[Feature Request / Question]: Support "Dismiss" button without opening app in React Native / Expo

[Aarjav638]

How can we help?

Hi OneSignal team,

I am using the OneSignal SDK in a React Native Expo development build. I have a notification with two action buttons:

1. "View Lead" — should open the app and navigate to a specific screen (working fine)
2. "Later" — should remove the notification without opening the app

Currently, the SDK/API does not seem to support this use-case:

• Adding "url": "onesignal://dismiss" in the buttons array in the REST API payload is not working as per button action url allocation is not allowed.
• Using the dashboard template, all action buttons inherit the launch_url and always open the app.
• JS methods like OneSignal.Notifications.removeNotification(id) require the app to be running, so they cannot handle a dismiss while the app is closed.
• Adding a native Notification Service Extension in Expo dev build cannot override the default launch behavior if a launch URL is set.

Essentially, there does not appear to be a way to have a dismiss action button that removes the notification without opening the app on Android (iOS behavior is secondary for now).

My questions:

1. Is there a supported way to achieve this in OneSignal for React Native / Expo?
2. If not, is this planned for a future SDK update?
3. Are there recommended workarounds for dismiss-only action buttons?

Any guidance or example would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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[jinliu9508]

Thanks for the detailed report. On Android, OneSignal notification action buttons always launch the app because they are handled via a PendingIntent. As a result, a true dismiss-only action button (that removes the notification without opening the app) is not currently supported in React Native / Expo.

Specifically:

• Action buttons always open the app on Android
• JS APIs like removeNotification require the app to be running
• Dashboard templates apply the same launch behavior to all buttons

What is supported:

• Use button IDs to handle navigation when the app opens
• Pass routing data via the notification payload instead of launch_url

Workarounds:

• Rely on swipe-to-dismiss for “Later” behavior
• Use a Bare React Native setup or custom native Android code to implement a dismiss-only button

This is a known limitation and a common feature request. While we don’t have an ETA, it’s something we’re tracking.