Settings includes Keep connectivity active while in background, disabled by default. It requires an updated Android native build and a joined Nearby mesh. The Bluetooth broadcast selector is now Public Mesh. Internet location channels use the separate Public channel label.
Enabling the setting explicitly requests notification permission on Android 13+.
After a mesh is joined while the app is open, the native adapter starts a
non-exported connectedDevice foreground service. Bluetooth runtime permissions
come from joining the mesh. The service immediately posts a low-importance ongoing
notification with a neutral connectivity status, an Open action (tap), and Stop.
A blocked notification channel or denied permission prevents activation.
The service retains the existing React runtime; it never bootstraps identities, rejoins after process death, or starts from boot. An active Headless JS task keeps React Native timers available during Activity pause. A partial CPU wake lock is held for the opted-in joined session and released on shutdown; the screen is not kept on. This increases battery consumption, including while the app is visible. The service runs while a mesh is joined so it is established before backgrounding; it is not started opportunistically from a background lifecycle callback.
Once native startup is confirmed, backgrounding preserves that mesh and already open relay/private-mailbox sessions without reconnecting or clearing ciphers. Normal queue, receipt, courier, rotation and relay retry bounds remain unchanged. Relay-directory refresh and location acquisition remain foreground-only. The setting does not enable internet messaging, gateways, bridges, or location access.
Turning the setting off, leaving the mesh, tapping notification Stop, wiping the identity, or disposing the root stops the service. Turning it off while backgrounded pauses the connections and retains normal foreground-resume intent. An identity wipe invalidates that intent before erasure and disables the setting. Notification Stop disables the saved option in the live runtime. Swiping away or force-stopping the app stops the service; no automatic restart is requested. The preference may remain enabled after process death, but another explicit Join is still required on a cold launch.
The lifecycle checks native service state before allowing sessions to survive a background transition. Startup/status failure disables the option, reports an error and uses ordinary pause/resume. Internet-only sessions have no active mesh and still pause: this service is declared for connected-device work, not as a way to run an unrelated permanent internet daemon.
Android can still kill the process, stop Bluetooth, throttle scans, or restrict networking under Doze/vendor battery policies. This feature improves continuity; it cannot guarantee delivery, uninterrupted radios, or wake-ups after a kill.
The ongoing service notification describes connectivity; it is separate from message alerts. Notify for all Nearby messages in background is an additional opt-in setting beneath this switch, followed by Appearance. With the app in the background and the native service running, it alerts for ordinary Public Mesh messages, Nearby DMs and joined Bluetooth group messages. Otherwise the separate mention and private-message preferences apply. The focused foreground conversation is silent and unread dots identify activity elsewhere. See notifications for filtering, bounds and platform limits.
The switch is unavailable on iOS, with an explanation. Core Bluetooth background modes provide limited native wake-ups, not an unrestricted continuously executing JavaScript application. The current protocol/crypto engine depends on JavaScript; adding Info.plist modes alone would not deliver reliable background messaging. iOS retains its existing pause/resume behavior. No audio/location keepalive or push registration is added.
Lifecycle tests cover retained sessions, switch/notification-stop fallback, startup denial, lost service, internet-only sessions, no background service start, identity-wipe invalidation and disposal. Native service/device behavior needs native validation; simulated sessions and bundle exports cannot establish it.
The 2026-10-19 check passed 165 Jest tests across 31 suites, TypeScript, lint, mobile config/storage checks, license consistency, and both mobile bundle exports. An Android Kotlin compilation was attempted in an isolated temporary SDK; Gradle stopped during project configuration because NDK 27.1.12297006 was missing and its SDK license was not accepted there. The new native source was not compiled on this host. Physical-device testing remains omitted at the maintainer’s request. A new native APK build is required to use the switch.