What Is an Apple Push Notification Key (APNs) and How to Generate It

Introduction:

Think how easy it will be to send personalized push alerts that keep users returning to your app and have complete control over the process. If you don’t know how to do that, no need to worry. With your Apple Push Notification Key (APNs), it is easy. With this guide, you will be able to get your APNs key and increase your app user retention in no time.

What is Apple Push Notification Key (APNs)?

APNs is Apple’s Push Notification Service. It works with your app to push notifications to iOS and macOS devices. For reliability and security, Apple employs cryptographic credentials that are special to the service. These credentials are called Apple Push Notification Key (APNs Auth Key).

APNs Key is a single, easy to get and manage cryptographic token (a digital passport), that works with multiple applications and environments. It’s easier to manage than traditional certificate-based methods because it streamlines notifications across Apple devices, including iOS, watchOS, and macOS.

When you pair this key with your app, you’ll be able to get notifications to users quicker and in a more secure and safe manner while keeping your users in the know.

Why Does the APNs Key Matter for Your App?

If you don’t have a APNs key, your app will not be able to send notifications to iOS users no matter how hard it tries. That is why the key is so important.

This severely hinders your chances of re-engaging users, even if conversely, push notifications have shown to attain 70% higher engagement than email (Source: Statista) .

Not setting up the APNs key means:

• Recovering inactive users: Alerts suggest users to come back after an inactivity period.
• Driving user actions: Notifications of promotional activity and updates encourage users.
• Establishing trust\&loyalty: Constant alerts go to remind users of your brand.

To add on, Apple has very specific requirements—correctly set up credentials to decrease the chances of your app being rejected, and also to guarantee that your alerts will be pushed. Incorrect credentials also cause the app to perform poorly and have weak engagement analytics.

By defaulting on “set it and forget it”, you leave money on the table. Setting up your APNs key correctly is the first step in unlocking the full potential of your app.

How to Generate an Apple Push Notifications Key ()

Generating your APNs key is an easy task that will not take much time. There is no need to worry, as it is a guided walk-through, even non-techy founders will feel comfortable doing it.

Step 1: Sign in to Apple Developer Portal

Visit developer.apple.com and log in to your Developer Account with your Apple ID.

We will assume for this example that you created an Apple Developer Account, and you enrolled in the Apple Developer Program ($99/year).

Step 1: Navigate to “Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles”

Log in, and from the sidebar menu, choose “Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles”. Then click “Keys” from the menu on the left.

Step 2: New Key

To create the new key, click on the plus sign (“+\”) to the right. Enter an appropriate key name. You can name it “MyApp APNs Key 2024”. Among the options, choose “Apple Push Notification service (APNs)” as the key type.

Select the desired App ID (or select “All App IDs if that applies). This will allow broad distribution if necessary.

Step 3: Download & Generate the Key

Press the button that says “Continue”. After you review the options, press “Confirm” to generate the key. After that, get the .p8 key as you will only have this single opportunity to download your key from Apple. Make sure to keep this file, as all services that use this APNs key will need to have the key updated if you lose it.

Step 4: Key ID and Twinr Team ID

Please identify and record your “Key ID” as this key will be uniquely tied to this Key ID, and will be visible after creating the key. Locate your “Team ID” in the profile for your developer account (under “Membership Information”). You will need both of these to set up push notifications in the backend of your app or a notification service such as Twinr.

Using Your APNs Key with Twinr for Effective Push Notifications ()

When done with APNs Key generation, connect it with Twinr’s integrated notification manager. For most subscribers, this entails uploading the `.p8 Key file along with the Key ID, and the Team ID.

Benefits of APNs Key Integrations with Twinr:

• Ease of setup: no need to create certificates and provisioning profiles, and no need to go through Apple’s difficult certificate renewal.
• Certain deliverability: notifications sent will reach their iOS destination, encouraging increased user engagement.
• Multi versatility: create keys for different and multiple apps, environments on the same key, and entities.
• Campaign personalization: create, schedule, and automation for tailored notifications to improve retention and conversions.

Twinr provides onboarding and handholding for uploading and controlling APNs Credentials in its no-code environment while sidestepping the need for exhaustive technical know-how.

Best Practices and Suggestions for Your APNs Credentials ()

• Safe storage: Keep .p8 file and keys in an adequately secure environment, i.e., password manager, or empty folder in secure encrypted cloud storage. DO NOT leak these keys to the public internet.
• Change and self-rotate: APNs keys should ideally be self-rotated annually or on hint of security issues. Make the necessary updates to your app backend to prevent losing the ability to send notifications.
• Delivery to be tested: before launching any push campaigns, ensure that notifications in the sandbox (development) are working as they should.
• Use separate keys for production & development: Create and configure two separate keys, and don’t get confused.
• Monitor delivery rates: In case open & click rates are low, check delivery of notifications as it could be a credential issue.

Balanced and planned activity around APNs keys will allow you to have a strong notification channel that is reliable and will help your app to grow.

The Big Win: How the APNs Key Unlocks App Growth

Keeping your Apple Push Notification Key generation and management right will let your app send push notifications at all times, and notifications will be major engagement points for the users. Retention for the apps that went on to capture the notifications is reported to be up to 4x, and so is the user lifetime value.

The absence of the key will dictate if notifications are reliable and will result in the notifications not reaching the users, making any re-engagement, upselling, or informing of the users impossible. Setting the APNs key is as effortless as the channel for app boosting ROI is. Once you have the key, at best you could lose the value-providing channel for your app. With Twinr, you can set notifications without any hassle, and you won’t be able to move your focus from the core value: creating a brilliant experience for the user.

Final Thoughts: Get Your APNs Key & Supercharge Engagement

The first step of unlocking your app’s potential is now to generate your Apple Push Notification Key (APNs).

APNs is the final hurdle to reaching iOS users through notifications. Drive re-engagement, improve retention, and increase revenue.

Don’t let technical problems keep your user engagement down. After setting up your APNs key, Twinr and other platforms make the rest easy. Send personalized notifications that turn app visits into relationships.

Ready to boost your app engagement? With Twinr, you can see how easy it is to set up and manage your notifications, clearing time for the parts of your app that users love. Book your free demonstration.

FAQs:

Q1: Do I need an Apple Developer account to generate an APNs key?

Yes. Apple requires an active Developer Program membership ($99/year). It is a prerequisite before accessing the Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles section.

Q2: Can I use the same APNs key across multiple apps?

Yes, the key is platform-wide and supports multiple apps within your developer account, making management easier.

Q3: How often should I regenerate my APNs key?

Once a year, or sooner if security concerns arise. Regular rotation is a best practice aligned with security best practices.

Q4: What if I lose my .p8 file?

You would have to revoke the existing key and generate a new one, but remember that Apple only allows one download per key, so make sure you have it saved somewhere.

Q5: Is configuring the APNs key difficult for non-developers?

Not at all. Most app builders like Twinr walk you through this so you won’t have to worry about doing that if you don’t have coding experience.