Notifications are a critical tool for helping MyFitnessPal’s 200+ million users stay consistent with their health and fitness goals. They provide timely reminders, motivational nudges, and personalized insights that drive daily engagement. However, our iOS notification opt-in rate was just 44.7%—significantly below the industry average of 67.5%.
The root of the issue? Many new users don’t perceive the value of notifications when initially prompted during onboarding. And if they decline, the process to opt back in later is cumbersome. This not only limits users' success with the app but also affects our business outcomes: lower engagement means fewer ad impressions, reduced retention, and decreased likelihood of users upgrading to Premium.
Our team—consisting of a Product Manager, Tech Lead, Writer, and me, the Product Designer—set out to solve this. The goal: demonstrate the value of notifications to users and create a smoother way for them to opt in later.
At the time, MyFitnessPal asked users to opt in to notifications immediately after onboarding. However, the system alert arrived without context, catching users off guard and leading many to hit “Don’t Allow.” Worse, once users opted out, the only way to re-enable notifications was through the OS settings—a process no one enjoys.
The question we asked ourselves:
How might we effectively communicate the value of notifications and make opting in later more seamless?
We explored two moments in the onboarding flow to present the opt-in prompt:
Prompting users after the weekly goal step felt like the perfect moment—it tied notifications directly to their goals, giving the request immediate relevance.
To address the inconvenience of navigating OS settings, we added a "Skip for now" option that bypasses the one-time alert and proceeds to the next onboarding step. Due to technical constraints around the button component, we eventually pivoted to a toggle approach. While not ideal, it preserved functionality within existing limitations.
We tested four copy variations with 10 users (5 male, 5 female). Each option aimed to clarify the value of notifications in a friendly, goal-oriented tone.
Key learnings from user testing:
The winning design launched to 10% of US iOS users and drove a ~52.8% increase in opt-in rates. This not only helps more users stay on track with their goals, but also drives higher engagement, ad views, and Premium upgrades—delivering value to both users and the business.
*All confidential information has been redacted for this case study.
We’re planning to scale the solution to the full user base and target new and existing users who skipped the initial opt-in by prompting them at meaningful moments, such as:
This project was a reminder of the power of timing and context. By reframing notifications as a tool for achieving health goals, we not only increased opt-in rates but also helped users stay engaged and motivated—a win for both users and MyFitnessPal.
Whether you're wanting to collaborate or simply curious about my work, let's connect!
david@davidgilman.co
