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I accidentally launched Steam's mobile app the other day, and it gave me a chance to register for push notifications about ongoing sales. Thing is, there are quite a few sales going on right now, and I haven't been getting any notifications. Do I need to keep the application open in the background in order to get these notifications?

By keeping the application open, I mean this: enter image description here

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    Well, sort of hard for an application to receive notifications if it's not running.
    – Frank
    Jul 15, 2012 at 0:09
  • @fbueckert Actually, I've had a chance to develop for the Windows Phone 7 (of all things), and over there there's no need for an application to be running in order to receive notifications. I have no idea if that holds true for Android, though.
    – Aubergine
    Jul 15, 2012 at 4:28
  • Huh. Didn't know that. The more you know...
    – Frank
    Jul 15, 2012 at 4:43
  • I think this belongs on android.SE, but apparently the mod who reviewed my flag disagrees. It's a question purely about the functionality of the application notifications (which is a system-level thing) and isn't gaming-related at all beyond the purpose of the app itself.
    – Shinrai
    Jul 15, 2012 at 16:02
  • @Shinrai I could indeed be lacking in my Android education, but I have plenty of apps on my phone that supply notifications, and none of them asked me for permission in such a direct manner, nor do they have a "lurk in the background" mode. Seeing how this specific application doesn't seem to be coughing up notifications, I ask.
    – Aubergine
    Jul 15, 2012 at 16:09

2 Answers 2

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My Steam app starts itself up whenever it has something to tell me. It would make sense that it wouldn't have to be open to receive a notification. The difference between push and pull notifications is where they originate from. In a pull notification, the app goes out and checks with the server to see if there is anything new. With a push notification, the server sends out a message when there is something new. This would seem to indicate that you wouldn't necessarily have to have the app open for you to be able to receive a push notification.

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  • I've been noticing the same, but only in the last few days. I could never be sure that I didn't forget it open, though, so it's good to have some corroboration.
    – Aubergine
    Jul 20, 2012 at 20:34
  • Yeah, it doesn't seem to always do it, but I'm sure I didn't accidentally leave it open, as I never really open it.
    – SaintWacko
    Jul 24, 2012 at 16:06
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I believe so. I received the same offer, accepted, and then promptly turned off the application. I have not received any other notifications from the Steam app.

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  • Hmm, maybe I'll just leave it open and see what happens, then.
    – Aubergine
    Jul 15, 2012 at 4:34

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