diff --git a/lib/core/utils/detect-modal-stack.js b/lib/core/utils/detect-modal-stack.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f5fcb284
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/core/utils/detect-modal-stack.js
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { getViewportSize } from '../../commons/dom';
+export default function detectModalStack(options) {
+  options = options || {};
+  const modalPercent = options.modalPercent || 0.75;
+
+  // there is no "definitive" way to code a modal so detecting when one is open
+  // is a bit of a guess. a modal won't always be accessible, so we can't rely
+  // on the `role` attribute, and relying on a class name as a convention is
+  // unreliable. we also cannot rely on the body/html not scrolling.
+  //
+  // because of this, we will look for two different types of modals:
+  // "definitely a modal" and "could be a modal."
+  //
+  // "definitely a modal" is any visible element that is coded to be a modal
+  // by using one of the following criteria:
+  //
+  // - has the attribute `role=dialog`
+  // - has the attribute `aria-modal=true`
+  // - is the dialog element
+  //
+  // "could be a modal" is a visible element that takes up more than 75% of
+  // the screen (though typically full width/height) and is the top-most element
+  // in the viewport. since we aren't sure if it is or is not a modal this is
+  // just our best guess of being one based on convention.
+
+  const definiteModals = Array.from(
+    document.querySelectorAll(
+      'dialog[open], [role="dialog"], [role="alertdialog"], [aria-modal="true"]'
+    )
+  );
+
+  // to find a "could be a modal" we will take the element stack from each of
+  // four corners and one from the middle of the viewport (total of 5). if each
+  // stack contains an element whose width/height is >= 75% of the screen, we
+  // found a "could be a modal"
+  const viewport = getViewportSize(window);
+  const percentWidth = viewport.width * modalPercent;
+  const percentHeight = viewport.height * modalPercent;
+  const x = (viewport.width - percentWidth) / 2;
+  const y = (viewport.height - percentHeight) / 2;
+
+  const points = [
+    // top-left corner
+    { x, y },
+    // top-right corner
+    { x: viewport.width - x, y },
+    // center
+    { x: viewport.width / 2, y: viewport.height / 2 },
+    // bottom-left corner
+    { x, y: viewport.height - y },
+    // bottom-right corner
+    { x: viewport.width - x, y: viewport.height - y }
+  ];
+
+  const stacks = points.map(point => {
+    return Array.from(document.elementsFromPoint(point.x, point.y));
+  });
+
+  return { definiteModals, stacks };
+}
diff --git a/lib/core/utils/get-overlay-from-stack.js b/lib/core/utils/get-overlay-from-stack.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a0de37b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/core/utils/get-overlay-from-stack.js
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { getViewportSize } from '../../commons/dom';
+
+export default function getOverlayFromStack(elm, options) {
+  options = options || {};
+  const modalPercent = options.modalPercent || 0.75;
+
+  const viewport = getViewportSize(window);
+  const percentWidth = viewport.width * modalPercent;
+  const percentHeight = viewport.height * modalPercent;
+
+  if (elm instanceof window.Element) {
+    const style = window.getComputedStyle(elm);
+    const rect = elm.getBoundingClientRect();
+    if (
+      rect.width >= percentWidth &&
+      rect.height >= percentHeight &&
+      style?.getPropertyValue('pointer-events') !== 'none' &&
+      (style?.position === 'absolute' || style?.position === 'fixed')
+    ) {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
diff --git a/lib/core/utils/index.js b/lib/core/utils/index.js
index 360c1d72..b906f290 100644
--- a/lib/core/utils/index.js
+++ b/lib/core/utils/index.js
@@ -86,3 +86,5 @@ export { default as uniqueArray } from './unique-array';
 export { default as uuid } from './uuid';
 export { default as validInputTypes } from './valid-input-type';
 export { default as isValidLang, validLangs } from './valid-langs';
+export { default as detectModalStack } from './detect-modal-stack';
+export { default as getOverlayFromStack } from './get-overlay-from-stack';