Intercom

The Intercom Plugin enables mobile push notifications, and event tracking in your Median-powered app to increase user engagement. It integrates directly with the official Intercom SDK for Android and Intercom SDK for iOS.

This plugin integrates with Intercom's official mobile SDKs, providing a native experience for push notifications and user engagement. The plugin exposes Intercom functionality through the Median JavaScript Bridge, allowing web developers to easily implement advanced user engagement features.

Why use Intercom?

Mobile Push Notifications: Send targeted push notifications to engage users and drive app retention
Event Tracking: Log custom events to track user behavior and create personalized experiences
Deep Linking Support: The Intercom Plugin supports Deep Linking. When deep links are configured, tapping on a push notification will open the corresponding screen in your app rather than the mobile device browser.
Official SDK Integration: Built on Intercom's official Android and iOS SDKs for reliability and feature completeness

When to use this plugin

Intercom is essential for apps that need to:

Use Case	Example
User Engagement	Send push notifications to re-engage inactive users
Customer Support	Provide in-app messaging and support through Intercom messenger
User Onboarding	Display mobile carousels to guide new users through features
Event Tracking	Log custom events to understand user behavior patterns
Targeted Messaging	Send personalized messages based on user attributes and actions

Before you start

Prerequisites

A Median.co app with JavaScript Bridge enabled
Intercom workspace with App ID and API keys configured
Access to your App Identifiers for iOS and Android setup
Apple Developer Account details (for iOS push notifications)
Google Service Account details (for Android push notifications)

👍
Developer Demo
Display our demo page in your app to test during development https://median.dev/intercom/

Implementation Guide

Use the tabs below to navigate Intercom Setup, App Configuration, and JavaScript Bridge Functions.

Intercom Setup

Follow the first step of Intercom's official Android and iOS mobile installation guides. Median.co automatically injects the required native SDK code, so you only need to complete the configuration steps in Intercom.

Before configuring the plugin in Median, complete the following steps in your Intercom workspace:

Add your iOS app and Android app to Intercom
Retrieve your Intercom App ID
Retrieve your Intercom iOS API Key and Android API Key

Add Your iOS and Android Apps

Follow Step 1 of Intercom's official mobile installation guides. Median automatically injects the required native SDK code, so you only need to complete the configuration steps in Intercom.

During the setup you will need access to your App Identifiers, as well as details for your Apple Developer Account and Google Service Account.

As an example, please reference the screenshots below to setup your Android and iOS apps within Intercom.

Intercom - Setup the Messanger for Mobile Push

Intercom - Retrieve your App ID and API keys

App Configuration

Plugin Setup

Once your app is set up in Intercom, configure the Intercom plugin in the Median App Studio and upload the required Google Services or iOS files.

Enable the Plugin

Navigate to Native Plugins: In your Median dashboard, go to Native Plugins > Intercom.
Enable Intercom: Toggle the plugin to enabled status.
Configure Settings: Enter your Intercom App ID, iOS API Key, and Android API Key.

Configuration Options

Setting	Description	Default	Recommended
App ID	Your Intercom App ID from workspace settings	None	Use your Intercom App ID
iOS API Key	iOS SDK API key from Intercom	None	Use your iOS-specific key
Android API Key	Android SDK API key from Intercom	None	Use your Android-specific key

Example Plugin Configuration

You can reference this JSON snippet as an example, but you'll need to replace the parameters with your own Intercom App ID and API keys.

{
  "androidApiKey": "android_sdk-xxxd6",
  "iosApiKey": "ios_sdk-xxxad",
  "appId": "kg4wbbi5"
}

Javascript Bridge Functions

The Intercom Plugin exposes several methods via the Median JavaScript Bridge, allowing you to interact with Intercom from your web code.

Register Push

Request push notification permission, which will show a dialog for users to confirm permission. For Android, the dialog is only shown on Android 13 and above. On Android 12 and below, permission will always be granted without user intervention.

median.intercom.registerPush({'callback': function});
// Return value:
{
  "granted": true | false
}

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`callback`	`function`	No	Callback function to handle the result

Update User

Creates or updates a user in Intercom using arbitrary key/value pairs such as name, email, or custom attributes.

// Example usage
median.intercom.updateUser({
  name: "Bob",
  email: "[email protected]"
});

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`userAttributes`	`object`	Yes	Object containing user attributes to update

Log Event

Logs a custom event in Intercom for tracking user behavior.

// Example usage
median.intercom.logEvent({
  eventName: "completed_purchase"
});

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`eventName`	`string`	Yes	Name of the event to log

Present Carousel

Displays an Intercom Mobile Carousel using its carouselID from your Intercom workspace.

// Example usage
median.intercom.presentCarousel({
  carouselID: "your-carousel-id"
});

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`carouselID`	`string`	Yes	The ID of the carousel to display

Sending Push Notifications and Mobile Carousels

Intercom push notifications and mobile carousels are created and sent through the Intercom Dashboard.

To manually create your messages, navigate to Outbound > Messages and create a new message using the + New message button.

For detailed guidance, refer to Intercom's official documentation:

Programmatic Push Notifications

Sending push notifications programmatically via the Intercom API is not supported. This limitation is confirmed in Intercom’s official documentation.

Intercom - Can I send push notifications through the API?

Testing Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure Intercom is working correctly in your app:

Basic Functionality

Push notification registration works as expected
User information updates successfully in the Intercom dashboard
Custom events appear in Intercom event tracking
Mobile carousels display correctly when triggered

Platform Testing

Push notifications work on Android devices
Push notifications work on iOS devices
Permission dialog appears correctly on Android 13+
Deep linking works from notification taps

Configuration Testing

App ID is correctly configured in plugin settings
iOS API key is valid and working
Android API key is valid and working
Google Services files are properly uploaded

User Experience

Push permission request appears at the appropriate time
Notification content displays correctly
Mobile carousels are visually appealing and functional
User data appears correctly in the Intercom dashboard