@nativescript/fingerprint-auth
A biometric authentication plugin for use in NativeScript apps
npm i --save @nativescript/fingerprint-auth

@nativescript/fingerprint-auth

ns plugin add @nativescript/fingerprint-auth

Then open App_Resources/Android/app.gradle and look for minSdkVersion. If that's set to a version less than 23, add this overrideLibrary line to App_Resources/Android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

  <uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="17"
android:targetSdkVersion="__APILEVEL__"
tools:overrideLibrary="com.jesusm.kfingerprintmanager"/>

API

Want a nicer guide than these raw code samples? Read Nic Raboy's blog post about this plugin.

available

JavaScript

var fingerprintAuthPlugin = require('@nativescript/fingerprint-auth');
var fingerprintAuth = new fingerprintAuthPlugin.FingerprintAuth();

fingerprintAuth.available().then(function (avail) {
console.log('Available? ' + avail);
});

TypeScript

import { FingerprintAuth, BiometricIDAvailableResult } from "@nativescript/fingerprint-auth";

class MyClass {
private fingerprintAuth: FingerprintAuth;

constructor() {
this.fingerprintAuth = new FingerprintAuth();
}

this.fingerprintAuth.available().then((result: BiometricIDAvailableResult) => {
console.log(`Biometric ID available? ${result.any}`);
console.log(`Touch? ${result.touch}`);
console.log(`Face? ${result.face}`);
});
}

verifyFingerprint

Note that on the iOS simulator this will just resolve().

fingerprintAuth
.verifyFingerprint({
title: 'Android title', // optional title (used only on Android)
message: 'Scan yer finger', // optional (used on both platforms) - for FaceID on iOS see the notes about NSFaceIDUsageDescription
})
.then((enteredPassword?: string) => {
if (enteredPassword === undefined) {
console.log('Biometric ID OK');
} else {
// compare enteredPassword to the one the user previously configured for your app (which is not the users system password!)
}
})
.catch((err) => console.log(`Biometric ID NOT OK: ${JSON.stringify(err)}`))
;

verifyFingerprintWithCustomFallback (iOS only, falls back to verifyFingerprint on Android)

Instead of falling back to the default Passcode UI of iOS you can roll your own. Just show that when the error callback is invoked.

fingerprintAuth
.verifyFingerprintWithCustomFallback({
message: 'Scan yer finger', // optional, shown in the fingerprint dialog (default: 'Scan your finger').
fallbackMessage: 'Enter PIN', // optional, the button label when scanning fails (default: 'Enter password').
authenticationValidityDuration: 10, // optional (used on Android, default 5)
})
.then(
() => {
console.log('Fingerprint was OK');
},
(error) => {
// when error.code === -3, the user pressed the button labeled with your fallbackMessage
console.log('Fingerprint NOT OK. Error code: ' + error.code + '. Error message: ' + error.message);
}
);

Face ID (iOS)

iOS 11 added support for Face ID and was first supported by the iPhone X. The developer needs to provide a value for NSFaceIDUsageDescription, otherwise your app may crash.

You can provide this value (the reason for using Face ID) by adding something like this to app/App_Resources/ios/Info.plist:

  <key>NSFaceIDUsageDescription</key>
<string>For easy authentication with our app.</string>

Security++ (iOS)

Since iOS9 it's possible to check whether or not the list of enrolled fingerprints changed since the last time you checked it. It's recommended you add this check so you can counter hacker attacks to your app. See this article for more details.

So instead of checking the fingerprint after available add another check. In case didFingerprintDatabaseChange returns true you probably want to re-authenticate your user before accepting valid fingerprints again.

fingerprintAuth.available().then((avail) => {
if (!avail) {
return;
}
fingerprintAuth.didFingerprintDatabaseChange().then((changed) => {
if (changed) {
// re-auth the user by asking for his credentials before allowing a fingerprint scan again
} else {
// call the fingerprint scanner
}
});
});

Changelog

  • 6.2.0 Fixed a potential bypass on iOS.
  • 6.1.0 Fixed potentioal bypasses on Android.
  • 6.0.3 Android interfered with other plugins' Intents.
  • 6.0.2 Plugin not working correctly on iOS production builds / TestFlight.
  • 6.0.1 Fixed a compatibility issues with NativeScript 3.4.
  • 6.0.0 Allow custom UI on Android.
  • 5.0.0 Better Face ID support. Breaking change, see the API for available.
  • 4.0.1 Aligned with the official NativeScript plugin seed. Requires NativeScript 3.0.0+. Thanks, @angeltsvetkov!
  • 4.0.0 Converted to TypeScript. Changed the error response type of verifyFingerprintWithCustomFallback.
  • 3.0.0 Android support added. Renamed nativescript-touchid to nativescript-fingerprint-auth (sorry for any inconvenience!).
  • 2.1.1 Xcode 8 compatibility - requires NativeScript 2.3.0+.
  • 2.1.0 Added didFingerprintDatabaseChange for enhanced security.
  • 2.0.0 Added verifyFingerprintWithCustomFallback, verifyFingerprint now falls back to the passcode.
  • 1.2.0 You can now use the built-in passcode interface as fallback.
  • 1.1.1 Added TypeScript definitions.
  • 1.1.0 Added Android platform which will always return false for touchid.available.

License

Apache License Version 2.0