The United States Postal Service (USPS) has launched a new mobile app to modernize the way Americans receive and manage their mail.
The Informed Delivery app is a free service that allows customers to digitally preview their incoming letter-size mail and manage deliveries.
Newsweek contacted the USPS for comment by email outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
The USPS is introducing significant changes as part of its multiyear “Delivering for America” initiative, designed to address ongoing financial challenges and improve customer convenience through technological innovation.
The changes seek to enhance daily interactions with postal services and boost delivery speeds and reliability.
What To Know
The new features in the Informed Delivery app include the following:
Push notifications for updates regarding incoming mail and packages.
Biometric logins for enhanced security and ease of access.
Enhanced tracking of packages, including scanning tracking numbers or barcodes, and sharing the package status with others.
The ability to view and manage incoming mail from your mobile.
The rollout of the app comes as the USPS embarks on a major modernization program of its post office lobbies nationwide. The upgraded features set to appear in lobbies include the following:
24/7 smart lockers—customers can have packages delivered to these lockers via Click-N-Ship and pick them up at any time of day or night. The lockers are available at 700 locations and counting.
Enhanced self-service kiosks—these kiosks allow customers to weigh packages, print labels, purchase supplies and mail packages. USPS says the kiosks can reduce lobby wait times by 40 percent and are present in 2,600 locations nationwide.
Rapid Drop mobile app—the mobile app enables customers to store prepaid labels, find post offices, track packages, subscribe to alerts, speed up label creation and initiate package acceptance.
Digital information displays—new signage guides customers through services and help them complete tasks quickly.
Streamlined layouts—redesigned, open layouts create better traffic flow, make supplies easier to find and further reduce wait times.
Government services—more locations now offer services for other federal agencies, including passport processing, fingerprinting and identity proofing, consolidating government tasks under one roof.
What People Are Saying
The USPS said in a news release: “Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America’s most valued and trusted brands.”
Tracy Raymond, the director of retail operations at USPS, said regarding the lobby modernization program: “Modernizing our retail spaces is about meeting customers where they are today. People expect speed, clarity and technology-driven convenience—and that’s what our new lobbies deliver, while still offering the trusted, in-person attention that defines the Postal Service.”
What Happens Next
The new app is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.