onMessageReceived() method if your app is in foreground.

Sample:

{     "notification" : { "body" : "Hi"} } 

2. data payload - Doesn't matter whether your application is in forground or background or killed, these messages will always be delivered to onMessageReceived() method.

Sample:

{     "data" : { "message" : "Hi", "whatever_key": "value"}  } 

Reference link

IMPORTANT : You can't send data payload messages from Firebase Console, Console only delivers notification message. However using API you can send both type of messages.

To send a data payload message you have to make a curl request:

HTTP POST Request

https://fcm.googleapis.com/fcm/send Content-Type:application/json Authorization:key=AIzaSyZ-1u...0GBYzPu7Udno5aA  { "data": {     "score": "5x1",     "time": "15:10"   },   "to" : "bk3RNwTe3H0:CI2k_HHwgIpoDKCIZvvDMExUdFQ3P1..." } 

You can get the server key (AIzaSyZ-1u...0GBYzPu7Udno5aA), from firebase console: Your project -> settings -> Project settings -> Cloud messaging -> Server Key