Facebook has launched a new app, Notify, partnering with a number of media organisations in delivering users tailored notifications to their smartphones.Notify allows users to select their interests – such as news, sports, celebrities, movies and music – creating a personal mix of notifications across a selection of “stations”, which at its launch are available via 72 different media sources.
Notifications are delivered to the user’s lock-screen, with users then able to swipe or tap through the notification, opening the link in the app’s browser, with users able to read the article, watch the video or view the site. Notify additionally provides station suggestions based on a user’s Facebook profile.
“Notifications are becoming one of the primary ways people first learn about things wherever they are,” Facebook product manager Julian Gutman wrote via a blog post announcing the app.
“Today we are introducing Notify, a new app from Facebook that delivers timely notifications about the things that matter to you, from the sources you love, all in one place.”
Users can share notifications via text, email, Facebook or other social networks from their lock-screen, while notifications can also be added to a Saved Notifications list. Users can also see all the notifications they’ve received from Notify in the last 24 hours via an in-app feed.
Notify has launched in the US for iOS, with Facebook’s plans for the app with regard to Android not revealed in the blog post.