Overview
Use Cases
One Icon Shortcuts notification can serve several intents at once. The following patterns are common:- Retail and commerce: You can open a different category from each icon, such as Trending, Bestseller, and New Arrival, or reserve one icon for the current sale.
- Marketplaces and aggregators: You can show one icon per partner brand and open that brand’s storefront, which suits a shop-by-brand campaign.
- Offers and promotions: You can dedicate each icon to an offer, such as a seasonal sale, a buy-one-get-one deal, or a cashback campaign.
- Account and servicing: You can link users to orders, wallet, offers, and support from a single notification, which shortens the path to a routine task.
- Content and media: You can open a section from each icon, such as news, sport, and video, or give each icon a channel that opens that channel’s live stream.
How Icon Shortcuts Work
Icon Shortcuts builds on the Basic notification template. You create a Basic notification campaign and add Icon Shortcuts as a key-value pair. The campaign carries the complete template, so an app that meets the requirements in Before You Begin requires no code change to render it.What the User Sees
Icon Shortcuts forms the entire content of the notification. The collapsed state and the expanded state use the same icons and differ only in size, so you supply one set of images for both states. A tap on an icon runs that icon’s action and closes the notification by default. A tap outside the icons runs the click action of the Basic notification. Set that click action to the destination that suits a user who taps the notification without choosing an icon, such as your home screen or the campaign’s landing page.What Happens When Icon Shortcuts Does Not Render
The campaign carries one message, and Icon Shortcuts sits on top of it. Whenever Icon Shortcuts does not render, the device displays the title, message, and image that you entered on the Basic notification. Requirements and Validation Rules lists every condition that leads to this outcome. The Template Backup option does not apply to Icon Shortcuts. The campaign builder offers Template Backup for every template except the Basic notification, and Icon Shortcuts builds on the Basic notification.Icon Count and Rendered Size
MoEngage fits the icons within the width that the notification area allows, so the number of icons determines the rendered size of each icon. The following table lists the sizes in dp (density-independent pixels), the unit that Android uses to size elements consistently across screens.Choosing Icon Images
Supply each icon as a square PNG, JPEG, or WebP image. An unsupported format prevents Icon Shortcuts from rendering. Nothing else is enforced, but three choices affect the result:- 192 x 192 pixels. A smaller image renders, but appears less sharp on high-density screens.
- 10 KB or less. Heavier images reduce the rate at which the template posts. When the template does not post, the device displays the Basic notification.
- One high-contrast symbol. Icons render at 30dp to 44dp, where fine detail and small text are not legible. Place any label inside the image, in one or two words.
Before You Begin
Step-by-Step Instructions for Sending an Icon Shortcuts Campaign
Step 1: Build the Basic Notification
- Create a push campaign. On the Content step, select the Basic notification template.

- Enter the title, message, and image. For more information, refer to Create Push Campaigns.
- Compose the title and message as a complete notification, because every user outside the supported device and SDK version receives this Basic notification in place of Icon Shortcuts.
Step 2: Add Icon Shortcuts as a Key-Value Pair
-
In Basic Details, locate Key value pairs, then click + New KV pair.

-
Enter
moeFeaturesin the Enter key box. - Paste the Icon Shortcuts payload into the Enter value box. Use the following example as the starting point.

Build the Payload
Enter your icons and destinations below, then copy the result into the Enter value box. The builder assembles the same structure as the example that follows, on a single line and ready to paste.Start from the Example Instead
The value of themoeFeatures key is a JSON block that defines Icon Shortcuts. The example defines five square icons, each of which opens a product category.
Copy the Ready to Paste version into the dashboard, and use the Formatted version to read the structure while you replace the values that belong to your campaign. Both versions define the same Icon Shortcuts template.
The example points at Unsplash URLs so that you can send a test campaign without hosting images first. Replace them with your own images before you launch. MoEngage does not control third-party URLs, which can change or stop resolving at any time.
Editable Fields
expanded.type, cards[].type, widgets[].type, and showLargeIcon. Icon Shortcuts renders only when expanded.type reads iconShortcuts and each widget’s type reads image. For more information, refer to Requirements and Validation Rules.
Set displayName to IconShortcuts. The key is mandatory, and its value affects reporting rather than rendering. MoEngage sends the value as the template_name attribute on the Notification Clicked Android event, so IconShortcuts keeps the click data of every Icon Shortcuts campaign together in one group. For more information, refer to Reporting.
Step 3: Test and Launch
- Send a test campaign to a device running Android 12 or above.
- Confirm that Icon Shortcuts appears. On a standard notification channel, the device shows the Basic notification first and replaces it with Icon Shortcuts a moment later, so a brief appearance of the title and message is expected. On a heads-up notification channel, MoEngage posts Icon Shortcuts directly.
- Tap each icon and confirm that the icon opens the destination that you configured.
- Publish the campaign once Icon Shortcuts and every destination behave as expected.
Requirements and Validation Rules
Icon Shortcuts renders only when all of the following conditions are true. Icon Shortcuts renders in full or not at all, so one unmet condition under Device and app, Payload structure, or Icons replaces Icon Shortcuts with the Basic notification. The condition under Delivery behaves differently: FCM rejects an oversized message, so nothing reaches the device. Review this checklist before you launch a campaign, and review it again when a test notification arrives without Icon Shortcuts. Device and app- The device runs Android 12 or above.
- The app version on the device is built with MoEngage Android SDK BOM 4.5.0 or above and includes the Rich Notification module.
- The
moeFeaturesvalue is valid JSON. richPushcontainsdisplayNameand anandroidobject that containsshowLargeIcon. Both keys are mandatory. Neither value affects whether Icon Shortcuts renders:displayNamesets the reporting name, andshowLargeIconcontrols the large icon on the Basic notification.expanded.typeisiconShortcuts.- The first entry in
cardscarries three keys: a whole-numberid, atype, and awidgetslist. MoEngage ignores every further entry incards.
- The first card has three to six widgets whose
typeisimage. Widgets of other types do not count toward the total. - Every widget carries a whole-number
idand acontentURL. - Every icon has at least one action. A single icon without an action prevents Icon Shortcuts from rendering.
- Every image URL uses HTTPS and is publicly reachable, and every image is a PNG, JPEG, or WebP. Dimensions and file size are not enforced. For more information, refer to Choosing Icon Images.
- All images finish downloading within 10 seconds in total. A single slow image prevents Icon Shortcuts from rendering.
- The complete push payload remains within the FCM limit of 4 KB. FCM rejects a message above the limit, so the device receives no notification at all, not even the Basic notification.
Icon Actions
Every icon requires at least one action. Most campaigns open a screen in the app, and an icon can also share text, start a call, copy a code, or record an event.Action Examples
Copy the block that you need into an icon’sactions list, and replace the example values with your own.
Open a destination
myapp://category/headphones and com.yourcompany.store.ProductActivity are placeholders. Use the values that your development team provides.
Record behavior
Custom Data in Actions
Anavigate action can carry your own values in kvPairs. MoEngage passes each value to the app when the user taps the icon, and appends the values to the deep link as query parameters. Use kvPairs to identify the campaign or the offer that drove the tap. Confirm the key names with your development team, because the app reads the key names.
kvPairs applies to navigate and track actions. The share, call, copy, custom, and coupon actions ignore kvPairs.
Reporting
A tap on an icon records the Notification Clicked Android event, and MoEngage adds three attributes that identify the icon.widgets[].id to every icon, so that widget_id identifies the destination that the user selected.
To compare taps across icons, run a Behavior analysis on the Notification Clicked Android event and apply Split by to widget_id.
A tap outside the icons records the same event with template_name alone. The absence of widget_id marks the tap as a tap on the notification body.
To record an event under a name of your own, add a track action to the icon. MoEngage then records that event in addition to the Notification Clicked Android event. For more information, refer to Icon Actions.
Card and Icon Appearance
Set the following three keys insidestyle to control the shape of the icons and the appearance of the card that holds them.
bgColor to a pale pink. The color fills the card that holds the icons, and the notification keeps its own background around it.
Choose a color that holds its contrast against your icon images. The icons sit directly on this color, so a light icon on a light card loses its edges.
Advanced Settings
Settings That Work with Icon Shortcuts
Configure the following settings in the Advanced section of the Basic notification:- Auto Dismiss, which clears the notification after the time that you set.
- Group Key, which groups the notifications that share the key under one summary. Device manufacturers handle grouping in their own way, so the grouping appears on most devices rather than on all. For more information, refer to Push Notification Grouping.
- Update Key, which replaces an earlier notification that shares the key. The replacement also applies when the campaign delivers the Basic notification. For more information, refer to Push Notification Update.
Settings That Do Not Apply to Icon Shortcuts
- Text. Icon Shortcuts carries no title, message, or summary. That text reaches the user only through the Basic notification.
- Action buttons. The buttons that you configure on the campaign appear only with the Basic notification.
- A large icon. The template reserves no space for one, so a large icon on the campaign appears only with the Basic notification.
- A separate click action for the notification body. A tap outside the icons runs the click action of the Basic notification.
Payload Reference
Use the following tables to verify a value or to review a payload that someone else assembled.richPush Fields
expanded Fields
Card and Widget Fields
Action Types
Navigate Action Types
Track Action Types
kvPairs.valueOf carries one value, so a track action records a single event attribute or sets a single user attribute. The kvPairs on a navigate action do not serve as an alternative, because MoEngage passes those values to the app rather than recording them. For more information, refer to Custom Data in Actions.
FAQs
Why does Icon Shortcuts have no template tile on the dashboard?
Why does Icon Shortcuts have no template tile on the dashboard?
moeFeatures key-value pair rather than through on-screen fields.This affects campaign configuration only. After delivery, Icon Shortcuts renders and reports in the same way as every other push template.To request a dedicated template tile in the campaign builder, submit a feature request through your MoEngage account manager or MoEngage Support.Does an Icon Shortcuts campaign require developer involvement?
Does an Icon Shortcuts campaign require developer involvement?
moeFeatures key-value pair. Your development team confirms the version and supplies the deep link or the screen name for each icon. An icon that opens a web page inside the app requires neither.An app on an earlier version needs an SDK upgrade and an app release before Icon Shortcuts reaches your users. For more information, refer to Push Templates for Android Developers.Why do the icon shortcuts not appear in the notification?
Why do the icon shortcuts not appear in the notification?
Why does an icon open no destination?
Why does an icon open no destination?
Why does a tap on the notification open a different destination?
Why does a tap on the notification open a different destination?
Can Icon Shortcuts include a title or a message?
Can Icon Shortcuts include a title or a message?
Can one of the icons close the notification?
Can one of the icons close the notification?
What do users on Android 11 and below, or on an earlier SDK version, receive?
What do users on Android 11 and below, or on an earlier SDK version, receive?
Can I see which icon each user tapped?
Can I see which icon each user tapped?
widget_id attribute on the Notification Clicked Android event, alongside template_name and card_id. For more information, refer to Reporting.




