Idle Timeout

Configure CometChat Calls SDK v5 idle timeout on iOS to handle inactive participants and call session cleanup.

Configure automatic session termination when a user is alone in a call. Idle timeout helps manage resources by ending sessions that have no active participants.

How Idle Timeout Works

When a user is the only participant in a call session, the idle timeout countdown begins. If no other participant joins before the timeout expires, the session automatically ends and the onSessionTimedOut callback is triggered.

The timer also restarts when other participants leave and only one user remains in the call.

This is useful for:

• Preventing abandoned call sessions from running indefinitely
• Managing server resources efficiently
• Providing a better user experience when the other party doesn’t join

Configure Idle Timeout

Set the idle timeout period using setIdleTimeoutPeriod() in SessionSettingsBuilder. The value is in seconds.

Swift

let sessionSettings = CometChatCalls.sessionSettingsBuilder
    .setIdleTimeoutPeriod(120) // 2 minutes
    .setSessionType(.video)
    .build()

CometChatCalls.joinSession(
    sessionID: sessionId,
    callSetting: sessionSettings,
    container: callViewContainer,
    onSuccess: { message in
        print("Joined session")
    },
    onError: { error in
        print("Failed: \(error?.errorDescription ?? "")")
    }
)

Objective-C

SessionSettings *sessionSettings = [[[[CometChatCalls sessionSettingsBuilder]
    setIdleTimeoutPeriod:120]
    setSessionType:SessionTypeVideo]
    build];

[CometChatCalls joinSessionWithSessionID:sessionId
                             callSetting:sessionSettings
                               container:self.callViewContainer
                               onSuccess:^(NSString * message) {
    NSLog(@"Joined session");
} onError:^(CometChatCallException * error) {
    NSLog(@"Failed: %@", error.errorDescription);
}];

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
idleTimeoutPeriod	Int	300	Timeout in seconds when alone in the session

Handle Session Timeout

Listen for the onSessionTimedOut callback using SessionStatusListener to handle when the session ends due to idle timeout:

Swift

class CallViewController: UIViewController, SessionStatusListener {
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        CallSession.shared.addSessionStatusListener(self)
    }
    
    deinit {
        CallSession.shared.removeSessionStatusListener(self)
    }
    
    func onSessionTimedOut() {
        print("Session ended due to idle timeout")
        // Show message to user
        showToast("Call ended - no other participants joined")
        // Navigate away from call screen
        navigationController?.popViewController(animated: true)
    }

    func onSessionJoined() {}
    func onSessionLeft() {}
    func onConnectionLost() {}
    func onConnectionRestored() {}
    func onConnectionClosed() {}
}

Objective-C

@interface CallViewController () <SessionStatusListener>
@end

@implementation CallViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    [[CallSession shared] addSessionStatusListener:self];
}

- (void)dealloc {
    [[CallSession shared] removeSessionStatusListener:self];
}

- (void)onSessionTimedOut {
    NSLog(@"Session ended due to idle timeout");
    // Show message to user
    [self showToast:@"Call ended - no other participants joined"];
    // Navigate away from call screen
    [self.navigationController popViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}

- (void)onSessionJoined {}
- (void)onSessionLeft {}
- (void)onConnectionLost {}
- (void)onConnectionRestored {}
- (void)onConnectionClosed {}

@end

Disable Idle Timeout

To disable idle timeout and allow sessions to run indefinitely, set a value of 0:

Swift

let sessionSettings = CometChatCalls.sessionSettingsBuilder
    .setIdleTimeoutPeriod(0) // Disable idle timeout
    .build()

Objective-C

SessionSettings *sessionSettings = [[[CometChatCalls sessionSettingsBuilder]
    setIdleTimeoutPeriod:0]
    build];

Disabling idle timeout may result in sessions running indefinitely if participants don’t join or leave properly. Use with caution.