feature: Add "Mark as Read" action button to push notifications

[DSingh0304]

Feature Description

Add a "Mark as Read" quick action button to push notifications, similar to WhatsApp, Telegram, and Slack messaging apps. This would allow users to mark messages/rooms as read directly from the notification without opening the app.

Proposed Behavior:

• When a user receives a chat notification, they would see action buttons including:

  • Reply (already exists)
  • Mark as Read (NEW)

• Tapping "Mark as Read" would:

  • Call the subscriptions.read API endpoint
  • Clear the unread badge for that room
  • Remove the notification from the notification tray
  • Update the room's read status on the server

This feature would work in both foreground and background states.

Motivation and Use Case

User Pain Points:

1. Notification Overload: Users often receive many notifications during busy periods and want a quick way to triage them without opening each conversation
2. Workflow Interruption: Currently, users must open the app and navigate to each room just to mark messages as read, which disrupts their current task
3. Mobile UX Expectations: Modern messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Microsoft Teams) all provide this functionality, making it a standard user expectation

Benefits:

Faster notification management - One tap vs opening app → navigating to room → going back
Reduced app opens - Better battery life and performance
Better focus - Users can clear notifications without context switching
Cleaner notification tray - Reduces notification fatigue
Professional UX - Matches expectations from other enterprise chat apps

Implementation Ideas

Technical Implementation Plan:

Phase 1: iOS (Easier to implement)

1. Add Notification Action (app/lib/notifications/push.ts)

const markAsReadAction = new NotificationAction(
  'MARK_AS_READ_ACTION', 
  'background',  // Can execute in background
  I18n.t('Mark_as_read'), 
  false  // Doesn't require text input
);

const notificationCategory = new NotificationCategory('MESSAGE', [
  notificationAction,    // Existing Reply action
  markAsReadAction       // NEW action
]);

2. Add Native Handler (ios/ReplyNotification.swift)

   • Add handler similar to existing REPLY_ACTION
   • Extract rid from notification payload
   • Call subscriptions.read API endpoint
   • Handle success/failure cases

3. API Integration

   • Endpoint: POST subscriptions.read (already exists!)
   • Parameters: { rid: string, readThreads?: boolean }
   • Auth: Use existing RocketChat helper class

Phase 2: Android

Android requires custom notification channel configuration:

• Create notification action in Java/Kotlin
• Wire up to existing API methods
• Handle background execution

API Requirements:

Good news: The required API already exists!

• Endpoint: subscriptions.read (available since RC 0.61.0)
• Current usage: Already used in app/lib/methods/readMessages.ts
• No server changes needed

API Flow:
Notification Action → Extract rid → POST subscriptions.read { rid } → Update local DB → Clear notification

Edge Cases to Handle:

1. Network Unavailable:

   • Queue action for retry when connection restored
   • Or show brief error notification

2. Expired Auth Token:

   • Attempt token refresh
   • Gracefully fail if user needs to re-login

3. Multiple Notifications from Same Room:

   • Mark all as read when action is triggered on any one

4. Encrypted Rooms:

   • Works the same way (marks as read, doesn't affect encryption)

Is this feature available in the API or web version?

Available in API

Rocket.Chat Server Version

Any version >= 0.61.0 (subscriptions.read API available)

Rocket.Chat App Version

4.68.0

Device Name

All iOS and Android devices

OS Version

iOS 13+ / Android 7.0+ (notification actions support)

Additional Context

This is the feature i am talking about !!

[harsh3292]

Hey @DSingh0304 !
I want to work on this issue could you please assign this to me .

[DSingh0304]

Hey @DSingh0304 ! I want to work on this issue could you please assign this to me .

Hey, no one assigns the issue. Also, I am just a contributor. I have opened the issue for discussion with the maintainers regarding this feature.