Instant Games

Notification Service

Updated: Jul 31, 2026
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The Notification Service is a no-code way to set up and send A2U notifications to your players. You configure notifications through a simple form in the App Dashboard, and Facebook handles scheduling, delivery, localization, and rate limiting for you.
This guide covers what the Notification Service is, how it differs from the A2U API and Messenger-based notifications, how to set it up, the available notification types, send-time strategies, multi-language content, and best practices.

What Is the Notification Service?

The Notification Service is a managed notification system built into the Facebook Instant Games platform. It abstracts away much of the complexity of sending notifications by providing:
  • A no-code setup -- configure everything through a form in the App Dashboard, with no SDK or server code required
  • Pre-defined notification types for common re-engagement scenarios
  • Platform-managed scheduling and delivery so you can send scheduled or delayed notifications without running your own backend or cron jobs
  • Automatic rate limiting and send-time optimization
  • Multi-language content so you can provide content in multiple languages and reach each player in their preferred language
The Notification Service sits between the simplicity of in-game Custom Updates (which require the player to be in-game) and the full flexibility of the A2U API (which requires server-side integration). It is a good fit for games that want reliable, scheduled notifications without writing code or building a notification backend.

How It Differs from A2U and Messenger

AspectA2U APIGame Updates (Messenger)Notification Service
Management
You manage everything (timing, targeting, sending)
You manage through Messenger bot
Facebook manages delivery infrastructure
Setup
Build server-side API integration
Build Messenger bot + webhook
Configure in the App Dashboard (no code)
Scheduling
You build your own scheduler
You build your own scheduler
Built-in scheduling
Rate limiting
You must track and respect limits
Messenger platform manages
Platform manages automatically
Customization
Full control over content and timing
Full control over content and templates
Defined notification types with customization
Best for
Complex, data-driven notification strategies
Rich, conversational experiences
Standard notification patterns with no code

Setting Up the Notification Service

The Notification Service is configured entirely in the App Dashboard -- no SDK or server code is required.
  1. Open the App Dashboard.
  2. Select your app and go to Instant Games.
  3. Open the Notification Service section.
  4. Create a notification and configure its type, content, and delivery settings (see Notification Types and Send-Time Strategies below).

Notification Types

The Notification Service supports two notification types designed for common game re-engagement scenarios.

Event-Based Notification

Sent a configurable number of hours after a player plays your game. This is one of the most effective notification types for re-engaging players who have stepped away -- for example, letting them know their energy has recharged or a daily reward is waiting.
Configuration:
  • Trigger: A set number of hours after the player plays
  • Message: Customizable text, with multi-language support
  • Deep link: Where in the game the player should land

Scheduled Notification

Sent once at a specific date and time. Useful for one-time campaigns and time-based game events.
Configuration:
  • Date: The date the notification is sent
  • Send time: Chosen through a send-time strategy (see below)
  • Message: Customizable text, with multi-language support
  • Deep link: Relevant game screen

Send-Time Strategies

The Notification Service optimizes when each notification is delivered. When you configure a notification, you choose one of the following send-time strategies:
  • Best Time Prediction (default) -- Facebook predicts the time each player is most likely to engage and delivers the notification then.
  • Fixed local time -- Delivered at a specific time of day in each player’s local time zone.
  • Fixed UTC time -- Delivered at a specific UTC time, so all players receive it at the same moment.
Because the platform manages delivery, notifications are sent on a best-effort basis and may arrive up to an hour from the targeted time.

Multi-Language Content

You can provide notification content in multiple languages. For each notification, add a translation per locale, and always include en_US as the default. At send time, Facebook delivers each player the content in their preferred language, falling back to the default when a translation is not available. You can also enable automatic translation to generate content for locales you have not provided.

Handling Notification Entry

When a player taps a notification and enters your game, you can read the notification payload to determine what action to take. This is the one place you handle notifications in your game code -- the setup itself remains no-code.
async function handleNotificationEntry() {
  await FBInstant.initializeAsync();

  const entryPointData = FBInstant.getEntryPointData();

  if (entryPointData) {
    try {
      const data = typeof entryPointData === 'string'
        ? JSON.parse(entryPointData)
        : entryPointData;

      switch (data.type) {
        case 'energy_full':
          showGameplayScreen();
          break;
        case 'tournament_start':
          showTournamentLobby();
          break;
        case 'daily_reward':
          showDailyRewardScreen();
          break;
        case 'friend_score':
          showLeaderboard();
          break;
        default:
          showMainMenu();
      }
    } catch (parseError) {
      showMainMenu();
    }
  } else {
    showMainMenu();
  }

  await FBInstant.startGameAsync();
}

Rate Limits

The Notification Service enforces rate limits automatically to protect the player experience:
  • Per-player daily limit: A maximum number of notifications can be delivered to a single player per day. The platform manages this limit; excess notifications are queued or dropped.
  • Frequency optimization: The platform may adjust delivery timing to optimize for player engagement (e.g., delivering at times when the player is most likely to be active).
  • Aggregate limits: Your app has an overall daily notification budget that scales with your active user count.
Because the platform manages rate limiting automatically, you do not need to build your own rate limiting logic. However, you should still be thoughtful about how many notifications you schedule -- scheduling more notifications than necessary wastes processing and may result in lower-priority notifications being dropped.

Next Steps