AppState changes to background in android - android

I have integrated some code to handle a logic when the app is changing from foreground to background and vice versa. When the user navigates to the home screen we are requesting some permissions for location, camera and stuff from the user. The issue is in Android, in which when permission popups in the screen, app state changes to background, but I want the actual foreground -> background functionality to be triggered. I have used AppState in react native to achieve this functionality. It would be a great help if one can elaborate why the app is going to background when permission confirmation alerts popups? Thanks in advance.

Flag the permission like whenever you are gonna ask permission make isPermissionAsk to true. and in AppState Listener - for callback function where you are doing you stuff add a check on top
if(isPermissionAsk)
{ changePermissionAsk(false); return;}

In Android or iOS the permissions are OS managed features and the doesn't have any control other than requesting permission or getting state of permission. So when a permission is required you can think of permission app is in foreground which puts your app in background.

Related

How use SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW with ionic v6 Cordova

I have implemented the permission for use SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW (pop-up window) with permission accepted but I don’t know how use or how show the pop-up window for Android.
I want show pop-up or open the application when is in mode background.
I try with notification push with the property force-start: 1 but not results success, also I try with background mode but I don’t know how show popup
Any help Thanks
You have to add the cordova background mode (if you are using Cordova) for that purpose.
https://github.com/katzer/cordova-plugin-background-mode
When a notification arrives, you just move to foreground your application (all the documentation is on github).
It should work with the permission you've already granted.
Take into account that you better move your app to the back when the task you are performing finishes

How do some application by pass the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION even when they are using location service even when app killed?

From the android documentation, the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission should be stated for app that access the background location, user should see the "Allow all the time" option in the permission page of the application.
Yet, there are a lot of sports app, say strava, that track the gps of user continuously, even when app killed or app in background. They didn't even state the permission of ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION. This can be verify when going to their app permission page, only allow only when using app, ask every time and refuse options are shown. I understand they use foreground service to do such thing, but how come they didn't state for the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission? Isn't this a must for apps to track user in background as required by Google? Can anyone give me some explaination on this? Thanks

Android Q - Background Location Permission needed for Foreground service?

The first point in this document says that Background Location permission is required if the foreground location service is started while the app is in foreground starting Android 11.
https://developer.android.com/guide/components/foreground-services#bg-access-restrictions
My use case is that a user taps on a button to start location tracking. Tapping that button starts a foreground service which puts a notification. Now, I want the app to continue tracking even after backgrounding.
Until Android 10, background location permission wasn't required to accomplish this.
My question is that to support Android 11, do I need to start requesting background permission as well? Also, do I need to do the same for Android 10? Not finding any other reference on the internet to verify this. please let me know your thoughts.
According to the definition of background work
An app is considered to be running in the background as long as each of the following conditions are satisfied:
None of the app's activities are currently visible to the user.
The app isn't running any foreground services that started while an activity from the app was visible to the user.
Otherwise, the app is considered to be running in the foreground.
In your case, you fit into the second point where you started a foreground service when an activity is visible to the user so technically your app is still considered to be in the foreground while the service notification is being shown even if the user navigates away from your app.
The foreground service needs to have android:foregroundServiceType="location" in its manifest declaration if you are targeting Android 10 and above. See here.
You don't necessarily need the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission if you are fetching location updates in the foreground service that you have created since you are not technically accessing location while in the background. However, within your service, if you use any APIs that may require background location permission, such as Geofencing, then you will require the background permission to be added to the manifest and request and handle the permission accordingly.

Can a service request for permission in Android M?

I figured that in M requestPermissions() can only be called by an Activity class. I have an app that has no UI screen. It runs as a background service. Does this mean that I have to put a spinner screen if checkSelfPermissions returns denied?
I have an app that has no UI screen.
Then it will never run, unless it is preinstalled on an Android device or custom ROM, or it is a plugin to some other app. Otherwise, your app will remain in the stopped state forever. Pretty much every app distributed through normal channels, including the Play Store, needs an activity.
Does this mean that I have to put a spinner screen if checkSelfPermissions returns denied?
I do not know what "a spinner screen" is. AFAIK, the recommended pattern for a service needing a runtime permission that it does not have is to:
Raise a Notification, to let the user know that the service cannot do its work without this permission.
Have the Notification trigger an Activity that can call requestPermissions(). Optionally, this activity can have Theme.Translucent.NoTitleBar, so the only visible UI is the permission dialog.
If onRequestPermissionResult() indicates that you have the permission, the activity can tell the service to go ahead (e.g., via a call to startService()), then finish() itself. If onRequestPermissionResult() indicates that the user denied the permission, do whatever makes sense (e.g., show the Notification again, gracefully shut down, suggest to the user that the user uninstall the app).

Handle permissions change while in app

I am having a hard time understanding the right way to handle a user changing a permission while my app is still running in the background.
In my app I have a location class that registers for location changes and when the location changes the status is sent to a server. However this runs in the background.
When my app is launched I check with the user if its ok to use location services and if so I proceed with setting up that class. However the user can background my app and go into settings and remove that permission. I can, and will certainly check that the permission is enabled in my location class before asking for a location from the location service to avoid a crash. However I am not in an activity when a location comes in so I am not sure how to prompt them that my app needs location services.
EDIT:
It does seem that android restarts your app if a permission has been revoked in settings. However I have confirmed that as of now android does NOT restart your app if a permission was granted though settings.
I read somewhere that your app gets killed when the user changes the permissions on Android-M so you can be sure that this won't change while your app is running. It will been killed when this changes.
As reference check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f17qe9vZ8RM
However I am not in an activity when a location comes in so I am not sure how to prompt them that my app needs location services.
Raise a Notification, alerting the user that your app cannot do its intended work without the permission that they revoked. Have the Notification tie into an Activity via a PendingIntent where the user will be able to grant that permission.
Along with CommonsWare suggestion, you can have the onProviderDisabled() to know which provider (gps, network) has been disabled and accordingly requestLocationUpdate() for the one that is still enabled. If both are disabled, see if at least Cell Location is of useful for your app. If so, you can send Cell Location at least till user see notification and re-enable the permission.Use PhoneStateListener to do that.
I would like to try a more modern 2020+ answer to the core question:
However I am not in an activity when a location comes in so I am not sure how to prompt them that my app needs location services.
However I am not in an activity when a location comes in so I am not sure how to prompt them that my app needs location services.
If you are in a normal end user environment:
Respect the users choice to revoke the permission and only display the missing permissions to the user if she opens your activity.
On modern devices your service needs to display a notification in the bar to even be allowed to continue running - change the notification to show the problem.
You are allowed to just ask for most permissions but the user has the ability to deny on the 2nd attempt. After that you get auto-no without anything displayed.
Some permissions (e.g. write settings and overlay) can be accessed by opening the settingspages for this directly - which can be done from a service but will be seen as harassment.
If you are in a work environment:
Best use an official mdm solution (COPE).There you can totally zombiefy your devices allowing nothing or anything and pretty much anything in between. User cannot even enter settings if you dissallow or not even turn the device off or.. you name it.
And apps can get all permissions they need and be installed automatically from the getgo.
For both (eben in mdm sometimes a more powerful user might be wanted):
Please build an extra Activity or Fragment (if you have one that uses those) dedicated to display why your app needs a permission and a button for the user to initiate the request/opening of settings.
It may be much work but users and google will be happy :)

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