@nativescript-community/perms
An unified permissions API for NativeScript on iOS and Android.
npm i --save @nativescript-community/perms

@nativescript-community/perms

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An unified permissions API for NativeScript on iOS and Android.


iOS Demo Android Demo

Table of Contents

Installation

Run the following command from the root of your project:

ns plugin add @nativescript-community/perms

API

Permissions statuses

Promises resolve into [status:Status, always:boolean] where status is one of these statuses:

Return value Notes
authorized User has authorized this permission
denied User has denied this permission at least once. On iOS this means that the user will not be prompted again. Android users can be prompted multiple times until they select 'Never ask me again'
limited iOS - this means the permission is granted but with limitations
restricted iOS - this means user is not able to grant this permission, either because it's not supported by the device or because it has been blocked by parental controls. Android - this means that the user has selected 'Never ask me again' while denying permission
undetermined User has not yet been prompted with a permission dialog

Supported permissions types

The current supported permissions are:

Type iOS Android
Location location
Camera camera
Microphone microphone
Photos photo
Videos video ✔ (api >= 33)
Audio audio ✔ (api >= 33)
Contacts contacts
Events event
Bluetooth bluetooth ✔(api >= 31)
Reminders reminder
Push Notifications notification ✔ (api >= 33)
Background Refresh backgroundRefresh
Speech Recognition speechRecognition
Media Library mediaLibrary
Motion Activity motion
Storage storage ❌️
Phone Call callPhone ❌️
Read SMS readSms ❌️
Receive SMS receiveSms ❌️
Media Location mediaLocation ❌️ ✔(api >= 29)
Bluetooth Scan bluetoothScan ❌️ ✔(api >= 31)
Bluetooth Connect bluetoothConnect ❌️ ✔(api >= 31)

Methods

Method Name Arguments Notes
check() type - Returns a promise with the permission status. See iOS Notes for special cases
request() type - Accepts any permission type except backgroundRefresh. If the current status is undetermined, shows the permission dialog and returns a promise with the resulting status. Otherwise, immediately return a promise with the current status. See iOS Notes for special cases
checkMultiple() {[key:string]:Record<string, any>} - Accepts an array of permission types and returns a promise with an object mapping permission types to statuses
getTypes() none - Returns an array of valid permission types
openSettings() none - Switches the user to the settings page of your app
canOpenSettings() none - Returns a boolean indicating if the device supports switching to the settings page

iOS Notes

  • Permission type bluetooth represents the status of the CBPeripheralManager. Don't use this if only need CBCentralManager
  • Permission type location accepts a second parameter for request() and check(); the second parameter is a string, either always or whenInUse (default).
  • Permission type notification accepts a second parameter for request(). The second parameter is an array with the desired alert types. Any combination of alert, badge and sound (default requests all three).
  • iOS 12+: The second parameter also takes this type inside of the array providesAppNotificationSettings.
  • If you are not requesting mediaLibrary then you can remove MediaPlayer.framework from the xcode project
import { check as checkPermission, request as requestPermission } from '@nativescript-community/perms';

// example
checkPermission('location', { type: 'always' }).then(response => {
this.setState({ locationPermission: response[0] })
})

requestPermission('location', { type: 'always' }).then(response => {
this.setState({ locationPermission: response[0] })
})

requestPermission('notification', { type: ['alert', 'badge'] }).then(
response => {
this.setState({ notificationPermission: response[0] })
},
)
  • You cannot request microphone permissions on the simulator.
  • With Xcode 8, you now need to add usage descriptions for each permission you will request. Open Xcode ➜ Info.plist ➜ Add a key (starting with "Privacy - ...") with your kit specific permission.

Example: If you need Contacts permission you have to add the key Privacy - Contacts Usage Description.

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App Store submission disclaimer

If you need to submit you application to the AppStore, you need to add to your Info.plist all *UsageDescription keys with a string value explaining to the user how the app uses this data. Even if you don't use them.

So before submitting your app to the App Store, make sure that in your Info.plist you have the following keys:

<key>NSBluetoothPeripheralUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSCalendarsUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSSpeechRecognitionUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSAppleMusicUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>
<key>NSMotionUsageDescription</key>
<string>Some description</string>

This is required because during the phase of processing in the App Store submission, the system detects that you app contains code to request the permission X but don't have the UsageDescription key and then it rejects the build.

Please note that it will only be shown to the users the usage descriptions of the permissions you really require in your app.

You can find more information about this issue in #46.

Android Notes

  • check and request also allows you to directly pass android permission(s) as a value or an array. This would allow to request any new permission without a required update of this plugin

  • All required permissions also need to be included in the AndroidManifest.xml file before they can be requested. Otherwise request() will immediately return denied.

  • You can request write access to any of these types by also including the appropriate write permission in the AndroidManifest.xml file. Read more here.

  • Permissions are automatically accepted for targetSdkVersion < 23 but you can still use check() to check if the user has disabled them from Settings.

You might need to elevate the targetSdkVersion version in your build.gradle:

android {
compileSdkVersion 23 // ← set at least 23
buildToolsVersion "23.0.1" // ← set at least 23.0.0

defaultConfig {
minSdkVersion 16
targetSdkVersion 23 // ← set at least 23
// ...

Troubleshooting

Q: iOS - App crashes as soon as I request permission

A: Starting with Xcode 8, you need to add permission descriptions. See iOS notes for more details. Thanks to @jesperlndk for discovering this.

Q: iOS - App crashes when I change permission from settings

A: This is normal. iOS restarts your app when your privacy settings change. Just google "iOS crash permission change"