Location Services

Location Services Guidelines

When to Use

• Requesting location permissions
• Getting user's current position
• Finding nearby subway stations
• Calculating distances between coordinates

Setup

Installation

npx expo install expo-location

Configuration (app.json)

{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "infoPlist": {
        "NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription": "LiveMetro needs your location to find nearby subway stations."
      }
    },
    "android": {
      "permissions": ["ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION", "ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"]
    }
  }
}

Core Patterns

Permission Request

import * as Location from 'expo-location';

const requestPermission = async (): Promise<boolean> => {
  const { status } = await Location.requestForegroundPermissionsAsync();
  return status === 'granted';
};

Get Current Location

const location = await Location.getCurrentPositionAsync({
  accuracy: Location.Accuracy.Balanced,
});

Distance Calculation

import { getDistance } from 'geolib';

const distance = getDistance(
  { latitude: 37.4979, longitude: 127.0276 },
  station.coordinates
);

Distance Formatting

const formatDistance = (meters: number): string => {
  if (meters < 1000) return `${Math.round(meters)}m`;
  return `${(meters / 1000).toFixed(1)}km`;
};

Accuracy Levels

Error Handling

const handleLocationError = (error: unknown): string => {
  if (error instanceof Error) {
    if (error.message.includes('permission')) {
      return 'Location permission is required';
    }
    if (error.message.includes('timeout')) {
      return 'Location request timed out';
    }
  }
  return 'Failed to get location';
};

Best Practices

1. Request Permission at Right Time

   // ❌ Bad: On app launch
   // ✅ Good: When user clicks "Find Nearby"
   const handleFindNearby = async () => {
     const hasPermission = await requestPermission();
     if (hasPermission) { /* proceed */ }
   };
   

2. Handle Permission Denial

   • Check canAskAgain from getForegroundPermissionsAsync()
   • If false, direct user to Settings with Linking.openSettings()

3. Cache Location

   • Cache for 60 seconds to reduce GPS usage
   • Return cached on repeated requests

4. Handle Offline

   • Return last known location when GPS unavailable

Important Notes

• Always explain WHY you need location permission
• Use Accuracy.Balanced for nearby stations (battery + accuracy)
• Test on both iOS and Android (permission flows differ)
• Clean up background tracking when not needed

Reference Documentation

For complete implementations, see references/hooks-examples.md:

• useLocation hook
• useNearbyStations hook
• Background location tracking
• Permission states handling
• Testing mocks