WatchOS - Disable notifications while app is executed?

Hi everyone,

We have a sports app that helps track your game scores. Still, when you are in the middle of a game and receive a notification (e.g., an activity notification, a WhatsApp or third-party app), that notification will pop up on the screen, overlapping the app. This forces you to scroll all the way down the notification and close it before you can continue using the app.

Some users are complaining about this, and it's indeed very annoying. I was wondering if there's any way to control that during matches, no notifications pop up on your screen (it's ok to have the red dot on top, but having the notification overlapping is what kills the app's usability).

Users can avoid this by choosing the right "focus" mode before starting a new match. However, many don't even know this feature exists or how to deal with it.

Is there any way to block incoming notifications from appearing on the screen while the app is being executed?

Replies

As you noted, this is a user feature, not a developer feature: Enter Do Not Disturb or another Focus Mode that blocks notifications. Users can also choose to have certain notifications delivered quietly all the time.

  • Thanks, @Frameworks Engineer !

    We advise users to set up Focus Mode in several places, yet we found out many don't know how their Apple Watch works. Instead of following those instructions, they complain they cannot use the app when a notification pops up until they close it. I guess we'd need to be more pushy to follow the instructions somehow 😅

    Nevertheless, thank you for your reply and help!

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