Understanding Message Expiry in Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)

Explore the limitations of Firebase Cloud Messaging regarding message expiry notifications and learn why custom webhooks are not supported.
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Understanding Message Expiry in Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)

Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is a powerful tool for sending notifications and messages to users across various platforms. However, one question that often arises is about the lifecycle of messages, particularly message expiry. In this guide, we will address a common concern regarding message expiry notifications and explain the limitations of FCM in this regard.

The Problem: Message Expiry Notifications

When you send a message via FCM, it is often important to know when that message has either been successfully received or has expired. In FCM, messages are assigned a default time-to-live (TTL) of 28 days. This means that if a message is not delivered within 28 days, it will expire and be deleted from the server.

The Key Questions

Is it possible to receive a notification when an FCM message expires?

Can FCM call my webhook or endpoint upon message expiry?

These questions highlight the need for a mechanism in FCM that can inform you when your messages have reached the end of their lifecycle.

The Solution: Limitations of FCM

Unfortunately, FCM currently lacks any built-in feature that would allow it to call back to your application when a message expires. Here's what you need to know:

No Webhook Support for Expired Messages: There is no webhook event that gets triggered after the TTL of a message is reached. This means that if a message goes unacknowledged and hits the 28-day expiration mark, you won't be notified.

Understanding the TTL Setting: The TTL setting in FCM allows you to specify how long a message remains valid. While it can be set to a lower value than 28 days, once the message expires, there is no way for FCM to inform you about it.

Potential Workarounds: While FCM doesn't support message expiry notifications, developers might consider implementing their own systems to track the status of messages being sent. This could involve logging messages along with their timestamps and manually handling expired messages based on your application logic.

Conclusion

In summary, while FCM is an excellent service for message delivery, it does have its limitations, particularly regarding message expiry notifications. Currently, FCM does not provide any mechanism for notifying your application when a message expires. Understanding this limitation is key for developers who rely on timely message delivery and monitoring.

For now, if you need to track expired messages, consider building a custom solution to manage this aspect of your messaging lifecycle.

Remember: Always keep track of the messages you send and plan accordingly, as FCM will not notify you when they expire.

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