Tracking location
Learn how to track location through the Braze SDK.
Logging the current location
Even if continuous tracking is disabled, you can manually log the user’s current location using the setLastKnownLocation() method.
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Braze.getInstance(context).getCurrentUser(new IValueCallback<BrazeUser>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(BrazeUser brazeUser) {
brazeUser.setLastKnownLocation(LATITUDE_DOUBLE_VALUE, LONGITUDE_DOUBLE_VALUE, ALTITUDE_DOUBLE_VALUE, ACCURACY_DOUBLE_VALUE);
}
}
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Braze.getInstance(context).getCurrentUser { brazeUser ->
brazeUser.setLastKnownLocation(LATITUDE_DOUBLE_VALUE, LONGITUDE_DOUBLE_VALUE, ALTITUDE_DOUBLE_VALUE, ACCURACY_DOUBLE_VALUE)
}
Continuously tracking the location
Starting with Android Marshmallow, you must prompt your users to explicitly opt-in to location tracking. Once they do, Braze can start tracking their location at the beginning of the next session. This is unlike earlier versions of Android, where only declaring location permissions in your AndroidManifest.xml was required.
To continuously track a user’s location, you’ll need to declare your app’s intent to collect location data by adding at least one of the following permissions to your AndroidManifest.xml file.
| Permission | Description |
|---|---|
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION |
Uses the most battery-efficient, non-GPS provider (such as a home network). Typically, this is sufficient for most location-data needs. Under the runtime permissions model, granting location permission implicitly authorizes the collection of fine location data. |
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION |
Includes GPS data for more precise location. Under the runtime permissions model, granting location permission also covers fine location access. |
Your AndroidManifest.xml should be similar to the following:
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<manifest ... >
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<application ... >
...
</application>
</manifest>
Disabling continuous tracking
You can disable continuous tracking at compile time or runtime.
To disable continuous location tracking at compile time, set com_braze_enable_location_collection to false in braze.xml:
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<bool name="com_braze_enable_location_collection">false</bool>
To selectively disable continuous location tracking at runtime, use BrazeConfig:
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BrazeConfig brazeConfig = new BrazeConfig.Builder()
.setIsLocationCollectionEnabled(false)
.build();
Braze.configure(this, brazeConfig);
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val brazeConfig = BrazeConfig.Builder()
.setIsLocationCollectionEnabled(false)
.build()
Braze.configure(this, brazeConfig)
Logging the current location
Step 1: Configure your project
When using Braze location features, your application is responsible for requesting authorization for using location services. Be sure to review Apple Developer: Requesting authorization to user location services.
To enable location tracking, open your Xcode project and select your app. In the General tab, add the BrazeLocation module.
In your AppDelegate.swift file, import the BrazeLocation module at the top of the file. Add a BrazeLocationProvider instance to the Braze configuration, making sure all changes to the configuration are done prior to calling Braze(configuration:). See Braze.Configuration.Location for the available configurations.
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import UIKit
import BrazeKit
import BrazeLocation
@main
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
static var braze: Braze? = nil
func application(
_ application: UIApplication,
didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?
) -> Bool {
// Setup Braze
let configuration = Braze.Configuration(apiKey: brazeApiKey, endpoint: brazeEndpoint)
configuration.logger.level = .info
configuration.location.brazeLocationProvider = BrazeLocationProvider()
configuration.location.automaticLocationCollection = true
configuration.location.geofencesEnabled = true
configuration.location.automaticGeofenceRequests = true
let braze = Braze(configuration: configuration)
AppDelegate.braze = braze
return true
}
}
In your AppDelegate.m file, import the BrazeLocation module at the top of the file. Add a BrazeLocationProvider instance to the Braze configuration, making sure all changes to the configuration are done prior to calling Braze(configuration:). See BRZConfigurationLocation for the available configurations.
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#import "AppDelegate.h"
@import BrazeKit;
@import BrazeLocation;
@implementation AppDelegate
#pragma mark - Lifecycle
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application
didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
// Setup Braze
BRZConfiguration *configuration =
[[BRZConfiguration alloc] initWithApiKey:brazeApiKey
endpoint:brazeEndpoint];
configuration.logger.level = BRZLoggerLevelInfo;
configuration.location.brazeLocationProvider = [[BrazeLocationProvider alloc] init];
configuration.location.automaticLocationCollection = YES;
configuration.location.geofencesEnabled = YES;
configuration.location.automaticGeofenceRequests = YES;
Braze *braze = [[Braze alloc] initWithConfiguration:configuration];
AppDelegate.braze = braze;
[self.window makeKeyAndVisible];
return YES;
}
#pragma mark - AppDelegate.braze
static Braze *_braze = nil;
+ (Braze *)braze {
return _braze;
}
+ (void)setBraze:(Braze *)braze {
_braze = braze;
}
@end
Step 2: Log the user’s location
Next, log the user’s last-known location to Braze. The following examples assume you’ve assigned the Braze instance as a variable in your AppDelegate.
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AppDelegate.braze?.user.setLastKnownLocation(latitude:latitude,
longitude:longitude)
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AppDelegate.braze?.user.setLastKnownLocation(latitude:latitude,
longitude:longitude,
altitude:altitude,
horizontalAccuracy:horizontalAccuracy,
verticalAccuracy:verticalAccuracy)
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[AppDelegate.braze.user setLastKnownLocationWithLatitude:latitude
longitude:longitude
horizontalAccuracy:horizontalAccuracy];
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[AppDelegate.braze.user setLastKnownLocationWithLatitude:latitude
longitude:longitude
horizontalAccuracy:horizontalAccuracy
altitude:altitude
verticalAccuracy:verticalAccuracy];
For more information, see Braze.User.swift.
Logging the current location
To get a user’s current location, use the geolocation API’s getCurrentPosition() method. This will immediately prompt the user to allow or disallow tracking (unless they’ve already done so).
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import * as braze from "@braze/web-sdk";
function success(position) {
var coords = position.coords;
braze.getUser().setLastKnownLocation(
coords.latitude,
coords.longitude,
coords.accuracy,
coords.altitude,
coords.altitudeAccuracy
);
}
navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(success);
Now when data is sent to Braze, the SDK can automatically detect the user’s country using their IP address. For more information, see setLastKnownLocation().
Continuously tracking the location
To continuously track a user’s location during a page load, use the geolocation API’s watchPosition() method. Calling this method will immediately prompt the user to allow or disallow tracking (unless they’ve already done so).
If they opt-in, a success callback will now be invoked every time their location is updated.
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function success(position) {
var coords = position.coords;
braze.getUser().setLastKnownLocation(
coords.latitude,
coords.longitude,
coords.accuracy,
coords.altitude,
coords.altitudeAccuracy
);
}
navigator.geolocation.watchPosition(success);
To learn how to disable continuous tracking, refer to the Mozilla developer docs.
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