On this page: Understand how the Inbox channel keeps marketing messages in one persistent place inside your app or website, so users can return to read and act on them at their convenience.
Inbox delivers persistent, low-friction messages in one place inside your mobile app or website. In-app and push can disappear after a swipe or tap; Inbox keeps messages available so people can open, read, and act on them when it suits them.
Inbox builds on the Content Cards channel and adds:
- Persistent messaging: Content stays in the inbox until you remove it or it expires, so users can return to it after closing a notification or leaving the app.
- Centralized location: A single mailbox in your app or site for relevant marketing messages.
- Flexible implementation: Use the ready-made inbox container or tailor the experience in your own UI.
- Read-Status: Messages can be marked as read or unread on the device where they’re opened.
Quick start guide
Follow these steps to configure and use Inbox:
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Configure Adobe Journey Optimizer
Add an Inbox channel configuration under Channel configurations so Journey Optimizer knows where and how the inbox runs (web page or rule, or mobile app surface).
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Create your Inbox in Journey Optimizer
Create a campaign that uses the Content card action and choose Inbox as the delivery location—scheduled from the UI or triggered by API.
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Pick inbox templates and list or expanded layouts so messages match your brand and UX.
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Create your Content card and link it to your Inbox
Author the card content in the designer, finish Inbox-specific options, then activate your campaign so messages reach the inbox.
Additional resources
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Inbox UI (iOS): Requirements, public API surface, inbox settings, and links to tutorials for implementing Journey Optimizer Inbox in an iOS app with the Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDK (iOS 15 or newer, Xcode 15 or newer, Swift 5.1 or newer).
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Fetch and Display Inbox: Load Journey Optimizer inbox messages and render the Inbox UI on Android (Adobe Developer documentation).
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Customizing Inbox: Adjust inbox layout, styling, and interaction behavior for your Android app (Adobe Developer documentation).
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Listening to Inbox Events: Subscribe to inbox callbacks for user actions and lifecycle updates on Android (Adobe Developer documentation).
This section contains structured knowledge intended to support interpretation, retrieval, and question answering related to this topic.
For complete understanding, this information should be combined with the documentation on this page. Neither source is intended to stand alone; the page describes the feature, while this section provides additional context that helps disambiguate terminology, intent, applicability, and constraints.
- TL;DR: This page introduces the Inbox channel, which keeps marketing messages in one persistent place inside your mobile app or website so users can return to read and act on them at their convenience.
Intents:
- Understand what the Inbox channel is and how it differs from in-app and push
- Learn the capabilities Inbox adds on top of the Content Cards channel
- Follow the quick start sequence to configure, create, design, and link content cards to an inbox
- Find developer resources for implementing Inbox on iOS and Android
Glossary:
- Inbox: A channel that delivers persistent, low-friction messages in one place inside your mobile app or website (product-specific)
- Persistent messaging: Content stays in the inbox until you remove it or it expires, so users can return to it after closing a notification or leaving the app (product-specific)
- Centralized location: A single mailbox in your app or site for relevant marketing messages (product-specific)
- Flexible implementation: Use the ready-made inbox container or tailor the experience in your own UI (product-specific)
- Read-Status: Messages can be marked as read or unread on the device where they are opened (product-specific)
Guardrails:
- Inbox builds on the Content Cards channel.
- Implementing Journey Optimizer Inbox in an iOS app with the Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDK requires iOS 15 or newer, Xcode 15 or newer, and Swift 5.1 or newer.
Terminology:
- Canonical name: Inbox — Acronym: n/a — variants: message inbox, inbox channel
- Do not confuse: “Inbox” (persistent messages users can return to) ≠ “in-app and push” (which can disappear after a swipe or tap)
- Do not confuse: “Read” ≠ “unread” (read-state that can be marked on the device where the message is opened)
FAQ:
- Q: How does Inbox differ from in-app and push? — In-app and push can disappear after a swipe or tap, while Inbox keeps messages available so people can open, read, and act on them when it suits them.
- Q: What does Inbox build on? — It builds on the Content Cards channel and adds persistent messaging, a centralized location, flexible implementation, and read-status.
- Q: What are the quick start steps? — Configure Adobe Journey Optimizer, create your Inbox, design your Inbox, then create your Content card and link it to your Inbox.
- Q: Can users mark messages as read or unread? — Yes; messages can be marked as read or unread on the device where they are opened.
- Q: What are the iOS requirements for implementing Inbox? — iOS 15 or newer, Xcode 15 or newer, and Swift 5.1 or newer with the Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDK.