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React Native Simple Biometrics is a straightforward and minimalistic React Native package designed to provide developers with an API for implementing user authentication using on-device biometrics. This library facilitates the quick verification of the app's user, ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized individuals, such as the phone owner or a trustee.

To get started with React Native Simple Biometrics, you can add it to your project using Yarn:

$ yarn add react-native-simple-biometrics

• iOS target:10.0
• Android minSdkVersion:21

To utilize the Face ID system on iOS devices, it is mandatory to include an entry in your iOS app'sinfo.plist, explaining the valid reason for using biometrics:

<key>NSFaceIDUsageDescription</key><string>a valid reason to use biometrics</string>

When you call theauthenticate function, iOS users will be automatically prompted for permission. For more granular control over when to request permissions, you can utilize thereact-native-permissions package.

React Native Simple Biometrics offers two main methods:

1. canAuthenticate(options?: Options): Checks whether the device supports biometric authentication. Returnstrue if the hardware is available or if permission for Face ID (iOS) was granted.

Parameters

• options (optional): An object containing configuration options
  • allowDeviceCredentials (boolean, default: true): Whether to allow device credentials (passcode/password) as a fallback when biometric authentication is not available

Return Value

Returns a Promise that resolves to:

• true if authentication is possible with the specified options
• false if authentication is not possible

2. requestBioAuth(promptTitle: string, promptMessage: string, options?: Options): Initiates the biometric authentication process, displaying a user-friendly prompt with the specified title and message. This function can be used for user authentication.

Required Parameters

• promptTitle (string): The title displayed in the authentication dialogMust be a non-empty stringThrows an error if not provided or empty
• promptMessage (string): The subtitle/reason for requesting authenticationMust be a non-empty stringThrows an error if not provided or emptyDisplays in the authentication dialog to explain why authentication is needed

Optional Parameters

• options (object, optional): Configuration options
  • allowDeviceCredentials (boolean, default: true): Whether to allow device credentials (passcode/password) as a fallback when biometric authentication is not available

Return Value

Returns a Promise that:

• Resolves to true when authentication is successful
• Rejects with an error when authentication fails or is cancelled

Here's a code snippet demonstrating how to use these methods:

importRNBiometricsfrom'react-native-simple-biometrics';// Check if biometric authentication is available, will fallback to device passcode by default if notconstcan=awaitRNBiometrics.canAuthenticate();if(can){try{awaitRNBiometrics.requestBioAuth('prompt-title','prompt-message');// Code to execute when authenticated// ...}catch(error){// Code to handle authentication failure// ...}}

React Native Simple Biometrics is a simplified version ofreact-native-biometrics. If you require advanced features such as key generation, signatures, and more, consider using react-native-biometrics.