2.2.4: Interruptions

What it means

Interruptions can be postponed or suppressed by the user, except for emergencies. Pop-ups, chat invites, and notification toasts should not hijack attention without control.

This AAA criterion helps people with cognitive disabilities and anyone doing focused work.

How to fix it

• Let users snooze or disable non-critical notification prompts.
• Do not show repeated pop-ups after the user dismissed them once.
• Batch low-priority alerts instead of interrupting on every event.
• Keep emergency alerts immediate but allow silencing of marketing interruptions.

Quick examples

• Good: A chat widget waits until the user clicks Help instead of auto-opening.
• Bad: A newsletter pop-up reappears on every page load after dismissal.
• Good: Notification settings let users choose email digest instead of live toasts.
• Bad: A survey modal blocks checkout mid-payment.