Typing Indicators

Guide to sending and receiving typing indicators using the CometChat iOS SDK for real-time typing status.

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

• Start typing: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:) — pass TypingIndicator(receiverID:receiverType:)
• End typing: CometChat.endTyping(indicator:)
• Listen for typing: onTypingStarted(_:), onTypingEnded(_:) in message listener delegate
• Receiver types: .user, .group
• Related: Send Message · Receive Message · Messaging Overview

Key Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Fire-and-forget	No success/failure callbacks
Transient	Not persisted, receiver must be online
Real-time only	No history or missed events
Supports metadata	Can send custom data with indicator

---

Send a Typing Indicator

In other words, as a sender, how do I let the recipient(s) know that I’m typing?

Start Typing (User)

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user)
CometChat.startTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Objective C

TypingIndicator *typingIndicator = [[TypingIndicator alloc]initWithReceiverID:@"cometchat-uid-2" receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser metadata:nil];
[CometChat startTypingWithIndicator:typingIndicator];

Sample Payloads - Start Typing (User)

Request

Method: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	CometChat.ReceiverType	.user
metadata	[String: Any]?	nil

Sent

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	String	"user"

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
onTypingStarted(_:)	Called with TypingIndicator object

Start Typing (Group)

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "group-guid-1", receiverType: .group)
CometChat.startTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Sample Payloads - Start Typing (Group)

Request

Method: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"group-guid-1"
receiverType	CometChat.ReceiverType	.group
metadata	[String: Any]?	nil

Sent

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"group-guid-1"
receiverType	String	"group"

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
onTypingStarted(_:)	Called with TypingIndicator object

Start Typing with Metadata

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user)
typingIndicator.metadata = ["isVoiceTyping": true, "language": "en"]
CometChat.startTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Sample Payloads - Start Typing with Metadata

Request

Method: CometChat.startTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	CometChat.ReceiverType	.user
metadata	[String: Any]	["isVoiceTyping": true, "language": "en"]

Sent

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	String	"user"
metadata	[String: Any]	["isVoiceTyping": true, "language": "en"]

You can use the metadata field of the TypingIndicator class to pass additional data along with the typing indicators. This data will be received at the receiver end and can be obtained using the metadata property.

---

End Typing (User)

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user)
CometChat.endTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Objective C

TypingIndicator *typingIndicator = [[TypingIndicator alloc]initWithReceiverID:@"cometchat-uid-2" receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser metadata:nil];
[CometChat endTypingWithIndicator:typingIndicator];

Sample Payloads - End Typing (User)

Request

Method: CometChat.endTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	CometChat.ReceiverType	.user

Sent

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	String	"user"

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
onTypingEnded(_:)	Called with TypingIndicator object

End Typing (Group)

Swift

let typingIndicator = TypingIndicator(receiverID: "group-guid-1", receiverType: .group)
CometChat.endTyping(indicator: typingIndicator)

Sample Payloads - End Typing (Group)

Request

Method: CometChat.endTyping(indicator:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"group-guid-1"
receiverType	CometChat.ReceiverType	.group

Sent

Indicator Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	String	"group-guid-1"
receiverType	String	"group"

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
onTypingEnded(_:)	Called with TypingIndicator object

---

Real-time Typing Indicators

In other words, as a recipient, how do I know when someone is typing?

To receive typing indicators, implement CometChatMessageDelegate:

Swift

extension YourViewController: CometChatMessageDelegate {
    
    func onTypingStarted(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator) {
        print("User started typing")
        print("Sender UID: \(typingDetails.sender?.uid ?? "")")
        print("Sender Name: \(typingDetails.sender?.name ?? "")")
        print("Receiver ID: \(typingDetails.receiverID)")
        print("Receiver Type: \(typingDetails.receiverType)")
        print("Metadata: \(typingDetails.metadata ?? [:])")
    }
    
    func onTypingEnded(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator) {
        print("User stopped typing")
        print("Sender: \(typingDetails.sender?.name ?? "")")
    }
}

// Register the delegate:
CometChat.messagedelegate = self

Objective C

@interface ViewController ()<CometChatMessageDelegate>
@end

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    CometChat.messagedelegate = self;
}

- (void)onTypingStarted:(TypingIndicator *)typingDetails {
    NSLog(@"Typing started received successfully");
}

- (void)onTypingEnded:(TypingIndicator *)typingDetails {
    NSLog(@"Typing ended received successfully");
}

@end

Sample Payloads - Receive Typing Started

Delegate Payload

Method: onTypingStarted(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator)

TypingIndicator Object:

Parameter	Type	Value
sender.uid	String	"cometchat-uid-1"
sender.name	String	"John Doe"
sender.avatar	String	"https://example.com/avatar.png"
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	ReceiverType	.user
metadata	[String: Any]?	nil

Sample Payloads - Receive Typing Ended

Delegate Payload

Method: onTypingEnded(_ typingDetails: TypingIndicator)

TypingIndicator Object:

Parameter	Type	Value
sender.uid	String	"cometchat-uid-1"
sender.name	String	"John Doe"
receiverID	String	"cometchat-uid-2"
receiverType	ReceiverType	.user

---

TypingIndicator Object Properties

Property	Type	Description
sender	User?	User object of the person typing
receiverID	String	UID of user or GUID of group
receiverType	ReceiverType	.user or .group
metadata	[String: Any]?	Custom data sent with indicator

---

Receiver Types

Type	Value	Description
User	.user	One-on-one conversation
Group	.group	Group conversation

---

Delegate Methods

Method	Description
onTypingStarted(_:)	Called when user starts typing
onTypingEnded(_:)	Called when user stops typing

Typing indicators are transient and not persisted. The receiver must be online to receive them.