I have issues with my app recently, when it is out of nowhere rejected by Google Play because they found that I'm using background location. But in fact I'm not using this feature. I have only ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION and ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permissions and I'm using FusedLocationProviderClient to get location in my app. This location is requested only by user action inside app, so if its in background, this is never called. I checked merged manifest feature and I tried to find if some of my imported libs are using background location permission, but I didn't find anything. Also I preventively added <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION" tools:node="remove"/> to my manifest to block any background location permission requests. I dont have any background services which are working with location at all. The only background service is FirebaseMessagingService for push notifications.
Anyone have this problem recently?
UPDATE:
I checked merged manifest in my app and I couldn't find ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission there. But I found some services which could trigger background location but I'm not sure. They are part of Firebase Crashlytics and they are probably used to send data to Firebase and they could work in a background. But I don't think they are sending any location. Also they are part of firebase plugin which is from Google.
<service
android:name="com.google.android.datatransport.runtime.scheduling.jobscheduling.JobInfoSchedulerService"
android:exported="false"
android:permission="android.permission.BIND_JOB_SERVICE" >
</service>
<receiver
android:name="com.google.android.datatransport.runtime.scheduling.jobscheduling.AlarmManagerSchedulerBroadcastReceiver"
android:exported="false" />
UPDATE #2:
This is code I'm using to get location.
MainActivity:
/**
* Updating location every second/1 meter
*/
var currLocation: GpsLocation? = null
private var locationManager : LocationManager? = null
private fun initLocationManager() {
if (app.hasLocationPermission){
locationManager = getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE) as LocationManager
}
changeLocationUpdaters(true)
}
private fun changeLocationUpdaters(isEnabled: Boolean){
if (ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(
this#MainActivity,
Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
&& ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(
this#MainActivity,
Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
locationManager?.apply{
if (isEnabled && app.hasLocationPermission){
requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER, LOCATION_UPDATE_TIME_INTERVAL, LOCATION_UPDATE_DIST_INTERVAL, this#MainActivity)
requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, LOCATION_UPDATE_TIME_INTERVAL, LOCATION_UPDATE_DIST_INTERVAL, this#MainActivity)
} else {
removeUpdates(this#MainActivity)
}
}
} else {
return
}
}
Then removing location updaters when app is in background:
override fun onPause() {
super.onPause()
changeLocationUpdaters(false)
}
override fun onResume() {
super.onResume()
changeLocationUpdaters(true)
}
Then I use FusedLocationProvider inside Fragment to get more accurate location. Its used only by calling function so its not automated like previous one. Its used in GoogleMap classes and also in some onClick events inside app to return current location. There is no service or updater calling it.
private inner class LocationCb(val lp: FusedLocationProviderClient,
val onFailure: (()->Unit)? = null,
val onSuccess: (GpsLocation)->Unit)
: LocationCallback() {
init {
val lr = LocationRequest.create().apply {
priority = LocationRequest.PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY
interval = 200
}
val lsr = LocationSettingsRequest.Builder().run {
addLocationRequest(lr)
build()
}
val check = LocationServices.getSettingsClient(activity!!).checkLocationSettings(lsr)
check.addOnCompleteListener {
try {
check.getResult(ApiException::class.java)
val task = lp.requestLocationUpdates(lr, this, Looper.getMainLooper())
task.addOnFailureListener {
onFailure?.invoke()
}
} catch (e: ApiException) {
when (e.statusCode) {
LocationSettingsStatusCodes.RESOLUTION_REQUIRED-> if(!locationResolutionAsked){
// Location settings are not satisfied. But could be fixed by showing the user a dialog.
try {
// Cast to a resolvable exception.
val re = e as ResolvableApiException
// Show the dialog by calling startResolutionForResult(), and check the result in onActivityResult().
re.startResolutionForResult(mainActivity, MainActivity.REQUEST_LOCATION_SETTINGS)
locationResolutionAsked = true
} catch (e: Exception) {
e.printStackTrace()
}
}
LocationSettingsStatusCodes.SETTINGS_CHANGE_UNAVAILABLE->{
App.warn("Location is not available")
onFailure?.invoke()
}
}
}
}
}
fun cancel(){
lp.removeLocationUpdates(this)
currLocCb = null
}
override fun onLocationResult(lr: LocationResult) {
cancel()
val ll = lr.lastLocation
onSuccess(GpsLocation(ll.longitude, ll.latitude))
}
}
This location provider is cancelled after result is returned so its one-time use only. But Ive added similar cancellation method inside onPause and onStop for Fragment than it is in MainActivity to make sure that its inactive when app is in background.
override fun onStop() {
super.onStop()
currLocCb?.cancel()
}
override fun onPause() {
super.onPause()
currLocCb?.cancel()
}
Merged manifest may not contain all permissions
Unfortunately, not all libraries publish a manifest that contains all necessary <uses-permission> elements. That means, that simply checking your merged AndroidManifest.xml won't help much - you will have to check documentation for each library to find out which permissions it really needs, or just add necessary permissions to your own AndroidManifest.xml preemptively.
Background permission limitation for API 29
You also mentioned that your target SDK is 29. So, according to the official documentation here, you have to set the permission in your AndroidManifest.xml explicitly, if it's needed. Previously, it was granted automatically, if the app had foreground location access (basically, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION and ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION).
On Android 10 (API level 29) and higher, you must declare the
ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission in your app's manifest in order
to request background location access at runtime. On earlier versions
of Android, when your app receives foreground location access, it
automatically receives background location access as well.
So, for older versions, your app was granted ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION automatically, because it was granted ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION and ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION beforehand.
Requesting location in background requires ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
Additionally, even if you or any of your libraries do not set ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION anywhere, the system will still consider that your app is using background location for any situation except:
An activity that belongs to your app is visible.
Your app is running a
foreground service. When a foreground service is running, the system
raises user awareness by showing a persistent notification. Your app
retains access when it's placed in the background, such as when the
user presses the Home button on their device or turns their device's
display off.
Conclusion
What the latter means is that may have a library or libraries that need ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION, but it's not present in their AndroidManifest.xml for whatever reason. It used to work for API < 29 because your app was granted the permission automatically (due to foreground location permission).
Also, now, the system considers any usage of current location a background location if it's done outside of your visible Activity or not in a Foreground Service. So, make sure that you're not doing so in any part of your app.
Update
Based on your updated question, you are requesting a current location within OnCompleteListener by calling lp.requestLocationUpdates:
...
check.addOnCompleteListener {
try {
check.getResult(ApiException::class.java)
val task = lp.requestLocationUpdates(lr, this, Looper.getMainLooper())
task.addOnFailureListener {
onFailure?.invoke()
}
...
This can be a problem (I cannot be sure because you don't show how the class is used within your app) because the app may go to the background before OnCompleteListener completes, and so the location will be requested in the background.
As stated in the previous section, by doing so the system considers that you need a background location permissions to do so. So, you must unsubscribe your callback OnCompleteListener if your app goes to background.
You could use another version of addOnCompleteListener that also accept your Activity instance as shown here
public Task addOnCompleteListener (Activity activity, OnCompleteListener listener)
In this case, the listener will be automatically removed during Activity.onStop().
First of all, remove completely words ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION from your manifest. Even with tools:node="remove".
The second: if you haven't added ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION manually it doesn't mean it is not there - some libraries may have added it for you. Instead of checking your project manifest file - check merged manifest - the usual path to it is: (it may be different in your case if you have flavors)
/project/module/build/intermediates/manifests/full/debug/AndroidManifest.xml.
Check if there is ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission there - if there is - this means that some library added it there. Manually check all the manifests of all the libraries to find out which one has added it there. When you find it - delete it.
If your project heavily depends on the target library - you have another solution - write a disclosure in the app and play store console about why do you need to use background location and show it before the location permission dialog with message that looks like:
We need access to your location in the background to ensure our app can function correctly.
Keep in mind that this message may be not enough descriptive - but testers from google will notify you if it is.
Either way, disclosure is the last chance solution...
If you have no ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION and you do not use location in foreground service but only inside the app while it is running - write a letter to google support with all your arguments and ask them what exactly causes the rejection issue. Be polite and well-tempered - and it will be resolved. I have had similar issues in the past and contact with their release support always helped.
I'm getting the following IDE warning for my code in Android Studio:
Call requires permission which may be rejected by user: code should explicitly check to see if permission is available (with checkPermission) or explicitly handle a potential SecurityException
My code looks like this. It's supposed to set a GoogleMap object to show a frame with the user's location normally, and a frame with all of Germany if they have location disabled (location == null) or denied location permissions for the app (addOnFailureListener).
fusedLocationClient.lastLocation.addOnFailureListener(this) {
Log.e("onRequestPermissions", "fail")
mMap?.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLngZoom(LatLng(51.17, 10.45), 6F)) // Germany
}
fusedLocationClient.lastLocation.addOnSuccessListener(this) { location ->
Log.e("onRequestPermissions", "succ")
if (location == null)
mMap?.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLngZoom(LatLng(51.17, 10.45), 6F)) // Germany
else
mMap?.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLngZoom(LatLng(location.latitude, location.longitude), 13F))
}
I don't get why calling fusedLocationClient (getFusedLocationClient) gives me this error message. I thought the FusedLocationProviderClient was always there, and I'm handling the case that the user denied location permission inside of addOnFailureListener. So how can I possibly attach this failure callback if I'm not allowed to even call getFusedLocationClient.
This warning is treated with severity "error" and all-red text by Android Studio which makes my code look pretty broken.
In order to let Lint know you are "aware of the corresponding permission check and handle it somewhere else in your code" add the #SuppressLint("MissingPermission") annotation to the method which contains the code.
The #SuppressLint annotation
Indicates that Lint should ignore the specified warnings for the annotated element.
The error is actually asking you should either explicitly check whether requested permission is enabled or you can disable lint checking by adding the #SuppressLint annotation to that code.
PermissionChecker.PERMISSION_GRANTED ==
PermissionChecker.checkSelfPermission(
requireContext(),
Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
))
Or
#SuppressLint("MissingPermission")
I started learning about how I can request app permissions from the Google Documentation. This is basically the code that I'm trying to execute.
// Register the permissions callback, which handles the user's response to the
// system permissions dialog. Save the return value, an instance of
// ActivityResultLauncher. You can use either a val, as shown in this snippet,
// or a lateinit var in your onAttach() or onCreate() method.
val requestPermissionLauncher =
registerForActivityResult(RequestPermission()
) { isGranted: Boolean ->
if (isGranted) {
// Permission is granted. Continue the action or workflow in your
// app.
} else {
// Explain to the user that the feature is unavailable because the
// features requires a permission that the user has denied. At the
// same time, respect the user's decision. Don't link to system
// settings in an effort to convince the user to change their
// decision.
}
}
Unfortunately, whenever I'm trying to write the registerForActivityResult(...) part, Android Studio keeps highlighting it as an error.
There's another step that I need to perform along with this. It tells me to add this dependency. Even after doing that, Android Studio still shows me that it shows an error. Can anyone tell me why this happens?
You're missing the following
// Kotlin
implementation 'androidx.activity:activity-ktx:1.2.0-beta01'
implementation 'androidx.fragment:fragment-ktx:1.3.0-beta01'
I really struggle with this since a while :( as I need an solution that works within UNITY3D.
I need to check if the user has given the permission to access the Android device camera (and location on a second level).
Normally the app start by asking for this permissions at launch, but if the user denies the access for the camera I need to know and check that later.
Otherwise the user could hit the camera UI button I made and try to access the camera via webcamtexture... and that leads into a crash of the app.
Since Android API 23 you cannot ignore or already grant permissions by changing the android manifest like I tried after reading several posts about that.
Thank's to everyone who has an idea to solve this.
Check this library: https://github.com/sanukin39/UniAndroidPermission
In that library I got these methods to check and request Permission.
public static void requestPermission(String permissionStr){
if(!hasPermission(permissionStr)) {
UnityPlayer.currentActivity.requestPermissions(new String[]{permissionStr}, 0);
}
}
public static boolean hasPermission(String permissionStr) {
if(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < 23) {
return true;
}
Context context = UnityPlayer.currentActivity.getApplicationContext();
return context.checkCallingOrSelfPermission(permissionStr) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED;
}
Hope it helps:)
maybe this is a stupid question but......
I would like to know why Android Stuio asks for permission check in a certain part of my code, even though I have already gone through the permission check some lines above...
I have enclosed a small screen cap with this part of the code to show you the exact situation...all the code that you can see on the picture is included in the only method existing in the code: OnCreate
It is a warning generated by android studio. You code will still compile and run . But it is best practice to include the permission check before calling locationManager.requestLocationUpdates
Like:
public boolean checkLocationPermission() {
String permission = "android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION";
int res = this.checkCallingOrSelfPermission(permission);
return (res == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED);
}
use it like:
if (checkLocationPermission()) {
locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER, 3000, 0, myLocationListener);
}