Airship
Airship scripts register web push notification permissions in browsers, enabling websites to send push campaigns to opted-in visitors. Scripts load service workers to manage notification delivery and track engagement events such as notification opens and in-app message interactions.
Overview
Airship (formerly Urban Airship) is a customer engagement platform specializing in web and mobile push notifications, in-app messaging, and SMS campaigns. Its web scripts register browser push notification permissions, manage service worker installation for notification delivery, and track user engagement with messages across channels.
What This Script Does
Airship's web SDK performs several operations:
- Push notification registration: Prompts the visitor to allow browser push notifications via the Web Push API. If granted, the browser's push subscription endpoint is registered with Airship's servers.
- Service worker installation: Installs a service worker on the visitor's browser that handles incoming push notifications even when the website is not open. The service worker manages notification display, click handling, and engagement tracking.
- Notification tracking: Tracks push notification delivery, display, click, and dismissal events. This engagement data is sent to Airship's analytics platform for campaign performance reporting.
- In-app messaging: Renders in-app message overlays (banners, modals, full-screen messages) triggered by user behavior, segment membership, or campaign scheduling.
- User identification: Associates the push subscription with a user identifier (anonymous or authenticated) to enable targeted messaging based on user segments, behavior, and preferences.
- Cookies/storage: Uses localStorage or cookies to store the push subscription state, user identifier, and message display history.
Consent & Compliance
Airship operates in a mixed marketing/functional consent category. Push notifications can serve functional purposes (order updates, account alerts) but are primarily used for marketing re-engagement campaigns.
Under GDPR and ePrivacy, push notification opt-in involves two consent layers: the browser-level permission prompt and the ePrivacy/GDPR consent for the underlying data processing. The service worker installation and push subscription registration constitute accessing the user's device and require consent. Marketing push campaigns require explicit opt-in under ePrivacy.
Under CCPA/CPRA, the push subscription data and engagement tracking constitute personal information. Marketing push notifications constitute direct marketing that requires opt-out mechanisms.
Should You Block This Without Consent?
Conditional. If Airship is used solely for functional notifications (order status, security alerts), it can load after the user initiates the relevant action. However, for marketing push campaigns, block Airship's web SDK until the user grants marketing consent. The push permission prompt should only appear after marketing consent is obtained — combining the consent banner with a push prompt creates a confusing double-consent experience.
Is Airship GDPR compliant?
Airship typically loads marketing and functional trackers, which are not strictly necessary for your site to work. Under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, non-essential cookies and trackers must stay blocked until a visitor gives clear opt-in consent. So Airship can be fully GDPR compliant, but only if your site holds its scripts until consent is granted and lets visitors decline just as easily. Compliance depends on how your site loads Airship, not on Airship itself.
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airship.comMarketingairship.com is a marketing domain operated by Airship, used to serve ads, build audiences, and measure ad conversions.
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