The iMessage Corner of Doom

The control Apple imposes on all iMessage apps that can spoil your experience (pre iOS17)

Andy Dent
Touchgram

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Portion of Touchgram screen with Close button and Feedback buttons circled for emphasis.
The problem with our Touch Sensor editor

This is a portion of the Sense Touch editor in Touchgram, an app for creating interactive messages.

If you’re not familiar with Touchgram, you can download it from the App store. Most of the experience is within Apple’s Messages app and you can also install Touchgram from within Messages. If someone sends you a Touchgram and you’ve not yet installed the app, Apple provide a link in the message bubble.

Touchgram (v1.2) is affected by a problem that is imposed on all iMessage apps.

I call it the corner of doom.

In the screenshot above, you can see the little cross in a circle. Apple’s close button.

The top portion of the Messages screen belongs to Apple. Below the Touchgram title line is the area controlled by our code.

Apple’s close button cancels your current editing session and returns you to the Transcript view — the list of message bubbles. As a developer, I cannot interfere in that process. It is abrupt — the Touchgram interface vanishes and you’re back in Messages. It looks just like Touchgram crashed!

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Andy Dent
Touchgram

Touchgram interactive messaging CEO/Founder looking for art, sound & advertising partners. Martial artist. Parent of adults. Coder & designer 30+yrs. Australian