Accessibility request: iOS needs a user-controlled fallback for custom notification sounds in third-party communication apps

Accessibility request: iOS needs a user-controlled fallback for custom notification sounds in third-party communication apps

Hello,

I am a hard-of-hearing iPhone user and I would like to raise an accessibility gap involving notification sounds in third-party communication apps.

Because of my hearing loss, I cannot perceive all notification tones equally. I rely on custom audio files with acoustic characteristics that I can reliably hear, and I need different sounds for important contacts.

WhatsApp demonstrates the problem clearly.

On Android, WhatsApp supports user-provided custom notification audio files stored on the device. On iOS, WhatsApp currently limits users to its own predefined alert sounds and does not provide an equivalent option to choose an audio file from Files.

This leaves iPhone users dependent entirely on whether each individual third-party developer chooses to implement adequate sound customization.

I understand that Apple’s UserNotifications framework already supports custom notification sounds stored in an application's container. Therefore, my concern is not simply whether custom sounds are technically possible for developers.

The accessibility problem is that iOS provides the user with no system-level fallback when an app does not expose this functionality.

I would like Apple to consider an accessibility-oriented system option such as:

Settings → Notifications → [App] → Sounds → Custom / Choose from Files

and, where communication notifications identify individual people, an option to associate accessible notification sounds with specific contacts.

This would allow deaf and hard-of-hearing users to choose sounds that match their individual hearing profile instead of being restricted to whatever tones a third-party developer decides to provide.

Android currently gives users considerably more control over locally stored notification audio in apps such as WhatsApp. I would like to see iOS provide an equally strong or better accessibility solution.

Please forward this as an accessibility enhancement request concerning Hearing Accessibility, Notifications and third-party communication apps.

Thank you.

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