Move your app to the background

In this (small) post, we will explore how to move your iOS application to the background programmatically.
This is offcially not supported by Apple.

Send app to background

import SwiftUI

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        Button("Send App to Background") {
            UIControl()
                .sendAction(
                    #selector(URLSessionTask.suspend), 
                    to: UIApplication.shared, 
                    for: nil
                )
        }
    }
}

What is UIControl?

UIControl is a class in UIKit that provides the base functionality for controls such as buttons, switches, and sliders. It is used to handle user interactions and events in iOS applications.

What is sendAction?

sendAction(_:to:for:) is a method of UIControl that sends an action message to the target object. It allows you to trigger a specific action when a control is interacted with, such as tapping a button.

What is URLSessionTask.suspend?

URLSessionTask.suspend is a method that suspends the task, effectively pausing any ongoing network operations.
However in this context, it is used to send the app to the background by invoking this method on the shared UIApplication instance.

What is UIApplication.shared?

UIApplication.shared is a singleton instance of the UIApplication class that represents the current application. It provides access to various application-level properties and methods, including managing the app's lifecycle and handling events.

How does it work?

The code snippet provided uses the sendAction(_:to:for:) method of UIControl to send an action to the UIApplication.shared instance, specifically calling the suspend method of URLSessionTask. This effectively moves the app to the background.

Conclusion

This method is not officially supported by Apple and should be used with caution. It is generally recommended to let the system manage the app's lifecycle and background behavior. However, if you need to programmatically move your app to the background, this approach can be used.

Read more

• Xcode shortcuts • 3 minutes reading time.
• SwiftUI property wrappers • 5 minutes reading time.
• Understanding Package.swift • 14 minutes reading time.

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