The Modal Mistake That's Killing Your App Retention

Hi app founders, designers, and marketers.

Modal stacking happens when one overlay opens inside another, and another after that, until users have no idea how to get back to where they started.

Once it happens, users feel lost, and Apple Books solves it with one simple idea.

The modal stacking problem

A modal is any overlay on top of your current screen.

One works fine. Stack several together and users lose their place, lose context, and start tapping Back hoping something changes.

After a couple of overlays, users have genuinely lost track of where they started.

The pattern that fixes it

In Apple Books, you can open a book, spot another while scrolling, open that one too, and keep going as deep as you like.

Close one, and you're right back where you left off.

Dribbble does something similar with its image viewer.

Selecting a design opens it while keeping you anchored to your position in the gallery, and closing it returns you to exactly where you left off.

The small touch that changes how the app feels

Apple Books also has a subtle page-curl animation on every page turn.

It's a tiny detail, but at reading speed it feels natural and makes the app feel more polished and fun.

Little touches like this are part of what makes Apple Books feel so refined.

Tip #4: Every modal should close back to exactly where the user came from.

Would you test it on your app? Reply and let us know, we read every email.

Watch the full Apple Books breakdown:

See you next week,

The App Store Tracker Team