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Push Notifications

Bitwarden uses push notifications to communicate in real-time from the Bitwarden server to its clients.

Uses at Bitwarden​

Currently, this functionality is used for:

  • Syncing the vault between clients
  • Passwordless login requests

Technology in Use​

The Bitwarden server initiates push notifications when relevant actions are performed, typically either when a user's data has changed and it needs to be synced, or an action requiring user input is performed.

There are currently two different methods being used for push notifications:

  • The mobile applications use Azure Notification Hub, which is an abstraction of the Push Notification Services (PNSs) for the Apple and Android ecosystems. Self-hosted instances relay their mobile messages through the Bitwarden cloud-hosted service.
  • The other clients use SignalR, which is a two-way RPC usually over WebSockets (but has fallbacks to other protocols) to establish real-time client communications with our non-mobile clients.