Offloading (iOS 11+)

In iOS 11, Apple introduced a feature that will “offload” unused apps if device storage becomes low and other criteria. While user data is maintained, the app will not be visible unless the user restores it to their device via the App Store.

Hibernation (Android 11+)

Starting with Android 11, if a user does not interact with your app for a few months, the app will automatically be placed in a hibernation state by the operating system. Once the app is in this state it may not receive important push notifications or perform background tasks. This is the default behaviour of the operating system, and it currently cannot be disabled programmatically by the app. When a user interacts with an app by resuming it or pressing on a notification the system extends the amount of time before an app is hibernated.

In order to rectify, we have scheduled an in-app notification that is being sent every three months to turn off iOS offloading or Android Hibernation.

For Android devices, the Hibernation feature is a per-app setting, therefore the reminder will only occur if the setting is enabled at the time of the scheduled reminder. If the user had previously turned this setting off and then consequently turned it back on they will once again continue to receive notifications.

For iOS devices, Offloading is a device-wide setting, presently there is no API within iOS to check the status of this setting from within the app. Therefore, the scheduled reminders will continue to occur at the configured interval regardless of whether the Offload setting is turned on or off.

The message will appear when Guardian App is open, and it describes to users what Offloading and Hibernation are, and what to change in their device settings to disable the feature.