Transient Messages - CometChat Docs

Quick Reference for AI Agents & Developers

Send transient: CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message:) — pass TransientMessage(receiverID:receiverType:data:)
Receive transient: onTransientMessageReceived(_:) in message listener delegate
Note: Transient messages are NOT saved — receiver must be online
Use cases: Live location sharing, real-time indicators, ephemeral data
Related: Send Message · Typing Indicators · Messaging Overview

Key Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Fire-and-forget	No success/failure callbacks
NOT persisted	Cannot be retrieved from history
Real-time only	Receiver must be online
No receipts	No delivery/read receipts

Use Cases

Use Case	Description
Live reactions	Heart, thumbs up, emoji animations
Live location	Real-time location sharing
Ephemeral indicators	Temporary status updates
Custom real-time data	Any data that doesn’t need persistence

Send Transient Message (User)

Swift
Objective C

let data: [String: Any] = ["LIVE_REACTION": "heart", "timestamp": Date().timeIntervalSince1970]
let transientMessage = TransientMessage(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user, data: data)
CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message: transientMessage)

// Note: Fire-and-forget - no success/failure callback
// Message is NOT persisted - receiver must be online

NSDictionary *data = @{@"LIVE_REACTION": @"heart"};
TransientMessage *transientMessage = [[TransientMessage alloc] initWithReceiverID:@"cometchat-uid-2" receiverType:ReceiverTypeUser data:data];
[CometChat sendTransientMessageWithMessage:transientMessage];

Sample Payloads - Transient Message (User)

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.user`
data	`[String: Any]`	`["LIVE_REACTION": "heart", "timestamp": 1772028567.875231]`

Message Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`String`	`"user"`
data	`[String: Any]`	`["LIVE_REACTION": "heart", "timestamp": 1772028567.875231]`

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
`onTransisentMessageReceived(_:)`	Called with TransientMessage object

Send Transient Message (Group)

Swift

let data: [String: Any] = ["LIVE_REACTION": "thumbsup", "timestamp": Date().timeIntervalSince1970]
let transientMessage = TransientMessage(receiverID: "cometchat-guid-1", receiverType: .group, data: data)
CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message: transientMessage)

Sample Payloads - Transient Message (Group)

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-guid-1"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.group`
data	`[String: Any]`	`["LIVE_REACTION": "thumbsup", "timestamp": 1772028570.0602489]`

Message Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-guid-1"`
receiverType	`String`	`"group"`
data	`[String: Any]`	`["LIVE_REACTION": "thumbsup", "timestamp": 1772028570.0602489]`

Receiver Will Get:

Delegate Method	Description
`onTransisentMessageReceived(_:)`	Called with TransientMessage object

Send Live Reaction

Swift

let data = ["LIVE_REACTION": "heart", "type": "live_reaction"]
let transientMessage = TransientMessage(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user, data: data)
CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message: transientMessage)

Sample Payloads - Live Reaction

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.user`
data.LIVE_REACTION	`String`	`"heart"`
data.type	`String`	`"live_reaction"`

Message Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`String`	`"user"`
data	`[String: Any]`	`["LIVE_REACTION": "heart", "type": "live_reaction"]`

Common Live Reactions

Reaction	Value
Heart	`"heart"`
Thumbs Up	`"thumbsup"`
Thumbs Down	`"thumbsdown"`
Laugh	`"laugh"`
Wow	`"wow"`
Sad	`"sad"`
Angry	`"angry"`

Send Live Location

Swift

let data: [String: Any] = [
    "type": "live_location",
    "latitude": 37.7749,
    "longitude": -122.4194,
    "accuracy": 10.0,
    "timestamp": Date().timeIntervalSince1970
]
let transientMessage = TransientMessage(receiverID: "cometchat-uid-2", receiverType: .user, data: data)
CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message: transientMessage)

Sample Payloads - Live Location

Request
Sent

Method: CometChat.sendTransientMessage(message:)

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`CometChat.ReceiverType`	`.user`
data.type	`String`	`"live_location"`
data.latitude	`Double`	`37.7749`
data.longitude	`Double`	`-122.4194`
data.accuracy	`Double`	`10.0`
data.timestamp	`Double`	`1772028575.777206`

Message Sent:

Parameter	Type	Value
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`String`	`"user"`
data	`[String: Any]`	Location data dictionary

Live Location Data Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	`String`	`"live_location"`
latitude	`Double`	Latitude coordinate
longitude	`Double`	Longitude coordinate
accuracy	`Double`	Location accuracy in meters
timestamp	`Double`	Unix timestamp

Real-time Transient Message Events

To receive transient messages, implement CometChatMessageDelegate:

Swift
Objective C

extension YourViewController: CometChatMessageDelegate {
    
    func onTransisentMessageReceived(_ message: TransientMessage) {
        print("Transient message received")
        print("Sender UID: \(message.sender?.uid ?? "")")
        print("Sender Name: \(message.sender?.name ?? "")")
        print("Receiver ID: \(message.receiverID)")
        print("Receiver Type: \(message.receiverType)")
        print("Data: \(message.data)")
        
        // Handle specific data types
        if let reaction = message.data["LIVE_REACTION"] as? String {
            print("Live Reaction: \(reaction)")
            // Show reaction animation
        }
        
        if let type = message.data["type"] as? String, type == "live_location" {
            let lat = message.data["latitude"] as? Double ?? 0
            let lon = message.data["longitude"] as? Double ?? 0
            print("Live Location: \(lat), \(lon)")
            // Update map marker
        }
    }
}

// Register the delegate:
CometChat.messagedelegate = self

- (void)onTransisentMessageReceived:(TransientMessage *)message {
    NSLog(@"TransientMessage received: %@", [message stringValue]);
}

Sample Payloads - Receive Transient Message

Delegate Payload

Method: onTransisentMessageReceived(_ message: TransientMessage)TransientMessage Object:

Parameter	Type	Value
sender.uid	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-1"`
sender.name	`String`	`"John Doe"`
receiverID	`String`	`"cometchat-uid-2"`
receiverType	`ReceiverType`	`.user`
data	`[String: Any]`	`["LIVE_REACTION": "heart"]`

TransientMessage Object Properties

Property	Type	Description
`sender`	`User?`	User who sent the transient message
`receiverID`	`String`	UID of user or GUID of group
`receiverType`	`ReceiverType`	`.user` or `.group`
`data`	`[String: Any]`	Custom data dictionary

Transient messages are NOT persisted and cannot be retrieved later. The receiver must be online to receive them. There are no delivery/read receipts for transient messages.

​Key Characteristics

​Use Cases

​Send Transient Message (User)

​Send Transient Message (Group)

​Send Live Reaction

​Common Live Reactions

​Send Live Location

​Live Location Data Properties

​Real-time Transient Message Events

​TransientMessage Object Properties

Key Characteristics

Use Cases

Send Transient Message (User)

Send Transient Message (Group)

Send Live Reaction

Common Live Reactions

Send Live Location

Live Location Data Properties

Real-time Transient Message Events

TransientMessage Object Properties