--- title: Enabling and receiving notifications framework: watchOS apps role: article role_heading: Article path: watchos-apps/enabling-and-receiving-notifications --- # Enabling and receiving notifications Set up and handle local and remote notifications. ## Overview Overview You have a variety of options when sending notifications to a watchOS app: Schedule local notifications directly in your watchOS app, specifying a time or location to trigger the notification’s delivery. Send remote notifications, including background updates, from your server to the user’s Apple Watch using the Apple Push Notification Service (APNs). Schedule local or send remote notifications to the iOS companion app (if one exists), and let the system forward the notifications to the user’s Apple Watch. For more information, see Taking advantage of notification forwarding. In your watchOS app, schedule local notifications and handle both local and remote notifications using the User Notifications framework. Request notifications Before the system can post alerts or play sounds for your app’s notifications, your watchOS app or iOS app must request authorization to interact with the user. To request authorization: Access the shared UNUserNotificationCenter object by calling the current() class method. Call the notification center’s requestAuthorization(options:completionHandler:) method. You must call this method before performing any operations that involve local or remote notifications. For example, you might call requestAuthorization(options:completionHandler:) during your app’s launch cycle. If you explicitly request permission, the first time the user launches your app, this method prompts them to grant authorization. After the user responds to this prompt, subsequent launches won’t prompt them again. However, users can always change their authorization in the Settings app. If you request provisional authorization, the system doesn’t prompt the user for permission to recieve notifications. Instead, the system delivers provisional notifications quietly — the notifications don’t interrupt the user with a sound or banner, or appear on the lock screen. Instead, they only appear in the notification center’s history. The notifications also include buttons, prompting the user to either keep or turn off the notification. The user can then choose whether to receive the notifications after seeing one. For detailed instructions, see Asking permission to use notifications. Handle notifications in your app If your watchOS app is running on screen, or is the frontmost app when a notification arrives, the system calls the userNotificationCenter(_:willPresent:withCompletionHandler:) method on your notification center delegate. The value you pass to the completion handler determines how the system responds. Pass UNNotificationPresentationOptionNone to silence the notification. Otherwise, the system presents the notification using the specified options. note: If you don’t implement the userNotificationCenter(_:willPresent:withCompletionHandler:) method, the system silences the notification and doesn’t deliver it to your watchOS app. Send notifications directly to Apple Watch With watchOS 6 and later, you can send remote notifications directly to Apple Watch. Before sending a notification, you must register your watchOS app, as described in Registering your app with APNs. Registering your app creates a unique device token for the watch. Use that token to send notifications directly to the watch. The recommended notification strategy depends on your watchOS app, as shown in the table below. | | | | For more information on watchOS app types, see Creating independent watchOS apps. ## See Also ### Essentials - [Presenting notifications on Apple Watch](watchos-apps/presenting-notifications-on-apple-watch.md)