Following nearly six hours of downtime this morning, the Apple Online Store is back up. Although the Cupertino company has not added any new products, it has introduced a new notifications service that provides U.S. customers with text message alerts when their order status is updated.
Apple Notifications is a text-message-based alerts service designed to keep you up-to-date on your shipment and/or pickup notification status. In addition to standard email notifications, you can also request text message updates when you’re in Checkout. The number of messages you’ll receive will vary depending on the orders you placed.
If you opt-in to this service, you’ll receive text messages to inform you when your order ships, or when its available for pickup. If you’re having it delivered, the message will also include a link to your online order status, so that you can track its progress.
Texts are sent between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in your own time zone, Apple states. And you can opt out of the service at anytime by replying to one of Apple’s messages with the word “STOP.”
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
