What are the important changes in Android 13 for DriveKit?
Permission for notifications
Android 13 introduces a new permission (Notification runtime permission) that allows users to choose the notifications that are most important to them. The user must agree to receive the notifications.
To make your application compatible, you only have to install the Permissions Utils component of DriveKit which allows you to simply collect this permission.
If you haven't integrated this component in your application, you can copy the open-source code of DriveKit Permissions Utils component in your application.
Foreground Services Task Manager
Android 13 reinforces the personal data protection with the Foreground Services Task Manager. It displays applications that use data in the background and gives the user the option to stop them. If the user opts out of receiving notifications from the app, he will still be able to know if the app is running in the background.
Automatic Bluetooth activation
With Android 13, the methods to enable and disable the Bluetooth sensor when the application is running in background are deprecated. This change may affect trip detection if your application uses beacon-based or Bluetooth device-based detection modes.
That's why we invite you to encourage your users to leave the Bluetooth sensor on and to display a notification to alert the driver if the Bluetooth sensor is required to run your application.
To trigger this notification, DriveKit contains a method that indicates the status of the Bluetooth sensor. To simplify the migration of your application to Android 13, we have prepared a guide that lists the steps to follow.
What are the major changes on the Google Play Console?
Data privacy form
The Google Play console and its rules are constantly changing to improve the user experience and create a more secure ecosystem.
Since last July, it is necessary to fill out a data safety form for each application. This is displayed on the Play store form to clearly indicate the list of data collected by an application. We can provide a guide and help you to fill this form if you integrate the DriveKit SDK in your application.
Google Play's target API level requirement
Starting in November 2022, new applications or updates will have to target Android 12 (API 31) or higher versions and adapt their behaviour to be compatible with these versions.
Each new version of Android brings changes that improve security, performance and user experience. By configuring your application to target a recent version of Android, you ensure that users can benefit from these improvements while maximising data privacy.
