Xtify, a mobile app platform that provides publishers with custom tools for push notifications (even when the app is closed), is launching its Retain product today.
If you’re like me you probably have about 20 to 30 apps on your phone you never use. According to Localytics, 55% of new users use an application less than four times, 26% using that application just once. The Xtify Retain platform attempt to solve this problem by giving app developers the ability to create their own retention messaging plan for free, pushing notifications like “We miss you!” based on certain user behaviors like when the app was last installed and opened.
Now while the original purpose of Retain was to send a push notification to customers who haven’t used an app in a while in order to keep them sucked in, I’m thinking this could be used benevolently, like “Hey, we notice you never use ‘Pimple Popper for the iPhone’ (yes it exists), would you like us to delete it?”
It also would be extremely useful in the case of app updates. For example, I initially missed the existence of Tilt Shift on Instagram because I had no idea the app had new features. I should probably just read TechCrunch more.
Xtify, which has other products that allow customers to drill down into their notifications (for example, pushing a message to people with 1.5 miles of the TechCrunch office or who have achieved a certain level in a game), also provides users with deep app analytics. In the case of Retain it will provide data as to how well the retention notifications work. The company plans on monetizing by offering premium analytics features to power users.
Helmed by Josh Rochlin, the New York-based Xtify has more than $3.6 million in funding from Acadia Woods, SeventySixCapital and others. The platform supports iPhone, Android and Blackberry.