Time-Sensitive Trip Offer UI (Lock Screen + Persistent Until Action) – iOS 14 Best Practice?

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Created 1w

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Hello,

I am developing a driver-based application targeting iOS 14+, where users receive time-sensitive trip offers (approximately 10–15 seconds to respond).

We would like to implement behavior similar to approval-based apps (e.g., MyGate-style interaction), with the following requirements:

When the device is locked:

A highly visible notification that allows quick Accept / Decline action.

When the device is unlocked (foreground or background): A notification that remains prominently visible (sticky-style) at the top of the screen until the user takes action (Accept / Decline) or the offer expires.

Our goal is to ensure the offer remains noticeable and actionable within the short response window.

I would appreciate clarification on the following:

On iOS 14, is there any supported mechanism to present a true full-screen blocking interface while the device is locked (without using CallKit or Critical Alerts entitlement)?
Is there a supported way to make a notification persistent or non-dismissible until the user takes action or the offer expires?
Are there any App Review concerns with presenting a blocking modal immediately after the user interacts with a notification?

We want to ensure full compliance with Apple’s platform guidelines and avoid unsupported or discouraged patterns.

Thank you for your guidance.

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Answer 1

Engineer OP

Apple

1w

The default notification behavior, how it will be shown on lock screen, when the phone in use, or over other applications are user controlled settings.

That said, none of those settings will give you the option to take over the whole screen, and display a modal (which I presume you also mean blocks other apps) unless your app is running in the foreground and displays such a view.

The closest you can get is to use a Notification Content Extension as explained in the article Customizing the Appearance of Notifications.

Even then, the notification will first be show as a regular notification and when the user long presses it, your custom UI would be shown - whether on the lock screen, or over another app.

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