 <p>Without having to increase the asset size of your app, you could create a simple UIView.</p> <pre><code>UIWindow *keyWindow = [[UIApplication sharedApplication] keyWindow]; UIView *fullscreenShadow = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:keyWindow.bounds]; fullscreenShadow.backgroundColor = [UIColor blackColor]; fullscreenShadow.alpha = 0.3; [keyWindow addSubview:fullscreenShadow]; </code></pre> <p>Adding it to the keyWindow will make it cover everything, except the UIStatusBar of course. I believe this will achieve your intended result. Combine it with a UIViewAnimation and bring the alpha up.</p>