Get started with Live activities get-started-mobile-live
Live activities are persistent, glanceable UI elements displayed on the device lock screen. They let your app present real-time, up-to-date information — keeping users informed throughout an ongoing event without requiring them to open the app or receive repeated push notifications.
Unlike traditional push notifications, Live activities represent state-based engagement: instead of delivering one-time alerts, they maintain a continuous, contextual presence that updates dynamically as events evolve.
Key benefits
Live activities shift mobile engagement from notification-based to state-based, enabling brands to:
- Maintain a continuous presence on the Lock Screen throughout high-value events
- Update information dynamically without overwhelming users with repeated notifications
- Deliver richer, more contextual mobile moments tied to real-world events
- Increase engagement and retention during active transactions or live experiences
With Adobe Journey Optimizer, you can remotely start, update, and end Live activities programmatically through API-triggered campaigns — supporting both individual and audience-based use cases at scale.
Live activities can only be initiated via API-triggered campaigns, allowing you to provide custom payloads and perform all personalization through your own payload.
The appropriate API-triggered campaign type must be selected based on the intended Live activity use case:
-
Select API-triggered Marketing for broadcast use cases — audience-based updates sent at scale:
- Sports scores and live event countdowns
- Flight status updates for all passengers on a route
- Shared experiences across a user segment
-
Select API-triggered Transactional for individual use cases — 1:1 real-time updates per user:
- Order tracking and delivery progress
- Ride or service status updates
- Real-time booking and appointment confirmations
Quick start guide
Complete the steps below to configure and implement Live activities in your application:
-
Configure Adobe Journey Optimizer
Set up your environment by creating a mobile configuration.
-
Integrate the Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDK
Integrate with Adobe Experience Platform Mobile SDK to enable real-time, dynamic updates on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island.
-
Create a Live activity in Journey Optimizer
Use API-triggered campaigns in Journey Optimizer to start your Live activity.
-
Start measuring the impact of your Live activity with built-in reports.
How-to video
Discover how to configure iOS Live activities with Adobe Journey Optimizer to deliver rich, real-time updates on the iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island.