How does the 'Best Time to Send' feature in Customer Journeys interact with entry delays or delays between messages?

The 'Best Time to Send' feature aims to deliver messages when the user is most likely active, based on their historical app open data.

Here's how it works with delays:

1. For New Users (or users with insufficient activity data): If a journey starts with a delay after install (e.g., 3 hours) and uses 'Best Time to Send' (e.g., set to 12:00), the system lacks the necessary activity data for that specific user. In this case, the message will be sent at the Default time specified in the 'Best Time to Send' settings (12:00 in the example). The initial delay (3 hours) determines when the user becomes eligible, but the actual send time is governed by the Default time setting.

2. For Existing Users with Activity Data: If there's a delay between messages (e.g., 'Wait 1 day') and 'Best Time to Send' is enabled (e.g., 12:00):

   • The user becomes eligible for the next message after the delay period (1 day) passes.
   • The system will then attempt to send the message around the user's calculated best time, or the Default time (12:00) if specified.
   • Important: If the delay period ends after the scheduled 'Best Time'/'Default Time' for that day (e.g., the 1-day delay finishes at 2 PM, but the Best Time is 12:00 PM), the message sending will be postponed until the next day at the scheduled time (12:00 PM).

In summary, 'Best Time' relies on user history. For new users, it falls back to the Default time. Delays determine eligibility, while 'Best Time'/'Default Time' determines the actual send time, potentially pushing it to the next day if the delay period overlaps the scheduled send hour.