Why do you need to integrate Firebase into your Android app for various purposes? Here, we discuss the Firebase platform for iOS and Android apps.
Firebase
Firebase is a cloud computing service company, that offers cloud functionalities for mobile application development. This company was founded by James Tamplin and Andrew Lee and is owned by Google. Now Google has been maintaining this platform, and developing it as stable. Application developers can easily integrate the Firebase into the project.
Also, firebase has well documentation for the developers easy to understand and build their applications. It supports building iOS, Android, the web, Flutter, Unity, and C++.
Firebase Realtime Database & Firestore
Every application needs a database to store the data on the cloud/server database. If your project needs to store data on the cloud, you can use Firebase’s real-time database or Firestore to get updates in real-time. Yes, the real-time database and Firestore can deliver the data in real-time to the app whenever the data changes occur in the database. The real-time database is JSON format structure, and firebase firestore is designed like a collection, document structure.
Remote Config
Changing the app configuration at a specific time can be challenging. Firebase Remote Config comes to the rescue by allowing you to automatically change the app configuration, supporting various values. It provides the quickest way to modify application behavior without requiring user action.
Cloud Messaging
Cloud Messaging is a feature that makes trying Firebase a must. With cloud messaging, you can send notifications to active devices, significantly enhancing app engagement for both Android and iOS. This feature allows you to instantly notify your application users. FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) also supports data messages, making it easy to send data to the app.
FCM can deliver messages to Apple, Android, or web (JavaScript) platforms.
In-App Messaging
Not only cloud messaging, but it also supports in-app messaging to use key app features. Using In-App messaging can achieve Send relevant, engaging messages, Target messages by audience or behavior, and Create flexible, custom alerts.
Google AdMob
If your app is monetized through Google AdMob, you can seamlessly integrate it into Firebase. This eliminates the need to go to AdMob separately for monitoring the application’s performance and reports. Firebase will display all the reports, in
Google Ads
Certainly, your Android app requires some installs to be used. To kickstart this process, run a Google Ads campaign on the Google Ads platform to drive installations. Firebase Google Ads allows you to set up the conversion value of your app, enabling you to monitor the app’s ad performance directly within Google Ads.
Authentication
In today’s times, each app needs to identify the user, so developers need to integrate sign-in functionality. Firebase offers a variety of sign-in authentication options, including Google, Sign in with Apple, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, Phone number authentication, Custom auth system integration, anonymous auth, and email & password-based authentication. These authentication methods can be integrated into iOS, Android, Web, C++, and Unity.
Storage
App developers often need to store files or data on the cloud, incurring separate costs. Firebase provides a solution for storing photos, videos, and files through Firebase Storage. This service is robust, reliable, and offers high scalability, allowing you to retrieve stored data anytime within the app.
Firebase Analytics
Every developer must to Monitor user engagement, events, and user properties with Firebase analytics. Usually, firebase analytics runs with Google Analytics by simply adding analytics SDK.
Hosting
If you have many static pages, you can use Firebase hosting to host static web pages for free. You can host up to 5000 static web pages in Firebase hosting.
Performance Monitoring
Performance Monitoring is a feature that allows you to monitor application performance in the Firebase console. This SDK collects application data to identify and fix crashes and ANRs.
Firebase Crashlytics
Developers are constantly concerned about application crashes and Application Not Responding (ANR) issues. With the Firebase Crashlytics feature, developers can easily understand why the application crashed or did not respond. Being aware of crashes and ANRs is crucial, as these errors play a vital role in the Google Play Console ranking of Android apps.
Limits
Yes, firebase comes with a free plan but it has some limits. But, you need to pay some money once you reached the limit without any interruption.
Sample Codes Documentation
The inclusion of sample codes for each SDK integration makes the developer’s job easier, showcasing why Google documentation is consistently good. Furthermore, the Code Lab provides additional sample codes with practical examples.
Drawbacks
Some challenges exist in Firebase. The high cost associated with Firebase can be a factor that influences developers to avoid choosing this platform. Storing data on third-party servers may lead to privacy and compliance challenges.
