Background and foreground geolocation plugin for React Native

react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation

Background and foreground geolocation plugin for React Native. Tracks user when app is running in background.

React Native fork of cordova-plugin-background-geolocation with battery-saving "circular region monitoring" and "stop detection".

This plugin can be used for geolocation when the app is running in the foreground or background.

You can choose from following location providers:

• DISTANCE_FILTER_PROVIDER
• ACTIVITY_PROVIDER
• RAW_PROVIDER

Compatibility

Due to the rapid changes being made in the React Native ecosystem, this module will support
only the latest version of React Native. Older versions will only be supported if they're
compatible with this module.

Module	React Native
0.1.0 - 0.2.0	0.33
>=0.3.0	>=0.47

If you are using an older version of React Native with this module some features may be buggy.

If you are using react-native-maps or another lib that requires react-native-maps such as Exponent.js or airbnb's react-native-maps then in addition to the instalation steps described here, you must also change node_modules/react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation/android/lib/build.gradle to gms:play-services-locations and match the version used by those libraries. (in this case 9.8.0)

dependencies {
    ...
    compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:9.8.0'
    ...
}

Submitting issues

All new issues should follow instructions in ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md.
A properly filled issue report will significantly reduce number of follow up questions and decrease issue resolving time.
Most issues cannot be resolved without debug logs. Please try to isolate debug lines related to your issue.
Instructions for how to prepare debug logs can be found in section Debugging.
If you're reporting an app crash, debug logs might not contain all the necessary information about the cause of the crash.
In that case, also provide relevant parts of output of adb logcat command.

Example Apps

The repository react-native-background-geolocation-example hosts an example app for both iOS and Android platform.

Quick example

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { Alert } from 'react-native';
import BackgroundGeolocation from 'react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation';

class BgTracking extends Component {
  componentDidMount() {
    BackgroundGeolocation.configure({
      desiredAccuracy: BackgroundGeolocation.HIGH_ACCURACY,
      stationaryRadius: 50,
      distanceFilter: 50,
      notificationTitle: 'Background tracking',
      notificationText: 'enabled',
      debug: true,
      startOnBoot: false,
      stopOnTerminate: false,
      locationProvider: BackgroundGeolocation.ACTIVITY_PROVIDER,
      interval: 10000,
      fastestInterval: 5000,
      activitiesInterval: 10000,
      stopOnStillActivity: false,
      url: 'http://192.168.81.15:3000/location',
      httpHeaders: {
        'X-FOO': 'bar'
      },
      // customize post properties
      postTemplate: {
        lat: '@latitude',
        lon: '@longitude',
        foo: 'bar' // you can also add your own properties
      }
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('location', (location) => {
      // handle your locations here
      // to perform long running operation on iOS
      // you need to create background task
      BackgroundGeolocation.startTask(taskKey => {
        // execute long running task
        // eg. ajax post location
        // IMPORTANT: task has to be ended by endTask
        BackgroundGeolocation.endTask(taskKey);
      });
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('stationary', (stationaryLocation) => {
      // handle stationary locations here
      Actions.sendLocation(stationaryLocation);
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('error', (error) => {
      console.log('[ERROR] BackgroundGeolocation error:', error);
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('start', () => {
      console.log('[INFO] BackgroundGeolocation service has been started');
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('stop', () => {
      console.log('[INFO] BackgroundGeolocation service has been stopped');
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('authorization', (status) => {
      console.log('[INFO] BackgroundGeolocation authorization status: ' + status);
      if (status !== BackgroundGeolocation.AUTHORIZED) {
        // we need to set delay or otherwise alert may not be shown
        setTimeout(() =>
          Alert.alert('App requires location tracking permission', 'Would you like to open app settings?', [
            { text: 'Yes', onPress: () => BackgroundGeolocation.showAppSettings() },
            { text: 'No', onPress: () => console.log('No Pressed'), style: 'cancel' }
          ]), 1000);
      }
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('background', () => {
      console.log('[INFO] App is in background');
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.on('foreground', () => {
      console.log('[INFO] App is in foreground');
    });

    BackgroundGeolocation.checkStatus(status => {
      console.log('[INFO] BackgroundGeolocation service is running', status.isRunning);
      console.log('[INFO] BackgroundGeolocation services enabled', status.locationServicesEnabled);
      console.log('[INFO] BackgroundGeolocation auth status: ' + status.authorization);

      // you don't need to check status before start (this is just the example)
      if (!status.isRunning) {
        BackgroundGeolocation.start(); //triggers start on start event
      }
    });

    // you can also just start without checking for status
    // BackgroundGeolocation.start();
  }

  componentWillUnmount() {
    // unregister all event listeners
    BackgroundGeolocation.events.forEach(event => BackgroundGeolocation.removeAllListeners(event));
  }
}

export default BgTracking;

Instalation

Installation

Add the package to your project

yarn add react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation

Automatic setup

Link your native dependencies

react-native link react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation

Manual setup

Android setup

In android/settings.gradle

...
include ':react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation-common'
project(':react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation-common').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../node_modules/react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation/android/common')
include ':react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation'
project(':react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../node_modules/react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation/android/lib')
...

In android/app/build.gradle

dependencies {
    ...
    compile project(':react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation')
    ...
}

Register the module (in MainApplication.java)

import com.marianhello.bgloc.react.BackgroundGeolocationPackage;  // <--- Import Package

public class MainApplication extends Application implements ReactApplication {
  ...
  /**
   * A list of packages used by the app. If the app uses additional views
   * or modules besides the default ones, add more packages here.
   */
  @Override
  protected List<ReactPackage> getPackages() {
      return Arrays.<ReactPackage>asList(
          new MainReactPackage(),
          new BackgroundGeolocationPackage() // <---- Add the Package
      );
  }
  ...
}

Dependencies

Make sure you have installed the following items through the Android SDK Manager:

Name	Version
Android SDK Tools	26.0.2
Android SDK Platform-tools	26.0.2
Android SDK Build-tools	26.0.2
Android Support Repository	47
Android Support Library	26.1.0
Google Play Services	11.8.0
Google Repository	58

Android Oreo

You can enable experimental Oreo support by adding following into root build.gradle:

allprojects {
  repositories {
    maven { url 'https://maven.google.com' }
  }
}

ext {
  compileSdkVersion = 26
  targetSdkVersion = 26
  buildToolsVersion = "26.0.2"
  supportLibVersion = "26.1.0"
  googlePlayServicesVersion = "11.8.0"
  oreoEXPERIMENTAL = "yes"
}

iOS setup

1. In XCode, in the project navigator, right click Libraries ➜ Add Files to [your project's name]
2. Add ./node_modules/react-native-mauron85-background-geolocation/ios/RCTBackgroundGeolocation.xcodeproj
3. In the XCode project navigator, select your project, select the Build Phases tab and in the Link Binary With Libraries section add libRCTBackgroundGeolocation.a
4. Add UIBackgroundModes location to Info.plist
5. Add NSMotionUsageDescription App requires motion tracking to Info.plist (required by ACTIVITY_PROVIDER)

For iOS before version 11:

6. Add NSLocationAlwaysUsageDescription App requires background tracking to Info.plist

For iOS 11:

6. Add NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription App requires background tracking to Info.plist
7. Add NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription App requires background tracking to Info.plist

API

configure(options, success, fail)

Parameter	Type	Platform	Description
options	JSON Object	all	Configure options

Configure options:

Parameter	Type	Platform	Description	Provider*	Default
locationProvider	Number	all	Set location provider @see PROVIDERS	N/A	DISTANCE_FILTER_PROVIDER
desiredAccuracy	Number	all	Desired accuracy in meters. Possible values [HIGH_ACCURACY, MEDIUM_ACCURACY, LOW_ACCURACY, PASSIVE_ACCURACY]. Accuracy has direct effect on power drain. Lower accuracy = lower power drain.	all	MEDIUM_ACCURACY
stationaryRadius	Number	all	Stationary radius in meters. When stopped, the minimum distance the device must move beyond the stationary location for aggressive background-tracking to engage.	DIS	50
debug	Boolean	all	When enabled, the plugin will emit sounds for life-cycle events of background-geolocation! See debugging sounds table.	all	false
distanceFilter	Number	all	The minimum distance (measured in meters) a device must move horizontally before an update event is generated. @see Apple docs.	DIS,RAW	500
stopOnTerminate	Boolean	all	Enable this in order to force a stop() when the application terminated (e.g. on iOS, double-tap home button, swipe away the app).	all	true
startOnBoot	Boolean	Android	Start background service on device boot.	all	false
interval	Number	Android	The minimum time interval between location updates in milliseconds. @see Android docs for more information.	all	60000
fastestInterval	Number	Android	Fastest rate in milliseconds at which your app can handle location updates. @see Android docs.	ACT	120000
activitiesInterval	Number	Android	Rate in milliseconds at which activity recognition occurs. Larger values will result in fewer activity detections while improving battery life.	ACT	10000
stopOnStillActivity	Boolean	Android	@deprecated stop location updates, when the STILL activity is detected	ACT	true
notificationTitle	String optional	Android	Custom notification title in the drawer.	all	"Background tracking"
notificationText	String optional	Android	Custom notification text in the drawer.	all	"ENABLED"
notificationIconColor	String optional	Android	The accent color to use for notification. Eg. #4CAF50.	all
notificationIconLarge	String optional	Android	The filename of a custom notification icon. @see Android quirks.	all
notificationIconSmall	String optional	Android	The filename of a custom notification icon. @see Android quirks.	all
activityType	String	iOS	[AutomotiveNavigation, OtherNavigation, Fitness, Other] Presumably, this affects iOS GPS algorithm. @see Apple docs for more information	all	"OtherNavigation"
pauseLocationUpdates	Boolean	iOS	Pauses location updates when app is paused. *@see Apple docs	all	false
saveBatteryOnBackground	Boolean	iOS	Switch to less accurate significant changes and region monitory when in background	all	false
url	String	all	Server url where to send HTTP POST with recorded locations @see HTTP locations posting	all
syncUrl	String	all	Server url where to send fail to post locations @see HTTP locations posting	all
syncThreshold	Number	all	Specifies how many previously failed locations will be sent to server at once	all	100
httpHeaders	Object	all	Optional HTTP headers sent along in HTTP request	all
maxLocations	Number	all	Limit maximum number of locations stored into db	all	10000
postTemplate	Object\|Array	all	Customization post template @see Custom post template	all

*
DIS = DISTANCE_FILTER_PROVIDER
ACT = ACTIVITY_PROVIDER
RAW = RAW_PROVIDER

Partial reconfiguration is possible by later providing a subset of the configuration options:

BackgroundGeolocation.configure({
  debug: true
});

In this case new configuration options will be merged with stored configuration options and changes will be applied immediately.

start()

Platform: iOS, Android

Start background geolocation.

stop()

Platform: iOS, Android

Stop background geolocation.

isLocationEnabled(success, fail)

Deprecated: This method is deprecated and will be removed in next major version.
Use checkStatus as replacement.

Platform: iOS, Android

One time check for status of location services. In case of error, fail callback will be executed.

Success callback parameter	Type	Description
enabled	Boolean	true/false (true when location services are enabled)

checkStatus(success, fail)

Check status of the service

Success callback parameter	Type	Description
isRunning	Boolean	true/false (true if service is running)
locationServicesEnabled	Boolean	true/false (true if location services are enabled)
authorization	Number	authorization status

Authorization statuses:

• NOT_AUTHORIZED
• AUTHORIZED - authorization to run in background and foreground
• AUTHORIZED_FOREGROUND iOS only authorization to run in foreground only

Note: In the Android concept of authorization, these represent application permissions.

showAppSettings()

Platform: Android >= 6, iOS >= 8.0

Show app settings to allow change of app location permissions.

showLocationSettings()

Platform: Android

Show system settings to allow configuration of current location sources.

getLocations(success, fail)

Platform: iOS, Android

Method will return all stored locations.
This method is useful for initial rendering of user location on a map just after application launch.

Success callback parameter	Type	Description
locations	Array	collection of stored locations

BackgroundGeolocation.getLocations(
  function (locations) {
    console.log(locations);
  }
);

getValidLocations(success, fail)

Platform: iOS, Android

Method will return locations which have not yet been posted to server.

Success callback parameter	Type	Description
locations	Array	collection of stored locations

deleteLocation(locationId, success, fail)

Platform: iOS, Android

Delete location with locationId.

deleteAllLocations(success, fail)

Note: You don't need to delete all locations. The plugin manages the number of stored locations automatically and the total count never exceeds the number as defined by option.maxLocations.

Platform: iOS, Android

Delete all stored locations.

Note: Locations are not actually deleted from database to avoid gaps in locationId numbering.
Instead locations are marked as deleted. Locations marked as deleted will not appear in output of BackgroundGeolocation.getValidLocations.

switchMode(modeId, success, fail)

Platform: iOS

Normally the plugin will handle switching between BACKGROUND and FOREGROUND mode itself.
Calling switchMode you can override plugin behavior and force it to switch into other mode.

In FOREGROUND mode the plugin uses iOS local manager to receive locations and behavior is affected
by option.desiredAccuracy and option.distanceFilter.

In BACKGROUND mode plugin uses significant changes and region monitoring to receive locations
and uses option.stationaryRadius only.

// switch to FOREGROUND mode
BackgroundGeolocation.switchMode(BackgroundGeolocation.FOREGROUND_MODE);

// switch to BACKGROUND mode
BackgroundGeolocation.switchMode(BackgroundGeolocation.BACKGROUND_MODE);

forceSync(success, fail)

Platform: Android, iOS

Force sync of pending locations. Option syncThreshold will be ignored and
all pending locations will be immediately posted to syncUrl in single batch.

getLogEntries(limit, fromId, minLevel, success, fail)

Platform: Android, iOS

Return all logged events. Useful for plugin debugging.

Parameter	Type	Description
limit	Number	limits number of returned entries
fromId	Number	return entries after fromId. Useful if you plan to implement infinite log scrolling*
minLevel	String	return log entries above level. Available levels: ["TRACE", "DEBUG", "INFO", "WARN", "ERROR]
success	Function	callback function which will be called with log entries

*Example of infinite log scrolling

Format of log entry:

Parameter	Type	Description
id	Number	id of log entry as stored in db
timestamp	Number	timestamp in milliseconds since beginning of UNIX epoch
level	String	log level
message	String	log message
stackTrace	String	recorded stacktrace (Android only, on iOS part of message)

removeAllListeners(event)

Unregister all event listeners for given event

Events

Name	Callback param	Platform	Provider*	Description
location	Location	all	all	on location update
stationary	Location	all	DIS,ACT	on device entered stationary mode
activity	Activity	Android	ACT	on activity detection
error	{ code, message }	all	all	on plugin error
authorization	status	all	all	on user toggle location service
start		all	all	geolocation has been started
stop		all	all	geolocation has been stopped
foreground		Android	all	app entered foreground state (visible)
background		Android	all	app entered background state

Location event

Location parameter	Type	Description
id	Number	ID of location as stored in DB (or null)
provider	String	gps, network, passive or fused
locationProvider	Number	location provider
time	Number	UTC time of this fix, in milliseconds since January 1, 1970.
latitude	Number	Latitude, in degrees.
longitude	Number	Longitude, in degrees.
accuracy	Number	Estimated accuracy of this location, in meters.
speed	Number	Speed if it is available, in meters/second over ground.
altitude	Number	Altitude if available, in meters above the WGS 84 reference ellipsoid.
bearing	Number	Bearing, in degrees.
isFromMockProvider	Boolean	(android only) True if location was recorded by mock provider
mockLocationsEnabled	Boolean	(android only) True if device has mock locations enabled

Locations parameters isFromMockProvider and mockLocationsEnabled are not posted to url or syncUrl by default.
Both can be requested via option postTemplate.

Note: Do not use location id as unique key in your database as ids will be reused when option.maxLocations is reached.

Note: Android currently returns time as type of String (instead of Number) @see issue #9685

Activity event

Activity parameter	Type	Description
confidence	Number	Percentage indicating the likelihood user is performing this activity.
type	String	"IN_VEHICLE", "ON_BICYCLE", "ON_FOOT", "RUNNING", "STILL",
		"TILTING", "UNKNOWN", "WALKING"

Event listeners can registered with:

const eventSubscription = BackgroundGeolocation.on('event', callbackFn);

And unregistered:

eventSubscription.remove();

Note: Components should unregister all event listeners in componentWillUnmount method,
individually, or with removeAllListeners

HTTP locations posting

All locations updates are recorded in the local db at all times. When the App is in foreground or background, in addition to storing location in local db,
the location callback function is triggered. The number of locations stored in db is limited by option.maxLocations and never exceeds this number.
Instead, old locations are replaced by new ones.

When option.url is defined, each location is also immediately posted to url defined by option.url.
If the post is successful, the location is marked as deleted in local db.

When option.syncUrl is defined, all locations that fail to post will be coalesced and sent in some time later in a single batch.
Batch sync takes place only when the number of failed-to-post locations reaches option.syncTreshold.
Locations are sent only in single batch when the number of locations reaches option.syncTreshold. (No individual locations will be sent)

The request body of posted locations is always an array, even when only one location is sent.

Warning: option.maxLocations has to be larger than option.syncThreshold. It's recommended to be 2x larger. In any other case the location syncing might not work properly.

Custom post template

With option.postTemplate it is possible to specify which location properties should be posted to option.url or option.syncUrl. This can be useful to reduce the
number of bytes sent "over the "wire".

All wanted location properties have to be prefixed with @. For all available properties check Location event.

Two forms are supported:

jsonObject

BackgroundGeolocation.configure({
  postTemplate: {
    lat: '@latitude',
    lon: '@longitude',
    foo: 'bar' // you can also add your own properties
  }
});

jsonArray

BackgroundGeolocation.configure({
  postTemplate: ['@latitude', '@longitude', 'foo', 'bar']
});

Note: only string keys and values are supported.
Note: Keep in mind that all locations (even a single one) will be sent as an array of object(s), when postTemplate is jsonObject and array of array(s) for jsonArray!

Android Headless Task (Experimental)

A special task that gets executed when the app is terminated, but the plugin was configured to continue running in the background (option stopOnTerminate: false). In this scenario the Activity
was killed by the system and all registered event listeners will not be triggered until the app is relaunched.

Note: Prefer configuration options url and syncUrl over headless task. Use it sparingly!

Task event

Parameter	Type	Description
event.name	String	Name of the event [ "location", "stationary", "activity" ]
event.params	Object	Event parameters. @see Events

Keep in mind that the callback function lives in an isolated scope. Variables from a higher scope cannot be referenced!

Following example requires CORS enabled backend server.

BackgroundGeolocation.headlessTask(function(event) {
    if (event.name === 'location' ||
      event.name === 'stationary') {
        var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
        xhr.open('POST', 'http://192.168.81.14:3000/headless');
        xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
        xhr.send(JSON.stringify(event.params));
    }

    return 'Processing event: ' + event.name; // will be logged
});

Example of backend server

Background-geolocation-server is a backend server written in nodejs with CORS - Cross-Origin Resource Sharing support.
There are instructions how to run it and simulate locations on Android, iOS Simulator and Genymotion.

Debugging

Submit crash log

TODO

Debugging sounds

Event	ios	android
Exit stationary region	Calendar event notification sound	dialtone beep-beep-beep
Geolocation recorded	SMS sent sound	tt short beep
Aggressive geolocation engaged	SIRI listening sound
Passive geolocation engaged	SIRI stop listening sound
Acquiring stationary location sound	"tick,tick,tick" sound
Stationary location acquired sound	"bloom" sound	long tt beep

NOTE: For iOS in addition, you must manually enable the Audio and Airplay background mode in Background Capabilities to hear these debugging sounds.

GitHub