A Practical Guide to Custom Notification Sounds
Creating branded alert sounds for apps, from message tones to reminder chimes, within platform format rules.
Tomas Lindqvist
The key figures
- Length
- iOS custom notification sounds must be under 30 seconds
- Fallback
- iOS plays the default sound when a custom sound is too long
- Formats
- iOS supports sounds in aiff, wav and caf containers
- User control
- people can change or silence notification sounds
Why this is worth getting right
Custom sounds help people recognize an app's alerts, but they must follow platform limits and respect user settings.
Do this, not that
Do
- Keep notification sounds short
- Test sounds on real devices
- Make sounds distinct but not jarring
- Match loudness to system sounds
- Let people choose alternatives
Don’t
- Sounds longer than platform limits
- Harsh or loud alerts
- Sounds similar to system alerts
- Ignoring notification settings
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when designing branded app sounds.
Where this comes from
- Apple Developer — UNNotificationSound
- Apple Human Interface Guidelines — Managing notifications
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Audio Editing & Production work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
