How do I turn off time-sensitive notifications?

On iPhone, open Settings, then Notifications, choose the app and switch off Time Sensitive Notifications. You can also control which apps break through each Focus mode in the Focus settings.

What is the difference between time-sensitive and critical alerts?

Time-sensitive notifications break through Focus and summaries but respect the mute switch, and any app can use them with the capability enabled. Critical alerts also play a sound when the phone is muted, and only apps approved by Apple for health, safety or security purposes can send them.

Should marketing pushes be time-sensitive?

Almost never. A sale ending later today is not urgent enough. Users who feel misled switch the permission off, and some will disable your notifications entirely. Our guide to push notification services covers how platforms expose interruption levels.

Back to Glossary

Mobile & Push

Time-Sensitive Notifications

An iOS notification level that can break through Focus modes and the scheduled summary, meant for alerts that need attention right now, such as a delivery at the door or a security code.

Definition

Time-sensitive notifications are one of four interruption levels Apple introduced in iOS 15: passive, active (the default), time-sensitive and critical. A time-sensitive notification is delivered immediately even when the user has a Focus mode on or uses the scheduled notification summary, as long as the user allows time-sensitive notifications for that app. Apps opt in with the Time Sensitive Notifications capability and set the interruption level in each notification's payload.

Why It Matters

Focus modes and summaries mean many marketing pushes now land silently in a batch hours later. Time-sensitive delivery is the way through, which makes it tempting to overuse. iOS shows users which apps send time-sensitive alerts and lets them switch the permission off for an app, so abusing it for promotions costs you the ability to reach people when something truly urgent happens. It is meant for messages that lose their value within minutes.

How It Works

In Xcode, you add the Time Sensitive Notifications capability to the app. In each push you want to break through, the aps dictionary includes "interruption-level": "time-sensitive". The system then delivers it immediately, can show it over Focus, and keeps it on the Lock Screen for an hour. The first time a time-sensitive notification arrives during Focus, iOS asks the user whether to keep allowing them from your app. Critical alerts, which also bypass the mute switch, require a special entitlement Apple grants only to apps such as health and public safety.

Example

Good and bad uses of the time-sensitive level:

Good: "Your driver has arrived and is waiting outside."
Good: "Unusual sign-in to your account from a new device. Was this you?"
Good: "Your table is ready. Please check in within 10 minutes."
Bad: "Flash sale: 30% off everything for the next 24 hours."

Best Practices

1Reserve time-sensitive for alerts that lose their value within minutes
2Keep promotions and newsletters at the active or passive level
3Use passive for low-value updates so they wait for the summary without a sound
4Review how often you send time-sensitive notifications per user
5Explain urgent alert types during onboarding so users keep the permission on

iOS Interruption Levels

Level	Breaks through Focus	Sound when muted	Typical use
Passive	No	No	Recommendations, low-priority updates
Active	No	No	Default for most notifications
Time-sensitive	Yes, if allowed	No	Arrivals, security alerts, expiring holds
Critical	Yes	Yes	Health and safety, Apple approval required