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Page Summary

The Nearby Messages API is deprecated and will stop functioning in December 2023, with users directed to migrate to Nearby Connections.
As of August 1, 2021, the Nearby Messages API on Android no longer supports ultrasonic advertising and discovery, and now utilizes Bluetooth.
Developing with the Nearby Messages API on Android requires Google Play services version 7.8.0 or higher, along with a Google account and an API key from the Google Developers Console.
To use the Nearby Messages API, you need to generate an Android API key using your app's SHA-1 fingerprint, ensuring all API keys for different platforms are generated within the same Google Developers Console project.
Integrating the Nearby Messages API into your Android project involves adding the Google Play services client library to your build.gradle file and configuring the API key in your application's manifest.

This document explains how to start developing with the Nearby Messages API on Android. The Nearby Messages API is part of Google Play services .

Step 1: Get Google Play services

The Nearby Messages API is available on Android devices with Google Play services 7.8.0 or higher. Devices running Android 2.3 or higher that have the Google Play Store app automatically receive updates to Google Play services. To check which version of Google Play services is installed on your device, go to Settings > Apps > Google Play services.

Ensure that you have the latest client library for Google Play services on your development host:

Open the Android SDK Manager .
Under Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Android SDK > SDK Tools, ensure that the following packages are installed:
- Google Play services
- Google Repository

Step 2: Get a Google account

To use the Nearby Messages APIs, you need a Google Account . This is so that you, the developer, can enable the Nearby API in the next step (your users will not need to have a Google account). If you already have an account, then you're all set. You may also want a separate Google Account for testing purposes.

Step 3: Get an API key

Take these steps to enable the Google Nearby Messages API for Android and get an API key:

Go to the Google Developers Console .
Create or select a project to register your application with.
Click Continueto Enable the API.
On the Credentialspage, create a new Android key(and set the API Credentials).
Note: If you have an existing Android key, you may use that key.

In the resulting dialog, enter your app's SHA-1 fingerprint and package name. For example:

BB:0D:AC:74:D3:21:E1:43:67:71:9B:62:91:AF:A1:66:6E:44:5D:75

com.example.android.nearbyexample

Your new Android API key appears in the list of API keys for your project. An API key is a string of characters, something like this:
```
AIzaSyBdVl-cTICSwYKrZ95SuvNw7dbMuDt1KG0
```

Obtain the SHA1 fingerprint of your certificate

To create a new API key for your Android app, you need the SHA1 fingerprint of the certificate you use to sign your APK. Messages can only be exchanged between apps that are signed with API keys from the same project.

To obtain this fingerprint:

Find the location of your keystore.
In a terminal, run the keytool utility from the JDK. For example, if you are using the `debug` keystore:

$ keytool -alias \
androiddebugkey -keystore \
~/.android/debug.keystore -list -v

Note:For the debug keystore, the password is android . On Mac OS and Linux, the debug keystore is typically located at ~/.android/ debug.keystore . On Windows, it is typically located at %USERPROFILE%\ .android\ debug.keystore .

The output of the keytool command contains the SHA1 fingerprint for the certicate.

Step 4: Configure your project

Android Studio makes it easy to create a project for the Nearby Messages API. Follow the steps described in Creating a Project to create a new project. In Android Studio, open the build.gradle file for your module and add the Google Play services client library as a dependency:

apply plugin: 'android'
...

dependencies {
    compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-nearby:19.3.0'
}

Then, configure your manifest with the API Key generated in the previous step:

 < manifest 
  
 xmlns 
 : 
 android 
 = 
 "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" 
  
 package 
 = 
 "com.google.sample.app" 
  
>  
< application 
  
 ... 
>  
< meta 
 - 
 data 
  
 android 
 : 
 name 
 = 
 "com.google.android.nearby.messages.API_KEY" 
  
 android 
 : 
 value 
 = 
 " API_KEY 
" 
  
 / 
>  
< activity 
>  
 ... 
  
< / 
 activity 
>  
< / 
 application 
>
< / 
 manifest 
>

Step 5: Publish and subscribe

In your app, start using the Nearby Messages API.

  @Override 
 public 
  
 void 
  
 onCreate 
 ( 
 Bundle 
  
 savedInstanceState 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 super 
 . 
 onCreate 
 ( 
 savedInstanceState 
 ); 
  
 ... 
  
 mMessageListener 
  
 = 
  
 new 
  
 MessageListener 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 @Override 
  
 public 
  
 void 
  
 onFound 
 ( 
 Message 
  
 message 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 Log 
 . 
 d 
 ( 
 TAG 
 , 
  
 "Found message: " 
  
 + 
  
 new 
  
 String 
 ( 
 message 
 . 
 getContent 
 ())); 
  
 } 
  
 @Override 
  
 public 
  
 void 
  
 onLost 
 ( 
 Message 
  
 message 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 Log 
 . 
 d 
 ( 
 TAG 
 , 
  
 "Lost sight of message: " 
  
 + 
  
 new 
  
 String 
 ( 
 message 
 . 
 getContent 
 ())); 
  
 } 
  
 } 
  
 mMessage 
  
 = 
  
 new 
  
 Message 
 ( 
 "Hello World" 
 . 
 getBytes 
 ()); 
 } 
 @Override 
 public 
  
 void 
  
 onStart 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 super 
 . 
 onStart 
 (); 
  
 ... 
  
 Nearby 
 . 
 getMessagesClient 
 ( 
 this 
 ). 
 publish 
 ( 
 mMessage 
 ); 
  
 Nearby 
 . 
 getMessagesClient 
 ( 
 this 
 ). 
 subscribe 
 ( 
 mMessageListener 
 ); 
 } 
 @Override 
 public 
  
 void 
  
 onStop 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 Nearby 
 . 
 getMessagesClient 
 ( 
 this 
 ). 
 unpublish 
 ( 
 mMessage 
 ); 
  
 Nearby 
 . 
 getMessagesClient 
 ( 
 this 
 ). 
 unsubscribe 
 ( 
 mMessageListener 
 ); 
  
 ... 
  
 super 
 . 
 onStop 
 (); 
 }

The Nearby Messages API requires user consent. When either publish or subscribe is first invoked, Nearby will show an opt in dialog.