Cross-Channel Notification State: Why Read Receipts Are Harder Than They Look

Notification systems often face challenges in managing cross-channel state synchronization, leading to repeated notifications and user frustration. Each channel, such as email, push, and in-app, typically maintains its own state, resulting in users seeing the same notification multiple times. Three primary approaches to tackle this issue include channel-first, central-first, and event-first state management. Channel-first is simple but leads to inconsistencies, central-first provides consistency by using a single source of truth, and event-first offers flexibility but is complex to implement. Essential states like "read" should be synchronized to enhance user experience, while others, like delivery state, may remain channel-specific. The aim is not perfect synchronization but predictable behavior that aligns with user expectations. Effective state management, although often unnoticed when executed correctly, significantly impacts user retention by ensuring consistent and reliable notifications across platforms.