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Website notification delivery and identifiers

What website push notifications involve

A website notification permission can create an ongoing delivery route. Browser subscriptions, encrypted messages, routing metadata and on-screen previews are separate parts of the trail.

Sources checked .

Conceptual illustration

A site can send after its tab is gone

Mozilla says permitted websites can send desktop Firefox notifications while Firefox is open, even when the website is not loaded. Clicking an alert can open the site or switch to an existing tab. Mozilla: desktop push routing and notification permissions

The browser service uses delivery identifiers

Mozilla describes a random browser identifier and a separate random identifier for each push subscription. Without active subscriptions, the browser identifier rotates on each new connection. Its desktop service is operated by Mozilla. Mozilla: desktop push routing and notification permissions

Encryption and routing metadata have different scopes

The W3C Push API working draft dated October 5, 2026 describes encrypted message content while the push service can observe message timing, frequency and size. Encryption should not be interpreted as an absence of delivery metadata. W3C: working-draft subscription and metadata model

A subscription endpoint identifies a delivery route

The same working draft describes an endpoint URL that uniquely identifies a subscription and allows delivery through the push service. It also describes subscription renewal and deactivation. This is a technical draft model, not proof of a particular site's record retention. W3C: working-draft subscription and metadata model

Safari on Mac has different closed-browser behavior

Apple says permitted website notifications can arrive even when the website and Safari are not open. Closing a Safari tab or window should not be assumed to revoke that permission. Apple: Safari Mac notification delivery and separate controls

A quieter request is still a request

Google says Chrome's quieter messaging avoids an interrupting permission pop-up but leaves a bell that can be used to grant access. It also describes automatic permission removal for some inactive or disruptive sites. Google: desktop notification permissions and quieter prompts

Background website features are broader than notifications

MDN describes service workers as background components that can support offline caching, network-request handling, push notifications and background synchronization. A website's background functionality should not all be equated with a visible notification. MDN: background workers, push and offline features

Questions and answers

Must the website be open for Firefox desktop to receive a push?

Mozilla says the website can be unloaded while Firefox remains open. Mozilla: desktop push routing and notification permissions

Does quitting Safari always stop permitted website notifications on Mac?

Apple says notifications can arrive even when Safari is not open. Apple: Safari Mac notification delivery and separate controls

Does quieter Chrome messaging block every permission request?

Google says a site can still ask through a quieter bell indicator. Google: desktop notification permissions and quieter prompts

Sources and scope

Public Chrome desktop, Firefox desktop, Safari Mac, MDN and W3C materials checked 10-24-2026. The W3C source is an October 5, 2026 working draft, not a final Recommendation or a browser-implementation audit. Mozilla routing claims are scoped to its desktop help; older mobile-platform language and a service-retention statement were not generalized.

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