Add iOS Safari data persistence warning for personal-wp by Copilot · Pull Request #3415 · WordPress/wordpress-playground

Copilot · 2026-03-18T16:06:43Z

Safari's ITP policy wipes all script-writable storage after 7 days of inactivity. Users on iOS Safari who haven't installed the app as a PWA are at risk of losing their WordPress data without warning.

Changes

iOS/Safari detection utility (src/lib/is-ios-safari.ts): isIOS, isIOSSafari, isRunningAsPWA — handles iPhone, iPad, iPadOS 13+ (reports as MacIntel), and excludes WKWebViews/CriOS/FxiOS
IosPwaNotice component: Dismissible warning banner using WordPress Notice component, shown only to iOS Safari users not running as a standalone PWA. Dismissal persisted via localStorage (with try-catch for private browsing)
Layout integration: Notice rendered inside the site view flex column, above the browser chrome toolbar
13 unit tests covering all detection scenarios (iPhone, iPad, iPadOS 13+, Chrome/Firefox on iOS, WKWebView, macOS desktop, Android, Windows)

Screenshot

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

cdn.cypress.io
- Triggering command: /home/REDACTED/work/_temp/ghcca-node/node/bin/node node index.js --exec install (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>[persona-wp] Storing data on iOS</issue_title>
<issue_description>My WordPress currently uses a Service Worker and the File System API to store user data locally.
On iOS/WebKit, Apple implements a strict Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) policy. If a web app is accessed via Safari and remains inactive for 7 days, all script-writable storage is automatically cleared, resulting in complete data loss for the user.

Running the app as an installed PWA on iOS bypasses the strict 7-day browser limitation, allowing a significantly longer period to store data safely on the device. However, users are often unaware of this. If they simply use the app in Safari or leave the PWA inactive for an extended period, they remain at high risk of losing their data.

Proposed Solution
We need a multi-tiered approach to secure user data on iOS:

1. iOS User Notification & PWA Prompt

Implement OS detection to identify users accessing the app via iOS/iPadOS Safari.

Display a warning explaining the iOS background data wipe limitation.

Encourage users to "Add to Home Screen" (install as a PWA).

2. Remote Backups & Recovery

Because even PWA storage is not guaranteed permanently on iOS, we need to create a feature allowing users to perform periodic remote backups of their File System API data.

Target platforms: GitHub (via Gists or Repo commits), with potential future support for Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

Implement a seamless "Restore" flow so users can easily recover their data online from their chosen remote storage if an OS-level wipe occurs.</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>Make sensible choices and implement the proposed solution 1 consistent with industry wide standard practices and using wordpress' own design system.</agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes [personal-wp] Storing data on iOS #3409

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Implement detection of iOS/iPadOS Safari users who haven't installed the app as a PWA, and display a dismissible warning about Safari's 7-day ITP storage wipe policy. The notice encourages users to add the app to their Home Screen for safer data persistence. - Add is-ios-safari.ts utility with isIOS, isIOSSafari, isRunningAsPWA - Add IosPwaNotice component using WordPress Notice component - Integrate notice into Layout component - Add comprehensive unit tests for iOS detection Co-authored-by: ashfame <858906+ashfame@users.noreply.github.com>

Move IosPwaNotice inside the siteView flex column so it appears as a compact banner above the browser chrome toolbar, instead of as a column beside the viewport. Co-authored-by: ashfame <858906+ashfame@users.noreply.github.com>

- Wrap localStorage.getItem and setItem in try-catch to handle private browsing mode and storage quota errors - Remove zero-width no-break space character from share icon span Co-authored-by: ashfame <858906+ashfame@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds an in-app warning banner for personal-wp users on iOS Safari to mitigate silent data loss risk from Safari’s 7‑day ITP storage purge by prompting installation as a Home Screen PWA.

Changes:

Added iOS/iPadOS + Safari detection helpers (and unit tests) to target affected environments.
Introduced a dismissible IosPwaNotice that persists dismissal in localStorage.
Integrated the notice into the main layout and adjusted layout CSS to support stacking above the viewport.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
packages/playground/personal-wp/src/lib/is-ios-safari.ts	Adds iOS/Safari + PWA detection helpers used to decide when to show the warning.
packages/playground/personal-wp/src/lib/is-ios-safari.spec.ts	Adds Vitest coverage for iOS and iOS Safari detection logic.
packages/playground/personal-wp/src/components/layout/style.module.css	Updates layout to flex column so the new notice can sit above the site viewport.
packages/playground/personal-wp/src/components/layout/index.tsx	Renders the new `IosPwaNotice` within the layout.
packages/playground/personal-wp/src/components/ios-pwa-notice/*	Implements the warning banner UI, styling, and dismissal persistence.

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+ * (standalone display mode).
+ */
+export function isRunningAsPWA(): boolean {
+	return window.matchMedia('(display-mode: standalone)').matches;


+ */
+export function isRunningAsPWA(): boolean {
+	return window.matchMedia('(display-mode: standalone)').matches;


+export function isIOSSafariWithoutPWA(
+	ua?: string,
+	platform?: string,
+	maxTouchPoints?: number
+): boolean {
+	return isIOSSafari(ua, platform, maxTouchPoints) && !isRunningAsPWA();
+}


+								role="img"
+								aria-label="share"


+	color: #1e1e1e;
+	font-size: inherit;
+	border-left-color: #dba617;


brandonpayton

@ashfame thank you very much for working on this. It's important IMO since we are encouraging folks to enjoy private personal data in my.wordpress.net.

I left one comment on something that may break when the new macbook-with-touchscreen is released later this year.

Overall, I think this needs more thorough testing to make sure we cover all angles. We could test manually, but maybe the best would be to add some E2E tests for this, using Playwright device emulation. I have no idea how realistic the emulation is, but it would be worth a shot.

brandonpayton · 2026-04-10T20:47:07Z

+): boolean {
+	return (
+		/iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(ua) ||
+		(platform === 'MacIntel' && maxTouchPoints > 1)


There is a Macbook supposedly coming this year that includes a touchscreen. AFAICT, that means this check will consider it as an iOS device.

zaerl · 2026-04-16T12:40:13Z

Probably I'm missing something here. Why are we checking if it's iOS? The 7-Day cap also applies to macOS Safari if the page is not standalone. Isn't checking if it's Safari enough?

Initial plan

04c18f5

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and ashfame Mar 18, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of ashfame March 18, 2026 16:06 View session

Copilot AI and others added 3 commits March 18, 2026 16:19

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] [persona-wp] Implement iOS user notification and PWA prompt~~ Add iOS Safari data persistence warning for personal-wp Mar 18, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from ashfame March 18, 2026 16:27

Copilot finished work on behalf of ashfame March 18, 2026 16:27

ashfame marked this pull request as ready for review March 19, 2026 08:37

ashfame requested review from a team, Copilot, fellyph and zaerl March 19, 2026 08:37

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 19, 2026

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brandonpayton requested changes Apr 10, 2026

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Add iOS Safari data persistence warning for personal-wp#3415

Add iOS Safari data persistence warning for personal-wp#3415
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copilot/persona-wp-store-data-ios

Copilot AI commented Mar 18, 2026 •

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Copilot AI commented Mar 18, 2026 •

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