Installation

The Intercom React Native wrapper allows you to use Intercom for iOS and/or Intercom for Android in your React Native apps.
If you’re new to Intercom, you’ll need to create an account and start your free trial.

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Supported versions

The Intercom React Native wrapper supports version 0.59 of React Native and above.

Intercom for iOS supports iOS 13 and above.
Intercom for Android supports API 21 and above.

Step 1 - Adding the wrapper

To install Intercom you'll need to add the wrapper to your React Native project using the following snippet:

yarn add @intercom/intercom-react-native

npm install @intercom/intercom-react-native

There are separate steps for setting up Android and iOS. If your React Native app does not support Android skip to Step 3.

Step 2 - Android Setup

You'll need to take steps to link the wrapper in your project. These vary based on your apps React Native version.

Using React Native v0.60 and above

If you're using React Native v0.60 or above, the library will be linked automatically

Automatic linking with React Native v0.59

To automatically link the Intercom React Native wrapper in v0.59 of React Native run the following command:

react-native link @intercom/intercom-react-native

Manual linking with React Native v0.59

If you prefer to manually link libraries, add the following snippet to android/settings.gradle:

include ':intercom-react-native'
project(':intercom-react-native').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, '../node_modules/@intercom/intercom-react-native/android')

Inside the dependancies block of android/app/build.gradle add the following line:

dependencies {
  implementation project(':intercom-react-native')
}

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Apps using a React Native version below 0.65

React Native versions below 0.65 use OkHttp 3. The Intercom SDK currently uses OkHttp 4.
There is a problem with compatibility between those two versions which may result in crashes.

You can fix this by adding an explicit dependency on okhttp-urlconnection to dependencies in app/build.gradle:

dependencies {
    implementation("com.squareup.okhttp3:okhttp-urlconnection:4.9.1")
    [...]
}

Initialize Intercom

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Minimum Android SDK and build tools versions

The minSdkVersion in build.gradle needs to be to 21 or greater

In the dependencies block of the build.gradle make sure that
com.android.tools.build:gradle is at version 4.0.1

You'll need to update the MainApplication.java class. First add the import com.intercom.reactnative.IntercomModule at the top of the class.

Then in the onCreate method, add the snippet below using the apiKey and appId found in your workspace settings.

import com.intercom.reactnative.IntercomModule; //  <-- Add this line

// ...

@Override
public void onCreate() {
  super.onCreate();
  SoLoader.init(this, /* native exopackage */ false);

  // ...

  IntercomModule.initialize(this, "apiKey", "appId"); // <-- Add this line

  // ...
}

Android Permissions

Add below permissions to AndroidManifest.xml

You'll need to include the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission if you have enabled attachments:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>

You can also include VIBRATE to enable vibration in push notifications:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE"/>

Step 3 - iOS Setup

If you don't support iOS in your React Native app, you can skip to the configuration step.

Using React Native v0.60 and above

If you're using React Native v0.60 or above, the library will be linked automatically after running the pod install command.

Manual linking with React Native v0.59

Firstly open your apps .xcworkspace. If you don't have a .workspace file open the .xcodeproj.
Download intercom for iOS and extract the zip
Drag Intercom.xcframework into your project. Make sure "Copy items if needed" is selected and click Finish.

For additional information on iOS manual linking please refer to the React Native developer docs.

Initialize Intercom

Open iOS/AppDelegate.m and import <IntercomModule.h>

#import "AppDelegate.h"
#import <React/RCTBridge.h>
#import <React/RCTBundleURLProvider.h>
#import <React/RCTRootView.h>
// ...
#import <IntercomModule.h> // <-- Add This

Next, in the method didFinishLaunchingWithOptions you'll need to initialize Intercom. Add the snippet below using the apiKey and appId found in your workspace settings.

// ...
  self.window.rootViewController = rootViewController;

  [IntercomModule initialize:@"apiKey" withAppId:@"appId"]; // <-- Add this (Remember to replace strings with your api keys)

  return YES;
  }

IOS Permissions

With the exception of apps that only support iOS 14+, when installing Intercom, you'll need to make sure that you have an NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription entry in your Info.plist.

<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<string>Send photos to support center</string>

For apps that support iOS 13 or lower, this is required by Apple to access the photo library. It is necessary when installing Intercom due to the image upload functionality. Users will be prompted for the photo library permission only when they tap the image upload button.

On iOS 14+, Intercom uses the new PHPickerViewController API which does not require requesting users for photo library permission.

Step 4 - Register your users

You’ll need to register your users with Intercom before you can talk to them or see what they do in your app. If a person visits your mobile app they will be a user - the Intercom SDKs do not create leads or visitors. There are three way to register people who visit your app: (1) register only unidentified users (2) register only identified users (3) register both identified and unidentified users. The option you choose should be informed by the design of your app, namely whether you have a login option.

Register only your unidentified users

If you have an app with no login option (like Angry Birds or a flashlight app), you should register unidentified users only.

Just register an unidentified user in your application like so:

Intercom.registerUnidentifiedUser()

Register only your identified (logged in) users

If people must log in to access your app (as with Facebook, Instagram or Slack) you should follow these instructions to register identified users only.

Best practices for registering users

• It is important to only register identified users after verification of a login.
• You can provide a userId and/or email when registering an identified user. We recommend giving all your users unique userIds, but if you haven't implemented this, you should provide an email.
• Don’t use an email address as a userId as this field cannot be changed later. If you choose provide only an email address, the email address must not be associated with any other users on your workspace.

Intercom.registerIdentifiedUser({email:'[email protected]',userId:'bob-123'})

Register both unidentified (non-logged in) and identified (logged in) users

If you have an app with both unidentified and identified users (like Google Maps or YouTube), you will need to either conditionally choose which registration to call:

if (loggedIn) {
  Intercom.registerIdentifiedUser({email:'[email protected]',userId:'bob-123'})
}else {
  Intercom.registerUnidentifiedUser()
}

Or you can register with Intercom.registerUnidentifiedUser() and if a user signs up/logs in later in your app call Intercom.registerIdentifiedUser. We will automatically transfer over any attributes or conversations from the unidentified user to the identified user, so you won't lose anything.

How to unregister an identified user

You should only unregister an identified user. Unregistering an unidentified user will result in orphan records that cannot be merged in future.

When users want to log out of your app, simply call:

Intercom.logout()

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Intercom knows when your app is backgrounded and comes alive again, so you won’t need to re-register your users.

What next?

1. Once you've got Intercom installed it's time to configure it for your React Native app.
2. Enable push notifications so you can send push messages.
3. Enable Identity Verification for your React Native app.