Radar is the location platform for mobile apps.
Install the package from npm:
npm install --save react-native-radar
If you are using create-react-app
, you must run npm run eject
to eject and expose native code. Or, if you are using Expo, you must run exp detach
to detach and expose native code.
Then, install the native dependencies:
react-native link react-native-radar
If you do not install the native dependencies, you will get an error at run time: NativeModules.RNRadar is undefined
Finally, before writing any JavaScript, you must integrate the Radar SDK with your iOS and Android apps by following the Configure project and Add SDK to project steps in the SDK documentation.
On iOS, you must add location usage descriptions and background modes to your Info.plist
, then add the SDK to your project, preferably using CocoaPods. Finally, initialize the SDK in application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:
in AppDelegate.m
, passing in your Radar publishable API key.
#import <RadarSDK/RadarSDK.h>
// ...
[Radar initializeWithPublishableKey:publishableKey];
On Android, you must add the Google Play Services library to your project, then add the SDK to your project, preferably using Gradle. Finally, initialize the SDK in onCreate()
in MainApplication.java
, passing in your Radar publishable API key:
import io.radar.sdk.Radar;
// ...
Radar.initialize(publishableKey);
To get a Radar publishable API key, sign up for a Radar account.
First, import the module:
import Radar from 'react-native-radar';
Until you identify the user, Radar will automatically identify the user by device ID.
To identify the user when logged in, call:
Radar.setUserId(userId);
where userId
is a stable unique ID string for the user.
Do not send any PII, like names, email addresses, or publicly available IDs, for userId
. See privacy best practices for more information.
To set an optional dictionary of custom metadata for the user, call:
Radar.setMetadata(metadata);
where metadata
is a JSON object with up to 16 keys and values of type string, boolean, or number.
Finally, to set an optional description for the user, displayed in the dashboard, call:
Radar.setDescription(description);
where description
is a string.
You only need to call these functions once, as these settings will be persisted across app sessions.
Before tracking the user's location, the user must have granted location permissions for the app.
To determine the whether user has granted location permissions for the app, call:
Radar.getPermissionsStatus().then((status) => {
// do something with status
});
status
will be a string, one of:
GRANTED
DENIED
UNKNOWN
To request location permissions for the app, call:
Radar.requestPermissions(background);
where background
is a boolean indicating whether to request background location permissions or foreground location permissions. On Android, background
will be ignored.
Once you have initialized the SDK, you have identified the user, and the user has granted permissions, you can track the user's location.
To track the user's location in the foreground, call:
Radar.trackOnce().then((result) => {
// do something with result.location, result.events, result.user.geofences
}).catch((err) => {
// optionally, do something with err
});
err
will be a string, one of:
ERROR_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
: the SDK was not initializedERROR_PERMISSIONS
: the user has not granted location permissions for the appERROR_LOCATION
: location services were unavailable, or the location request timed outERROR_NETWORK
: the network was unavailable, or the network connection timed outERROR_UNAUTHORIZED
: the publishable API key is invalidERROR_SERVER
: an internal server error occurredERROR_UNKNOWN
: an unknown error occurred
Once you have initialized the SDK, you have identified the user, and the user has granted permissions, you can start tracking the user's location in the background.
To start tracking the user's location in the background, call:
Radar.startTracking();
Assuming you have configured your project properly, the SDK will wake up while the user is moving (usually every 3-5 minutes), then shut down when the user stops (usually within 5-10 minutes). To save battery, the SDK will not wake up when stopped, and the user must move at least 100 meters from a stop (sometimes more) to wake up the SDK. Note that location updates may be delayed significantly by iOS Low Power Mode, by Android Doze Mode and App Standby and Background Location Limits, or if the device has connectivity issues, low battery, or wi-fi disabled. These constraints apply to all uses of background location services on iOS and Android, not just Radar. See more about accuracy and reliability.
Optionally, you can configure advanced tracking options. See the iOS background tracking documentation and Android background tracking documentation for descriptions of these options.
Radar.startTracking({
priority: 'responsiveness', // // use 'efficiency' to avoid Android vitals bad behavior thresholds
sync: 'possibleStateChanges', // use 'all' to sync all location updates ('possibleStateChanges' recommended)
offline: 'replayStopped' // use 'replayOff' to disable offline replay ('replayStopped' recommended)
});
To stop tracking the user's location in the background (e.g., when the user logs out), call:
Radar.stopTracking();
You only need to call these methods once, as these settings will be persisted across app sessions.
To listen for events, location updates, and errors, you can add event listeners:
Radar.on('events', (result) => {
// do something with result.events, result.user
});
Radar.on('location', (result) => {
// do something with result.location, result.user
});
Radar.on('error', (err) => {
// do something with err
});
Add event listeners outside of your component lifecycle (e.g., outside of componentDidMount
) if you want them to work when the app is in the background.
You can also remove event listeners:
Radar.off('events');
Radar.off('location');
Radar.off('error');
For most users, background tracking with the native iOS and Android SDKs uses 1-2% battery per day. Learn more in the in the SDK documentation.
Because React Native loads and parses your JavaScript bundle on each app launch, and because background tracking may launch the app in the background, background tracking with the React Native module can increase battery usage.
On iOS, the app loads and parses the JavaScript bundle when the app is launched. If you do not want to receive events in JavaScript and you want to disable this in the background, check launchOptions
for the UIApplicationLaunchOptionsLocationKey
to conditionally parse and load the JavaScript bundle. Learn more about this key here.
On Android, a receiver in the React Native module loads and parses the JavaScript bundle when the app is launched in the background. If you do not want to receive events in JavaScript and you want to disable this, add an override to your manifest:
<receiver
tools:replace="android:enabled"
android:name="io.radar.react.RNRadarReceiver"
android:enabled="false"
android:exported="false" />
You can manually update the user's location by calling:
const location = {
latitude: 39.2904,
longitude: -76.6122,
accuracy: 65
};
Radar.updateLocation(location).then((result) => {
// do something with result.events, result.user.geofences
}).catch((err) => {
// optionally, do something with err
});