Expo Ignore Battery Optimizations

Check and request the REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS permission in Android.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Configure for Android
• Direct API
• Usage
• Why Use This
• Contributing

Installation

npm install expo-ignore-battery-optimizations
pnpm install expo-ignore-battery-optimizations
yarn add expo-ignore-battery-optimizations

Configure for Android

plugin

// app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": ["expo-ignore-battery-optimizations"]
  }
}

manual permissions

// app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "android": {
      "permissions": ["REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS"]
    },
  }
}

Direct API

import {
  isIgnoringBatteryOptimizations,
  requestIgnoreBatteryOptimizations,
} from 'expo-ignore-battery-optimizations';

const ignored = isIgnoringBatteryOptimizations();

if (!ignored) {
  await requestIgnoreBatteryOptimizations();
}

isIgnoringBatteryOptimizations() returns:

• true when the app is already exempt from battery optimizations
• false on Android when the exemption is not active
• false on non-Android platforms

requestIgnoreBatteryOptimizations():

• opens the system settings flow on Android
• is a no-op on non-Android platforms

Usage

import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { View, Alert } from 'react-native';
import { useIgnoreBatteryOptimizationPermission } from 'expo-ignore-battery-optimizations';

export default function App() {
  const { hasPermission, requestPermission } = useIgnoreBatteryOptimizationPermission();

  useEffect(() => {
    if (!hasPermission) {
      Alert.alert(
        'Battery Optimization',
        'To ensure the app works properly, please allow it to ignore battery optimizations.',
        [
          {
            text: 'Cancel',
            style: 'cancel',
          },
          {
            text: 'Allow',
            onPress: requestPermission,
          },
        ],
      );
    }
  }, [hasPermission, requestPermission]);

  return <View />;
}

useIgnoreBatteryOptimizationPermission() returns:

• status: 'ignored' | 'not-ignored'
• hasPermission: true when battery optimizations are already ignored
• canRequestPermission: true when the permission can still be requested on Android
• requestPermission(): opens the system settings flow and resolves after the app returns, after the hook re-checks the current permission
• status / hasPermission: hook-managed state that updates when the app becomes active again

On non-Android platforms:

• status stays not-ignored
• canRequestPermission is false
• requestPermission() resolves to false without opening settings

Why Use This?

Some Android device manufacturers aggressively limit background activity to save battery. To improve reliability of background services (e.g., location tracking, push messaging, etc.), your app may request the REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS permission.

⚠️ Note: Requesting this permission does not guarantee users will approve it, and it requires clear justification to avoid Play Store policy violations.

This intent is available only on Android 6.0 (API level 23) and above.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! If you’d like to fix a bug or propose a feature, feel free to open an issue or PR.