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In the Awareness API, the concept offencesis taken fromgeofencing,
in which a geographic region, orgeofence, is defined, and an app receives
callbacks when a user enters or leaves the geofence region. The Fence API expands on
the concept of geofencing to include many other context conditions in addition
to geographical proximity. An app receives callbacks whenever the context
state transitions. For example, if your app defines a fence for headphones,
it gets callbacks when the headphones are plugged in and when they're
unplugged.
You can use theFence APIto define fences based on context signals, such as the following:
The user's current location (latitude/longitude)
The user's current activity, like walking or driving.
Device-specific conditions, such as whether the headphones are plugged in.
Proximity to nearby beacons
The Fence API lets you combine multiplecontext signalsto create fences withAND,OR, andNOTboolean operators. Your app then
receives callbacks whenever the fence conditions are met. Some examples of
possible fences include the following:
User plugs in headphones and starts to walk.
User enters a 100-meter geofence before 5 PM on a weekday.
User enters range of a specific BLE beacon.
The following example shows how to define a fence that activates whenever
the user walks:
Once you've defined a fence, you must do the following:
CallupdateFencesto register the fence to receive callbacks.
Define a callback that can be invoked when the fence state changes.
The following example shows a method that creates and registers a fence. In
this example, a custom subclass ofBroadcastReceiveris used to handle the
intent when the fence is triggered.
Awareness.getFenceClient(this).updateFences(newFenceUpdateRequest.Builder().addFence(FENCE_KEY,exercisingWithHeadphonesFence,mPendingIntent).build()).addOnSuccessListener(newOnSuccessListener<Void>(){@OverridepublicvoidonSuccess(VoidaVoid){Log.i(TAG,"Fence was successfully registered.");}}).addOnFailureListener(newOnFailureListener(){@OverridepublicvoidonFailure(@NonNullExceptione){Log.e(TAG,"Fence could not be registered: "+e);}});publicclassFenceReceiverextendsBroadcastReceiver{@OverridepublicvoidonReceive(Contextcontext,Intentintent){FenceStatefenceState=FenceState.extract(intent);if(TextUtils.equals(fenceState.getFenceKey(),FENCE_KEY)){StringfenceStateStr;switch(fenceState.getCurrentState()){caseFenceState.TRUE:fenceStateStr="true";break;caseFenceState.FALSE:fenceStateStr="false";break;caseFenceState.UNKNOWN:fenceStateStr="unknown";break;default:fenceStateStr="unknown value";}mLogFragment.getLogView().println("Fence state: "+fenceStateStr);}}}
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Awareness API uses fences, inspired by geofencing, to trigger app callbacks based on various context signals like location, user activity, and device conditions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can define fences using the Fence API by combining context signals with boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to create specific conditions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eApps receive callbacks when a fence's conditions are met, such as when a user starts walking while wearing headphones or enters a designated area.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo utilize fences, register them using \u003ccode\u003eupdateFences\u003c/code\u003e and define a callback (e.g., using a \u003ccode\u003eBroadcastReceiver\u003c/code\u003e) to handle fence state changes.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The Fence API expands upon geofencing by allowing apps to define fences based on various context conditions. These include user location, activity, device status, and proximity to beacons. Fences can combine multiple context signals using boolean operators, triggering callbacks when conditions are met. To use a fence, you define it, register it via `updateFences`, and create a callback (like a `BroadcastReceiver`) to respond to state changes. The callback's state will reflect `TRUE`, `FALSE`, or `UNKNOWN`.\n"],null,["# Fence API overview\n\nIn the Awareness API, the concept of *fences* is taken from\n[geofencing](https://developer.android.com/training/location/geofencing),\nin which a geographic region, or *geofence*, is defined, and an app receives\ncallbacks when a user enters or leaves the geofence region. The Fence API expands on\nthe concept of geofencing to include many other context conditions in addition\nto geographical proximity. An app receives callbacks whenever the context\nstate transitions. For example, if your app defines a fence for headphones,\nit gets callbacks when the headphones are plugged in and when they're\nunplugged.\n\nYou can use the\n[Fence API](/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/awareness/Awareness#getFenceClient(android.app.Activity))\nto define fences based on context signals, such as the following:\n\n- The user's current location (latitude/longitude)\n- The user's current activity, like walking or driving.\n- Device-specific conditions, such as whether the headphones are plugged in.\n- Proximity to nearby beacons\n\nThe Fence API lets you combine multiple\n[context signals](/awareness/overview#context-types)\nto create fences with `AND`, `OR`, and `NOT` boolean operators. Your app then\nreceives callbacks whenever the fence conditions are met. Some examples of\npossible fences include the following:\n\n- User plugs in headphones and starts to walk.\n- User enters a 100-meter geofence before 5 PM on a weekday.\n- User enters range of a specific BLE beacon.\n\nThe following example shows how to define a fence that activates whenever\nthe user walks: \n\n AwarenessFence walkingFence = DetectedActivityFence.during(DetectedActivityFence.WALKING);\n\nOnce you've defined a fence, you must do the following:\n\n- Call [`updateFences`](/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/awareness/FenceClient#updateFences(com.google.android.gms.awareness.fence.FenceUpdateRequest)) to register the fence to receive callbacks.\n- Define a callback that can be invoked when the fence state changes.\n\nThe following example shows a method that creates and registers a fence. In\nthis example, a custom subclass of `BroadcastReceiver` is used to handle the\nintent when the fence is triggered. \n\n Awareness.getFenceClient(this).updateFences(new FenceUpdateRequest.Builder()\n .addFence(FENCE_KEY, exercisingWithHeadphonesFence, mPendingIntent)\n .build())\n .addOnSuccessListener(new OnSuccessListener\u003cVoid\u003e() {\n @Override\n public void onSuccess(Void aVoid) {\n Log.i(TAG, \"Fence was successfully registered.\");\n }\n })\n .addOnFailureListener(new OnFailureListener() {\n @Override\n public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {\n Log.e(TAG, \"Fence could not be registered: \" + e);\n }\n });\n public class FenceReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {\n @Override\n public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {\n\n FenceState fenceState = FenceState.extract(intent);\n\n if (TextUtils.equals(fenceState.getFenceKey(), FENCE_KEY)) {\n String fenceStateStr;\n switch (fenceState.getCurrentState()) {\n case FenceState.TRUE:\n fenceStateStr = \"true\";\n break;\n case FenceState.FALSE:\n fenceStateStr = \"false\";\n break;\n case FenceState.UNKNOWN:\n fenceStateStr = \"unknown\";\n break;\n default:\n fenceStateStr = \"unknown value\";\n }\n mLogFragment.getLogView().println(\"Fence state: \" + fenceStateStr);\n }\n }\n }"]]
