Google Play warning: FOREGROUND_SERVICE permission used for push notifications, app receives notifications even after killed

[KeerthigaRamesh]

Description

I’m developing a React Native app with push notifications.The Notification triggers from WebSocket. Currently, my AndroidManifest.xml includes:

My app uses a foreground service for push notifications, and it still receives messages even after the app is killed.

Recently, Google Play flagged my app with the following message:
“Permissions for Foreground Services: Play Console declaration and/or app description in Google Play Store does not sufficiently demonstrate the use of permission..”

I want to make my app compliant with Play Store rules.

My questions:

Do I need to remove the FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC permission if I’m only handling push notifications?

Is there a recommended way to receive push notifications after the app is killed without using a foreground service?

How do other React Native developers implement FCM / push notifications that comply with Google Play foreground service policies?

Any guidance or sample implementation would be appreciated.

Steps to reproduce

1.Install app with npx

React Native Version

0.83.1

Output of npx @react-native-community/cli info

info Fetching system and libraries information...
System:
  OS: Windows 11 10.0.26100
  CPU: (8) x64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10300H CPU @ 2.50GHz
  Memory: 3.62 GB / 15.87 GB
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 20.19.4
    path: C:\nvm4w\nodejs\node.EXE
  Yarn: Not Found
  npm:
    version: 10.8.2
    path: C:\nvm4w\nodejs\npm.CMD
  Watchman: Not Found

Screenshots and Videos

No response

[react-native-bot]

Warning

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[mnazeeb-lang]

If your app only receives push notifications via FCM, you do not need this permission, because FCM can deliver messages even when the app is killed without a foreground service.
Remove FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC from your AndroidManifest.xml unless you have a very specific, justified background data sync.

[KeerthigaRamesh]

@mnazeeb-lang Thank you very much, sir. Currently, I am using a background service to receive notifications even when the app is closed, and the messages are triggered through our own WebSocket. I would really appreciate your guidance on whether using FCM would be a better approach. If we use FCM, how can it be integrated with the existing WebSocket logic? Would this result in additional overhead, or is there any alternative way to resolve the FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC issue without relying on it?