1. A method, comprising: in a data processing device having a sleep mode control configuration based on at least input related to a particular sensor: receiving, from an application running on the data processing device, an indication that one or more sensors other than the particular sensor are associated with a user input for the application; responsive to receiving the indication from the application, modifying the sleep mode control configuration such that the sleep mode control configuration is based on at least input related to the one or more sensors indicated by the application; determining, based on sensing information collected from the one or more sensors, a characteristic of the user input for the application; refraining from entering a sleep mode if the characteristic of the user input matches a characteristic condition specified by the application; and allowing entering the sleep mode if the characteristic of the user input does not match the characteristic condition for a specific timeout period specified by the application.