Adding a mobile app for your publication and legacy website

This article explains how to enable the mobile app feature in your account and also covers what your subscribers will need to do to add it to their devices to enable notification. 

The mobile app feature allows you to create a custom app for your beehiiv publication, enhancing subscriber engagement through mobile push notifications for new posts, comment replies, comment likes, and more. 

By enabling this feature within your publication, subscribers can install the app on their mobile devices and access your content directly from their home screen. Once logged in, they can read posts, comment, and like all from within the app.

1. From the left panel Dashboard, click on Website > Builder (Legacy).
    
2. The Website Builder will open on the Styles tab, but you’ll need to switch to the Settings tab. Then, click on Mobile App from the options in the left panel.
   
   
   
   
    

3. The Mobile App settings will open. To make this feature available to your subscribers, toggle the Enable Mobile App option on. Changes will be saved automatically.
   
   

   
   Tech Note: Only a Company Admin can enable or disable the mobile app for a publication.

After you've enabled the mobile app feature in your account, the next time a subscriber logs into your publication from their device, they will be prompted to install the app.

Additionally, if a subscriber clicks the Read Online link from the top right corner of any of your emails, they’ll be instantly logged in and will be presented with a prompt to install your app.

After subscribers are logged into your publication:

• Apple devices will have the install instructions presented in a few steps (shown in the video above). When clicking the Login link from an email, we recommend opening Safari to complete the installation process for best results.
• Android devices will just need to click on the Install App button and then click Install. 

For more details about using Apple or Android devices, please refer to the video above.

Once added, your app will be featured on the home screen of your subscriber’s device. The icon shown will be the logo of your publication.

To enable push notifications, subscribers must be logged into their accounts. They will receive a notification prompting them to either click Enable or choose Maybe Later. 

If subscribers select Maybe Later, the option will move to the dropdown menu at the top right corner of the website, where they can enable notifications at any time.

There are three types of notifications that will be sent to your subscribers via your mobile app:

• New Post: A notification is sent when a new post has been published.
• Comment Reply: A notification is sent when someone replies to a comment on a post.
• Comment Like: A notification is sent when someone likes a comment.

1. From the left panel Dashboard, click on Website > Builder Legacy. 
    
2. The Website Builder will open on the Styles tab, but you’ll need to switch to the Settings tab. Then, click on Mobile App from the options in the left panel.
    
3. The Mobile App settings will open. Untoggle the Enable Mobile App option to disable your mobile app. Changes will be saved automatically.
   
   
   

Once disabled, the mobile app feature will no longer be available to your subscribers.

What plan do I need to be on in order to have a mobile app on beehiiv?
All of our free and paid plans allow you to offer a mobile app to your subscribers.
Can each publication in my account have its own mobile app?
Yes, every publication in your account can have its own mobile app. Simply toggle on the setting for each publication in the Website > Builder (Legacy) > Mobile App.
What if I don’t want to turn on the mobile app for one of my publications because it’s private or for paid subscribers only?
You can manage the mobile app settings at the publication level, so you can choose to enable the mobile app only for specific publications.
Can a subscriber choose which notifications they allow?
No, subscribers cannot choose which notifications they receive at this time. Subscribers can either turn on all notifications or turn them off.
How does a Company Admin or team member download the app to receive notifications?
Only subscribers can download the mobile app and enable notifications. However, Company Admins and team members can subscribe to your own publication using their email address to experience the app as a subscriber.
As a Company Admin, can I customize the notification text or formatting, like fonts and colors?
No, the mobile app does not allow for customization of notification text or formatting at this time.
How do I change the icon shown for my mobile app?
The mobile app icon shown on the home screen uses the logo you have added to the Settings > General Info page in your account. If you upload a new logo to this page, you (and your subscribers) will need to delete and reinstall the app to see the updated image. Refer to this article for more information on adding a logo to your publication.
The icon image is showing a black square instead of my logo on my home screen, how do I fix this?
If you’re using a PNG file with a transparent background for your logo, you will need to update the file so it has a background color added. After you upload a new logo in the Settings > General Info page in your beehiiv account, you will need to delete and reinstall the app in order to see the updated image.  
My subscriber said they didn’t receive a notification about my comment response or like. Do they need to turn something on?
No, this is the expected behavior; subscribers are not notified when a Company Admin or team member responds to or likes a comment. However, the responses and likes will still appear in the mobile app version of your publication.
How can I see who has downloaded the mobile app?
Mobile app analytics are not available in your account at this time.
My subscriber stopped receiving notifications. What do they need to do?
The mobile app uses the same session cookie as beehiiv’s main web app. The token will refresh continuously as long as the subscriber is actively using the app. If the app is not used for 30 days, the subscriber will need to log back in.
I changed my logo, but the old logo is showing on my subscriber’s app.
Your existing subscribers need to delete the existing mobile app from their device and download it again.
Tech Note: beehiiv can’t update a user’s device view. If you change your logo, only new subscribers who download your app will see your new logo. You will need to direct existing users to remove and redownload the mobile app to see the logo change.
I changed my domain/subdomain and now my subscribers can’t access my publication from the mobile app.
beehiiv cannot update a user’s device view. If you change your domain or subdomain, your existing subscribers need to delete the existing mobile app from their device and redownload so that they will go to your new domain/subdomain. New subscribers who download your app will go to the correct domain/subdomain by default.