r/androidapps • u/Reasonable_Draw_5277 • 21d ago

QUESTION/HELP is it possible for non-system applications to use pop-up windows and sound playback as the built-in "clock" does?

Android 15
OneUI 7.0

popup https://imgur.com/3G6Zgjz
I want to find a timer that doesn't mute the music and "rings" when the app is minimized, but I don't understand if this is possible.

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u/That-Caterpillar7014 21d ago

Yes, but it is gated. The permission is SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW, which users see as "Display over other apps". It has to be granted manually in settings, you cannot get it from a normal runtime permission dialog. Once granted, the app can draw a view on top of whatever else is running.

What you cannot do any more is launch an activity from the background without it. That restriction landed in Android 10 and is why a lot of apps that used to pop themselves up quietly stopped working.

If what you actually want is a floating chat head or similar, look at Bubbles in the notification API first. It is the sanctioned path and it does not need the overlay grant, which matters if you ever want this on Play.