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React Native permissions generator

React Native bluetooth permission

Discovering and talking to nearby Bluetooth Low Energy peripherals needs BLUETOOTH_SCAN and BLUETOOTH_CONNECT on Android 12 and later (older releases used the location permission as a proxy for scanning), and NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription on iOS.

react-native-ble-plx declares both platforms through its config plugin and handles the runtime request. Android's scan permission carries a neverForLocation flag when the app does not derive location from beacons; setting it avoids the additional location prompt.

Bluetooth at a glance

Android grants
android.permission.BLUETOOTH_SCAN android.permission.BLUETOOTH_CONNECT
iOS Info.plist key
NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription
Expo package
react-native-ble-plx
Config plugin
react-native-ble-plx
What it enables
Discover and talk to nearby BLE peripherals.
What the user agrees to
Find and connect to nearby devices

The declarations, for Expo and the bare workflow

Expo config

app.json
{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription": "TODO: why this app connects to Bluetooth devices."
      }
    },
    "android": {
      "permissions": [
        "android.permission.BLUETOOTH_CONNECT",
        "android.permission.BLUETOOTH_SCAN"
      ]
    },
    "plugins": [
      "expo-router",
      "react-native-ble-plx"
    ]
  }
}

Prebuild writes these into the native projects; the config plugin is what makes the package's native code part of the build.

Bare workflow, Android

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_CONNECT" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_SCAN" />

Bare workflow, iOS

ios/<App>/Info.plist
<key>NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription</key>
<string>TODO: why this app connects to Bluetooth devices.</string>

The TODO is deliberate: the usage description is shown in the consent prompt and App Review rejects boilerplate.

Install the library

terminal
npx expo install react-native-ble-plx

Bluetooth permission, answered

The longer version is in the guide React Native permissions that satisfy both stores.

What permission does React Native need for bluetooth?
On Android, declare android.permission.BLUETOOTH_SCAN and android.permission.BLUETOOTH_CONNECT in AndroidManifest.xml (or expo.android.permissions in app.json). On iOS, add NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription to Info.plist (or expo.ios.infoPlist) with a sentence explaining why — the user reads it in the consent prompt. react-native-ble-plx exposes the runtime request.
Do I still have to request bluetooth at runtime?
Yes. The declaration only makes the request possible. The first time the feature is used, call the request API from react-native-ble-plx; the operating system shows the prompt ("Find and connect to nearby devices") and remembers the answer. A declared but never requested permission does nothing, and a requested but never declared one fails.
Why was my app rejected over the bluetooth permission?
Most often the NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription string: App Review rejects a missing one at once and a vague or boilerplate one frequently. Write what the app does with the data in your own words. Google Play reviews the declaration against the app's visible features, so a grant no screen uses is also a finding.

Declare every feature the app uses

The React Native permissions generator builds the complete set from the same catalogue — tick each device feature and copy the paired Android grants and iOS usage descriptions, the Expo app.json fragment and the install line together. In the Nodlume workspace the declarations come from the screens themselves: a screen that uses the camera is what adds the camera permission to the Expo Router project it exports.

Open the generator

Other React Native permissions

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